Hi Everyone!

Christmas is just around the corner and I wanted to give you a gift – my first short story about Christmas, titled, The True Meaning of Christmas. This story is part of my short story collection of An Angel Among Us. Here are the first two chapters for you to sample.

The True Meaning of Christmas

A Short Story

By

Janice Spina

Copyrighted by Janice Spina 2014

Chapter 1

The little girl’s name is Clarinda. She is ten years old with long dark brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. She has never known what it is like to be warm or to have a full stomach.  It is two days’ before Christmas and the house is bare of any signs of the holiday.

Clarinda woke up this morning and heard someone crying. She got up, grabbed her thin bathrobe and wrapped it around her quickly as she tiptoed over to the door. The floor felt cold under her feet and she felt around for her slippers, tattered as they were, they would be better than nothing at all to keep her feet warm. As she slowly opened her bedroom door the sounds were louder and she realized that they were coming from her mother’s room.

Clarinda’s mother, Miranda, was not well and hadn’t been for as long as she could remember. Her mother had progressively gotten weaker since her last two pregnancies with Clarinda’s siblings, Andrew, four and Brenda, two. Clarinda listened as she passed by her sibling’s bedroom to make sure they were not awake and needing her attention before going to her mother’s room.

In order to put food on the table for the family, Miranda had to take in washing and ironing for other people, well-to-do people. They paid well enough for her to keep her children in mended clothes and provide some meat on the table at least once a week. Her husband, Holden, had died shortly after their daughter, Brenda, was born leaving her with three children to care for without any money.

Miranda sat on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands as she cried. Her mind was whirling since the loss of her husband and she was devastated that she was too weak to continue working to take care of her children. She couldn’t afford to buy food never mind Christmas presents. Miranda looked up as the door to her bedroom slowly opened and Clarinda’s head popped in.

“Mommy, are you okay? Why are you crying?” Clarinda’s beautiful blue eyes looked at her mother with surprise and concern. They belayed her age and showed a deep intelligence. Clarinda’s eyes mirrored her father’s and only broke her mother’s heart more each time she look at her. The other two children favored their mother with their green eyes and blond hair.

“Oh, sweetie, I am all right. Just a little tired today. Don’t worry everything will be fine. Can you be a good girl now and go check on your brother and sister and bring then down to breakfast. I will make your favorite today – pancakes. We have one egg left and enough flour to make a few pancakes. You have been such a big help to Mommy. Now, go on hurry up, honey.”

Clarinda left her mother’s room and went to check on her siblings. Andrew and Brenda shared the same room and both were awake and chattering together as Clarinda entered. She told Andrew to get dressed as she changed her sister’s training diaper and dressed her in her pink pants and top. Brenda always wanted to wear pink – it was her favorite color. She smiled her sweet toddler smile after she was dressed and cuddled with Clarinda to say “thank you.”

Clarinda loved her brother and sister as if they were her own children; after all, she had been both a sister and a mother to then since they were born.  She did all she could to help her mother but she was only ten and didn’t realize a lot about life yet and what it entailed to raise a family. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and took Andrew and Brenda by the hands and brought them down to the kitchen for breakfast.  The enticing smell of pancakes was in the air and she found herself salivating and hurrying to set the table so they could eat.  Their dinner the night before had been meager with a potato and a little gravy made from a soup bone and a piece of bread to sop up the precious liquid.

She put Brenda in her high chair and told Andrew to sit down as their mother flipped the first pancakes onto their plates. Clarinda had to cut up the pancake for Brenda and blow on the pieces so she wouldn’t burn herself trying to eat too fast.  Brenda made num num sounds as she stuffed the pieces into her mouth as fast as she could.  Clarinda took care of her siblings first before taking her first bite and felt herself melting with the delicious taste.

Miranda looked over at her children as they ate like it was their last meal. But, she thought sadly, it could be if her health didn’t improve soon. She didn’t know what she was going to do. She didn’t have anyone to turn to and didn’t want to lose her children if she asked the state for help. Clarinda was such a godsend and was already doing so much to help her. Could she ask her to do the washing and ironing too? No, she thought, she would have to do it herself but have Clarinda bring the basket of clothes to the Antonelli’s house and receive payment. Yes, that is what she would do.

Clarinda cleaned up the children’s faces and then tackled the table and the dishes in the sink as she waved at her mother to go lie down and rest. Miranda kissed her sweet daughter’s face and patted her on the head as she passed by to go to her room to rest.

Miranda called out to her daughter on her way to her room, “Thank you, sweetie, for cleaning up. I will just rest a little and then I will tackle the clothes and ironing. If you could bring the clothes over to the Antonelli’s after and pick up the payment that would be a great help to me.”

“Of course, Mommy, I will be happy to help you. I will watch the kids while you rest. I love you, Mommy.” Clarinda was fearful that her mother was going to die like her father did. She told her mother every chance she got that she loved her, thinking that maybe she would keep her healthy longer that way. She always felt terrible that her father died before she could say, “I Love you, Daddy.” Clarinda could feel tears brimming in her eyes and used her sleeve to wipe them away so that her siblings wouldn’t see her crying. She had to be strong for them.

Miranda lay down and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She stirred in her sleep dreaming of her husband and his hand was reaching out to her. She reached forward in her sleep to touch his hand but it just seemed too far out of reach.

Chapter 2

While her mother slept Clarinda kept the children busy as she read several books to them. At least they had books that she managed to get from the library that were going to be thrown away. They were tattered just like the rest of the things in her life.

It was nearly noon and her mother still had not woken up. She would have to feed the children their lunch and then tackle the clothes. Clarinda knew that if she didn’t get the clothes over to the Antonelli’s today they would not get paid full price for the wash. She put together the last two slices of bread to make a bread and butter sandwich and split it between the children. While they were busy eating she would start the wash.

There was a small basket in the laundry area which was filled with their clothes and the larger basket was the Antonelli’s. Clarinda put in the first load and added the detergent which was getting low. She made sure to use it sparingly so she would have enough to finish all the clothes. While the machine was going she hurried back to check on her brother and sister. Andrew and Brenda were just finishing up the last of their sandwiches and looking for more. Clarinda checked the cabinets once again for anything to fill their little stomachs before her own. She found a few crackers which she doled out to them and ate one herself. That would be the only lunch she would have. She wasn’t a large person but she felt she could afford to lose weight but not her younger siblings who needed the nourishment more. She gave them each a full glass of water to fill them up more before putting them both down for a nap. After tucking them in to their beds she hurried back to the clothes to transfer the clean ones to the dryer and the dirty ones into the washer. At this rate it would take all day to finish washing the clothes besides having to iron them too.

Clarinda worked tirelessly for two hours without stopping until she heard Brenda crying. She rushed through the last bit of ironing and shut off the iron. As she headed into the children’s room she was greeted by smiles and happy jumping as Brenda put her arms out to her from her crib and Andrew got out of bed and snuggled close to her side.  Clarinda wrapped them both in her arms and held them tightly wanting only to protect and keep them safe – if only she could. She was getting concerned about her mother since she still hadn’t woken up yet.

With the children by her side she guided them to her mother’s room to see if she was ready to get up now. She needed for her mother to watch the children while she took the clothes to the Antonelli’s.

When she opened the bedroom door she noticed her mother’s arm was hanging over the side of the bed. She moved closer and turned on the light on the night stand. What she saw made her cry out in alarm. Her mother was still and not breathing. Clarinda shook her mother’s shoulder and called out her name. Clarinda was afraid that her mother might be gone and never wake up again. The children started to cry as they felt something was wrong when Clarinda cried out and only clung tighter to their sister.

Clarinda picked up the phone on the night stand and called Dr. Harvey who was their family physician. When his secretary, Denise, answered Clarinda couldn’t speak as tears kept flooding her eyes and chocking up her speech.  The children only cried louder making it even more difficult for Clarinda to hear Denise as she asked what was wrong. Denise waved at Dr. Harvey as he came into the office and pointed to the phone mouthing that it was Clarinda. He picked up the extension and asked, “Clarinda, what is wrong sweetheart?” Dr. Harvey yelled into the phone to try to be heard over all the crying. “Where is your mother, dear?”

“Sss….she is in bed, Dr. Harvey. She is not moving and I can’t wake her up. I don’t know what to do. I have to take the clothes to the Antonelli’s or Mommy will be angry and she won’t get paid. Can you come over and help me?” Clarinda sniffled and wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeves as she tried to hold onto the children at the same time. They were so frightened they wouldn’t let go of her anyway.

“Of course, Clarinda, I will be right over. Just sit tight and I’ll come and check on your mother and stay with the children while you take over the clothes. Okay, dear. Please don’t cry now. I will be right there.” Dr. Harvey put down the phone and felt his hands shaking as he took in what the poor child must be dealing with. He needed to get over to her house immediately. He told his secretary to hold all calls and postpone his afternoon appointments and that he would not be in the office the rest of the day. Denise nodded sadly, “Of course, Dr. Harvey. Is there anything I can do?”

“No, Denise, but thank you. I need to find out if Miranda is okay and stay with the young ones. Clarinda is in such a state over the Antonelli’s clothes. I didn’t realize how bad things had gotten for the family. I feel terrible that I could have helped the Davises in some way and didn’t. Could you please lock up after you contact all the patients? Go home early, Denise, you work too hard and need a break. Thank you for everything.”

“No problem, Dr. Harvey. I hope Mrs. Davis is okay. If you need a babysitter I can go over there after I leave here. Call me on my cell. Okay?”

“That is very kind of you, Denise, but I think I can manage. But it is good to know that you are available in case I need you. Thank you. I will see you tomorrow.”

Dr. Harvey left his office and waved at some arriving patients who looked a little concerned that he was going out when they were coming in. All he could think about was what he would find when he got to the Davis’ house.

Clarinda paced back and forth with Brenda in her arms and Andrew hanging onto her right leg. She kept looking out the window hoping to see Dr. Harvey’s car. It had only be twenty minutes since she spoke to him. He did say he was coming. But she was worried because her mother still hadn’t woken up.

Dr. Harvey pulled into the Davis’ drive and got out of his car. He looked up and saw Clarinda in the window waving at him to come in. He could see she was still crying and the children were upset too. He carried his medical bag with him as he stepped up to the door. He didn’t get to knock as the door was pulled open and Clarinda ran into his arms choking back more tears.

Dr. Harvey patted her on the back and held her as she cried uncontrollably. He moved into the living room with Clarinda hanging onto him while the little ones hung onto her. He wanted to console her but needed to get into Miranda’s room to check her out. He was concerned that she was close to comatose if what Clarinda said was true about not being able to wake her up. He only hoped he wasn’t too late to help her.

I hope you are enjoying this short story. Stay tuned for the next two chapters coming tomorrow.

Thank you for stopping by to read this post and for your continued support. Please keep the reviews coming and I will keep writing. It’s what keeps me motivated and inspired.

Blessings & Hugs! Stay Safe, Stay Well and God Bless!

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Janice Spina aka J.E. Spina

Award-Winning Author

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