Summary:  This story was written for the 2016 Advent Collection.

Rating:  G  (400 words)

A Christmas Wish by Patina

Adam traced the outline of the cherubs on his mother’s closed music box. He was tucked into bed, Inger sitting beside him, while he waited for his father’s return.  Touching the music box was forbidden but Inger had assured him it wasn’t wrong to hold a possession cherished by his mother.

“My ma is an angel,” he whispered.

“So is my mother,” said Inger. She pressed her lips to the top of his head.

A couple minutes of silence passed between them.

“Do you talk to your ma, Miss Inger?”

“Every day.”

“Do you ever tell her what you wish for?”

“Sometimes.”  She followed his finger as he ran it along the edge of the box’s lid before returning to the cherubs. “I don’t think angels grant our wishes but they do know our hearts.”

Inger gently placed her hand over his, stopping his tracing. She noted the worry in his upturned face and soft hazel eyes. “Is something wrong, Adam?”

Adam scraped his lower lip between his teeth as he debated whether or not to share his secret. “Is it wrong to want a new ma? That’s what I asked her to bring me for Christmas.”

She cupped his cheek with her palm and smiled. “No, Adam, it’s not wrong. She’d want you, and your father, to be happy. Especially at Christmas.” She moved her hand to his chest and gently pressed her fingertips over his heart. “Your mother loved you very much and you will always have a place for her.”

The worry vanished from Adam’s face with his smile.

At the sound of the boarding house door opening and heavy footsteps in the hallway, Inger kissed Adam’s forehead before gently taking the music box from him and setting it in the trunk where Ben kept it.

Ben entered the doorway as Inger fastened her cape. The warmth of her smile made the room seem brighter and cheerier and he couldn’t help but smile in response.

“Thank you for sitting with Adam.”

“Visiting with your son is always a pleasure, Ben. Good night.”

Ben watched her leave and sighed at the closing of the door. The room seemed dimmer in the soft glow of the candlelight.

“She’s a real nice lady, Pa.”

Ben slipped his fingers into his pocket and felt the reassuring weight of the simple gold ring he’d purchased in a nearby town.  He nodded and said, “She sure is.”

Link to the 2016 Advent Calendar – Day 15 – Le Réveillon (by Puchi Ann)