I wrote this story for the Trauma Center Secret Santa event on Tumblr! This was my gift to another Tumblr user, and I know it's far from Christmas now, but I figured I should share it not just on Tumblr, but on here too! It's pretty short, but I hope you all enjoy it!
It was December 25, Christmas morning. Despite that, the weather was not very cheerful; it was cruel and bitterly cold, flurries of snow causing the whole world to turn a bright white. The sky was far too dark and far too gray to resemble how the sky should look on such a morning, but Alyssa didn't seem to mind. She was far too excited by the presents "Santa" left for her overnight. Naomi mentally thanked the fact that Alyssa was such a deep sleeper, or else she would have heard the wooden floors creak under her footsteps the night before.
Naomi was still somewhat tired, seeing as Alyssa woke her up quite early to inform her that Santa had paid them a visit and brought gifts. However, seeing Alyssa so happy put a small smile on her face. Alyssa didn't hesitate to grab a small box wrapped in colorful paper, and tear it open with ease. She immediately smiled, and lifted her present up for Naomi to see.
"Naomi, look! It's a stuffed kitty! It looks just like Chloe!" Alyssa exclaimed, hugging the stuffed cat close to her chest.
"Yes, she does look just like Chloe. Better give her too many hugs; you might make the real Chloe jealous," Naomi joked, giving the girl a small smile. Of course, she already knew all of Alyssa's gifts, but acted surprised for her sake. Alyssa had been begging for a stuffed animal identical to Chloe for quite some time, and Naomi was more than willing to make it happen.
"Nuh uh! Chloe knows I love her lots and lots!" Alyssa giggled, leaning over to scratch Chloe behind her ear. The cat let out a small mewl of approval.
Alyssa carefully set the stuffed cat next to Chloe. "There Chloe, you have a buddy now!" she said, as she grabbed another, much larger box, held closed by a bow. She tugged on the bow harshly, trying to untie it and open the box. After several attempts, Alyssa let out a frustrated whine. "Naomi, I can't open it!"
"Give it to me, I'll open it for you," Naomi laughed, taking the box from the girl and gently pulled on one end of the bow, causing it to become loose and untie. Alyssa huffed.
"It only works when grownups do it," she said quietly. Alyssa took the box back and quickly opened it, letting out a squeal of delight at what she saw.
It was a pink tutu, the mesh adorned with a multitude of purple rhinestones. It was a phase Alyssa recently got into, after Naomi took her to see The Nutcracker several weeks ago. Alyssa insisted she wanted to be a ballerina too, and even began practicing her plié in her free time. Sometimes, Naomi would be sitting on the couch, reading a book or doing some take-home paperwork, when suddenly she would hear a crash and the pained cries of her child, who had fallen down when trying to twirl around on her toes. But Alyssa persevered, and insisted that one day, she would dance well enough to have her very own tutu.
Alyssa cracked a big smile, looking wide-eyed at her adoptive mother. "Naomi, can I wear it now? I wanna dance in it, like the people at the ballet!"
Naomi opened her mouth to speak, but Alyssa didn't wait to hear her answer. She pulled the tutu on over her pajama pants, and began twirling around the room, giggling all the while. Naomi had to admit, it was quite a sight, especially after everything Alyssa had been through. After all, when the accident happened, she was severely injured and hospitalized for quite some time. To see her being active was refreshing.
Alyssa suddenly stopped, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout. "Naomi, you should dance with me too! We can be ballerinas together! Please?" She grabbed Naomi's hands, tugging on them as she tried to pull her up off the couch. Naomi was somewhat reluctant to dance, even if it was just playing. She was never one for dancing, and was never really that good at it. However, she decided it would be best to not let her daughter down.
Naomi stood up, and Alyssa giggled with delight. "See, it's easy! You just put your arms like this," she grabbed Naomi's arms to move them in front of her. "Then you just spin around like this! It's easy!" Alyssa put her arms in front of her, forming them in a circle, and twirling around.
"I don't know Alyssa; you're quite the talented ballerina. I've never even done ballet before. What if I fall down?" Naomi asked. Of course, she was kidding, but was still reluctant to dance.
Alyssa let out an annoyed huff. "You think I'll let you fall? Don't worry! If you get dizzy, I'll um…I'll catch you!" She nodded quickly, quite pleased with her answer. There was no way Naomi could argue with that.
Alyssa's answer amused Naomi, and she simply laughed as she got into the correct position, beginning to twirl around in circles. Alyssa smiled at the sight of her mother attempting to do ballet, and began dancing with her, feeling a surge of accomplishment at getting Naomi to dance.
The weather outside began to calm down, the snow slowly drifting along thanks to the loud, whistling wind. As the snow drifted around in the morning sky, the two girls inside also drifted around in circles, smiling and giggling all the while.