Since I'm in Ukraine I'm treating January 6th as Christmas this year. However as I seem to be changing countries every time I change jobs at the moment I'm disinclined to buy too much, so I'm avoiding presents this year -- anything that might require packing up and carrying is too much as far as I'm concerned :) I might get some chocolate though! I look forward to hearing about your presents and how the kids enjoyed Christmas :)
Unwrapping presents The children gathered around the Christmas tree. It looked a little shabby because the cats had knocked it over the previous evening and some of the ornaments had cracked and the tinsel had been torn. One or two branches were broken, and the angel at the top had been impaled by a candy-cane. The fairy-lights had been turned off because they were flickering so badly that Emma had had an epileptic seizure and vomited all over Santa's mince-pie and glass of milk. One of the adults had wiped the mince-pie clean and put it back on the plate, but the milk was still a funny colour and had lumps floating at the top. Outside dawn was breaking and the sun was illuminating the smoky murk of the sky. Red light streamed through the holes in the grey, mould-stained curtains and distant gunfire crackled like fireworks. The air-quality meter was flashing amber -- in better parts of the city that would be an indication that air-scrubbers needed to be cleaned, but here it was just an improvement on the abscess-red that it had been for the previous week. The smell of burning hydrocarbons, acrid and bitter-tasting hung on the air and Emma, still shaky and pale, tried joking that it was the smell of Christmas lunch cooking. No-one laughed. Joe was the oldest and the biggest so he pushed the smaller children out of the way until he reached the presents under the tree. He picked up the first and checked the nametag -- a neatly typed card 5cm square that seemed out of place here. "Alice," he said, and handed the oblong parcel over. Alice forced a smile and grabbed the colourful wrapping paper. She tore it off in a practised swipe and opened the latched case she found inside. The other children watched silently, eyes wide. "It's... a violin," she said, her voice nearly vanishing in astonishment. "It's not a gun." She looked round, but there were no adults present. "Did someone make a mistake?" "Toby," said Joe, handing out the next present. His face was also scrunched up in puzzlement. Toby, smaller than Alice and showing the classical signs of malnourishment, took longer to get his gift open, but when he did he also looked amazed. "It's watercolours," he said, showing art supplies that most of the children has only heard of and never seen. Joe handed more presents out, and one by one the children opened them to find age-appropriate toys and gifts that brought a new light to jaded eyes and tired minds. Joe moved aside to talk to Emma quietly while the rest of the children dared to laugh and play for the first time in three years. "What happened?" he said quietly. "Do you think someone forgot to shoot Santa this year?" "We can only hope," said Emma just as quietly. "By the way, what happened to Santa's mince pie?" "Toby's eating it."
Greg - I look forward to your next job taking you to Iceland. Or maybe Cuba.
I got a few gift certificates and a book. Oh and a penguin mug from Santa (that I bought). The boys had a blast (Max with his kid's easel and Miles with his tricycle which he rode around Kat's parents house for most of yesterday).
The image of the angel and the candy cane in your opening is quite striking. I feel like the whole thing could have been about that :P
The milk with lumps, on the other hand, I could have done without...
Anyway. This is a delightfully complex tale. Kind of you to bring some hope and joy to such a dark setting. Must be the holiday season infecting you :)
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Since I'm in Ukraine I'm treating January 6th as Christmas this year. However as I seem to be changing countries every time I change jobs at the moment I'm disinclined to buy too much, so I'm avoiding presents this year -- anything that might require packing up and carrying is too much as far as I'm concerned :) I might get some chocolate though!
I look forward to hearing about your presents and how the kids enjoyed Christmas :)
Unwrapping presents
The children gathered around the Christmas tree. It looked a little shabby because the cats had knocked it over the previous evening and some of the ornaments had cracked and the tinsel had been torn. One or two branches were broken, and the angel at the top had been impaled by a candy-cane. The fairy-lights had been turned off because they were flickering so badly that Emma had had an epileptic seizure and vomited all over Santa's mince-pie and glass of milk. One of the adults had wiped the mince-pie clean and put it back on the plate, but the milk was still a funny colour and had lumps floating at the top.
Outside dawn was breaking and the sun was illuminating the smoky murk of the sky. Red light streamed through the holes in the grey, mould-stained curtains and distant gunfire crackled like fireworks. The air-quality meter was flashing amber -- in better parts of the city that would be an indication that air-scrubbers needed to be cleaned, but here it was just an improvement on the abscess-red that it had been for the previous week. The smell of burning hydrocarbons, acrid and bitter-tasting hung on the air and Emma, still shaky and pale, tried joking that it was the smell of Christmas lunch cooking. No-one laughed.
Joe was the oldest and the biggest so he pushed the smaller children out of the way until he reached the presents under the tree. He picked up the first and checked the nametag -- a neatly typed card 5cm square that seemed out of place here.
"Alice," he said, and handed the oblong parcel over. Alice forced a smile and grabbed the colourful wrapping paper. She tore it off in a practised swipe and opened the latched case she found inside. The other children watched silently, eyes wide.
"It's... a violin," she said, her voice nearly vanishing in astonishment. "It's not a gun." She looked round, but there were no adults present. "Did someone make a mistake?"
"Toby," said Joe, handing out the next present. His face was also scrunched up in puzzlement.
Toby, smaller than Alice and showing the classical signs of malnourishment, took longer to get his gift open, but when he did he also looked amazed. "It's watercolours," he said, showing art supplies that most of the children has only heard of and never seen.
Joe handed more presents out, and one by one the children opened them to find age-appropriate toys and gifts that brought a new light to jaded eyes and tired minds.
Joe moved aside to talk to Emma quietly while the rest of the children dared to laugh and play for the first time in three years.
"What happened?" he said quietly. "Do you think someone forgot to shoot Santa this year?"
"We can only hope," said Emma just as quietly. "By the way, what happened to Santa's mince pie?"
"Toby's eating it."
Greg - I look forward to your next job taking you to Iceland. Or maybe Cuba.
I got a few gift certificates and a book. Oh and a penguin mug from Santa (that I bought). The boys had a blast (Max with his kid's easel and Miles with his tricycle which he rode around Kat's parents house for most of yesterday).
The image of the angel and the candy cane in your opening is quite striking. I feel like the whole thing could have been about that :P
The milk with lumps, on the other hand, I could have done without...
Anyway. This is a delightfully complex tale. Kind of you to bring some hope and joy to such a dark setting. Must be the holiday season infecting you :)
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