Christmas Collection

3. Magical Snowglobe

One day, you noticed a package sitting outside your door. You open it to see a snow globe along with a note reading, "Shake, and the magic of Christmas will appear." Skeptical, you shake it, and an elf appears.

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Christmas is one of the best holidays of the year, especially when it comes to spending time with family and friends, but it is also one of the saddest days of the year. Why, might you ask? Well, it is a reminder of a home that is broken and empty. Every Christmas, my family used to sit around the tree on Christmas Eve, open some Christmas presents, watch a Christmas movie with warm blankets and cozy soft pajamas, and the kids would drink some hot chocolate while my parents drank some wine. It was a favorite thing in the world, especially when my partners have a few days off unless they have to work because they are first responders and around this time of the year the holidays can be very busy for them. On some Christmases, we spend the time worrying about whether one or both will make it home safe. There were times they both did not make it home due to some dangerous shifts and the world that we are living in. Christmas used to be my favorite holiday because of being with family, but that changed a few years ago when my mom got cancer.

Christmas was my mother's favorite holiday, especially because it brought her happiness and joy in the dark days. She passed away a few years ago on Christmas Eve, right before the clock struck midnight. She passed away from cancer, and every year I wished for a cure for cancer that everyone could use and spend many more Christmases together making new memories and enjoying each other's company instead of being stuck in a hospital feeling lonely and scared. My father woke us up from sleep just a few minutes before midnight, knowing Santa would come down the chimney to bring us some Christmas gifts, drink some cold milk, and eat some delicious freshly baked cookies. Instead of seeing the red and green flashing lights that I always put on to help catch Santa, we saw red and blue ones, but not just anyone's, as police car lights flashed through the windows and wide-open front door with the cold blizzard wind and snowflakes coming through the door. That night, I did not believe what I heard; there was too much commotion and chaos around the house. It was like living in the zoo with people in our home, such as first responders, neighbors, friends, and even family members. People just kept coming and going out of the house, like there was no privacy or manners at all. That night, I stopped believing in the Christmas spirit, in Santa, and in anything but hope.

A year has passed; the house grows darker and more lifeless, as my father always worked around the clock. This year we did not have a Christmas tree or decorations because it just made us feel lonely without our mother. My father became the Christmas Grinch; he would not let us put up holiday decorations or anything because it would just remind him of losing his soul mate. The only thing that would make me believe in Christmas is if an elf from the North Pole came to my house right now and gave me a magical snow globe that could bring back my mother. As I thought of the picture of an elf holding a snow globe in front of my house, it made me feel like I was imagining something childish. As I stood at that door with my coat on, I heard a loud knock. I opened the door and saw a small, child-sized elf standing there with a beautiful, sparkly snow globe.

"Hi, I see you are probably wondering why I am here, and you are probably thinking you are dreaming this, but Santa sent me on a special mission." "Oh wait, where are my manners?" "Hi, my name is Peppermint, and I was told to give this to you with a note," the elf said and grinned, knowing he enjoyed seeing the panic on the boy's face.

"Um... is this some sort of prank because I am not falling for it, especially on Christmas Eve?" "Plus, I don't believe in Christmas, or, um, Santa and elves are for children," I said while trying to find my words.