The Milagro at Christmas

Juanito starred up at the dark sky through his bedroom window. He shivered as he felt the icy fingers of the north wind reach in through the cracks of the windowsill. It was then that he noticed that among all the stars shinning above, one star was much brighter than all the rest. In the darkness of the night it seemed to call out to him. Papa would be home from work soon he thought to himself, and Mother was in her room sewing clothes for the holidays.

La Navidad, was quickly approaching and they would need every cent they could earn in order for it to be a good Christmas, he thought. It was the time of year when parents were busy buying toys and new clothes for their children. However, Juanito’s family was always struggling just to pay the bills. Every year it was always the same. He would always squeeze his Christmas presents though the wrapping paper, because he already knew what was in them, socks and more socks!

Why was it thought Juanito, that on the poor side of town most people were in need of everything, and on the rich side, they had everything they wanted? Juanito was almost ten years old now, and he was beginning to realize the difference between being poor and being rich.  “How I wish we were rich!” said Juanito to his cat Mancha’s. Juanito had named his cat Mancha’s, because of the black spots all over its white furry body.

“If we were rich, mancha’s.” said Juanito. “I would buy a brand new house for Papa and Mama, with a swimming pool in the back yard, and you Mancha’s would not have to chase down mice every day to get your supper!”  Mancha’s, looked up at him and let out a soft “meow,” in agreement. Suddenly the glare of headlights shining into the driveway made Juanito realized that his father was home. The lights and the old pickups muffler gave it away.

Juanito’s father was carrying a small plastic Christmas tree as he entered the door. “Papa, your home!” said Juanito. “Si, mijo, and look at what I brought.” “Papa it’s a Christmas tree but it’s fake one, are we so poor now that we can’t even afford a real Christmas tree, “said Juanito.  “Mijo, La Navidad is not about having lots of money, or expensive gifts, or even having a real Christmas tree.

It’s much more than that it’s about love and familia. By the way your tio and tia are coming by, so maybe you better help your mom get the kitchen table ready.”  With that Mancha’s the cat jumped off the sofa, and followed Juanito into the kitchen, because he knew that Juanito was sure to feed him some tasty scraps. After supper Juanito was helping his mom wash the dishes when he peeked out the window to look up at the bright star. “Estrellita, help me to understand the truth about Christmas, I want to know the truth? Juanito whispered softly.”

It was two weeks before Christmas when Juanito arrived home from school only to find the door locked. He knew something was wrong because his mother was always home doing her sewing during that time of day. He waited for about thirty minutes before his uncle Rudy and tia Maria finally drove up. “Where’s Mama?” asked Juanito. “She is in the hospital, mijo.” replied Juanito’s aunt. As they drove to the hospital Juanito said a silent prayer for his Mother.

Later that evening when he got home, he looked up at the stars and wondered if the bright star was the same one that had appeared over the manger where the Christ child was born. The next day, Juanito cracked open the door of his room slowly when the doctor visited. He opened it just enough to hear the doctor speaking to his father. “Your wife is in a coma Mr. Gonzales, we have done the best we can at this time, and now all we can do is wait and hope she pulls through!”

After his father finished speaking with the doctor, he came in to Juanito’s room and sat down upon the bed. Juanito stared out the window so that his father would not see the tears welling in his eyes. “Juanito, you have to be strong for Mama! She is counting on us to keep things going until she gets well, do you understand?” “Si Papa,” replied Juanito.

“One more thing mijo, always remember that the true meaning of Christmas is about love and family, and that all the money in the world can never replace a loved one.” As Juanito’s father left the room. Juanito realized he had a lot to think about. All that time he had complained about not having enough material things and had never realized that true riches is the love that unites a family.

From then on, Juanito wasn’t bothered by other children having more nice things than him. He knew, that someday he would have those things after finishing his education. Right now, the only thing that mattered to him was seeing his mother’s smiling face back home, and watching his father’s eyes light up whenever he saw her smile.

A week passed and still the condition of Juanito’s mother remained the same.  Each night, Juanito would stare out his bedroom window and look up at the stars searching for that one special star that had appeared over Bethlehem. It was now six days before Christmas, and people were still preparing for the holidays.

The small house no longer had that warm cozy feeling like when Juanito’s mother was there, and even the little Christmas tree and Mancha’s the cat appeared sad. Two nights before Christmas, the bright star was shining brighter than ever, and juanito finally realized that love and family were much more important than all the material things in the world!

That same night, Juanito and his father were sitting by the fireplace, when Mancha’s quickly jumped off the sofa and headed straight for Juanito’s room.  Juanito thought Mancha’s had seen a mouse before so he followed him. When Juanito entered his room, he saw that it was flooded with a beautiful light shining through the window.  It was then, that Juanito looked up at the sky again and saw the bright star glowing like never before, just like the one in the story of La Navidad.

The very next day, the telephone rang and Juanito’s father answered it. The hospital was calling with the news that Juanito’s Mom had awakened from her coma, and that she would soon be coming home! Now, whenever Juanito sees a star shining in the night sky, he remembers that love and family are truly what matter most in life. Just like The Milagro at Christmas.

Copyright 2016 Frank Solis All Rights Reserved

The Legend of the Ghost Bells

An early snow was falling upon the sleepy mountain village of Rancho Nuevo, and the Conejo family was soundly sleeping. Bernie Conejo, pulled the blanket up over his face and slowly turned over. He did not want to wake up, because he had endured another sleepless night of hearing strange noises coming from the nearby hill.

The sounds Bernie had heard the past two nights sounded like bells, along with cries of deep anguish from someone in great distress. Perhaps, it was the ghost grandfather whispered about late at night that he was hearing, or maybe even the mortal enemy of all Conejos, the mean old fox

Bernie had heard his grandfather speak in hushed tones about ghosts before. However, since Bernie was the youngest he wasn’t allowed to hear the scary stories his grandfather told the rest of the family. So one night Bernie pretended to be sound asleep in his room, and instead listened by the doorway and he heard the story about his grandfather’s escape from the jaws of the mean old fox.

Bernie despite his young age was not scared by stories of mean old foxes, or even ghosts for that matter, and he decided one night that he would go out into the darkness to confront this ghost who dared to disturb his sleep. At midnight when everyone in the Conejo family was fast asleep and dreaming about carrots, lettuce, and other delicious vegetables, Bernie decided that he would quietly sneak out.

Ding-dong, ding-dong, exactly at twelve o’clock midnight the church bells in the nearby town rang out. It seemed like they were calling out to Bernie. The cold wind was huffing and puffing, as he made his way up from the comfort of the burrow to the frigid and hostile world outside. The whirling snow made everything look spooky as it covered the landscape in a glistening ghostly white blanket.

Trees cast terrible shadows in the moonlight; they looked like messengers of doom in a bare and forbidding world, with their branches ready to grab anyone that dared to draw near to them. The once humble country church now looked like a giant white castle in a fairytale, with its cap of snow and ice, as Bernie slowly made his way up the hill.

 He had only gone as far as the big barn, where Pepe Owl lived, when he heard the fearsome noise again. The same noise which had caused him to lose sleep over several nights in a row. Faraway at first, then closer, and closer, the noise struck fear into Bernie’s heart. Could it be the mean old fox? He imagined the fox carrying him off in his powerful jaws. Bernie, almost turned back then, but he knew in his heart that he just had to solve the mystery. He pressed on in the falling snow amidst the horrible wailing coming from the top of the hill.

Then, he saw it. Just fifty yards away from him was the mean old fox. Bernie thought about his family, sleeping safely within the burrow. Now all Bernie could do was wait it out and hope that the fox did not, discover him. So he lay down beside a large log. From afar he saw the fox sniffing the wind, and then the fox turned straight towards him!

Bernie began shaking uncontrollably he could almost feel the sharp fangs of the fox upon his soft small body. He looked up again and saw that the fox was coming straight at him. When the fox was less than twenty feet away, tears began to fill Bernie’s eyes as he imagined himself becoming a ghost like the ones in the ghost stories his grandfather told. Bernie looked up once more, only to see the fox right in front of him with an evil, hungry glint, in his eyes.

Suddenly, from the top of the hill came the sound of bells. The fox glanced warily up the hill, as sounds of anguish, mixed with bells covered the landscape. Never before, had Bernie or even the mean old fox heard such terrible sounds. Then almost at once, at the top of the hill appeared the ghost. White as snow and much larger than the fox, “It’s the Ghost!” shouted Bernie. It was such a horrible sight, that even the fox became filled with terror.

The ghost was now coming down the hill very fast. The fox took one last look up the hill and took off running! Bernie was now shaking all over at the thought of what was about to befall him. Faster and faster, the ghost came down the hill until he was almost on top of Bernie. Bernie trembled, and covered up his eyes in fear.

Then there was a loud thud as the ghost hit the log in front of Bernie, so hard that it moved. When Bernie uncovered his eyes he expected to see the fearsome phantom, but instead all he saw was a kitten, all tangled up in a long string with bells on it. The kitten was within a very large snowball that had broken up when it hit the log. “Hey, you’re no fearsome ghost!” said Bernie. “Of course not.” said the kitten. “My name is Paquito!  A few nights ago I got all tangled up in a long string with bells on it, and I’ve been trying to get it off ever since!”

“I will help you Paquito.” said Bernie. “We Conejos are famous for our sharp teeth!” So Bernie helped Paquito remove the string with all the noisy little bells on it. They became good friends after that, because Bernie could finally get a good night’s sleep. As to what happened to the string with the bells on it? Well, Bernie and Paquito decided to hang it up in a nearby tree, so that whenever the wind blew, the bells would ring out and the mean old fox would think the phantom of The Ghost Bells was coming. In this way, all the little animals in the nearby woods would be safe. Now, grandpa Conejo has another story to tell. One about a brave little bunny named Bernie and a kitten named Paquito, which is known as, The Legend of The Ghost Bells.

Copyright 2016 Frank Solis All Rights Reserved