In the distance I could hear the sleigh bells jingling all around. Grandpa Grant hadn't bothered with a Christmas tree for the first time, in all 74 years of his life. Just my luck, this was the one year I was spending Christmas with him. I could hear carols being sung from house to house, yet they always skipped one house. The house that had no Christmas tree. I was miles away from home, so it wasn't like I could spend Christmas with friends of any kind. Mom and Dad were at home, probably pulling gingerbread cookies out of the oven by now. Maybe their seventh dozen. I looked over at my elderly grandfather, he stayed in place, reading a thin blue book with no name.
A soft knock was heard at the door, I looked up at my grandfather, my eyes pleading to get the door. Anything would be better than this right now. My grandfather didn't even look up from the pale pages of his book. The person started pounding on the door. I glared at my grandfather, hoping he would get let me get the door.
"Can I go get the door?" I begged.
"They'll go away eventually." He responded, not even looking up from his thin book.
"Can I please just go answer it?" I begged once more, he grunted a reply and I practically sprinted to the door. I opened the door with so much energy, I must have scared the girl behind it.
She had quickly taken a step back and straightened out. She looked about my age with brown flowy hair. She had eyes the color of fresh milk chocolate, the kind that's slightly melted, but still good. She had a red coat that almost reached her knees, with black boots and a matching black hat.
"Hello, my name is Roseanna. I'm raising money for the local pet shelter, and I'm looking for donations." She said. It took me a second or two to register what she said. I didn't even bother asking my grandfather, knowing what his answer would be. I fished around in my pockets, pulling out an old watch, earbuds and even a button before I found a crinkled ten dollar bill.
"Thank you." She said with a wide smile. The kind of smile everyone wears around Christmas time, a happy smile. A real smile.
"Ummm, do you need help?" I asked, taking a long shot. I couldn't exactly think of another way to get out of this house.
"Collecting money?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah." I said shortly.
"It's not that hard, I mean ask people for donations, get your response, and hopefully fold a few dollars in your pocket. Repeat at the next house." She said, her other eyebrow up.
"I just need to get out of this house please, I don't live here." I whispered to her. I didn't know how to make her understand in another way, I needed to get out of this house. Along the way, making a friend wouldn't be too bad of an idea.
"Sureee." She said, almost sarcastically.
"I'm going out!" I yelled into the dark house. I heard a grump in reply, I grabbed my coat and followed the brown haired girl out the door. "So your name is Roseanna?" I asked her.
"Rosie, Roseanna is my full name, but let's be honest. It's a mouthful." She replied.
"I'm Griffin." I told her.
"Like after the mythical creature?" She asked, and I could hear the smile in her voice, even without looking at her face.
"The one and only." I replied.
"So, do you have a sister named Unicorn too?" She asked me.
"Oh my goodness no, don't give my parents any ideas. I like being the only child in the house." I laughed along with her.
"You just moved here then?" She asked me.
"No, I'm just spending Christmas with my grandfather." I told her.
"So you'll be leaving after?" She asked.
"Yeah." I replied shortly. An icy silence fell between us afterwards, or maybe it was just the icy wind. Either way though, it was cold. I stuffed my bare hands into the thin pockets of my black jacket. The wind howled around, probably telling us it was best to be inside in this temperature. We went house by house, in some places collecting up to twenty dollars and in others barely a dollar if anything.
At last I couldn't stand the small talk and silence in the cold. I knelt down and formed a small ball of snow together in my bare hands. I threw it on the back of that red coat, the snow splattering all over the red fabric. Rosie stopped walking, like she was taking a deep breath. She turned around very slowly, with one of those looks that could have made someone run, I stayed though, placing a silly smirk on my face. That smirk quickly left when snow exploded all over my face.
For the rest of that day, and into the night we stayed that way. Throwing snow, and laughing. Our cheeks redder than cherries, and our hands numb from the cold. My jeans were soaked and my jacket was ready for retirement. Rosie wasn't much better ether, yet we stayed into the night. Just enjoying the snow and winter break.
When we finally did part ways I never thought I would see her again, that is not until we did the exact same thing, all again the next day.
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Author's Note
It's a little early for Christmas stories, but I'm already wearing red so...
Word Count: 938
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Short Stories
Short StoryThese are just a bunch of short stories that I've come up with.
