A nice prompt, I can whip something up before I head to sleep.

Sal had dreams of home again, always the dreams of home, of family, of friends, and of food. Gladia was a beautiful world, arguably moreso than the real one, but after a long enough time here Sal began to yearn for what he did have back home. He had a family, he had friends, he had connections, here all he had is power, but to the residents he would always be an outsider.

It didn't matter how many problems he solved, how many ideas he had, how many battles he won, it meant nothing. To everyone here he was a hero, but he felt like a novelty, a celebrity with no real purpose, a grand piece of art with no structure or substance. So when he awoke on Christmas morning, the first since he had appeared here, he simply felt hollow. He couldn't even muster the capacity to cry, a deep pit forming in his stomach as he recalls all of the things he would do at home, all of the joy he felt at this time of year.

He couldn't stay in bed forever, Christmas day is still a day, and every day something needs doing, even if he doesn't care to do it. He sat up with a deep sigh, and immediately paused when something caught his eye. He had set up a Christmas tree in his room in the castle, nobody else would understand the significance, but he wanted one. The main problem with it was that a single, wrapped package sat under it. Where had it come from? Why was it here? Was this a dream, or simply a mistake? Maybe he had put one there in his slump the night before and had simply forgotten?

After a few minutes where his brain went over every possibility, he arose from the bed, walking over to the tree and kneeling next to the box, picking it up gingerly. The tag read 'From: Santa', which gave him pause. He hadn't believed in Santa for years, why would he write that on a present to himself? Shaking the box gave no indication to the contents, and the paper was far too elegant for the materials available in this world.

He wasn't even sure why he inspected the box so closely, it's a present, the fun of inspecting the box comes when you can't open it yet, but he can open it, and upon having this realization he does. He snaps his fingers, and a blade made of magic materializes, which he snatches and uses to neatly open the wrapping paper, which he sets to the side. He opened the top of the box, and then he dropped it, his mouth agape as he looks within.

Inside the box was a phone, but not just any phone, his phone. He woke up in this world with nothing, it wasn't like those shows where they get godlike powers from the get go, or they get to keep something from their world, he had nothing. Yet here it was, a small, cheap phone, that even had the crack from when he dropped it five minutes after buying the blasted thing. The box looked like it was designed to hold it, velvet padding fitting it perfectly. He couldn't tell you how long he sat there, but his stillness was interrupted when the phone began to ring, causing him to jump, the magical dagger at the ready as he took deep breaths.

The screen read 'Mom', and it kept ringing. He had forgotten his ringtone, some stupid jingle from a game he played as a kid, but the wave of nostalgia almost knocked him off his feet all over again. He knelt down and picked up the phone, inspecting the screen. Everything seemed as he would expect, other than an infinity symbol where a percent should be on the battery indicator. He took a deep breath, and he pressed the button to accept the call, pressing the device to his ear.*

"H-hey... It's mom, we..." There was a stifled sob from the other side, and another voice in the background comforting Sal's mother, "We all miss you. It's been so hard without you here. We kept trying, we couldn't find you, but I want you back, I need to know you're okay, somewhere..."

Sal could only listen, he could no longer keep the tears back, they were streaming down his face freely, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"My- my therapist suggested this, last week, she told me I should keep a log of all of the things I want to say to you. I know this is just a message, but I need to say them, I need to." There was a shuffling of paper, and a sniff before she continued, "you always were the heart, of all of my children you were always the most creative and heartfelt. Every one of you has traits that amaze me, and life hasn't been the same when we lost our friend, our mediator, our... Our little salamander."

Sal cracked a somber smile at that, his dumb nickname from his childhood. Salazar is similar to salamander, and it stuck.

"I love you, and I hope with all of my heart that you're somehow safe, please..."

"I love you too." Sal said this instinctively, it was the first words he could muster, and he let out the first of many sobs after that. He held his breath once his mother stopped talking, looking at the phone to make sure it didn't break somehow.

There was a moment of silence, Sal taking a calming breath before he flinched from the noise.

"Sal!? Sal Sal Sal! Is that you!? Is it you!?" His mother was clearly frantic, she was sobbing uncontrollably as she almost yelled into the phone, and a commotion was picking up from the other side.

"Ow, yes, yes, it's me. It's me, mom, I'm okay." He was crying, there was no other way to put it. He would deny this if someone saw him, but he's crying.

"Sal! You're okay..." There was a loud sob from the other side, one of unmitigated relief, one of pure joy. There was still grief, but it must have been like receiving the greatest news ever after the worst week of your life, "Where are you? Are you safe? Are you okay? What happened?"

Sal couldn't contain himself, he was sobbing, he clutched the phone against his chest as he curled up on the floor. It seems his one wish had come true, it turns out he wouldn't have to be alone for Christmas.