A Christmas Wish
He sat in his bed, staring at an old picture of a shining young man holding a newborn. The Christmas Eve air chilled him to the bone as he tried to encase himself further into his blanket. The picture fell from his limp grasp as he fell asleep. This would be the first Christmas without his father.
Dreams of sugar plums and Christmases past filled the little boy's head. The secret tradition he and his father had every year: the man dressing up as Santa Claus, and his son secretly watching him from the banister. He knew that it was his father in that suit. He knew Santa wasn't real, but he didn't care. It filled him with warmth, thinking about all the things his dear dad had done for him.
With all of his heart, he wished that things could be like they were.
Suddenly, the boy woke up to a thumping sound. He groggily rose from the bed, searching for the time. It was too early for his mother to be making breakfast, and his older sister would never be up so soon. Perhaps a present toppled over, he pondered. Maybe his cat and dog were fighting in the family room again. As he went back into bed, the thumping sound came again. His curiosity piqued; the young boy quietly slinked out of his room.
He slowly crept toward the banister, keeping a lookout for any other awake beings. As he successfully made it to his post, he spotted something moving out of the corner of his eye. There, in the family room, a dull flash of red could be seen limping about the tree. Placing various brightly wrapped gifts around the Tannenbaum, the man didn't notice the boy closely observing his movements.
It couldn't be. His father was gone. But there he was, in that old Santa suit, positioning the presents under the Christmas tree. And there was his boy, sitting by the banister, as always, watching in awe and amazement.
He couldn't take it. He simply couldn't control himself. Instead of quietly watching like he did all those other years, he got up and ran to his beloved father.
"Daddy," he shouted, swinging his arms around the man's waist. "I missed you so much!"
The man stood there. Silent, unfazed. Slowly, he turned around to face the boy. And he covered the boy's mouth before he could scream.