Shadow in the dark

23rd December 2021

A long time ago on a dark Christmas Eve, there was a soft and cool breeze blowing outside, but inside the house, there was no one to be seen.

I woke up suddenly at the sound of a great noise from outside my window. I stood up and walked down the stairs.

I sat on the stairs of my house wondering where everyone has gone to.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door and little did I know what would happen next.

When I opened the door, a small, round man wearing a red suit with a white beard and white hair stood there smiling at me.

As the man approached me I became more scared, because everywhere looks deserted.

Where could everyone have gone, my parents and siblings?

Who is this man?

Am I safe?

The man came in, sat down on the large chair in our sitting room and asked me to sit, I wanted to run but my legs couldn't move. I reluctantly sat down with him.

Then he opened his mouth and started a story:

Once upon a time, there was a little girl with fair hair and blue eyes who lived in the city. This little girl lived in a small cottage in the forest with her father, who was known as the woodcutter.

The woodcutter was good at his work, and he lived happily with his daughter: she helped him pick flowers for bouquets, and he helped her sing songs about the moon and the stars.

The girl loved to sing. She sang the songs her mother had taught her when she was just a child, and she sang songs about the forest, too. She would sing to the trees and they would reply to her in whispers.

The girl's name was Violet. Every morning, when she woke up, she would say "hello" to all the creatures of the world: her sister, the fox; her brother, the wolf; her friends, the bear cubs; and even the birds and bugs.

Violet would sit on the doorstep, by her side a pile of books. Whenever she reads from the books, she smiles and beams with joy and gladness.

"But how can I listen to stories, when my family members are nowhere to be found?"

I glanced around the room, peeped through the window and saw some children playing in the streets.

The man continued with his story;

Violet knew that there are many children like her, but she wanted to change the world by herself. Every day she went to streets and markets and shared books with kids. They were really happy to read different stories every time she visited them. They were excited to know that there are so many people who help them to achieve their dreams.

The little girl felt happy because she could help them.

Also, there lived a very poor old man in that city. He had only one cow, but he was happy and contented since it gave him milk day in and day out.

"I do not need anything else," he said to himself.

One day, the cow stopped giving milk. The poor old man did not know what to do. He thought that he would sell her and buy some food with the money.

A young man came by and asked him if he would sell his cow for some money.

"No," said the old man, "she is all I have." I can't sell I even if I'm starving.

The young man offered him more money as he walked along. The poor old man wished he could accept the offer but didn't want to part with the cow because it's was his special animal.

"The next time someone comes by, I think I'll sell her," thought the old man, because he was dying of hunger.

Violet saw the exchange and decided to show love to the man, she took money from her savings, gave it to the man and told him to keep his cow and not sell it.

The old man was happy and blessed her.

By the time he was done with his story, I decided to ask him a question.

Sir, why are you here?

Where are my parents?

Instead of him answering my questions he stood up, dropped the bag he was carrying and left the same way he came in.

Then I woke up sweating profusely.

What is this dream about?

I only took a quick nap, woke up and had no clue what to do!

I opened up my presents and smiled because I was too sleepy to wake up.

I looked at my clock and saw it was alreay two.

That’s when I realized I had a big problem to solve.

I need to show love to people around me, young, old, make, female, children and adults. And that I did.

I dressed up, and walked into our large palour only to see the whole family members merrying and dining. I joined in the fun. We had our party and exchanged our Christmas gifts.

So, it's a season of love and joy, share the love with people.

This is my entry to the Christmas prompt by @TengoLoTodo and also doubles the entry to the prompt by @Jumper-01 for the Nigerian BCH forum.

I hope it works.