THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.

Chapter 1: The Loss

December 20

It had been three years since Suzan’s father had passed away. She was 7 years old at the time, and the loss had hit her hard. Every day since then, she had felt a deep sense of sadness and anger at the driver whose car crashed into her dad’s on the eve of her birthday which was four days before Christmas, and at her mum for not being angry enough to sue the driver, at her dad for leaving her so soon and at the world for taking her dad away from her.

It was all just a tangle of different emotions.

She had become a shadow of herself and an alien to her mother. She pushes away anyone who tries to get close and becomes aggressive if anyone tries to help. It’s another Christmas and everyone’s wish is that she’ll heal and become her vibrant self once more.

Chapter 2: The Wish

December 21

“Make a wish and blow the candle”

Michelle, Susan’s mum said, looking at her with so much love and pity. Both had gone through a lot in the past three years and all she wanted was for them to be able to live, love and smile again. 

“I wish for a Christmas miracle” she whispered as she blew out the candle. 

She had only agreed to celebrate her birthday this year because of her mother’s plea; now she wished she hadn’t as it brought back memories of the good times spent with her dad.

The pain from the memories was becoming unbearable and she broke out in tears and ran up the stairs to her room.

Chapter 3; The Stranger

December 22

After tossing for a while, Susan decided it was better she found something to eat, or else she wouldn’t be able to sleep because of the ravenous hunger she was feeling.

Covering herself with a duvet, she matched on tiptoe to the kitchen but the shushing sound from her mother’s room made her stop to take a peep through the door that was ajar.

“…. Lord, I’m tired and I need help, Susan needs help, we both need a miracle. I’m afraid I might break if…….”

The sudden crashing sound from the kitchen made Susan run into the room just as Michelle jumped up from her prayers.

She was surprised to see her daughter but decided the stranger in their kitchen needed more attention.  She grabbed the first weapon she saw, a hair dryer.

With raised brows, Susan questioned her choice of weapon but she shrugged it off as they both went down the stairs, Susan following closely behind her.

“Stop right there or I’ll shoot” Michelle yelled as she switched on the light, pointing the dryer towards the intruder like a gun. 

The intruder whose face was hidden by the hood he was wearing appeared to have stolen so much as the cloth he was wearing looked so big. He was about to run away when he bumped into a chair and fell on his back after trying to keep his stamina.

Michelle ran quickly to meet him before he could stand up. As she pushed back his hood, the face that greeted her was that of a teenage boy.

“What are you doing here, and where did you steal all these things from? ” She asked as she struggled with him to open his swollen jacket. She wanted to know what he had stolen and where he had stolen them from. She didn’t expect to see a cold toddler look back at her with blushed cheeks and cake-stained lips.

Chapter 4; The Healing

December 23

“Ding dong!” rang the doorbell. 

“They’re here mummy, they’re here!” Susan shouted with excitement as she ran down the stairs. Just as she got to the door, Michelle opened it to two young children; -Samuel and Katherine- and a puppy. She smiled and ushered the frowning kids and an overly excited puppy, who was barking and wagging its tail, it was soon silenced with some brisket bone.

“Can we have our brother now?” The 13-year-old Samuel who had stolen from Michelle the previous night asked, still angry with Michelle for what she did.

Michelle had asked Samuel and his brother to spend the night as it was snowing and his brother was already cold. He refused, saying he wanted to go meet his sister. She suggested he brought his sister too but he refused, so she threatened him. She threatened to call the childcare service to come to take his brother if he refused to bring his sister or drop his brother.

“Your brother is still sleeping but you can come to see him” Susan answered from where she had been watching them. She had stayed up late soothing, rocking, and playing with the toddler. Katherine followed her up the stairs while Samuel stayed behind with Mitchelle.

Michelle noticed Samuel was beginning to relax after a few minutes of chitchat, so she left him to walk around the room while she got breakfast ready. It wasn’t long before the girls came downstairs with Justin each holding his hands. 

Once on the last stairs, he ran the remaining distance into the warm embrace of his brother. Michelle couldn’t help but notice how her daughter looked at them and she just prayed that they weren’t setting themselves up for a greater heartbreak, because it was obvious that both mother and daughter had warmed up to these strangers.

The rest of the day was pretty interesting, Samuel had loosened up finally, and the soccer game did the trick. It was all laughter and joy around the house. Michelle had always fancied herself a good player, she won Samuel 3:2. While they played, the girls took pleasure in dotting over Justin running around the house with the dog on their tail.

Soon, it was time to leave and as Michelle was about to ask if she could drop them at home, Susan pulled her into the Kitchen and begged her to let them spend the night that they didn’t have a place to go. 

“How did you know?” She asked, “Katherine told me”. 

It was then she decided to learn the whole truth from Samuel by all means. 

“Wow!” was all she could say when she finally heard about what happened to them. It’s a miracle they’re still together, it’s even a greater miracle that God brought them to her home. Who would believe that Samuel, Katherine, and Justin were the children of the driver who crashed his car into her husband’s? He had just got a call from the hospital that his wife was having another seizure and was rushed to the emergency. 

Their dad died a few days after the accident, their mother didn’t make it out of surgery leaving them to be taken care of by their grandmother who was able to do that wholeheartedly for three years until she fell ill. She was taken to a home for the old and when the neighbors called the child service to come to pick up the children, they ran away. 

Their grandma had taught them to always stay together, pray, live, love each other, see beyond the pain, and always trust God. This had kept them safe and sane for the past three months they were alone.

“And like grandma always says, all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to His purpose,”  Samuel said as he concluded his story. 

“How about the dog?” Michelle asked

“We saw him cold and lonely in the rain so we adopted him,” Samuel said simply as he stuffed some cookies into his mouth.

Confused by the look on her face, Samuel asked, “Will you report us to child service?”

“Oh no, I can’t do that” Michelle answered seeing fear written all over his face.

“But I do have a proposition for you” the smile on her face made Samuel raise his brow, a gesture to question her proposition, 

“Would you and your siblings, and your dog also do us the honor of staying with us, until you find a new home at least?”

He went from being shocked to being pleased and then scared. 

“Okay,” he shrugged as he answered. “But you’ll have to ask the others too”

Smiling, both went outside to meet the others by the fireplace. When she asked if they would want to stay with them, Katherine shouted the loudest yes and it was just so adorable. Susan and Katherine hugged each other laughing about how they’ll finally be able to play sisters. 

Chapter 5: The Miracle

December 24

Katherine and her brothers woke up to the smell of freshly baked cookies and a cup of hot chocolate. They hadn’t eaten this in a long time and as the heat from the cup of hot chocolate warmed their palm they were all smiles.

It was the eve of Christmas and Michelle couldn’t help but notice the glow and enthusiasm about the season that was back on her daughter’s face since after her father’s death. 

She smiled when she offered Kate more cookies and a napkin to clean the crumbs off her lips while they were talking. 

“My baby is back.” She whispered to herself.

Christmas eve was busy for the whole house. Susan and her mother had no plans to decorate earlier, they haven’t in a long while but seeing the happy faces and knowing they’ll be making their new friends happy, Susan suggested they bring the old Christmas tree in from the garage. 

Samuel, though young, was quite strong. As he not only single-handedly carried the slightly heavy Christmas tree, but he also helped in bringing down and lifting heavy boxes when they were looking for lights and decorations.

“Phew, what a day” Mitchelle exclaimed. She was about to go get more hot cocoa. Then she saw Kate give Susan one of the choicest ornaments to put on the tree top. She whispered something into her ear which made her break into tears and run up the stairs.

Michelle smiled at a worried Kate as she went to speak to her daughter.

“Hi, Susan. Can I please come in?”

“Yes, you can mummy.”

Michelle went in and sat beside her daughter and just hugged her. 

It was like she needed the hug because immediately she went into her mother’s embrace, she wouldn’t stop crying.

Both were like that for over an hour. And when she was able to talk, she asked for a cup of water.

Michelle was about to go to get the cup of water when she saw that their guests were packed and ready to leave. 

“Where are you all going to?” She asked alarmed

“I’m sorry I made Susan cry, I just told her that she is a good person and that her dad would be so proud of her, I didn’t mean to upset her” Kate answered sadly.

“I know you didn’t upset her on purpose Kate and I’m sure leaving without saying goodbye would make her even more upset,” Mitchelle said, moving closer to her. “Why not go up to her room with Justin and apologize to her if you must”

“Okay”

When Michelle gave Susan the cup of water, she asked if Kate could come to say goodbye before leaving. Hearing this, Susan rushed out of her room to meet Kate and her siblings downstairs.

“Why are you going and where are you going to stay?”

“I thought you were angry with what I said and wouldn’t want to see us again” 

“No, I wasn’t angry. What you said made me realize how selfish I had been.” Susan replied with a smile while wiping off a stray tear.

She went further to explain how angry she had been at every one. How she had thought her mother wicked not to have followed up with the person driving the car that crashed into her fathers’ car not knowing that they had children of theirs and were even going through worse than she was. She explained that she must have been making her father sad with her actions and attitude and that statement she had made it all clear and now it felt like a heavy burden was lifted off her.

She went to meet Kate and hugged her tightly. “Thank you!” She whispered.

After all the drama, they all went to bed. The boys stayed in the guest room. Kate and Susan helped clean up while both girls stayed in Susan’s room. Michelle could hear their giggles and murmurs and it just made her happy. Her prayer had been answered.

Chapter 6: The New Family

December 25

It was a beautiful Christmas morning and all woke up early except the girls who didn’t go to sleep until after midnight.

By the time the girls woke up, the table was set and it was indeed a mini feast. 

Just at noon, the doorbell rang and Michelle hurried up to open it.

“Everyone say hi to our guest” Michelle announced with a smile.

“Grandma!”  The children exclaimed as they ran to hug her in her wheelchair. They couldn’t believe their eyes.

Michelle had overheard Kate telling Susan that she and her siblings would love to see her grandma one more time even if it was just a few minutes during Christmas. They had planned to sneak into the nursing home where she was staying to visit her. Seeing the happy faces, she was glad she overheard their conversation.

There was so much to eat and drink. From saying Christmas stories to watching a Christmas movie and to childhood stories, gladly shared by grandma, Christmas was just perfect for them all.

Michelle had gone to the kitchen to get another round of juice and apple pie. On her way back she stopped, admiring the sight before her.

When she saw the way they all were seated at the fireplace, laughing at Grandma’s silly jokes she knew exactly what to do.

“Hello, everyone. I have an announcement to make” Michelle said, clinging to the glass cup with a spoon.

When she had everyone’s attention, she announced, “What will you say to Grandma, Samuel, Kate, and Justin to officially be a part of this family forever”?

When they looked confused, she explained further that she would love to adopt them all. 

She had not finished her explanation when she heard a unanimous yes. She couldn’t hold her joy. Even Susan shouted yes. 

She had always wanted a large family but the complications she had during Susan’s pregnancy prevented her from having another child. This was like a dream come true.

While they all sat down, celebrating their new family, Michelle got to know that Katherine’s and her grandma’s prayers had been that God bless them with a new loving family and God did answer their prayers most perfectly. This blessing for both families was indeed a Christmas miracle.

Before nightfall, Michelle called someone, who knew someone that’s family or someone ready to help them with the paperwork for the adoption.

Within a few weeks, all was settled and they became a big beautiful family.

                  THE END