A Christmas Miracle

A long time ago in a land far away, snowflakes fluttered down from the sky like falling stars on houses and garden walls. A young boy was dreaming of a wonderful Christmas day. He dreamed of things that he would like to happen. The gifts around the Christmas tree. Gifts for his parents, his brother and his sisters. It was just a dream though, a dream on Christmas Eve. His family were poor, barely had enough money to keep them all fed. As Christmas loomed there was no money for any special treats. Just enough to be thankful they all had something to eat. The snowflakes kept falling laying its white blanket on the ground. The north wind bit everything as it yelled its mournful sound. The cold ate into everyone, as the family fire grew dim. Soon everyone retired to their beds for the night. The little boy dreamed what his wonderful Christmas would be; knowing all the while, it was just futility. The wind rattled the windows and the doors as in theirs beds they slept. Nothing stirred within the house; every one had gone to sleep. In the morning, the wind had passed, but the cold still held its chill over every living thing. Slowly sleepy heads awoke as if it was a normal day. They crept slowly from their beds for their breakfast. They entered the living room they stopped in the doorway, their mouths open in shock. The bare room when they went to bed was now decorated with a tree. Beneath it were presents for everyone. Their names were on the tags, but from whom was blank. Who had done this in the night, had entered and left without making a sound? The children on seeing everything, their faces beamed from ear to ear at the sight they saw. The little boy rubbed his sleepy eyes, looked and looked again. His dream had come true. This Christmas was going to be the best year in their lives. The children opened their presents. Everything they had wished for was there except for one, and it was for their father. For so long he had been without a job. The one thing they wanted for him was to be able to work again, but there was no job underneath the tree. They hadn’t noticed a letter standing on the fireplace. It was after all the excitement had to begun to die down and the fire was about to be lit that someone noticed it. As the letter was opened, the Christmas miracle began to fall into place. The letter was an offer of a job. The smiles on everyone’s faces told the whole story now and the Christmas miracle was now complete. No one ever discovered what happened that day or who it was who performed the Christmas Miracle. 17- 18 July 2008