Uyen



//**Waking up....**//

People don’t understand the true meaning of Christmas anymore. It is largely forgotten and those who celebrate it only care about the gifts that they will get. Expensive gifts and greed make the holiday about material things only, people have lost their minds. Children are like a blank piece of paper, for example, if you leave it blank, it will stay white but if you wrinkle it, it will have crease-marks. It will never be the same again. All parents want the best for their children but somehow, those Christmas values have been lost and kids are led in the wrong direction.

Just a week before Christmas, I had an unexpected visitor. It was a snowy day in New York City. Everyone was excited about one of the biggest holiday celebrations of the year and they were getting ready for it by lighting up and decorating their homes and businesses. The city was brimming with excitement as children ran around singing their favorite Christmas carols. The scent of butter and fresh bread from the nearby bakery can be enjoyed in every nook and cranny. The icy wind blew through my hair and woke me up as I was holding a hot cup of coffee. I was standing at the corner of the street where I could observe everyone without anyone noticing me. I enjoyed the moment, humming one of my favorite songs and thinking about what my childhood back in Texas with my grandparents. Being six was a good age to be. There was nothing to worry about and all you had to do was to be a good kid so that Santa Claus would award you with your wishes. I remembered the Christmas night, twenty years ago, listening to my dad playing the guitar while I enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows.

That was all before the accident, the one accident that would change my life and take away my parents from me when I was only thirteen. I always wonder why God would let this happen to me, why did he want to leave me alone? I moved to the big city when I turned seventeen and never celebrated Christmas again. I got used to it. Sometimes, I don’t remember what it feels like to have a family anymore.

As I was walking back to my apartment, it was so quiet that I could hear the snow crunching beneath my feet. My breath fogged up the air as I hurried down the street. I turned on the light in the living room as soon as I opened the door. My eyes squinted as the bright lights hit them. The apartment was as cold as outside since no one has been here. There is nothing in this place that indicates that Christmas was coming. There was no evergreen fit tree, no lights or any other types of decorations. It was simply another day of the year. I walked to the phone on the table and checked for messages. There was one from my co-workers but I wasn’t really close to any of them. It also reminded me that I didn’t have any close friends in general. Unlike the other girls, I’m not that easy going. The first day of school was always the hardest for me because I couldn’t just meet people. All I could do was stand on the side of the lockers and read books to kill time before class starts. It was like that year after year and became one of “my things.”

The voice machine beeped and woke me up out of my daydreams, it was from my grandparents. I haven’t heard from them in a very long time. I tried to remember their voices but my memories were hollow.

“Hello Abigail, we haven’t heard from you in a long time. We miss you a lot my dear. Why don’t you come back here for a visit? Just for the holidays... I don’t know what else to say but if you want to visit, give us a call OK? We love you..” *beep*

Notice : this is not the ending of my story yet.... Okay so this is my second draff ....but I'm still thinking about the ending... maybe I'll have a different ending...

//**WAKING UP....**//

//People don’t understand the true meaning of Christmas anymore. It is largely forgotten and those who celebrate it only care about the gifts that they will get. Expensive gifts and greed make the holiday about material things only, people have lost the true value of the holidays. Children can be compared to a blank piece of paper. For example, if you leave the paper blank, it will stay white but a wrinkled sheet of paper will forever have crease-marks. It will never be the same again. All parents want the best for their children but somehow, Christmas values have been lost and kids are led in the wrong direction.

Just a week before Christmas, I took an unplanned trip to search for what I’ve missed out on all these past years. It was a snowy day in New York City. Everyone was excited for one of the biggest holiday celebrations of the year and they were getting ready for it by lighting up and decorating their homes and businesses. The city was brimming with excitement as children ran around singing their favorite Christmas carols. The scent of butter and fresh bread coming from the neighborhood bakeries can be enjoyed in every nook and cranny. The icy wind blew through my hair and woke me up as I was holding a hot cup of coffee. I was standing at the street corner where I could observe everyone without anyone noticing me. I enjoyed the moment, humming one of my favorite songs and reminiscing about my childhood back in Texas with my grandparents. Being six was a good age to be. There was nothing to worry about and all you had to do was to be a good kid so that Santa Claus would award you with your wishes. I remembered the Christmas night, twenty years ago, listening to my dad playing the guitar while I enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows.

That was all before the accident, the one accident that would change my life and take away my parents from me when I was only thirteen. I always wonder why God let this happen to me, why he wanted to leave me alone. I moved to the big city when I turned seventeen and never celebrated Christmas again. I got used to it. Sometimes, I don’t even remember what it feels like to have a family anymore.

As I was walking back to my apartment, it was so quiet that I could hear the snow crunching beneath my feet. My breath fogged up the air as I hurried down the street. I turned on the light in the living room as soon as I opened the door. My eyes squinted as the bright lights hit them. Since no one had been here, the inside of the apartment was just as cold as the outside. There is nothing in this place that indicates that Christmas was coming. There was no evergreen tree, no lights or any other types of decorations. It was simply another day of the year. I walked to the phone on the table and checked for messages. There was one from my co-workers, but I wasn’t really close to any of them. It also reminded me that I didn’t have any close friends in general. Unlike the other girls, I’m not that easy going. The first day of school was always the hardest for me because I couldn’t just meet people. All I could do was stand on the side of the lockers and read books to kill time before class starts. It was like that year after year and became one of “my things.” The voice machine beeped and woke me up out of my daydreams, it was from my grandparents. I haven’t heard from them in a very long time. I tried to remember their voices but my memories were hollow.

“Hello Abigail, we haven’t heard from you in a long time. We miss you a lot my dear. Why don’t you come back here for a visit? Just for the holidays... I don’t know what else to say, but if you want to visit, give us a call OK? We love you...” *beep*

I sit back and think to myself. All I can feel is this bitterness roughly go through my throat. I tried my best to swallow, but it seemed so hard. The icy air surrounded my body and gave me this chill. My eyelids were heavy like there were thousands and thousands of people trying to pull them down. It felt so peaceful, and finally the warm air from the fire place is now spreading around the room. I got myself comfy on the couch while trying to tuck one of my feet into the other so they won’t get cold. The picture in front of my eyes gets all blurry and dreamy. I start hearing the lullaby that my mom used to sing when I was young.

I soon feel asleep but then a loud bang on the door woke me up. My eyes were quickly opened. I sneaked a quick look around the room knowing that nothing had change. I decided to go back on my sleep, but then again the banging sound on the door just got louder. I finally decide to stand up and walk towards the door. I gently grabbed the door knob. The cricket sound coming from the door was making the whole thing scarier. It was dark outside, too dark indeed. I could feel the blood down my feet up to my upper body. I kept looking and looking, but the darkness outside was blocking my eyes.

My heart beat was racing like crazy. Suddenly, a voice of a girl behind me was shouting at me. I take a deep breath, and look back. Right in front of me is this gorgeous looking eight year old girl, with two big brown eyes staring at me. She was wearing her glittery peach pink gown like back then in the 1818 and along with her blonde-silky beautiful hair was a light pink old-fashion bow. She looked like a doll.

While I was still wondering, who on earth is this girl? The kid just warmly smiled at me and slowly walked towards me. I find it strange how I didn’t get scared at all. The kid is giving me this very close feeling that I haven’t had for a long time, it felt like family. She takes my hand and while pointing her finger at the window, she leads me closer of the balcony where I can see the whole city is full of excitement. I looked into her deep icy blue eyes, and the next thing I know, I standing in my old house’s living room. I can see the old pictures hanging on the wall. Then there is the smell of my mom’s delicious cranberry pie all over the room, standing behind the table is a beautiful woman in her navy blue dress with a bit white lace on the side waist. It’s my loving mother. The memories all came back into my head. I remembered vividly this is the last Christmas Eve I spent with my parents before the accident. The pain was like a knife stabbing right at my chest, it was so painful. The tears were starting, breaking the wall that I have been building in all these years, one drop, two drops, slowly running down my cheeks. It touched the corner of my lips. I can taste the saltiness on the tip of my tongue.

It all became so blurry. My eyes were half-way shutting down. Shaking my head trying not to fall asleep, but the next thing I know, I’m standing at the corner of the street outside of the Seven-eleven store. The street lights are barely working. It was creepy dark out here. I noticed that it almost eight thirty. I felt so blue at this moment. I looked up when a car stopped next to me. I recognize that it is my parents’ car. Mom and Dad are holding hands, it was so sweet. I love how mom slowly lean her head on his shoulder. I can feel the love that they give each other in their eyes, they were so in love.

I tried to get closer but when I get half-way there, the honk from a truck behind them stopped me. So this is it the moment that I would never want to think of. I sit down and cover my head, when I look up I see myself as an old African mother who is holding her new born child on the Christmas night, wishing that a miracle would be there to help her out. The breezy wind went through the window, inside the room is the poor mother trying as much as she can to keep her baby out of the cold. Her lips are all purple. She can’t feel the top of her toes any more. That icy cold just gets deeper and deeper into her skin. Her heart beat is starting to slow down. The baby opens her eyes widely to look at her mother. The tiny little hand of the new angel touched her mother. The tears from her mother’s heart made her giggles. The mother is now slowly reaching for the baby’s face. Her heart is breaking into pieces.

At this moment I realized, I have been running away from the reality, trying to hide myself in my own little world. I ignored the real world around me, when there are several problems that need help more than I do.

Once again, the alarm wakes me up and I have this painful headache. I realize that I am still in my apartment alone. It was just a dream, but somehow I know that there is a meaning behind it. Or maybe it showed just what I already know but I just being absurd and selfish. But then the miracle of Christmas has woken me up.//