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AbeLincoln -> The Christmas Tree (12/18/2010 7:56:50 PM)
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Aunt Mary was there when I went to sleep. When I woke up, nobody would tell me where she had gone. But we had a beautiful Christmas tree in our living room.
I played with my toys all day, and was in and out of the living room. Today was Christmas Eve! I was excited about the toys I would get tomorrow. All day, toys came in from relatives, and each time a new one came in, I carried it in and put it under the Christmas tree. I noticed as the day went on, though, that relatives kept moving the presents out a few feet, so they weren't right under the Christmas tree. They said something about "It isn't convenient." I protested, but they ignored me.
From time to time, an adult would come over and hook an ornament on the tree. When they did, I would hear a little exclamation -- "Oooooooo" -- and I couldn't tell what was causing it. I noticed that the hooks on the ornaments were sharp, like a fish hook. Maybe that's why they wouldn't let me put on the ornaments.
Sometimes, I would come to the living room, and the door would be closed and locked. I pounded on the door, but somebody said "Come back later, Johnny!" Pesky grownups. I would hear panting through the door. Loud panting, but no voices. Were they dancing?
When they finally let me in, everybody looked like they had been outside. Their cheeks were all pink. And it smelled funny. Like my dog's breath, kind of, but not really. Kind of earthy, but not bad. The tree was trembling. Like it had a little motor in it. All the ornaments rocked back and forth on their hooks, just a little.
Finally! the day ended. I put out cookies and milk for Santa. Everybody persuaded me to go to bed at seven o'clock, so Santa could come.
Christmas morning! I tore all the wrappings off my presents. I got a bunch of good stuff. I hunkered down right under the tree and played with it all.
Once, mid-morning, I looked up into the tree, and saw a pair of eyes looking at me! They were just there for a second, and then they closed. I called somebody. They said if I were getting so over-excited, I had better take a little break. They made me sit at the table and have milk and cookies for half an hour.
I think it might have been a tree spirit.
In the afternoon, the adults put candles on the tree. The wax melted down on the tree, but the candles stayed lit. With all that bright light there, I felt like I could see my Aunt Mary's face in the tree, but like her face was painted all green. It looked like the shape of my Aunt Mary's face, but all soft and beautiful in the candle light.
I could see what looked like my Aunt Mary's arms, angling down like a Christmas tree branch, and her legs, first going almost straight sideways, but then angling down to join the other branches. I asked somebody about, and they said that trees form all sorts of shapes, kind of like clouds.
They attached ribbons to the angel on top, and walking around and around the tree, holding the ribbons. They sang what they said were "tree songs," all about how beautiful the tree was, and how they appreciated the tree letting them cut off its feet to grace their living room. They wouldn't let me hold a ribbon, but I sang the songs.
Finally, I got tired, and went to bed. When I tried to get up in middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I found that my door was locked. I pounded and hollared, but nobody came. I could hear more of that panting, coming down the hall, and all the ornaments were gently tinkling together. It sounded kind of pretty.
In the morning, my Aunt Mary was at the breakfast table! I asked where she's been, and she said she'd had some errands to do. She looked sort of dreamy, and didn't say much.
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