Renderosity "membership" name- eternalwytch1 Word Count 975 Remember ©2005 Elizabeth L. Clark She had everything she thought she wanted, she now owned the business she once was a peon for, she had the handsome husband, the required two children, one boy, one girl. She had the big house on the hill … bought and paid for. She worked hard to give herself the life she had dreamed of as a poor kid living on the wrong side of the tracks. She looked at her calendar and scowled ... December already? She hated having to give out her hard earned money for stupid Christmas bonuses. She hated the whole holiday for that matter. She had her husband buy for the children, since she really had little to do with them. She birthed them, supported them, what more could anyone expect from a busy woman like her? They had the best of everything, all the things she never had as a child. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a power nap. At home a little girl who looked so very much like her mother, knelt by her bed, hands clasped in prayer. "Please, I miss my mommy and wish she would stay home more with us. Daddy says mommy is working to give us things, but all I want is my mommy home." The office was lit only by her desk lamp, casting a pool of light around it like a halo. From the shadows came a voice that made her snap awake. She stared as a child in hand me down clothes approached the desk. She looked oddly beautiful in her tattered clothes, something that made the adult scowl. "I'm dreaming — that's it. I drifted into a deeper sleep than expected." The child smiled. "No, you are awake and I am very real." She touched her adult self's hand, making the adult jump. "See? Merry Christmas by the way." "This can't be! I'm hallucinating!" She slapped herself, trying to rouse herself from this nightmare. "No, you aren't, now let's go, I need to show you something." The child took her hand and they appeared over the tree in the main hall of the office. People were happily decorating it, obviously having a good time. "Too bad the boss isn't here! This is a blast!" Some one made a rude noise. "She's too cold ... we don't need real icicles!" The woman looked to the child. "Is this important? I know they hate me, but they stay because I pay them well." The child sighed. "Come, we have another stop." They appeared in a ramshackle house, clean and tidy, decorated with home made garlands and pine cones painted with left over house paint and glitter left over from a school project. The tree was scrawny, but lovingly decorated. Parents watched as their only child ran around singing carols and laughing, excited about Santa coming. "Remember this? Remember the joy, the love? Yes, we were poor, but we had love, something you seem to have forgotten." She watched in silence as her mother smiled, a smile that always made her feel good inside. Then she shook her head. "It was awful, never enough food, ratty clothes. I hated it!" Her younger self just gave her a look and took her onward. It was her current home. Her husband was helping their son make garlands, occasionally casting worried glances at their daughter. "Want to help us honey?" She sniffled sadly and shook her head. "No thank you daddy ... I'm waiting for God to answer my prayers and bring mommy home to love me." "She loves you, despite your neglect." "Neglect? She has everything!" "Except your love ... which is all she wants. We loved once. We lived once. If you do not find the love within you, you will die alone, no one to mourn you, no one to miss you. Look at her, feel her sorrow!" The adult gasped as her child's emotions filled her. She felt her eyes fill with tears as she realized the harm she was causing to the innocent little soul she had brought into the world and then ignored. "How can I change? What can I do?" The child smiled. "Go home ... give yourself and your people time off for the holidays. Live, love and feel the true spirit of Christmas." It was a changed woman that woke with a startled gasp. She wiped tears from her eyes and with a laugh dashed from her office. She hugged her aide and told her to let everyone off early and to increase the bonuses three fold, and hand them out early. She raced home and when she ran into the house her little girl looked to her and began to cry happy tears. "Mommy!" Mother and daughter held each other close and the woman whispered. "I love you, and I'll never ignore you again, any of you." The little girl just smiled. "God heard me...prayers do get answered!" She touched her mother's face. "Merry Christmas mommy..." The big house was filled with laughter that year and every year after. When her time was nearly done she looked up and saw the child and the younger woman looking down at her. "It's time isn't it?" They spoke in unison. "Yes, and look, you are surrounded by love as you leave this world." Her bed was surrounded by her children and their children. They all touched her and their eyes were wet with tears and shining with love. Her granddaughter gave birth not long after she passed and looked at a baby girl that would remind all of her great grandmother. It was Christmas day and she smiled at the best gift she could have ever wished for. "Merry Christmas little one ... and welcome to the world" The baby cooed and the soul within smiled ... time to live and love all over again.