“Once upon a time, there was a little fair-haired girl named Melanie who loved surprises. One Christmas morning (her family called their Christian winter holiday, Christmas), she woke up full of nervous expectation and a wee bit of good trouble.
Her life so far, all seven years of it, often gave her surprises and today she hoped for one.
Wonder what then?
Melanie slid out of bed and scampered down the hall towards the front room—what she called their living room. She felt extra alone in the silent house; everyone was still in bed but Melanie. As she made her way down the hall, she saw pale yellow light streaming from the front room, throwing thin bright beams across the hallway floor. She ran to them.
When she turned into the front room she saw what her father had promised—a large bristling evergreen tree, its branches like arms reaching out to her. It smelled like the woods where she loved to wander. Had it escaped from the forest just to surprise her?
The dazzling tree sparkled with silver strings dripping from its branches. All over it, tucked here and there, were globes of rose-colored glass and tiny snowflakes cut from paper covered with glitter. The entire tree, like a giant ornament, shimmered in the sun streaming through the many windows of the room, its elegant spindle on top reached all the way to the ceiling.
Just then, a small striped bird landed on a windowsill, spilling out its morning song. Melanie stood silent and waited.”
—Charlene Edge, 12-02-2020
Words of wonder
This post is an experiment—a few words of a story-in-the-works. I aimed to convey a sense of wonder and provoke you to add to the story as you would like. Or leave it as it is. In the Comments section below, you can leave your “ending” of the story, but please make it no longer than 25 words.
Wondering about this holiday season
This season holds many wonderous stories from various traditions, so, celebrate the diversity at hand. One way to do that is to read tales from other lands. When I was a kid, I read fairytales galore, i.e. Grimm’s Fairytales, The Blue Fairy Book, The Green Fairy Book, and more.
I still have a copy of The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. If such books catch your fancy, check that out at Goodreads here.
Wishing you comfort and joy
I do hope you enjoy some bit of the holiday as best as you can this year. Due to the COVID pandemic and the divisive national political scene, this time may be the most challenging any of us have ever experienced. I wish you as lovely a time as possible. Seek out times to wonder and wander.
Peace from our family to yours.
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
Rachel
The bird’s song filled Melanie with new hope and joy. Dancing to its tender calls, she felt the morning’s magic wash away her loneliness.
Charlene L. Edge
ooooh, love that dancing!
Adam
The bird looked Melanie in the eyes. Did it know what she was thinking? It nodded yes. Sometimes surprises were quite a surprise indeed.
Charlene L. Edge
Yes, surprises!