Holiday Surprises [FICTION]

Christmas in July arrived differently that year. I fell asleep with my air conditioning cranked up so I could wear my fluffy socks and fleece pajamas while sipping hot cocoa. No other outfit merited approval for a long weekend of watching holiday favorites. Even someone as immersed in misplaced summertime holiday spirit as I am must eventually sleep. I drifted off sometime after the summer sun sank into the horizon.

The chill nipping at my nose pulled me out of a pleasant dream of choreographing an elaborate dance for snowmen. I rubbed my eyes and placed one hand over my nose to warm it. Padding slowly to the thermostat, I exclaimed in shock as a powerful jolt of electricity coursed through me. That combined with the temperature setting of a comfortably warm seventy degrees concerned me. Why did I feel so cold?

I switched the setting over to heat. The vent at my feet instantly bathed my ankles in warmth. Moments later the reassuring aroma of summer’s dust rose to my nose. Then I turned to face my living room. 

Green garlands hung from the mantle and draped symmetrically down from the crown molding. My tree sparkled to the right of the television, tossing a soft glow out the window onto the snow coating the ground outside. Surely, I bumped my head and forgot the previous five months.

As I contemplated this, I noticed festively wrapped trays of cookies lined up on the kitchen counter. Each bore a tag with the name of a lucky neighbor in my own best penmanship.

“My holiday traditions continue,” I murmured with a smile that faltered as I added, “Even with amnesia.”

 

Looking down at my comfortable, holiday movie watching attire, I ran my fingers through my hair until they caught a tangle. 

“This won’t do.”

I headed upstairs for a holiday transformation. I stopped multiple times to admire my festive decor and marvel at some new accent piece that I couldn’t remember seeing before. When my marveling waned, I slipped into a festive holiday dress of green velvet with red shimmering threads throughout. White woolen tights and comfortably practical yet adorable ankle boots completed my look. 

Packing the cookies carefully into a large canvas bag, bedecked with dancing snowmen took much less time. Soon my cute boots were leaving their mark in the lightly fallen snow as I pondered the soft glow coming from my neighbors’ houses even though I couldn’t make out any of them through the thick mist obscuring my view. As I tried to peer through it, I took one last step and my knuckles bumped into something hard and cold. I shifted my bag of goodies to one hand and ran my hand along it. It felt slightly curved and no matter how far I stepped to the left or right, it continued to block my path. I tapped on it gently and it rang like glass. 

I only had a moment to ponder this before I noticed movement on the other side of the invisible barrier. 

My eyes widened as a giant hand curved around the shape of the invisible barrier. The earth beneath my feet trembled and then began to shake as the whirls and lines became clear pressing against the glass. I raced back to my porch. Trays of cookies scattered everywhere as I dropped my bag of goodies in my haste to find a solid handhold. I reached the top step just in time to wrap my arms tightly around one of the columns supporting the roof. Then the whole world turned upside down and shook like it had been tossed into a cosmic dryer to tumble dry.

When the world and my stomach settled down, I released my death grip on the column and slumped to the porch as fluffy flakes slowly tumbled down all around me. The enormous hand had disappeared and I still couldn’t make out anything else beyond the glass. When I found enough courage, I circled the perimeter of the house. I discovered that only my house resided in this snow globe. I shuddered and went back inside to put back on my pajamas and cuddle back up in front of my television. Hopefully, the next time I woke, I would be out of this holiday horror.

~~~

Ah. What is the fate of our heroine? We may never know because the writer and the weather have not been getting along this week. I hope my dear readers enjoyed this little peek into the potential dangers of too many holiday movies. I hear there were 116 new ones released by various channels and viewing platforms this year. May you find one you love.

Break My Heart: Part 4

Happy birthday to at least one of my readers. Here is a little more of the adventures of Winnie and clay hearts. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave comments right below this very entry!

“I’m disappointed in you, people. I made sure every station has a stylus for a reason. Be creative. Add a little zest to your next piece. Redeem yourselves. Show me your creativity.” As he concluded another impassioned speech, the teacher dropped his hands, which accented every word with a sweeping flourish.

As his voice faded, we all leaned over our work. I experimentally etched a swirl in a piece of clay before kneading the clay between my hands. As I rolled it out, Maribel scooted closer to me, working her own clay with strong hands.

“So did he like it?” She stage whispered.

I shook my head. “He didn’t even see it.”

Clay slapped the counter as she turned her full attention to me. “Oh no. What happened?”

“He broke up with me before we even ordered dinner.”

“You’re kidding?” Her mouth formed a round “O” of consternation.

“Nope.” I looked down at the thin sheet of clay awaiting my creative impressions.

“Did you have dinner together after that?”

“He said his mom was right and it was over. Then he walked out before I could respond.”

“That’s cold. What did you do?”

“I was already there so I ordered dinner.”

“I don’t think I’d be able to have dinner alone at a restaurant, especially not after breaking up with my boyfriend.” She shook her head softly.

“That’s the funny thing. A guy asked to join me for dinner. He got stood up and didn’t want to eat alone.” I felt my lips turn upward.

“So did you let him join you?”

“Of course. He said he’d pay.”  A soft laugh followed the words from my mouth.

“It sounds like you had more fun eating dinner with a stranger than you would have with Janson.” 

Mirabel offered with a suggestive chuckle as she gently etched a pattern in the clay before her.

“I had fun, but...” I sighed.

“You aren’t ready to start a new relationship.”

“That and I just don’t feel attracted to this guy.” Mirabel nodded as I continued. “But we’re going to see a movie this weekend.”

“Oh, really?” The mischievous twinkle returned to her eyes.

“Oh please.” I rolled my eyes and balled up a little scrap of clay to toss at her.

She laughed as it splatted against her counter. As the teacher turned toward us, we resumed shaping clay in earnest.

~~

“There you are.” William peered over the heads of the couples between us.

“Yes. Here I am.” A warm blush crept up my cheeks as I skirted around two of the couples to meet him.

“I’ve got your ticket. Now we just need to get some popcorn. You do like popcorn, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Butter?”

I nodded as a group of teenage boys pushed past us bumping me into William. He reached out a hand to steady me and quickly drew it back.

“What type of candy and soda do you want?” He surveyed the specials on the board.

“Just water. I don’t need candy.”

“Nonsense. What woman doesn’t want candy during a movie?” He elbowed me slightly so I would look up at his face. He wiggled his eyebrows and winked.

I laughed. “Peanut M&Ms then.”

“An excellent choice.”

He relayed our order to girl behind the counter, passing me my drink and the candy as he grabbed the popcorn and his soda. I followed him closely as we walked down a maze of hallways to our theater. 

We found a couple of seats in the middle and sat down.

He smiled as he offered me some popcorn. “I should have asked you this before…”

“Yes?” I asked as he paused.

“You’re not going to talk through the whole movie, are you?”

I snorted. “Only if you do.”

“Good. I love reserving my most meaningful conversations for the movie theater.”

“Me, too. I think the people around me enjoy it.” I winked at him as the lights dimmed and we turned our attention to the previews flashing across the screen.

About halfway through the movie, he leaned over to whisper in my ear. “You really shouldn’t talk so much.”

I shook my head and stifled a laugh. He didn’t lean away. Instead, he bumped his elbow against mine and reached for my hand. As I turned to him in the glow of the movie screen, I could tell he felt what I felt. He released my hand and we leaned away from each other.

When the movie ended, I got up from my seat without looking back to see if he followed.

“Should we talk?” His voice rumbled through my own jumbled thoughts.

My head jerked upward in surprise. “I never meant…”

“I know. I know.” He reassured me. “I figured as much, but I wanted to be sure before I said anything.”

“So where do we go from here?”

“We don’t have to date. Want to try the illusive boy/girl friendship?”

“We could try that.”

“How about grabbing some ice cream, my friend?” He offered me his elbow.