Note: This story is a bit of a Christmas present to all my readers. As much as I'd like to take full credit for it, the inspiration came from Charles Dickens and the song "Promises to Keep" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which you will see later on. Hope you like it!
Ebbie rushed into her room and slammed the door. She was still hot under the collar from blowing up at her cousins Freida and Clarence.
It was Christmas Eve, and Ebbie's aunt, uncle, and cousins were staying at her house. Freida and Clarence loved Christmas. Ebbie hated it. They were able to see the bright side of everything. Ebbie couldn't stand it, especially from Freida. Ebbie's family was rich, and Freida and Clarence's was just staying out of debt.
"I'm just glad it's Christmas," Clarence had said, "And that's a lot to be thankful for. What do you think, Ebbie?"
"You know how I feel about Christmas," Ebbie had replied evenly.
"How can you feel that way?" Freida had asked incredulously.
"How can I be happy?" Ebbie had retorted with a glare, "And how can you when you're so poor?"
"Elizabeth!" Ebbie's mother had gasped.
"Look around you, Ebbie," Freida had replied with that hopeful cheer that Ebbie couldn't stand, "Christmas is the one time of the year where people don't see rich and poor, they just see people. And they know they're people who can and are willing to help with as little as a kind word. Why do you think that is? Even in people who don't know what Christmas really is, they feel like there's got to be something more than presents and Santa and colored lights. They know there's a reason for joy."
"Joy!" Ebbie had shouted, jumping to her feet, "As if you didn't know what Christmas reminds me of! Leave me alone, I hate you!"
Ebbie had run into her room, where she was now. She threw herself on the bed. Freida knew! She knew why Ebbie hated Christmas! She just didn't care! Ebbie suddenly felt very tired. She slipped into a fitful sleep filled with strange dreams.
"Ebbie," said a girl's voice.
It must be Freida come to talk, Ebbie thought. She rolled over and said nothing.
"Ebbie," came a boy's voice.
That would be Clarence.
"Go away!" Ebbie muttered without opening her eyes.
"Ebbie, wake up!" chorused the voices insistently.
Ebbie sat up with a gasp. It was still night. But the boy and girl she had heard talking were not Clarence and Freida. Two strangers were standing next to her bed.
The boy was very tall with flaming red hair. He was dressed all in black and had a black cloak around his shoulders. There was a silver cross on his chest, like a knight from the stories that Ebbie had loved when she was younger.
The girl was not nearly so tall as the boy. She was wearing a silvery-blue robe and appeared to be radiating a pale light. She had silver ornaments in her dark hair that seemed to shine like stars.
"Who are you?" Ebbie asked in a small voice.
"I am Sileny," said the girl, "And my companion's name is Daray."
"I am Remembrance of the Past," said the boy, "And she is Hope for the Future."
"Remembrance? Hope?" Ebbie had gotten over her surprise and was a little annoyed, "Who are you really, and why are you here?"
"We're here because we're needed," replied Sileny, "Come!"
Ebbie found herself following the two strangers to the window. Daray threw it open and turned back to her.
"Take my hand," he said.
Ebbie jumped back.
"No way! I'm not going anywhere with you, and I'm definitely not going to hold your hand!"
"You can't keep running away from everything," said Daray.
"You'll get nowhere in life," Sileny added.
Ebbie reluctantly put her hand in his. Before she knew what was happening, Daray pulled her through the window and into the air.
"What are you doing?" Ebbie almost shrieked.
"I have something to show you," said Daray.
"This is impossible. Nobody can walk in midair!"
"Not quite impossible," Sileny laughed, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to you if you stay with us."
With that, they began to walk. They were still a good ten yards over the ground. Ebbie thought they must be going very fast, because the earth below was whizzing by at such a great speed that she couldn't distinguish what she was above.
"Where are we going?" she asked Daray.
"Right here," he replied.
Suddenly, they were standing still and on solid ground. Ebbie looked around. It was still winter, but is was the middle of the day. With a shock, she realized that they were standing in a cemetery.
"Do you recognize that girl?" asked Daray, pointing off through the headstones.
"No," Ebbie gasped, "It was five years ago…"
"Come," said the boy, gently but firmly pulling her towards the other girl.
The girl was Ebbie herself when she was ten years old. She was standing at a new grave, staring at the headstone with tears in her eyes. It read:
Here Lies
Francis Roecogs
Beloved Son and Brother
December 25, 1994 – December 25, 2002
Requiescat in Pace
The Ebbie from five years ago took a shaky breath.
"I'll never forgive You for this, God," she said in a harsh and quiet voice, "And I'll never celebrate Christmas, ever again!"
The young girl stalked off. Ebbie and her two guides were left standing alone.
"Francis was more than my brother, he was my best friend," she tried to explain, "When he died…"
Her voice trailed off. Sileny smiled kindly at her.
"Come, there is more to see."
She took Ebbie's hand and they began to rise into the air. They walked quickly over the earth. When they finally stopped, they were standing in a dark, desolate house.
"What happened here?" Ebbie asked quietly.
"Here there was a daughter who ran away from home," answered Sileny, "The mother blamed the father and left him because of it. The father lost his will to work, his job, and all his money."
"But that's terrible!"
"Look around. Do you not recognize this empty house?"
It hit Ebbie like a slap. This house, it was her house.
"It can't be!" she cried, turning to Sileny, "Is this what's going to happen to me and my family, or only what could happen?"
Sileny only looked at her sadly and said nothing.
"Are you saying there's no hope?" Ebbie was practically in tears.
"Don't lose faith yet," said Daray, putting his hand on her shoulder, "There is one thing more to see."
This time there was nothing special to distinguish their journey. They were simply in a completely different place.
Ebbie would've thought it was a barn, but the wall were made of stone. It was a warm night and a few lamps illuminated, well, wherever she was.
"Look there," said Daray softly. He pointed to a spot in the center.
There knelt a man next to a girl. She was lying on a pile of hay, and she looked no older than Ebbie. In her arms was a newborn child.
"Rest now, Mary," said the man.
Ebbie realized that he was talking in a foreign language, but she was perfectly able to understand what he was saying.
"Do you recognize them?" Daray asked.
"Yes," choked Ebbie past the lump in her throat.
"This child also would one day die," said Sileny.
The girl had nodded off, and the man took the child from her arms and laid him in the manger. Ebbie walked shakily towards it. She knelt down and hung her head.
"I'm sorry," she barely whispered, "Forgive me, Jesus, let me find Christmas again."
"Forgiveness comes to those who seek it when they've learned from their past," said Daray.
"And with it comes faith and hope for a future of joy," Sileny finished.
"Thank you, both of you," said Ebbie, "And thank You most of all, Lord."
She closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was back in her room. It was Christmas morning.
She was filled with and inexplicable hope and joy. Ebbie bounded downstairs to the room Freida and Clarence were staying in.
"Wake up!" she shouted, throwing cushions off the couch at them, "Don't you remember it's Christmas?"
Her cousins were shocked at her sudden change of attitude, but they followed her in waking the rest of the family.
They all sat down in the living room to open the presents. They were surprised (but pleased) at Ebbie's cheerfulness. When they had finished, Ebbie stood up.
"I know that I haven't been the greatest person to live with for, well, the past five years," she said, "And I'd like to apologize to all of you for it. To make it up to you, I have a special Christmas present. Please bear with me; it's rusty because I haven't used it in so long. Francis… it was his favorite."
She began to sing:
"Christmas time on a cold December morning,
All is calm and the world is still asleep,
Christmas lights that have been caught without warning,
Gently glitter on,
Stars to wish upon,
All the world is at peace.
Christmas time and the year will soon be leaving,
Cloaked in time 'til it's just a memory,
Christmas stays if we don't forget it's meaning,
Days go quickly by,
Years, they multiply,
And we go searching for Thee.
And the dream is still alive,
From that first December morning,
And it always will survive,
As long as we can see,
That the dreams that we find in life,
Are the dreams we tend to seek,
And Christmas has it's promises to keep.
Christmas time and the moment's just beginning,
From last night when we wished upon the star,
And if this kindness we feel is just pretending,
If we pretend long enough,
Never giving up,
It just might be who we are."
Of course, nobody but Ebbie heard the voices of a girl and a boy join her in singing. And nobody but she heard them whisper, as they now whisper to you, dear reader:
"Merry Christmas, and may God bless you always!"