Christmas Lights by Christine Pisera Naman

Author:Christine Pisera Naman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2017-08-15T04:00:00+00:00

Alexandra

Alexandra peeled back the corner of the curtain, peering with one eye out the window at the mailman disappearing down the sidewalk. He was later today than usual—only four minutes, but still later. She sighed, thinking herself pathetic. Who in the world knows when the mailman is four minutes late? “You do,” she muttered, answering her own silent question out loud.

She took a deep breath, her stomach tied in expectant knots. She opened the door to the harsh December wind. Ice crystals rushed in, swirling around the entry. She turned her face sideways, trying to escape the splash, and felt blindly into the metal box to gather the mail. After she grabbed it, the lid clanged shut and she closed the door with a thud. She shivered and sat down on the staircase. She hesitated, closing her eyes, wishing for just one small sign of hope. The Christmas Eve mail that she held in her hand was her last chance for hope until after Christmas, and she needed so badly to feel hope for Christmas. And the way she saw it, her only chance for hope would come in that day’s mail or not at all.

She made herself look. Slowly she began to riffle through the stack of envelopes. One at a time she tossed them onto the marble floor as her heart and hopes sank. Then she stood up, turned and walked up the steps as the tears streamed down her face.

Sniffing, she entered the darkened bedroom. She leaned against the wall, her shoulders heaving. Then she slid down and sat with her knees tucked to her chest. After a while, all cried out, she sat calmly with her chin on her knees. She reached over to the wicker trunk beside her and opened the lid. Then she gently pulled out a tattered gray sweater.

She held it on her lap, carefully touching each of the pearl buttons. Closing her eyes, she pressed it to her face.

“Oh, Nunnie.” She sighed. “Please be with me. I just needed to hear from you,” she explained. Still clutching the sweater, she relaxed into a lazy daydream. She remembered all the times that her grandmother had been there for her. Her happy childhood was speckled with pleasant memories of her sweet words, loving touches, gentle laughs. Her face darkened as she remembered her untimely, sad death. But she knew her grandmother was still with her. She recalled the times throughout the years that she felt her grandmother’s presence, the times when like a heaven-sent feather she had thrown down a comforting whisper. It had always felt like a gentle comforting kiss had been planted softly on her cheek, a kiss from her beloved grandmother. That she was the favorite was not spoken aloud, of course. But Alexandra and her sisters had known. Her grandmother was a wonderful woman who truly loved each of her granddaughters dearly, loving each for her uniqueness. She found the very best in each of them. It just happened that

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