Renderosity Name: perelredstorm The Christmas Tree The Christmas tree was chipped, and it had a crack running down the side. It’s green coloring had faded to an almost lime color. I turned the little plaster figurine around so the crack was no longer visible and placed it back on the mantle. Thirty-two years had taken its toll on the little gift. I had asked my Grandfather for some money so I could buy my Grandma a Christmas present. He pulled out his wallet and gave me five one-dollar bills. That was a lot of money to a seven year old. Pop warned me not to buy candy with it and I gave him my word. This was going to be the best Christmas ever! It took me a while to put on my galoshes, but eventually I did it without any help. Pop helped me zip up my bright red winter coat and he put my hood in place. The coat was about as wide as I was tall, and I had to turn my whole body just to look from side to side. I put on my gloves and I was ready to go. I headed out the door and Pop told me to be careful. There was a light snow falling and the wind was blowing. At that age I didn’t really notice the cold, but the wind forced me to lean far forward from time to time. The sidewalks were all shoveled but there was an occasional chunk of ice for me to kick. One of our neighbors was on his front porch putting up his Christmas lights. I waved to him but he didn’t notice me. Finally I made it to the corner and turned down the main road. Now for some fun! The sidewalk here was right up against the street and the plows had pushed big piles of snow all along the curb. The street had turned a lot of the snow a gray color that sometimes made it look like rocks. I climbed up and walked along the top of the pile. Sometimes my foot would sink in up to my knee. There were also huge chunks of ice and packed snow for me to kick or push off the ridge. I would pretend I was on the moon walking along in my spacesuit. I was totally oblivious to the traffic zooming by on my left. Many of the shops I passed had blinking Christmas lights in their windows, but I didn’t pay much attention to them either. I was focused on my adventure with the snow pile. Eventually I reached my destination – a little store that sold plaster and porcelain figures. The place was warm and it had a heavy smell of Christmas. The shop was empty except for the woman behind the counter. I walked in, unzipped my coat, and eventually picked out the small green tree. Nana was going to love it! It had red ornaments and a yellow star at the top. The woman came over and asked me if I was buying a present. I told her it was for my Grandma. She told me I was a nice young man and asked me my name. I told her it was Billy. She took the tree over to the counter and began to wrap it in paper. I stuffed my hand in my pocket for the money. I had to stretch up to reach the counter and the woman took the crumpled up wad from me. She straightened out each bill one at a time and handed one back to me along with a few pennies. She put the tree in a brown paper bag, folded the top down, and placed it on the counter. She came around to me and helped to zip up my coat. She said she hoped Santa would be good to me this year and handed me the package. She told me to be careful just like Pop had, and said, “Merry Christmas.” She was a nice lady. I held the bag tight with both hands. This time the snow pile went by ignored. I had to get the tree home safely. When I arrived at my house my Grandma was standing there holding the door open for me. I quickly put the bag behind my back as I went by her. She never said a word. I took the gift straight to my room and tried to wrap it. It just didn’t look right so I asked Pop to help me. Together we got it wrapped and I scribbled, “To Nana” on the little tag he gave me. I wanted to give it to her right then but Pop told me I had to wait till Christmas … it would be more special that way. The next few days went by very slowly. Every time I saw Nana I thought about the tree and I would smile. Finally it was Christmas morning and indeed, Santa had been very good to me. There were brightly wrapped presents under the tree and all over the living room. First things first, I had to give Nana her present. I was so excited as I handed it to her. When she pulled the paper off, her face lit up and mine did a moment later. She told me it was beautiful and thanked me for such a wonderful present. I couldn’t stop smiling. I told her I got it all by myself. She acted surprised and told me that made it all the more precious. I was so proud of myself. All day long she would comment on how much she loved her little tree. Every Christmas after that the tree was always brought out and put on display. Through the years she would occasionally tell me that was her favorite present. Eventually the tree passed on to me, and Christmas has never been quite the same since. Merry Christmas Nana… I miss you.