MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Welcome to our Christmas edition of the Round Robin Blog Fest featuring Christmas Stories from all of our great writers!
First Snow
Jackson stuck out
his tongue and let ice cold sprinkles cover it before he swallowed them. The
first snow of winter was his third favorite day of the year behind Christmas
and his birthday. He forgot how much fun it was to catch the flakes in his mouth
then make snow angels. Then again, he was only seven and had a hard time
remembering to wash his hands when his mom asked.
“Come on, Jack.” His
sister Ruby, two years older, wore a blue sparkly dress over her snow suit along
with a tiara that had flashing lights. She claimed to be a snow queen. “Let’s
go to a few more houses before it’s time to go home.”
“I don’t have
enough candy yet.” He blinked the snowflakes off his eyelashes then pulled his
Spiderman toque over his forehead.
They’d been out caroling
for half an hour. Everyone gave them Christmas candy or oranges, so Jackson’s
arms ached from carrying the pillowcase covered with snowmen. He’d wanted to
carry the little pumpkin bucket his granny gave him which would be full by now.
At least they could be home eating candy instead of freezing.
“Come on, Jack.”
His mother put her hand on his back to steer him toward his best friend Connor’s
house. Maybe they could get some hot chocolate and play.
At the door Ruby belted
out Silent Night so loud that Jackson
took a step back and gawked.
Mrs. Garcia opened
the door as she hugged her thick sweater. “What are you guys up to?”
“We’re singing carols.”
Ruby asked. “Do you like my dress? I even got jeweled shoes. Mom says I can
wear them for Christmas since there’s so much snow tonight.”
“I’ll bet they’re
very pretty,” she said. “Your mom makes a pretty nice princess too.”
“Thank you.”
Jackson’s mom curtsied and straightened her flashing tiara.
“You should head
home,” Mrs. Garcia said. “I saw on T.V. this storm’s coming in fast. We could
get up to twenty centimeters tonight.”
Jackson’s mom
nodded. “I heard that too. We’d better make our way home before we have to flag
down a dog sled.”
Ruby huffed. “Mom.”
The wind picked up
and swirled tiny snowflakes around them. Thanks to the rattling of plastic Santas
and flickering Christmas lights, Jackson was convinced they were in a giant snow
globe. Dry leaves got caught up in the excitement and flew in circles while he
bowed his heads against the wind.
Jackson grimaced. “Don’t
look now but I think it’s getting bad.”
His mother led
them down the Garcia’s front steps past the burlap-covered cedars. “I think
it’s time to go home, guys.”
“No way,” Ruby
said. “We still haven’t gone to Emily’s house or Miranda’s house.”
“And I want more
candy,” Jackson added.
“The weather is getting
worse and we can barely see across the street.” Mom sighed. “Let’s go home and
I’ll make you hot chocolate.”
Snow Queen Ruby
stomped her feet, threw down her magic snowflake wand and became a royal pain. “I
don’t want to go home yet!”
Jackson rolled his
eyes, groaned, and watched their mother try to reason with his sister. He was
distracted by a noise coming from the garage next door. It sounded like a witch
cackling.
Inside the garage doorway,
sat a woman with long stringy hair and a black satin dress. There was a round wooden
table with a huge crystal ball on it in front of her. She looked up with dark
eyes and a smile. “Would you like me to tell your fortune?”
“It’s Christmas,
not Halloween. Is this a trick or a treat?” He stepped inside.
Her wild laugh
made him jump back. “It’s whatever you make of it, my dear. Would you like me
to see into your future?”
“Depends.” Jackson
stepped out of the wind into the warmth of the garage. “Am I gonna have a
Lamborghini?”
She waved her hand
over the crystal ball and gazed into it for several seconds. A breeze of heat
from the nearby heater swept her hair across her face, but she didn’t even
flinch. “I see you walking with a man dressed in red. You’re lost, yet you know
where you are. You just can’t find your way home.”
Jackson backed out
onto the driveway. Snowflakes pelted him as they formed a white curtain between
him and the fortune teller. “That’s weird. You’re not very good at this whole
fortune telling thing. No one can be lost and know where they are.”
When he turned
back to the street, his mom and Ruby were gone. They must have headed for home.
He paused to look in both directions. When he left Connor’s house, he and Mom
always turned right. He held up his fingers with his pointer fingers up and the
thumbs sticking out. Right was the one that didn’t make an L.
A lot more snow covered
the ground than when they started caroling. He kicked at it, just like he’d shuffled
through the leaves earlier that day. A shiver shook him. Mom was right, it was
getting cold out.
Where was she? His
mom wouldn’t have left without him. Good thing he knew exactly where he was
going. Dad was at home with the baby, so he’d be able to get inside the house.
Jackson stopped at
the corner and looked both ways. Lots of dim Christmas lights and snow flakes,
but no cars. He stuck out his arm just like his teachers taught and walked
across the road.
“Hello, young man.”
A tall man wrapped in a thick red coat knelt in front of him. “I didn’t realize
you were old enough to be out here alone. Did your mom get lost?”
“Yes.” Jackson’s
eyes grew wide. He knew not to talk to strangers, but this was Santa after all.
“I think she forgot which way home is.”
Santa looked
puzzled. “Oh, that’s not good. Don’t you think you should look for her?”
“Nah, she knows
where we live,” he said. “Even if she is lost, Ruby knows the way. She knows
everything. My dad calls her a know-it-all.”
Santa stood to
look around them. “This storm is getting bad. I think you should tell me where
you live so I can take you home. If I see your mom, then I can at least tell
her where you are.”
Jackson frowned.
Everyone warned him about good and bad strangers. “If you’re really Santa, you
should know where I live.”
“You’re right to
be concerned.” Santa laughed as Jackson adjusted his toque. “Jackson! I know
you. You live a couple houses up from me. Come on, I’ll take you home then find
your mom. She must be really worried about you.”
“Mr. Donovan? Is
that you?” Jackson’s gasped. “Why are you dressed like Santa Clause?”
Mr. Donovan slid
down the thick white beard. “Even grown-ups like to pretend sometimes. I dress
like Santa every year to bring gifts to the kids at the hospital. What’s in the
bag?”
Jackson raised the
bag and grinned. “Candy from caroling. Did you know people give way better candy
at Christmas than at Halloween?” He hesitated. “Do the kids at the hospital ever
get to go caroling?”
“No, they don’t,” Mr.
Donovan said. “They don’t get a lot of candy either.”
They walked toward
Jackson’s house decorated with the large colorful ornaments he and Ruby spent
the afternoon hanging in the tree out front. He tilted back his head again and
stuck out his tongue.
“I was thinking.” Jackson
handed the bag of candy to Mr. Donovan. “Maybe you should take this to the
hospital tomorrow. I think those kids need it more than we do.”
“Jackson!”
Footsteps ran up behind him and two hands turned him around as his mom pulled
him into a warm hug. “Where have you been? I looked everywhere for you. Thank
you for finding him, Santa. Where was he?”
“Wandering the
streets and enjoying the snow,” Mr. Donovan said. “I hear you were lost so I
planned to take him home and find you next.”
Jackson grinned.
“When we were at Connor’s house, I heard a noise and saw a fortune teller. She
said I’d walk around with someone dressed in red and be lost, but I’d know
where I was. When I turned around, you and Ruby were gone then Mr. Donovan
found me. Isn’t that weird that he’s dressed like Santa and wearing red?”
“Yes, it is. If we
stay out here any longer, we’ll all be wearing snow white. We’ll just need coal
eyes and corn cob pipes.” His mom frowned. “I thought you went inside to play
with Conner so we went to look for you.”
“I thought you guys
got lost,” Jackson said.
“Figures,” Ruby
said. “I wanted to go caroling then you go and ruin the whole night. I’m glad
you’re back. Where did you see the fortune teller? Did she give you any candy?”
“Nope. No candy.”
He smiled up at Mr. Donovan. “Can we go home now? I’m tired.”
His mom nodded. “Let’s
go have some hot chocolate and marshmallows and watch the snow fall from inside.
Tomorrow, we can come out to play.”
“Okay,” Jackson
said. “But this time I’m staying away from any fortune tellers.”
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_seaHelena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blogBeverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/A.J. Maguire http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-1qIVictoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.comRhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com
