Christmas Wishes

Amber Grey hummed to herself as she made little sparrows out of what snow there was in the front yard. Her brother, Denny, ran back and forth and tried to kick bits of ice into the air. He missed and slipped on his back. Amber gave him a look and a solemn shake of her head.

Denny didn't bother to get up. He lay on his back with his heavy, blue jacket insulating him and scuffed his arms against the pathetic snowfall remnants. He'd just turned nine a week ago on the seventeenth of December. Amber was about to turn eight the day after Christmas. They both had fallen prey to unwise birthdays.

For Denny, being born a week before Christmas, he was often given something small on his birthday and told to wait for something big on the big day. But the "big" never seemed all that big, especially at the expense of his birthday. For Amber, he had to admit, it was even worse. Being born the day after Christmas, she really only got one gift "for both" from everyone.

Amber looked down at her little snow sparrow and smiled. It looked more like a slushy lump, but it was enough for her. Looking over at her brother, she folded the big, pink arms of her jacket and asked, "So…do you think we should go in?"

His hoodie crinkling as he turned, Denny flashed his sister a look. "You really want to hear Great-Aunt Isabelle's stories again?" Amber grimaced and that was that.

It was the day before Christmas and their house was full of relatives several times their age. Aunt Debbie came from Florida with Uncle Cleve. Uncle Garry lived downstate and had recently divorced (former Aunt Jenny was a topic of many of his random, snide remarks). Widowed Aunt Emma had brought enough pictures of her cats to provide a marathon session of picture viewing.

There had been some hope about their cousins, Rodger and Harmony, who they were meeting for the first time. But Rodger was only concerned with talking about how interesting mathematics was, between discussing all the government was doing wrong. Cousin Harmony lived up to her hippy name by questioning every trace of holiday food and evaluating its "natural content". Her vegan alternatives weren't particularly bad, though Denny couldn't soon forgive her about those bland chocolate soy cookies.

Great-Uncle Oscar always complained of pains or the fact he was going to fall over whenever asked to do anything. Most of the time, he just found the biggest couch in the living room and slept there with his bear-like snore and slumping head until there was the call for food.

Amber put two of her little snow sparrows together like they were kissing and smiled. Sitting up, Denny looked at the bits of snow around his feet and pondered making something. The only thing which came to mind was a snow snake, but he figured it would just come out lumpy like a turd. So, he tried making a snow turd. It came out more like a snow cow patty. Denny heaved it with a slushy plop and looked over at his sister. She rubbed her hands together and looked down at her birds.

Amber noted automatically, before her brother could ponder anything about her birds, "Santa is still watching you…" Denny folded his arms and sighed. He glanced around the yard. Something caught his eye at the far end, white and shimmery. It looked like a dollop of fresh snow but in the shape of a small person. He frowned and stepped closer.

Looking at the object, it seemed quite distinct. It was flat on the ground, sprawled out like a little sculpture. The arms were spindly and almost transparent with tiny fingers. A bit of sparkle on the side resembled wings.

Crouching, Denny looked quickly back to his sister. She glanced up at him as he gestured with his hand and held a finger to his mouth. Amber grimaced and squinted at the figure. Quickly, she stood and crept over to where Denny was. She was about to speak, but he held his fingers to her lips. She glared.

Without a word, Denny put his mitten-covered fingers around the figure and picked it up. It shifted in his grip like an animal. He couldn't help but gasp. Turning the figure around revealed a small but icy face. Its head was twisted in a frown and topped with hair the shade of a broken ice cube. The thing felt quite cold in Denny's grip. Its arms shifted on their own.

Denny asked, "What are you?"

Brilliant little eyes fluttered open on its face and peered at both of them. With a voice as soft as falling snow, the little creature said, "Help me…need…cold. I need somewhere…colder."

Denny furrowed his lip, but Amber reached over and snatched it out of his hands. She cradled the creature in her pink, woolen mittens and said, "It's dying…It needs to be cold! Oh!" She rushed away before her brother could complain.

Hurrying into the garage, Amber pulled open the old freezer with one hand and tucked the creature inside. The freezer had been there for years and usually just took the overflow items from the one in the house. It typically just ran and collected plumes of ice along its rows. Watching the frail creature, Amber was joined by her brother, who nudged her in the side. She glowered at him a second then returned her gaze to the creature.

Slowly, the frost seemed to fill its lungs. A bit of ice in the freezer drew off and joined with it. The shimmering grew brighter and brighter and the form of the being seemed to swell. It soon looked pure white like the brightest snow. Its hair was firm and dense. Its gaze twinkled as a slice of a smile showed on its face.

Its voice was strong, more like a snow-blown gust, "Thank you…I owe you my life…young miss."

Amber gave her name and the little figure bowed to her. After glaring at his sister, Denny noted, "Well…I found you…"

The little figure chuckled like snow shifting on a roof. "You did. Thank you as well. As you asked…I am a winter sprite. I had gotten lost and, with the surprising warmth today, my magic was weak. In return for you both finding and saving me, I'd like to give you something in return: A special wish to share."

Denny and Amber looked at each other and both spoke, "Share?" Denny added, "You mean we don't get one each for helping?" Sharing was a big issue among them, as evidenced by the forgettable incident a couple months ago when they had to share the same room for a week when Amber's was being repainted. The result was tense enough to cause a neighbor who dealt with legal negotiations to throw up his hands soon after getting involved. At least for Christmas they only needed to share the same room for a few days due to all their relatives needing beds.

The little sprite looked between them silently, then noted, "Well…let me hear your wishes first and I'll see what I can do…maybe make a compromise."

Amber twisted her lips in thought. Denny tapped his foot. It hadn't really occurred to either of them to be all that surprised about an icy sprite on their lawn which was now sitting before them with its spindly legs crossed.

Denny started to speak but just made a few sounds before rubbing his coat-covered arms together. Amber spun in place, her red, crinkly hair dashing back and forth. Denny tapped on a freckle before brushing at the unkempt fluff of crimson hair atop his head.

Through the thin door separating the garage from the rest of the house, they could both hear sounds of their family. A smattering of vegan talk. Some cooing about shelter kitties. And, above it all, a harsh wave of snoring which sounded like a door sticking as it was swung back and forth.

Grumbling, Denny murmured something to himself and proudly announced, "I've got it!...I want to have relatives for Christmas who are our age. A bunch of other boys I can hang around with and have fun."

Amber raised her eyebrows. "Boys? But what about me? I want some other girls my age I can have fun with during Christmas…although…I just wish things were a little different and fun for my birthday…the day after Christmas… too…"

The winter sprite's grin pressed along its icy features and it calmly asked, in a voice like snow crunching underfoot, "The world would be a bit more fun if there were more kids in it…especially at Christmas, huh?"

Both of them agreed with a smile, Denny adding, "A lot more fun…although…" Amber rubbed her arms and continued, "Yeah…it's good to have mommies and daddies and a nice warm home. But…just more play at Christmas. Like the joyful songs. Jolly and fun. Our family is just…not it." Denny emphatically nodded and asked, "Can you do anything about that?"

A brush of the sprite's fingers against its little chin sounded like tinkling ice in a cup as it answered, "Wellll…there's a lot there. But I'll tell you what. Christmas is the time when sprites like me are the strongest and we're able to make amazing wishes come true. So…I'm going to let you both see a special sort of Christmas tomorrow…with all the joyful little things you've imagined. And then…I might even be able to throw in a little fun for the day after as well. Is it a wish?"

Denny and Amber grinned at each other. That definitely sounded great. They both agreed and the little sprite rubbed its hands together. A swirl of ice began to glow, brighter and brighter, until they had to close their eyes a little. The sprite opened its mouth and blew against its hands like a sudden, howling wind. The glow spread out from its hands and touched both of them. And that was it.

With a smile and a little wave, the sprite drifted out of the freezer like a snowflake caught in a draft, slipped across the room and out the open door to the side, which eased shut behind it.

A moment later, their mother Felicia walked in wearing a droopy gray sweater and teased a hand at her curly, red hair which fell over her shoulders and to her back. She stared at her kids and at the open freezer before asking, her eyes narrowed, "What are you two doing? You should close that. It wastes electricity….I thought you were playing outside…"

Amber and Denny looked at each other. Amber spoke first, "We were…but…" Denny jumped in, "There was…this weird thing on the lawn…" Amber offered, "An…animal…and we were going to help it, but it ran away…" That was their story, and they sold it with little smiles. Felicia looked at her kids. She knew they were fibbing somehow, but she didn't see anything amiss and she was already too frazzled to worry about any of it too much. So, she just told them, "Alright…Supper will be ready soon…Okay?"

Christmas Eve supper went about the same as it had gone for the last couple of days, only with the addition of hams and yams. Dad would sneak off about halfway through to deal with calls about editing jobs around the first of the year. Since their mother helped with that work, she vanished for a bit too.

This left Denny and Amber with the rest. Denny caught the attention of Cousin Rodger, who regaled him with stories about how math problems were figured out in ancient times. He'd preface it by saying something was "funny" but would botch that part by repeating it several times and laughing to himself over and over.

The main thing Denny learned this time was that Rodger, at age five, received a slide rule for Christmas and "got years of fun and academic use out of it". Denny felt a twinge of horror at the possibility that Rodger might think such a thing was a fun gift.

Amber relearned the names of Emma's cats for the umpteenth time, as well as a story about when she took one to work at her receptionist job. Despite her feelings, Amber listened attentively and solemnly, but her thoughts were actually lingering on the possibilities of dessert till Cousin Harmony announced she'd made it. It ended up being some sort of chocolate concoctions with a strange name which Amber found…okay.

It wasn't till after supper that their parents finally returned. There was some discussion about reading Christmas tales or watching an old movie but no decision about which. Dad asked Isabelle, "You sung once, right? Perhaps you could sing a carol and…we could sing along?" Shaking her head gravely and brushing at the nearly-white curls of hair on her head, Great-Aunt Isabelle remarked, "I've not sung for a long time. Those times are past. Although, way back when…around about New Jersey, I was highly regarded for my voice. You see, in those times…" And so went her story.

Though others tried to derail it a bit, it would continue for the duration. Denny clutched his cheek with his hand. Other bits of conversation filtered between the story. Mom looked over some written materials and made little corrections. Amber was stuck with Aunt Debbie, who pinched at her cheek with a firm, long-nailed grip and remarked, "You're getting sooo big. Why I remember when you were so small, in little blue jumpers and playing in the mud." Before long, Debbie was talking about a student she taught in her kindergarten class who reminded her of Amber. Her husband was going through the sports section of the newspaper and clutching a candy cane like it was a thin cigar. He only nodded when Debbie asked him to clarify this or that from her recollection.

All the while, Isabelle talked about the old businesses and the record shop where she would first sing at in New Jersey. Uncle Garry stayed to the side of the room with a full cup of eggnog he kept topping off with a flask from his pocket. His full and crinkly beard was dappled with white. Somehow, Emma had come up with a story involving cats and record stores which managed to mesh with Isabelle's narrative. Rodger had the puzzles page of the paper and was rapidly going through the Sudoku puzzles. Harmony, who had volunteered for and was just finishing up cleaning the table, brought some food over for Mom and Dad while they did editing. Oscar looked deep asleep in the usual spot.

Denny squeezed his hand to his cheek and thought about the little sprite. He shook his head and hopped up from the couch. He looked to Mom and said, "I…think I need to lie down a bit…I'm kinda tired."