Casa Christmas

2. A New Door Opens

Ambrosio carefully climbed out of bed and tiptoed over to the dresser. He took out a pair of socks and put them on. One of the characters in a show he had watched did that when they wanted to walk around without being heard.

As he was sneaking over to the door, Olivia sat up on the top bunk.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

Ambrosio froze mid-step and turned around. "Be quiet, Livie." He shushed her. "You'll wake up Hobbit."

Marco sprang up out of his bed in the corner. "Jam and butter on my toast, please." He rubbed his eyes. "Hey! Where are you going, Brosio? And why is Livie awake? You two were trying to leave me out of something again, weren't you?"

"Quiet, Hobbit," Ambrosio put a finger up to his lips. "You're going to wake up Gran Nan. Then nobody is going anywhere."

"So, you were going somewhere without me," Marco crossed his arms.

"Nice catch, Capitán Obvio," Olivia said, climbing down the ladder of the bunk bed.

"Fine," Ambrosio exhaled. "I was going to find the Star Key."

"But we looked everywhere," Olivia said. "Maybe this house just doesn't have one."

"No," Ambrosio shook his head. "It's here. We just have to look in the last place we would expect it to be."

"Mom's office!" Olivia and Marco said simultaneously.

Ambrosio smiled big. "That's exactly what I thought, too. Now put on some socks and follow me. And for the love of gravy, please keep your voices down."

"He means you, Hobbit." Olivia flipped her long, curly hair over her shoulder.

"Okay," Marco said sadly. "I'll be quiet."

So, the Santiago children snuck out of their room, went downstairs, and into their mom's office. Once they were all inside, Olivia quietly closed the door, and the kids began looking everywhere.

Ambrosio checked the bookshelves, Olivia searched the filing cabinet, and Marco rummaged through the desk drawers. This went on for over ten minutes, and they had not found anything. Each of their shoulders drooped like wilted flowers.

They were preparing to return to their room empty-handed when Olivia remembered the one place they had not checked: the closed laptop. She hurried back to the desk, lifted the screen, and gasped.

"What is it?" Ambrosio rushed over, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Butter my biscuits," Marco said in awe of what he was looking at.

There it was: the Star Key, shining in all its icy glory.

All three children stared at it with eyes all aglow, basking in their impressive find.

"Pinch me," Ambrosio finally said.

Olivia and Marco obliged.

"Ouch!" he said. "Not that hard next time."

As he rubbed the spots on this arm where his siblings had left their mark, Ambrosio could not help grinning. Though it seemed impossible, the key was still there. He was not dreaming.

"Should we try it on the front door?" Olvia asked.

"Uh, yeah," Marco said in a matter-of-fact tone.

With a trembling hand, Olvia reached out and grabbed the object. "It's cold," she beamed. "But not too cold."

"Cool," Ambrosio said. "Literally."

Olvia rolled her eyes at the pun.

"Let's hurry," Marco walked over and opened the office door.

They tiptoed across the living room and stopped at the locked front door. Remembering what Gran Nan had said, the children looked at one another and nodded.

Olivia touched it to the left side of the wooden door opposite the lock and doorknob.

Their eyes went wide as dinner plates when a starry doorknob and Christmas tree-shaped keyhole appeared, sparkling like a clear night sky. Both were made of light blue ice.

Olivia put the Star Key in and turned it. Click! The lock opened.

"We... should do it together," Ambrosio said, tingling with excitement.

His siblings nodded.

One by one, they each put a hand on the crystal-like doorknob. Marco had to stand on tippy toes to reach, but he did. It was slightly cold to the touch but not too cold. Then, together, they turned it. The front door opened from the side where the hinges were, swinging towards the outside.

The children's jaws dropped when they saw the sight awaiting them just beyond their doorstep.

Casa Christmas stood there in all its twinkling splendour.

Snow fell in fluffy flakes upon the large Victorian-style house with bright red wooden siding. Puffing brick chimneys poked out amid the many gables and beside the handsome round tower. Little icicles that shimmered gold lined every edge of the roof and that of the covered porch below, which wrapped round the right side of the house.

There were holly wreaths with bright red bows hanging on each window. And pretty pots of red Flores de Nochebuena sat on ornate balusters that separated sections of the porch's elegant white railings.

In front of the house, on the left, was a great Christmas tree all decorated and lit up with candles. On its peak stood a mighty carved angel clothed in red and green robes. He had glowing gold wings unfurled and a circle of light behind his head. In one hand, the angel held a staff with three blooming white lilies on top. With the other, he held a golden trumpet to his lips.

The children felt they could hear the lovely sounds of the trumpet the more they contemplated the stunning tree topper. But then, another enchanting scene drew their eyes towards its beauty.

On the right of the house was a breathtaking Nativity Scene depicting the Holy Family, kneeling shepherds, a donkey, a cow, and two angels hovering beside the stable. Above it shone a brilliant eight-pointed star, which glinted more than any diamond.

Slowly and cautiously, the Santiago children stepped out of their house and walked towards Casa Christmas. To their delighted surprise, it was the perfectly pleasant amount of cold for the pyjamas they were wearing. They might have described it as cozy.

Behind the house, the kids could see sublime snow-capped mountains and some kind of light below them, glowing in the distance. They wondered what it was.

Suddenly, a little gust sent a small shiver through each child. Then they heard angelic choral voices singing in the swirling wind:

"Ding-dong, ding:

Ding-a-dong-a-ding:

Ding-dong, ding-dong:

Ding-a-dong-ding."

"Lovely, isn't it?" said someone to the right of the children. "The Merry Mountains make such wonderful singing."

They snapped their heads towards the voice and were left with open mouths once again.