Disclaimer: Not my song. Not my Mush.
Author's Note: So here's the deal. Christmas is my favorite holiday and so, as my Christmas gift to all of you (should you choose to accept it lol) is a series of twelve holiday one-shots, for each of the twelve days of Christmas. Each one will be for a specific character from the movie, set to the tune of a specific holiday song. They are not all in the same time period, and in some the characters are older or younger than they are in the movie. In my author's note I'll try and remember to fill you in on the scenerio. Here is the first one, it's little-kid Mush, and it's more modern day. This song, by the way, it possibly the saddest song ever written, so be careful, lol. I hope you enjoy these, they are just little glimpses of what the holidays mean for different people. And hopefully, if you do like them, you will leave me lots of good reviews. P.S. Whoever is the best reviewer, I will write a one-shot for them, anything they choose, as an extra Christmas treat, lol, though it will be after Christmas by then. Oh well, Happy Holidays!
It was almost Christmas time, and there I stood in another line.
Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood.
Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously,
Pacing 'round like little boys do,
And in his hands he held a pair of shoes...
His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe.
And when it came his time to pay,
I couldn't believe what I heard him say...
"Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please.
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size.
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time.
You see, she's been sick for quite a while,
And I know these shoes would make her smile.
And I want her to look beautiful, if Mama meets Jesus tonight..."
He counted pennies for what seemed like years.
Then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here."
He searched his pockets frantically,
Then he turned and he looked at me.
He said, "Mama made Christmas good at our house, Though most years she just did without.
Tell me, Sir, what am I going to do,
Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes..."
So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out.
I'll never forget the look on his face when he said,
"Mama's gonna look so great!"
I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love,
As he thanked me and ran out.
I knew that God had sent that little boy
To remind me what Christmas is all about.
"Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please.
It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size.
Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time.
You see, she's been sick for quite a while,
And I know these shoes would make her smile.
And I want her to look beautiful, if Mama meets Jesus tonight..."
-"The Christmas Shoes" by Bob Carlisle-
"Where are you going?" A man called out his front door.
Mush waved him off, "I got somethin' tah do first!"
"Please hurry home, son..." the man sad, looking sadly back inside the house.
But Mush was already gone.
It was Christmas Eve, and Mush scrambled down the freezing city streets He was just a little boy – barely ten years old – but a little boy with a mission. Mush pressed his hands up against the glass of the shop window; fingers spread wide, his breath casting thick fog over the panes, making it nearly impossible to see. But through the frost, Mush spotted them. The prettiest pair of high-heeled black shoes he'd ever seen. They had a thin strap that went over the ankle, with a tiny silver clasp.
Mush remembered his mother when she was healthy: she used to have a little black dancing dress that would've gone perfectly with these shoes. But they'd had to sell it when they'd lost the house. They'd lost a lot when they'd lost the house.
Mush's father had had to quit his job to stay home for many months with Mush's mother, trying to nurse her back to health. But to no avail. The last time they'd been to the doctor – about a month ago – he'd told the family that Mrs. Meyers had not much more than a few weeks left. No worse a time for news like that than Christmas.
Mush backed away from the window and sloshed his way to the door. A tiny bell rang as he pushed it open and the boy smiled a little at its sweet sound. Everything in the shop looked clean and way out of Mush's price range, but he shook his head resolutely. He'd been saving any money he could find for months, all for this one most special Christmas gift.
"Can I help you, son?" a store employee asked.
Mush looked up at him with his enormous puppy-dog eyes. "Yes sir," he said politely, "Could you reach them shoes there for me?" He pointed to the sparkly high heels.
The man looked up and grabbed the box off the display in the window, "These here?"
Mush nodded, his lips pressed together. The man handed him the box and Mush quickly nodded his thanks, hurrying to the register. The line seemed to go on forever, with everyone out and buying that last present or two. Mush watched everyone around him, noticing not many faces were all that happy. This made Mush frown. It was Christmas Eve, after all, shouldn't they all have been in the Christmas mood? But Mush just shook it off, he had far more important things to worry about right now. And who knows, maybe they all had sick mothers as well. Mush knew he was having his own hard time being happy, even at this time of year.
And then it was Mush's turn. He leaned up on his tip-toes and put the box on the counter, peaking his nose out over the edge. The man behind the counter gave him a suspicious look but rung it up nonetheless. When Mush heard the total, he nodded stoutly and pulled a marble bag full of pennies from his jacket pocket. He ignored several impatient sighs from customers behind him in line as he pushed the whole pile towards the cashier.
The man raised his eyebrows at him but began sorting the pennies. When he was through he looked up. "Son, there's not enough here," he told Mush.
Mush's eyes got wide and his heart started beating faster. "Are you sure?" he asked. The cashier looked down at the pennies once more before meeting Mush's eyes.
"I'm sure," he said, nodding.
Mush looked, tears forming in his eyes, from the cashier to the pennies on the counter, and back towards the rest of the people waiting in line – all tapping their toes impatiently.
"Sir," Mush said sadly, turning back to the cashier. "I wanna buy these shoes for my Mama."
The man raised his eyebrows.
"Please," Mush continued. "It's Christmas Eve, and them shoes is just her size."
The cashier looked sadly at Mush. "I'm sorry son. Perhaps you could go home and get some more money from your father and come back again? I'll hold the shoes for you," he said, about to put the box behind the counter.
Mush reached out his hand. "No!" he said, "Ya hafta hurry, Sir. Daddy says there's not much time."
By now not only the cashier was listening to Mush's heart-breaking story, but also most people in the line. "You see," Mush continued seriously, "She's been sick for a long while."
The cashier set the box back out on the counter, watching the little boy's eyes fill up with tears. "But I know them shoes are gonna make her smile," Mush insisted.
The shop was quiet as Mush pushed the pennies back at the cashier with such insistence that the poor man could say nothing. "An' I want her to look beautiful," Mush explained, "If Mama meets Jesus tonight."
No one said a word. The toe-tapping of the other customers had ceased and they were all instead watching the dirty little Mulatto boy try and buy a pair of fancy shoes with nothing but pennies.
Just then the man right behind Mush stepped up to the counter. For a moment, Mush thought he was pushing him out of the line and his face was already all screwed up with anger before he saw the green bills the man had slapped down on the counter.
"Here," the man said softly.
Mush looked up at him with his round doe eyes, a single tear slipping down his dirt-stained cheek.
The cashier took the money and paid out the shoes. The cash register made a little ding noise – the sound of victory to Mush's ears. The cashier wrapped the shoes in a little bit of gold-colored tissue paper and handed the box to Mush.
Mush clutched it to his chest, turned to the stranger who'd lent him the money and smiled. The light in that smile of his was just like the light of heaven itself, shining with all the mercy and love that Christmas was offered. "Mama's gonna look so great," he whispered. And with that, Mush beamed at the other customers just once more before turning and hurrying through the door. The sound of the bell settled on the silence he'd left in the shop behind him.
A/N: Review Review Review! Please?