My short stories

Christmas Miracle

Susan James didn't usually feel cheerful, but it was Christmas Eve. Christmas was her favourite holiday. Why? Because everyone got presents and a break from school.

Not that Susan disliked school. But there was just something magical about Christmas.

Susan was happily helping her mother bake Christmas cookies when the doorbell rang. Who could that be?

As Susan opened the front door, she was greeted with a happy voice.

'Merry Christmas, Susan!' said Cassandra Banter.

Susan gave her best friend a smile. 'Cassie, you do realize that Christmas is tomorrow, right?'

'I know,' said Cassie. 'I just feel so full of joy. I mean, this is my first Christmas with my adoptive Mom. My bio parents never thought that Christmas was a time for joy.'

If you want to know the full story, read Not What She Seems.

'What's your favourite part of Christmas?' Susan asked Cassie.

'Singing Christmas carols,' said Cassie. 'My Mom and I are going caroling tonight. You should join us.'

Susan's eyes lit up. 'I would like that,' she said. 'But I would have to warn you that my voice is terrible.'

Cassie laughed. 'Don't worry about it,' she said. 'It's not required to have a voice of an angel.'

Susan longed to laugh too. Voice of an angel? Quite fitting for the season.

That evening, Susan dressed up to go caroling. She wore a red sweater and pants. Her scarf and hat were white in colour. She even wore gloves with snowmen pictures to get in the mood.

Cassie's adoptive mother, Mrs. Banter, was a cheerful woman who obviously took the holiday seriously. She also appreciated the fun in it as well.

A few other people had also shown up for the caroling event. They included a teenage girl a little older than Susan and Cassie who was always on her phone, a young man wearing glasses, and a little girl who looked excited.

'So who is ready to go caroling?' asked Mrs. Banter.

Only Susan, Cassie, and the little girl responded happily. The man sighed. 'I don't really like singing, you know that.'

'But you have a great voice, Jerome,' said Mrs. Banter.

'I'm only here because my Mom forced me to go,' said the teenage girl.

'Come on, where's the Christmas spirit?' asked Cassie.

Mrs. Banter refused to let anyone dampen her spirits. 'Come on, everyone,' she said. 'Let's go to the first house and sing.'

The first house the carollers stopped at had a family of five. It wasn't a complete success. Jerome did have a good voice, but his singing lacked enthusiasm. The teenage girl, whose name was Holly, sang in a flat tone. The little girl, whose name was Poppy, didn't know all the lyrics, so she just made noises in the parts she didn't know.

The family listened politely, but was obviously uncomfortable with the lack of harmony.

Cassie groaned. 'This is a disaster,' she said. 'My first carolling session and it's going horribly.

'Don't give up,' said Susan. 'Maybe a Christmas miracle might happen.'

However, the next three houses produced the same results. Not everyone was as patient as the first family.

An old man groaned. 'You call this carolling?' he asked. 'You sound horrible!'

'Hey, I worked hard on this,' said Mrs. Banter.

After a while, everyone seemed to lose hope. It was clear that this wasn't working out.

'Mom, maybe we should call it a night,' said Cassie after the seventh house.

Mrs. Banter sighed. 'I guess you're right. Come on, let's go...'

Mrs. Banter gave a gasp when she saw a huge dog in front of the carollers. 'Everyone, stay calm,' she said.

Everyone tried to back slowly, but suddenly, Poppy fell over and gave a squeal. The dog started chasing the carollers.

'Run!' called Jerome. Everyone turned tail and ran. Cassie suddenly fell on her knees, grazing them.

'Mom, help!' called Cassie.

Mrs. Banter quickly ran back to protect Cassie. The dog growled at Cassie.

Mrs. Banter shielded Cassie protectively. 'Don't you dare go near her,' she told the dog.

The dog seemed threatened by Mrs. Banter. It quickly ran in the opposite direction.

Cassie started to sob. Mrs. Banter gently cuddled her. 'Hey, it's alright,' she said. 'You're safe now.'

'Mom, my knees,' Cassie whispered.  Mrs. Banter rolled up Cassie's pants and gasped. Cassie's knees were bleeding.

'Oh, Cassie, that looks awfully painful,' said Susan.

Mrs. Banter cleaned Cassie's wounds and bandaged them. 'Don't cry, everything will be fine.'

Susan thought of Cassie, who had not known love before being adopted by Mrs. Banter. Cassie was probably feeling so touched right now. That had been a miracle in itself.

Suddenly, Susan understood how to inspire the carolling group. They were all near the park and there were some other people outside too.

Susan suddenly started singing. 'Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh...'

'Susan, what are you doing?' asked Mrs. Banter.

'There's no rule about having a good voice,' said Susan. 'Surely the most important thing is to have fun, right?'

Everyone realized that Susan was right. Carolling was about fun. One by one, everyone started joining in. The amazing thing was that although they still weren't exactly in harmony, no one cared. They were all having fun.

When they were all finished singing, they actually had people applauding them.

'They love us,' said Cassie in delight.

'Yeah,' said Holly. 'I never thought that I would actually like carolling, but I do! I'm going to do it again next year.'

Susan smiled at Cassie. It seemed that miracles did happen.

Christmas morning was an exciting time for Susan. Her family took turns opening presents. Just when Susan was opening a present from her grandmother, the doorbell rang again.

It was Cassie again. And she had a present wrapped in blue wrapping paper.

'Cassie, you don't have to give me a present,' said Susan.

'But I want to,' said Cassie. 'This is for being such a good friend to me.'

Susan unwrapped her present. It was a beautiful pair of shoes. They were ice blue and sparkly.

'Oh, they are beautiful,' said Susan. 'But I can't possibly accept them. I didn't get a present...'

'Actually, you did,' said Cassie. 'You gave me the best family I could ask for. I mean, if you hadn't stood up to my biological parents, I would still be stuck with them. You saved my life both figuratively and literally.'

Susan gave Cassie a small smile. 'Thanks,' she said. 'That means a lot to me.'

Just then, Cassie sniffed the air. 'Do I smell cookies?' she asked.

'On second thoughts, I think that I do have a present for you,' said Susan. 'Let's have some cookies.'