A Christmas Twist

Written By Reese Lim

                Christmas time is quickly coming. It is a time of celebrations, happiness, joy, and other good feelings. It can be different depending on each and every person, but for me it is a time of righting the wrongs and changing. I believe that even a heart as hard as stone can be touched by my story. It goes like this…

                It was just like any other day. Boring, dull, ordinary. Nothing fun was happening. I looked up from the newspaper I was reading and saw some kids passing by. I looked like a normal citizen today. Nothing was special with my form for now. Anyways, going back, these kids that I saw were probably eight or nine years old and there were three of them. Probably friends who wanted to play their kites, I thought since they each held a diamond-shaped object. I followed them to the park. When I got there, the kites were already high up in the sky and the boys were grinning from ear to ear. How boring, I thought, let’s add some fun to it. I approached the boys and asked them if I could borrow their kites. They reluctantly agreed but once I got a hold of their playthings, I ran as fast as I could while chuckling to myself.

Well, don’t blame me if wanted to have some fun! I released the kites in the air and away they floated. Then, I changed myself into an old man to avoid getting caught. The sun was already setting by now so I decided to head home. Even a ghost like me also needs a home too, you know. I sat on my bed still thinking about the events of today. It’s been forty years since I’ve become a ghost but I still have no idea about my past or what happened to me. All I know is that my name is Scott and I woke up like this one day and it has been like this for as long as I can remember.

                I closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep but no matter what I did, I couldn’t sleep a wink. I already wanted to die but I just couldn’t. No one knows me, much less cares about me.

I woke up the next morning and my first thoughts were “How should I look like today?” and “What can I do today?” Hmmmm, I thought, it feels a bit chilly today.  I peeked out the window and saw snow falling from the sky. ”Uh! Winter time already!?” For some reason, I never liked the cold. Actually, I was afraid of it. I don’t know why, but I guess that’s just life! I ended up dressing as a business man. The coat kept me warm and the sleeves prevented the snow from falling on my body. I also decided to cut short my pranks today and just go out to buy some food. I didn’t want to stay out in the cold! Annoying kids throwing snowballs are everywhere this time of the year!

Thankfully, I was able to buy my food without getting hit by the flying snowballs. It consisted of hot chocolate and scrambled eggs. It was already eleven o’clock by now so I decided to just spend the rest of the day at home watching TV, but, I guess fate had something else in mind…

On my way home, I saw this poor girl. She wore ragged clothes and looked very thin and hungry. A few teenage kids were making fun of her. This instantly gave me a thought. I wanted to go help the kids bully her! A prank or two wouldn’t hurt, right? So I approached the girl but got the biggest shock of my life when I screamed at the bullies to leave her alone instead of helping them. This wasn’t like me at all! Why would I help her? I thought. Anyways the woman thanked me with a very big smile. I gave her a fake smile in return and decided to leave immediately but she started to follow me! “Thank you so much, sir. I’m Samantha but you can call me Sam!” I looked at her face and simply nodded. For some reason she looked so familiar yet I didn’t know where I could’ve possibly seen her before. This made me really nervous so I quickened the pace of my footsteps. I hoped that she’d notice that I was trying to get away from her. But no! She kept on talking. She was telling me the story of her poorness and other personal stuff. Of course, I wasn’t paying much attention. I was actually beginning to get irritated so I stopped walking, looked straight in her eyes and lied. “Sorry miss, but I am already late for my meeting. I have to go now.” She looked somewhat disappointed but did her best to hide it. “Well, okay, nice to meet you. What’s your name?” “My name is Scott.” I replied as I ran towards home.

At home, I kept replaying the events in my head. I asked myself this question: “Why did I care about her?” I tried my best to not think about today but still, she wouldn’t get off my mind. I slept very early that day just to forget about her.

Since I slept early last night, I also woke up really early the following day. The sky was still quite dark but I left home to go eat breakfast. For some reason, I looked like the same business man as I was yesterday. I didn’t want to look like a child because that might look suspicious to some people. I thought I had completely forgotten about yesterday, until, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her… again.

She dressed like she did yesterday, torn clothes that are barely able to keep her warm for the winter. Sam sat on the cold, icy sidewalk and brought out a small, tin can. I think she used this for begging. I didn’t want her to see me so I turned my back and slowly walked away, but too late. She already saw me. “Scott? Is that you?” Not again, I thought. “Scott! Hey!” her voice sounded much closer now. I wanted to run as fast as my legs could carry me but instead, I turned to look at her. “Yes?” I asked. She looked so surprised and happy when she saw me. “What are you doing here?” she was smiling by now.

“I was just about to go get some breakfast” I said.

“Oh, okay. At least you weren’t late for your meeting yesterday, right?”

“Yes. Would you like to come along?”

                Wait. What? Did I just tell her that or am I hallucinating? Sam’s face lit up and she replied earnestly, “Yes! Yes! Let’s go now!” We had a quiet walk to the diner but my head and my whole body was already panicking. Why in the world did I just do that!?

                When we reached our destination, I ordered pancakes and eggs only but she ordered everything in the menu! No, this is not a joke or an exaggeration. I literally mean what I’ve just said. The food quickly arrived and she gobbled everything that she saw. Honestly, this made me lose my appetite. “I’m so hungry, I think I could eat ten cows!” she said while chewing. The bill came and I had to pay for everything. I have not seen that many numbers in my life! When we were already outside, she thanked me for the breakfast. She also said that she never saw that much food ever since she was a child. I simply nodded but this time I managed to say, “You’re welcome.”

“I’m going home now,” she told me.

“Ok” It was already beginning to snow hard so I was getting scared.

“Why don’t you come to my house on Christmas Eve? I owe you a lot.”

“Me? Uh, why me?” I got really confused and I could barely think straight. Snow gives me super scary nightmares, you see.

“Just visit, ok? I live near the forest. You won’t have a hard time finding it since it’s the only house in that area. Be there Christmas Eve okay?” With that she rushed in the other direction while, as for me, I also ran as fast as I could towards home.

                I was glad to be home before the snowstorm hit but, at the same time, also felt disappointed with myself. What was I doing? I’m not supposed to be nice, I told myself. Then, an idea suddenly hit me. I won’t go to her place on Christmas Eve. That would have her expecting me but I won’t actually come! Yup, I can do that, I guess.

                The following day, I decided to look like a poor twelve year-old boy. I headed to the place where I usually see Sam and to my luck, she was there! I wanted to play a trick on her. Besides, she won’t recognize me as the guy in the business suit. I’m just a poor kid today! When I approached her, she looked at me and I saw pity. No matter how poor she already was, she took some coins from her small tin can and handed them to me. “Go buy some food,” she ordered me. I was in shock. I dropped the coins she gave me and ran away, crying. She was such a nice person. How can I be so mean to her? This was so unfair of me. Because of this, I made my choice: I would show up to her place on Christmas Eve and celebrate it with her.

                Well, the morning before Christmas quickly arrived. I was really nervous by now, thinking “Am I really going to do this?” By afternoon, I made up my confused mind. Yes, I’m really going and it is final. I am a lonely person and I need friends, I thought. Before it got dark, I was ready to go. I looked like the same business man Sam had met. This was really weird though. Usually, I wouldn’t be the same person for more than a day. This was to avoid getting caught, but things are different now. I’ve been the same business man for three days already.

                Just like Sam had said, I found her house quickly enough. It was the only house at the end of the forest. I wondered why she lived near the forest if she could just be with the other poor people living under the bridge in the city area. This would be easier for her since food and water would be more accessible and it would also be safer.

                Knock, knock. Whoosh! Sam’s door flung open and she welcomed me warmly. I looked around her house. Although it was quite small and dirty, the things were very organized.

“Sorry about the house” she said “It is actually my parents’ house”

“Yeah, it’s fine”

                I felt that this place looked familiar even though I haven’t been here before. Some food were set on the table but it was nothing more than a few fruits and some vegetables. We began to eat. “So you don’t have a family?” I asked.

“Uhh…no…” She looked so sad so I immediately regretted asking that question.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized.

“No, no, it’s fine. Um, when I was little, my dad was a woodcutter that’s why we live near the woods, but then one day, well, he died.”

“I’m sorry.” This time I really meant what I said. I pitied Sam even though she can be annoying sometimes.

“How about you? How was your childhood?” She asked

                Honestly, I dreaded this question. I looked around nervously and said in a soft voice. “I don’t know,” Sam looked at me with curious eyes but said nothing.

                After we finished eating, Sam decided to give me a tour around the house. There were two rooms aside from the bathroom. According to her, one of the rooms was her parents’ and the other one was hers. We went inside her room and I saw a picture frame sitting on the table beside her bed. I picked it up and saw a man, a woman, and a child. “That’s me, my mom, and my dad,” Sam explained. I examined the picture really closely. The people in the picture… they looked so familiar.

                By this time, I felt that Sam told everything about herself to me while I was still keeping my secret from her, so I told her. I told her everything there was to know about me starting from the day I woke up as a ghost and that I could shape-shift and that I was also immortal. It was actually a long story but Sam just sat there, in shock but listening. I also told her about my silly pranks and that I also had no friends.

                When I finished, Sam stared at me like I was a monster. Well, technically speaking, I actually am. “I’m sorry about all this,” I said as I headed for the door. Sadly, when I opened it, I realized that it was snowing so hard so I quickly closed the door.

“Uhh… It’s snowing really hard. Can I stay? I won’t bother you.”

“Okay,” thankfully, Sam agreed.

                That night, I had such an uncomfortable sleep. I had a dream. I saw a woodcutter chopping trees. Because it was snowing so hard, the woodcutter could barely see so his foot accidentally slipped on the ice. He hit his head on the ground and died. The scene shifted and I saw the woodcutter screaming at a small girl. The little girl was already crying while her mother was just in the corner drinking coffee. I suddenly realized that the people in my dream were Sam and her family and I was the woodcutter, Sam’s father. When I died, I was cursed because I had been such a bad father to her. I remember it all now.

I woke up with a start. My forehead was sweating. It was already morning and the snowstorm had stopped. Sam looked at me. “Merry Christmas,” she greeted. “You okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine and I’m sorry” I told her while giving her a hug.

“What are you talking about? Is it about last night?” She looked really confused. I could already feel she was getting uncomfortable. Oh yeah! She doesn’t know yet. I looked at her eyes and pointed at the couch. “Sit down. I have a story to tell.” I grinned at her and thankfully, she did the same.

THE END