It had been several years since Cody received that mysterious package containing the high quality costume of Mel Spankenheimer. The suit was perfect down to the very last detail except for one thing. Once Cody put on the mask, his personality was forever changed. Gone were the days of helping out his friends and giving to the needy. He was as greedy and self-centered as the real Cousin Mel.

One night, while closing up a toy shop in a town far, far away from the Spankenheimers, Mel was going through the register, counting up the profits made that day. Her eyes were like saucers, as she counted each twenty, fifty and one-hundred dollar bill that went by her way. "Ahh, my favorite people in the whole world. And I don't mean those good for nothing relatives that sent me to jail." Mel said in a smug and sinful tone. "Grant. Jackson. Ah yes, even you Benjamin, my pudgy little favorite. The world can go an celebrate this "wonderful season" till it's blue in the face. As long as I have money, I don't need anybody!"

As Mel was finishing closing up shop, she was putting back toys and as usual, grumbling about it. "Stupid little brats. Don't understand that toys are meant to be bought, not played with." As she put a set of dolls away, she came across a rather old looking mirror. She stopped to look and being the vein, beauty-obsessed diva she was, stopped to pose in front of it. "Mmm mmm mmmm. I said it before and I'll say it again. Mel Spankenheimer, you are a stone cold.......fox."

She held her head as she suddenly felt a weird sensation come over her. It was as if she had the strangest case of deja vu. As if she had experienced this same scenario before. She had been having recurring dreams about a blue haired boy, who enjoyed nothing but being kind and helping out those less fortunate during the holidays. "It's....that boy again." Mel said confused. "Why is he always on my mind? Just who is he?"

She then recalled a dream where the boy put on a Halloween costume. When he was done, he looked like a spitting image of Mel herself. She scoffed at the idea that she knew this boy. "Those dreams are just absurd. It's enough of a stretch that I somehow know this boy. Now there's the idea that he is me? Don't be ridiculous." The more she tried to deny it, the more it entered her mind. She got closer to the mirror and feeling her cheek gave it a small tug. Much to her surprise, it stretched just like a rubber band. Mel was terrified. "It's not possible! There's no way I am anyone else but who I say I am! I AM MEL SPANKENHEIMER.......aren't I?"

Mel took a deep breath, put her hands on top of her head and got a grip on her hair. "I am not some blue-haired freak. And I'll prove it!" She began to tug as hard as she could. She watched in horror as her face stretched and contorted. Suddenly and with a loud "SCHLORP," her face came off, flying across the room and knocking her to the ground. When she got her senses, she stood up and looked in the mirror. Much to her own horror, she no longer looked or sounded like herself. Instead, she saw looking a strange blue haired boy, looking back at her in the reflection. She couldn't believe what she saw.

"No. It....it can't be." Mel stammered out, in a more male tone. "The dreams.....they're true. I...AM this strange blue haired boy." The boy felt his face, his true face, and gazed into the dark blue pupils that were his own eyes. He was confused, not sure of his own identity or the identity he had apparently assumed as a result of the mask. "Who....or what....am I?" He said in anguish. He turned around and looked on the ground as the discarded mask that was once the face of Mel Spankenheimer. He picked up, looked at it and then looked at his reflection. "Whoever you are....I'm not you anymore!" The boy said, putting the Mel mask back on and reasserting his identity. "That blue-haired freak is nothing! I am Mel Spankenhemier....and I've always been her.

Mel's anger at this shocking revelation was enough to send her into a rage. All she could see in the mirror was the reflection of that boy. The more she saw it, the more enraged it made her. She picked up a child-size toy firetruck and hurled it as the mirror. It shattered into a million pieces, each piece echoing the image of the blue-haired boy as they fell to the ground. Mel's anger subsided and quickly turned to horror. She fell to her knees, sobbing. "I....I don't even know who I am anymore" she cried. She got up, opened the cash register, took the money from the till, grabbed her coat and made a rather hasty exit from the store.

Hours passed as Mel walked through the city, trying to forget what she had just seen in that little toy store. Unfortunately, the more she tried to forget, the more painful it became when she eventually did. She watched as families and couples were taking in the sights and sounds of the holiday season, as if all their troubles were far away from them. The more smiles she saw, the more alone and isolated Mel felt.

"Excuse me miss." A voice said without her knowing. She turned and saw a man dressed as Santa Clause, ringing a bell in front of a giant gold pot. "Could you possibly spare some money to help those less fortunate have a bright and merry Christmas?" Mel just looked at him and scoffed. "Get a job, Kringle." She then began to walk off, not noticing the Santa wasn't angry, but more disheartened at her words. As she took a few steps away from him, she suddenly stopped and walked back to him. "I'm so sorry, that was incredibly rude of me." Mel said apologetically. She then reached into her purse and put a small handful of bills into the Santa's gold pot. "Here. I hope this helps a little." The Santa's eyes lit up and a smile a mile wide formed on his face as he thanked Mel. "Thank you for your generosity, young lady. Merry Christmas!" Mel smiled and nodded and continued to walk off into the night.

After that selfless act of giving, Mel didn't feel as lonely as she did in the toy store. She may not have known who she was after that evening, but she would try her hardest to either be a better version of herself or hopefully, as good as that blue-haired boy who couldn't escape her thoughts. Meanwhile, back at the street corner, the Santa continued to watch Mel walk off into the distance. He reached into his jacket and pulled out what looked like a candy cane-theme radio. "Contact the boys at the North Pole Medical Bay." Santa said into it. "I found Cody Nakamura....and we're bringing him back to help him remember who he truly is."

What happened to Cody, you may ask? Well, let's just say that's a story for another day.

I couldn't think of a better way to kick off my Merry Masking Christmas event than with a visit to one of my very favorite pieces of masking art. Thanks to the talents of the incredible  ambyva and their awesome ability to adapt, I was able to finally get a Cousin Mel piece that's so accurate to the movie. I wanted to revisit this piece because first off, Cousin Mel is an absolute bombshell. Second, I wanted to see about giving Cody a redemption story for one of the several suit possession stories I've written. Finally, we needed a good story to kick off the Christmas season.