ALMOST, BUT NOT QUITE, A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

By

Ralph Gamelli

1.

Although it is the wish of every schoolchild, it has never snowed in the bucolic town of Shelburne Spring. But then ten-year-old Charlie Newton wakes one morning from a wondrous dream and proclaims to one and all that it will snow in exactly one week, on Christmas day. Of course, no one believes him. His parents pass it off as wishful thinking. His teachers dismiss it as an overactive imagination. Even his fellow students laugh and tease him.

And then something extraordinary occurs. Over the course of the week, the townsfolk—one by one, young and old—start to come around. Their faith in a white Christmas is soon equal to Charlie's. It will snow, if only they believe. When they retire to their beds on Christmas Eve, it is with a sense of anticipation, of magic just waiting to happen, that they have never felt before.

And indeed, they wake on Christmas morning to an astonishing world of white -- thirty-four inches of heavy, wet snow that has brought all activity to a halt. Roads are impassible; electricity is out;  families are trapped in their homes together for days on end, driving each other crazy. There are several instances of domestic violence. Furniture is broken apart and burned for warmth. One fire gets out of control and consumes the entire house. On the east side of town, another household runs out of food and must resort to cooking the family pet. Sporadic gunfire can be heard. The mayor, feeling somehow responsible for the town's hardship, hangs himself in his kitchen.

Finally, however, order is restored, and when school resumes Charlie is beaten by his classmates on a daily basis. His parents are continually harassed. Their house and car are vandalized as police look the other way. Death threats begin to arrive in the mail. Eventually the Newtons must flee Shelburne Spring in the dead of night, taking only what they can carry.

2.

Due to a longstanding dispute, two brothers have not seen or talked to each other in over fifty years. Neither has married nor had children. Both are old and alone in the world, and starting to realize the futility of holding a grudge against the only family they will ever know.

Then, as luck or fate would have it, they chance to meet as they are walking along the sidewalk one Christmas morn. A long moment of silence follows. Each brother struggles to find his voice, to say what must be said. The crisp air between them seems to thaw. Finally, the words come. Feelings are expressed. Punches are thrown. The authorities are summoned. In the end, no arrests are made but each must pay a $250 fine.

3.

Paul Lumley's car breaks down on Christmas Eve, stranding him on an isolated country road with a trunk full of presents intended for his wife and kids, who eagerly wait for him at home. Determined not to let them down, Lumley gathers his bags and sets out along the road. A bitter wind lashes at him as he struggles through the night. His legs grow weak, but his determination is strong, the spirit of Christmas compelling him onward.

A set of headlights approaches! Lumley turns and attempts to flag down the car. The driver is a Ms. Edith Turnbuckle. Twenty years earlier, on Christmas Eve, she walked out on her own family and has always felt guilty about it. Saving Lumley's Christmas would be her redemption, her way of forgiving herself at last. She would in essence be saving both of them.

Unfortunately Edith Turnbuckle is sixty-four years old and has poor night vision. She never notices Lumley. She barely even hears the thump against her front grille, which she assumes is just some unfortunate woodland creature.

Two days later, a passing motorist spots the body of Paul Lumley in a roadside ditch.