*Grinch's Tragic Past*
"Thank you, Martha. Have a great day! Tell Mr. Grinch I said hi!" A clerk said after Martha purchased the groceries.
"I will." Martha said with a smile. She walked out of the store with Max by her side with a wagon full of groceries. "Well, another day for groceries, huh Max?" Max barked as he drags the wagon. "Since Grinch is busy fixing the dishwasher, I thought I would help. That's what wives are for. Helping their husbands out." Martha said. "Of course, before we got married, I was willing to help since I moved in."
"Good afternoon, Martha!" Miss McGerkle greeted with a grin.
"Hello, Mayor McGerkle!"
"Hi, Mrs. Grinch!" The kids greeted as they run pass her with giggles. Martha laughed a little. The whole town of Whoville supports the Grinch and Martha ever since they are a couple and they love them after they are married. They all treat the Grinch like he really belonged. Now the Grinch had no problem with social anxiety. Then, Martha just thought of something. When she and the Grinch were engaged, they celebrated her 27th birthday that was in summer, but they never celebrate the Grinch's birthday. When is his birthday? Does he remember when he was born? Martha stopped at her tracks and Max looked up at her in confusion.
"Max, do you know when is Grinch's birthday?" Martha asked the dog. Max shook his head at her. He had no clue. His master never mentioned it at all. Martha crossed her arms. "How could I not ask him last year? What was I thinking?"
"Hello, Martha!" Bricklebaum greeted. "How are you today? Hi there, Max!"
"Bricklebaum!" Martha gasped. "This may sound odd, but... Do you know when is Grinch's birthday?"
"Oh boy. That is a good question. I have no idea. He didn't say anything about it." Bricklebaum replied, scratching his beard. "Why don't you ask him yourself? I'm sure he knows."
"But, that's a thing. What if he doesn't know? I remember he told me about his past when he was little. He was alone at the orphanage and he barely remembers his mother." Martha said. "So sad."
"Maybe that old orphanage may have some answers, Martha." Bricklebaum suggested. "That place is closed down for years. Yet it wouldn't hurt to check it out." Martha thought about it. The orphanage is outside of town, but not far. Maybe she could find what she is looking for.
Martha and Max return home with groceries. They went up to the kitchen where the Grinch is. He just finishing fixing the dish washer for Martha. He turned to see his wife and dog.
"Martha! Max! Welcome home!" He walked over to Martha and give her a kiss and give Max a pat on the head. "I finally got the dish washer fixed. How was your shopping?"
"It's great." Martha said as she grabbed the cans of Who-Hash from the wagon. As she puts them away, she turned to her husband. "Grinchy, can I ask you something?"
"Anything, my love." The Grinch said, helping her put away the food.
"Well...do you know when your birthday is?" Martha asked. The Grinch stopped and face his wife. "We celebrated my birthday last year before we got married and...we never got to celebrate yours. I felt bad for not asking you earlier." Martha told him.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, Martha, but...I really don't remember." The Grinch said with a small frown. "Don't worry about it."
"I should. I want you to be happy." Martha said. "Celebrating your birth is special. I was thinking we should go to the old orphanage and-"
"No. We can't." The Grinch told her. "I don't want to go back. Look, I'm happy with you. I'm fine." He held her hands. "Don't worry about it. My happiness with you matters." He gave her a kiss on a forehead before going back to put away the groceries. Martha watched him in silent. She wanted to do something for him. Max watched the two put away the food in silent. He had a feeling that Martha isn't going to listen to the Grinch's request of not visiting the orphanage.
That night, Martha, Max, Marco, Bricklebaum, and Cindy walked up to the old gates of the orphanage. Martha push the gates wide enough for her and the others to get through.
"Um, Martha? Tell me again why we're here." Cindy asked, coming up to Martha's side. "This place gives me the creeps."
"I want to know when the Grinch's birthday is. He doesn't remember when he was born. This place must kept some old paperwork of his." Martha said. They walked up tot he doors and it was locked. "Marco, you know how to pick a lock, right?" Martha asked her little brother.
"I could try picking this one. The lock is old." Marco said, taking out the tools. He started to pick a lock.
"How did you manage to sneak out?" Bricklebaum asked. "Mr. Grinch will find out where you're off to."
"He's busy in his workshop. If he does find out where Max and I have been, he will have to deal with what we're looking for." Martha said. "I just want him to be happy by celebrating the date of his birth. He celebrated mine. Marco's. Cindy's. Now, it's his turn." Bricklebaum patted her back with a smile.
"You have a good heart, Martha." He told her. "That's the reason why Mr. Grinch married you." Martha smiled at him. They heard a click from the lock. Marco got the doors open.
"Ta-da!" Marco praised.
"Good job, Marco." Martha said with a grin. Max barked and lick Marco's face. They walk inside the building. Bricklebaum gave them flashlights. Cindy and Marco look around the place in wonder. There are cobwebs everywhere and dust. Max sneezed when the dust hits his nose. "My, this place didn't age well." Martha said.
"The front office is over here." Bricklebaum said, walking over to the door. He walked inside. It is the headmaster's office. There is a file cabinet behind the desk. "Martha! Come in here! There's a big cabinet and I could use some help!" Bricklebaum called. Martha walked in with Max with her flashlight.
"Whoa. How many children have been staying here?" She wondered. Bricklebaum climbed up the ladder.
"No idea. Let's for Mr. Grinch's paperwork about his birth." He said. Martha looked at the bottom row of the file cabinets. Max sniffed around the office and pulled one of the drawers of the desk with his mouth. He looked inside and see a file. He barked to get Martha's attention.
"What is it, boy?" Martha asked, coming over. She reached inside the drawer and got the file out and use her flashlight to see. "Hmm." Martha placed the file down on the desk as Max climbed up. She opened it and see the Grinch's name on it. "Oh! Bricklebaum! I've found it!" Martha said. "Come down here! Kids!" She called.
XX
Cindy and Marco are on the second floor of the building, wandering down the hallways. The windows are broken, letting in the cool air. Each door is locked. They couldn't find the old room of the Grinch's.
"Wonder how he ended up here in the first place." Cindy said. "I know Martha told us what Mr. Grinch told her, but there must be a real reason, right? Did he have a family?"
"I don't know. Whatever Martha and Bricklebaum are looking for must have answers." Marco said. They hear a bark from behind them. They turned to see Max coming up to them, barking. He gestured them to follow him. "I think they found something." Marco said with a smile. The kids followed the dog back down where Martha and Bricklebaum are.
XX
Everyone gathered around the desk to see the old file of the Grinch's. They shine their flashlights down on the papers. Martha found an old photo of the Grinch when he was a child. He looks sad. She found a date of when he was born. Oct. 12th.
"Aw man. October is months away." Cindy said. "We're in February."
"At least we know now." Martha said. "That's all that matters." She flip through the pages, wanting to know more of his past. "Wish I know how he ended up here."
"Hey you!" A voice yelled. Everyone turned with a cry of alarm. A flashlight hits them. Martha squinted her eyes, trying to see who it is behind the light. "What're you doing here?" The voice is female, and it sounds wavering. An elder. "This place is off limits!"
"We don't mean any harm!" Bricklebaum said. "We only come here to gather the birthdate of Mr. Grinch."
"...Mr. Grinch?" A voice asked. The elder woman lowers her flashlight. "He's alive?" Martha got a better look at the old Who woman. She has gray hair, wearing a purple dress with a coat. She look like she is in her 70s. She has bright blue eyes.
"Yes. He used to be here when he was little." Martha said. "You know him?"
"...The Grinch is alive. After all these years. We thought he was dead after he ran away from here." The old woman said. She look like she was about to cry. Martha walked over to her.
"He's been living in Mt. Crumpit for years." She told her. "He's been alone until I met him. And then we got married two months ago." Martha shows the old woman her wedding ring.
"...You married the Grinch?" She asked in shock.
"Yes."
"Wait a minute. You haven't heard?" Marco asked. "You never heard those fake rumors about him or anything that's happened?"
"He stole Christmas." Bricklebaum said. "But he gave everything back."
"His heart grew 3 sizes that day. And then he and Martha got married the next Christmas." Cindy said. The old woman shook her head. She hasn't heard.
"I haven't heard at all. I used to live in this town." She said. "I come back for retirement and see this place. And I notice the doors were open and thought someone broke in."
"You used to live in Whoville?" Cindy asked.
"Look, let's leave this place and you can tell us about the Grinch's past." Martha said. "We can go to Bricklebaum's." The old woman smiled a little. So they all left the orphanage.
They all sat around the living room by the fireplace as Bricklebaum offered hot chocolate to everyone. Max sat by Mabel as the old woman sat on the chair with a cup in her hands.
"So, Hazel, that's what happened." Martha said, finishing the story of how the Grinch stole Christmas and he and Martha got married a year after he stole the holiday. "Grinch and I live happily in Mt. Crumpit. He's changed a lot." Max came up to the old woman, Hazel, resting his chin on her knee. Hazel pets his head with a small smile.
"I'm glad the Grinch is happy. All his life, he was so sad." Hazel said. "He was picked on, he threw a tantrum around the others by throwing presents, and push the tree. And he then, he ran away."
"Can you tell us how he ended up in the orphanage?" Cindy asked.
"Yeah." Marco said with a nod. Hazel sighed a little. She knew that Martha and the others wanted to know. It wasn't a joyful tale.
"It all started 54 years ago." Hazel began. "It was the month of October. And the terrible winds came out of nowhere Whoville. Not only the weather was bad, there was also the scent in the winds. A sour-sweet wind."
"Sour what?" Marco wondered.
"Wait. I think I know what sour-sweet wind is." Bricklebaum said. "But, now's not the time. Go on, Miss Hazel."
"We keep hearing the howls in the air." Hazel said. "All of us Whos retreat to our homes to stay safe until the wind dies down. I was in charge to keep the kids inside the orphanage..." She closes her eyes as she remembers the day of how she met the Grinch.
23 year old Hazel is outside of the orphanage with the headmaster who is a strict 60 year old Who woman. The Who children are safe inside the building from the weather. Hazel's blonde hair is flying behind her.
"Gretchen, the children are inside!" Hazel said. "Please come inside! The wind is bad!"
"Very well! Thank you, Hazel!" Gretchen said as she is walking back inside the building. Hazel was about to walk back inside, but she hears a voice from the gates.
"Wait! Wait!" It cried out. Hazel turned to see a man holding a basket. Hazel rushed over to the gate to see him. "You must help!"
"What's the matter, sir?"
"Look here." The man shows Hazel what was inside the basket. Hazel looked down to see a baby inside. She let out a gasp. A green baby with fur, wrapped in a blanket. He is crying.
"What...is he?" Hazel asked. "Where did he come from?"
"I've found him in the woods." The man said. "Please let me in, so I can explain everything. This kid needs food." Hazel didn't hesitate and open the gates for him. Hazel took the basket and rush in the building with a man.
They are inside the orphanage as the man drank some tea as Hazel holds the baby in her arm, feeding him a bottle of warm milk. She could tell the baby is a newborn. The baby has green eyes as he drinks the milk. Gretchen walks in the office to see Hazel with a baby in her arms and a man sitting across from her.
"What is going on here?" She asked. "Who are you?"
"Ma'am, I'm here to give you a kid who was alone in the woods." The man said. "I'm Richard, by the way. And this..." He gestured the headmaster to the baby Hazel is holding and feeding. "This is the baby I've found out there in the weather." Gretchen came over and see the face of the baby. She let out a groan of disgust.
"It's hideous! Send it away!"
"Gretchen, no!" Hazel said. "He's just a baby!"
"Ma'am, please. He was all alone out there." Richard said with plead. "Listen, you all need to hear this and reconsider. I was in the woods gathering wood and then I hear cries of a newborn. I followed it and there was this kid in a basket." He told them. "His mother was leaning against the tree, bleeding. She was attacked by those wolves and she fought hard to save her son. When I saw her, I wanted to help, but...she told me to take her son to safety instead."
"Oh dear." Hazel whispered.
"She couldn't make it." Richard said. "When the sour-sweet winds hit, the animals become very aggressive. The poor mother was left behind. So, I took the kid and brought him here. I can't leave him out there." Gretchen looked down at the green baby. Richard looked at the headmaster. "Please, let him stay here. Raise him. Try and give him a family."
"What? But, he isn't a Who. He is just..." She stopped when Hazel gave her a hard look in her eyes. Gretchen sighed in defeat. "Very well. But, what is he exactly?"
"He looks like a Grinch to me." Richard said. "All green and furry."
"Grinch. The Grinch." Gretchen said. "Sounds fitting for the boy. All right then, he shall stay. Hazel, it's your job to take care of him." Hazel nodded and look down at the baby who finishes the bottle and let out a yawn.
XX
Hazel had been taking care of the Grinch in the orphanage. She even found a photo of his mother in the basket. Something to remember her for years. The Grinch is very different from the Who children in the orphanage. Whenever he wanted to play with them, trying to fit in, the children kept their distance. Hazel was the only one who will comfort him whenever he is alone and sad. But that doesn't help anything.
When Christmas arrived, half of the Who children got adopted and happy to have families to celebrate the holiday. But the Grinch did not get adopted at all.
By the time he was 7, that was when things go very wrong. The Grinch was bullied by the kids. Inside and outside the orphanage.
"You will never get adopted! You're a freak of nature!" One boy said.
"And you will never get to celebrate Christmas with the Whos like us!" A girl said. The kids started to laugh. The Grinch started to feel angry. His blood was boiling. He picked up the presents and threw them at the kids.
"Stupid presents!" He yelled. A present hits one of the kids in a face. "Stupid tree!" The Grinch uses his strength to push the tree down, letting out a roar. The kids started to scream. "I hate Christmas!"
"Run! He's crazy!" A boy yelled, running out of the room. The headmaster walked in to see the commotion. Hazel rushed in and gasped.
"Grinch! No!" She cried out. The Grinch turned to see his caretaker and headmaster, breathing heavily.
"Good gracious!" Gretchen said, placing her hand over her chest. "Such attitude!" Behind her is the young Cat in the Hat who visits for the holiday season. He watched the Grinch in shock. He couldn't believe what he had witnessed. "Hazel, you get that beast under control!" Gretchen scolded.
"Gretchen, please! He's only a child!" Hazel said. The Grinch had tears in his eyes and ran pass them. "Grinch!" Hazel cried out for him. "Grinch, wait!"
"Let him go. He'll think about what he has done." Gretchen said. She looks at the mess he made. "That brat ruined our holiday. I knew letting him stay here is a mistake." She stormed off in anger. The Cat looked up at Hazel before following the headmaster.
Hazel walked in the room of the Grinch's, but he was nowhere to be found. The only thing she found is a picture of his mother left on the bed. Hazel looked for the Grinch everywhere in the orphanage, but he is not found. She looked outside in the snow and see tiny foot prints that lead outside the gates. The Grinch is gone. All alone on Christmas Eve.
XX
The Grinch walked through the town of Whoville alone. He walk pass the happy Whos. Families, couples, and children having fun. The Grinch wiped a tear from his eye as he walked. He noticed the bridge that leads out of town. He won't be coming back to Whoville. Nobody wanted him. Nobody cares.
The Grinch walked up the snowy hills as he spotted Mt. Crumpit. That is where he will be staying. Nobody will find him there. The Grinch grips on the red scarf as the wind hits him. He sings softly to himself.
"I'm out here on my own,
To face the day alone.
I need you to get me through the night.
I'm lost out in the cold,
I want someone to hold,
I feel you're near, though you're out of sight."
He turned back to see the view of Whoville one last time. A tear fell from his eye as he thought back of Hazel. He can't face her after what he had done. He was bullied by those kids. They were awful to him. He's just different from the rest.
"And even though we're far apart,
I search the moonlit sky,
I make a wish to be home with you.
Can't you hear me cry?"
He walked up to the mountain when the cold wind hits. He hated Christmas. He hated the Whos. He will never be seen again.
Martha wiped a tear from her eye with a tissue. Bricklebaum sniffed a bit after the story was told. Hazel is petting Max that sat on her lap as she told the story to them.
"I never saw him again." Hazel said. "The poor boy."
"How sad." Cindy said. "All he wanted is to fit in."
"But those kids were awful." Marco said. "Even Augustus bullied him then."
"Hazel, you must see Grinch. I'm sure he will be happy to see you." Martha said. A knock was heard on the door. Bricklebaum came to the door and opened and there is the Grinch.
"Oh! Look who it is everybody!" Bricklebaum said with a grin.
"Bricklebaum, have you seen Max and-" The Grinch stopped as he now noticed his wife and the others. "Oh. There you are. This is where you been?" Hazel stared at the Grinch with wide eyes.
"Oh my goodness." She whispered. "Grinch."
"Uh, hello. Have we met before?" The Grinch asked. "Martha, who's your friend?" Martha helped Hazel up from the chair. Hazel looked up at him with a smile.
"Grinch, you've grown so big. And handsome." Hazel said, touching the side of the Grinch's face. "You remember me?"
"Uh...no?" The Grinch replied. "Which one are you?"
"You were so young. 54 years is a long time." Hazel said. "Grinch, I'm Hazel. Your caretaker of the orphanage. You were brought there as a baby." The Grinch stared at her in silent. He was thinking back of his childhood. Then he thought back of the woman who took care of him. He blinked in shock. This is her. Hazel.
"Hazel?" The Grinch asked. "Is it really you?" Hazel nodded. The Grinch smiled and wrap his arms around the old Who. Martha and the others watched with smiles. A happy little reunion. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"I've missed you so much, Grinch." Hazel said, crying. "I thought you were gone forever."
"I'm here. Alive and well." The Grinch said. He looked at Martha who smiled. "I see you met my beautiful wife." Hazel nodded.
"You two make a lovely couple." She said. "And I believe she has something to say to you." Martha walked up to her husband and held his hand. They sat by the fireplace.
"Grinch, we went to the orphanage and found your paperwork of your birthday. And then, Hazel came along and told us the whole story of how you ended up in the orphanage in the first place." She said. "You were found in the woods by a man. During the sour-sweet winds. Your mother tried to save you from the wolves. The man saved you, but he couldn't help your mother." The Grinch stared at his wife in silent. He hadn't thought about his mother in a very long time. He remembered the old picture of her he had when he was young, but left it behind. "But other than that, we all know. Your birthday is Oct. 12th. The month when the sour-sweet winds come around in Whoville." Martha told him.
"Now we know." Cindy said. "We only got 8 months left."
"Martha only wanted to make you happy by celebrating it when that day comes." Marco said. "You did so much for us."
"I'm sorry I did what I shouldn't, but...I'm your wife. I want you to be happy for something I do for you." Martha said.
"Martha, I don't know what to say. But...thank you." The Grinch said. He gave her a kiss. He stared into her eyes with a loving smile. "You went through all this trouble just to learn my date of birth and learn more about my past. You do anything to make me happy. But you already make me happy."
"But-"
"Martha, you made me realize what Christmas was about. My heart grew 3 sizes. You did those things." The Grinch said. "You gave me light. That's what I love about you. You're my happiness. You and everybody who supports us." Martha smiled at him. He may be right. "But now I know what my birthday is on, the better." The Grinch said.
"Oh, Grinchy..." Martha hugged him.
"How sweet." Hazel said with a smile. "Seeing him smile is what I've always wanted."
The Grinch and Martha love each other very much, it makes them both happy. It didn't matter what makes them more happier than anything. They have each other. Now Martha knows when the Grinch's birthday is. When that day comes, she will make it very special. Having the Grinch happy is what his mother would've wanted too.
*Fun Fact: Oct. 12th was the date when How the Grinch Stole Christmas was published.*