Note: Let me know how this story effects you. It's written for my and Austra's Christmas contest (I wrote it for fun, I don't win anything) And, for clarification, when the story is in italics it's the past, and in bold italics it's a dream.
Disclaimer: Newsies and all it's characters do not belong to me. I just own Susie.
The Glumness Christmas Brings
Little snow flurries swirled around Manhattan. They coated the streets with a silvery white layer. But coal dust would soon change the beautiful sight into something dirty and despised. Skittery Wilson sighed, glancing out over the white wonderland from the window. Christmas was almost here. It was another Christmas without Susie. He had promised her. He promised that they would spend every Christmas together.
"Why ya so glum Skitts?" Racetrack Higgins asked, chewing the end of his cigar.
"I ain't glum," the boy replied, glaring at Race. The Italian shrugged, but walked away. Skittery looked out the window again, and saw a small girl in a raggedy dress twirling around, her brown curls bouncing as she spun. The child laughed delightedly as snowflakes landed on her face. She smiled up at the window, her eyes shining.
"Skitts!" she yelled happily, motioning around her.
"Susie!" Kid Blink jumped at Skittery's outburst.
"Who's Susie?" Skittery ignored the other boy, running down the stairs and into the streets.
"Susie?" Skitts asked uncertainly. It had been so long. The brown eyed girl grinned impishly, then ran down the street. "Where ya goin' Susie?" Skittery cried, chasing after her. She laughed again, and it sounded lovely, like the tinkling of bells. With long strides Skittery reached the younger child. He grabbed the girl, and they both tumbled into a snow bank, both of them laughing now.
"Susie," Skittery said again, gazing fondly at the six year old. She grinned a gap toothed smile. She had just lost her first tooth recently. Skitts remembered how proud he'd felt when he found out. Skittery hugged the child, but suddenly he felt nothing under his arms. There was no Susie. Just a snowy street.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Racetrack Higgins glared at the snow around him. More snow fell every day, and it was becoming a nuisance. Snow wasn't good for business. When it snowed not many people came outside. And it became increasingly annoying. A few minutes passed with little business, when Mush came up.
"Hey Race. Ya wanna get somethin' hot ta drink?"
"Suah," Race consented. He decided he probably wasn't going to sell many more papes on that day, so he agreed.
When the two arrived at the little shop that sold hot drinks, Race wrapped his stiff fingers around a cup of coffee, while Mush took a sip of his hot chocolate.
"So," Mush began to start a conversation. "Why do ya think Skitts been so glum lately?" Race shrugged.
"Skitts is always glum."
"But I mean more than usual," Mush persisted. "You know how he get dis time of year?" Race nodded with understanding.
"Yeah, yoah right."
"Did ya see him da uddah day?"
"Yeah, he said some doll's name, an ran outta da room like his pants was burnin'."
"Whaddaya think it means?"
"I'm not suah.: Race stared into the black pool of coffee in his cup with concentration. As he drank the last sip, a thought popped into his mind. "We could jus' ask him."
Skittery hated this time of year. The grinning children and happy families angered him. He wanted to slap the joyful looks off their faces. No one should like this cursed winter time. As the boy picked up a handful of snow, he looked at it closely. All the tiny snowflakes could be formed into one solid ball, and every snowflake was different. Skittery stared at the melting mass in his hand, then wiped it on his trousers with disgust. Yes, he hated winter, and Christmas. But..Susie loved them both.
"Hey Skitts?" The young man looked up to see Mush and Racetrack watching with curious eyes.
"What?" he asked snappishly.
"We was wonderin' why you'se get so glum dis time of yeah," Mush explained none too elegantly. A dull, throbbing ache started in the pit of Skittery's stomach.
"Don't go there," he said in an almost deadly voice. Race raised his hands apologetically.
"Sahrry, we was jus' wonderin'."
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"Why can't we live there anymore?" Susie asked with a sob in her voice. Skittery grasped her hand.
"Dey wanna separate us Susie. Da only way we ken stay togeddah is leavin'."
"Where are we gonna live?"
"I'm not suah, but we'll be awright."
"Thanks Skitts," Susie said, looking up with big, trusting eyes.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
"Yeesh, did you'se see how uptight Skitts got?" Race asked/
"Yeah, yeah," Mush replied. They had walked out of hearing range, but they could still see Skittery standing with a far off look on his face. "So, whatta we do now?" Mush questioned.
"Wells, I guess we'll have ta follow him."
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"It's snowin' Skitts!" Susie cried excitedly, shaking her brother who still slept in the alley. He glanced at her groggily. "And Christmas will be here soon," the young girl continued. "What do you want for Christmas Skitts?"
"I- Susie, we can't really afford gifts this year." The child's face fell, but soon her sunshiny was back.
"That's okay Skitts. You're the only present I need. Thanks for takin' such good care of me." Skittery tousled her curls.
"Come on, let's go find me a job."
"Okay," the girl agreed, taking his hand and beginning to skip. By the time they reached the employment office, the snow had stopped falling, but was a few inches high.
"What can I do for you today?" the woman at the counter asked kindly.
"I'm Susie," the child announced proudly, smoothing her patchy dress. Skittery pulled her back, embarrassed.
"Well, hello Susie," the woman said, smiling.
"Ma'am, we're here about gettin' me a job."
"How old are you son?"
"I'm fifteen ma'am." A displeased expression crossed the woman's face.
"Well, unfortunately there are a lot of jobs for fifteen year olds these days. Let's see, there's shoe shining, being a newsboy.." Skittery listened as she listed the occupations, his heart sinking. Would any of these jobs bring much money in?
"Thank ya ma'am." Skittery walked out of the building dejectedly, Susie clutching his hand.
"Why are you glum Skitts?"
"I- I ain't glum Susie." The girl stopped, waiting for him to look at her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her chocolate eyes staring into his.
"Susie, we don't..have any money for food, I'm sorry." The little girl suddenly grinned triumphantly. She digged into her pocket and pulled out a couple coins. "Susie, where did you get those?" The little girl shrugged.
"Mrs. Avalin from the orphanage gave me them for helpin' sweep and dust." Skittery grabbed the child, and swung her around.
"Susie, you're the best." Skittery walked with Susie back to the alley they had been staying in. He used his boots to swipe away snow, and laid down a couple boards they'd found. When they left the orphanage they had taken a couple of wool blankets. When they got a home of their own they would take them back.
"Skitts?"
"Yeah?" Susie took Skittery's hand.
"I love you." Skittery hugged his sister close, and her brown curls tickled his nose.
"I love ya too Susie."
With one of the pennies Skittery bought an inexpensive roll, and gave the larger portion to his sister. The other he would save for the next day. To buy newspapers with.
Skitter stopped at a church with the nativity displayed. He stared at Joseph, Mary, and Susie's favorite- baby Jesus. The little innocent baby was held in his mother's arms, the manger nearby. Joseph proudly overlooked them both, taking Jesus as his own son. Yet, Skittery's parents had died many years ago when Susie was young. So why couldn't someone have taken them for their own?
"Tomorrow's Christmas," Susie told Skittery happily as he prepared to leave for the distribution center.
"Maybe we'll have something a little better to eat. Now, Susie, stay right here, okay?" The little girl nodded, and he left feeling better then before. When Susie returned with twenty cents he grinned at Susie. "What do you think Susie? You want turkey sandwiches tomorrow?" she smiled. Turkey was her favorite. When the child shivered, Skittery wrapped one of the wool blankets around her shoulders.
"Let's have the Christmas story Skitts," Susie implored. Skittery cleared his throat uncomfortably, then sat next to Susie on the boards.
"Well, see, God sent his son to earth as a baby."
"Jesus," Susie interrupted.
"Yeah. Anyway, Mary and Joseph had ta travel ta Bethlehem, where Joseph was born. So, when dey got dere, Mary was about ta have da baby, but there wasn't any room in da inn."
"So they let them stay in the stable right?"
"Yep. So Mary had da baby, and dey wrapped him in some cloth and laid him in da manger, which is what dey fed da animals out of. And see, there was dis star ovah the stable, and these angels told some shepherds about the savior being born, so they came to Bethlehem and saw the baby." Susie sighed, pleased.
"Promise me somethin' Skitts."
"What?"
"Promise we'll spend every Christmas together."
"I promise."
"I'm tired," she said. Skittery smiled.
"Well, let's go to sleep den." Skittery wrapped the two blankets around Susie and himself, and cuddled close to the girl for warmth. Tomorrow would be a good Christmas.
Mush caught up with Racetrack the next day.
"You been followin' him?"
"Yeah. He's got somethin' wrapped in papah. I dunno what it is yet, but I'm gonna find out." The two boys followed Skittery as he walked down the street. When he reached a gate, and pushed it open, Race stopped in disbelief.
"He's goin' in the-"
Skittery woke up, shivering violently. A layer of snow coated the top of the blankets, and he felt as though something were wrong. Susie was still asleep, her eyes closed, and her lips open.
"Susie, wake up, I'm gonna go sell." The child didn't move. Skittery shook her, and as his hand touched hers, which had flung out of the blanket during the night, he stopped. It was freezing cold. He slowly touched her face and found it cold too. "Susie," he whispered. He grabbed the child and shook her again and again. She still didn't move. And now he saw that the color had gone out of her cheeks, and no breath moved her chest up and down. A deep foreboding settled over Skittery. "Susie!" he yelled, clutching the lifeless girl to his chest, and sobbing. "Please wake up," he begged as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Please, please wake up." She did not wake up. She never would again.
Skittery entered the cemetery and knew right where to go. The little plot where Susie had been buried was provided by the city so that no bodies would stink up their streets. Skittery knelt down at the little piece of land, and carefully untied his package. He had saved up for this a few years. It was a headstone, so that Susie wouldn't just be forgotten as another child that New York killed. Skittery set it up carefully, soon he would return with a shovel so it couldn't be knocked over, or stolen, then leaned back to read it.
Susie Marie Wilson
Most loved sister, so violently torn away, you will be missed.
January 12th1890 – December 25th 1896
"Hey Susie," Skittery said softly. "I promised you that I'd spend every Christmas with you.. well I'll be here Christmas day. I promise. But Susie I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have left in the middle of winter. But I didn't want to lose you. Susie, you would have been better off if you had been adopted by someone else. Even if we were apart. I'm so sorry Susie." Tears flowed down Skittery's face, as he knelt at the grave, remembering his sister. She had always been happy. She had always been the one to laugh, to cheer him up. And now she was gone.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
"Let's go," Mush said softly after witnessing Skittery's scene at the cemetery. "Let's leave him in peace." As the boys turned away, Skittery looked up. An angry look covered his face, and he rushed forward.
"What are you doin' heah!" he yelled, his voice filled with a deep pain Mush knew he could not begin to understand.
"We wanted ta see why ya was so unhappy," Race said, shrugging. Skittery clutched his hand in a fist.
"Can people nevah have any privacy?" he yelled. Mush laid a hand on his shoulder.
"We're sahrry Skitts. We didn't know." Skittery shoved his hand off.
"I told ya not ta go dere."
"Skitts," Mush said quietly. "You need ta talk about it." Skittery stopped, then started weeping.
"Tell us," Race encouraged.
"My sister died okay? She froze ta death on Christmas! Satisfied?" Mush placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. This time Skittery didn't shove it away.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Skittery was walking down a long road. His shoes kicked up dust which entered his nostrils, and bothered his eyes. The night was dark, but there were stars in the sky. One star in particular was especially bright, and Skittery found himself walking towards it.. Suddenly the world seem to flash forward, and he was standing inside a stable. A man, woman, and baby were in it, the baby lying in a feeding trough. A flicker of recognition flashed in Skittery's mind. He knew who these people were. Suddenly, he felt a hand touch his arm. Looking down he saw Susie wearing a shining white dress. She was happy.
"Susie?" The girl firmly grasped his hand, and looked him in the eye.
"Skittery, stop feeling guilty." How did she know?
"What do ya mean?"
"It's not your fault okay. And don't blame God either."
"But Susie, you died!"
"Yeah, but I never would have made it there. I like it where I am. There's lots of food, and it's warm. And HE'S there." Susie looked at the little family who seemed so joyful. "He's wonderful. Even better in person," she said. "Skitts?"
"Yes Susie?"
"Don't worry about that promise. I let you go from it. But I do want you to promise me something."
"What?"
"Stop feeling guilty, stop blaming God, and be happy."
"But Susie!"
"Please Skitts," the girl said, looking at him once again with those eyes of hers that could met a heart of stone.
"I promise," he said reluctantly.
"Good." The girl grinned, and let go of his hand. He watched with wonder as she began to lift into the air, waving.
Skittery woke with a sweat. Then he remembered his new promise to Susie. For the first time in many years, he bowed his head, and said a prayer, asking for forgiveness. With a new lightness in his heart, Skittery thought of the baby in the manger. Then he opened the little bag he hid under his pillow. In it was a photograph of him and Susie taken at the orphanage, and a small Bible their parents had given them. When he opened the cover, he lightly touched Susie's name, then turned to Luke chapter 2, where the Christmas story begins.
And it came to pass in those days…