“Merry Christmas!” Everyone shouted to each other on the busy, city streets. Presents and packages all wrapped in colorful paper and bright bows littered the shop windows on every corner. Young children pulled and tugged on mommy and daddy for that special toy they wanted so desperately for Christmas. Every store in town played classic and modern Christmas songs abroad for everyone to hear. The holiday season was in the air, and Christmas spirit flooded the streets. Everyone was into getting into the Christmas mood…except for one.
A lone man stood out in the crowd with his black coat and hat on as he made his way through the streets. While everyone was decorated in bright reds, greens, and assortment of Christmas colors, the man paid them no mind as he made his way to a lone flower shop. The bell, hung over the door, jingled as the man glanced in. Many were shifting around and tugging on the different assortment of wreaths, poinsettias, and holly plants to bring home to decorate their homes.
Ignoring the chaos playing behind the scenes, the man walked up to a display of flowers that were marked for clearance. Some tulips and azalea flowers that looked partially wilted from age mixed with other assortment of flowers. Amongst them was a lone rose that sat laying across some of the other plants. The man picked up with tender care as he observed the flower. The thorns were as sharp as could be and the pedals of the flowers glowed with a brilliant red unlike anything he had ever seen before.
“Is there something I can help you with, Sir?” One of the store clerks behind the counter inquired. They noticed the man lost in thought gazing over the rose. “That’s a beautiful rose you found there. I must confess, I don’t remember the last time we got any roses in.”
The man continued to nod in recognition as he reached for his wallet and gave the man a twenty dollar bill. “This should cover for the flower. Whatever change is left, you can save it for the next customer. It is the time of giving after all.”
The clerk glanced between the man and the money and looked perplexed and astounded at the same time. “Sir, this is very generous, but I do not believe we sell those flowers here right now, so I cannot in good faith take your money.”
The man lifted his hand to protest. “Then consider it a donation to your fine establishment. Merry Christmas to you.” He tipped his has and walked out the door before the clerk could further protest.
Heavy snow began to fall to the ground, forcing people back into their homes and businesses until the weather had cleared. Shoulder to shoulder, people ran in panic to escape the wintery blast as the man with a single rose continued to walk through unbothered and unaffected by the stinging chill that grazed his skin. Step for step he progressed out of the abandoned streets towards the outskirts of the populated area towards a small cemetery.
Many of the tombstones were already covered in a fresh layer of white powder that blanketed the entire field. The area surrounding the cemetery was silent as a whisper as the wind blew the snow across the land. The man stood at the entrance unmoving with his hand on his head as the wind attempted to carry his hat away from him several times. For a moment, he took in the quiet and soaked in the peace that came from the solitude.
He soon took slow, paced steps down the winding trail until he approached a single tombstone separated from the others. He wiped the top of the stone off with his glove as he gently set the rose on top and sat down on a bench in front of it. He leaned forward clasping his hands together as he stared at the stone intently. The howling winds and the chilling snow did not move him or cause him to flinch.
“I can’t believe it’s already been a whole year,” The man said to himself as he sat on the frozen, stone bench. “I come here every day, and every day I’m no closer to an answer than the day you left. I still feel like I failed you.”
“But you didn’t fail me, Daddy!” A voice echoed from behind. The man remained still as a small figure slowly approached and sat on the bench next to him. “You have never let me down.”
Convinced his mind was playing tricks on him, he looked over next to him as a little boy dressed in tattered winter close stared at him with a large grin on his face and kicking his feet back and forth with glee. The man nearly slid off the bench into the snow as he felt himself turn white as a ghost.
“Jake? Jake is that you?” The man asked in a trembling voice.
The boy smiled and nodded as he wrapped his arms around the man. “Yes, Daddy!” He answered with pure joy. “You’ve come to visit me every day! There’s no doubt in my mind how much you are still here for me.”
The man’s shaking arms slowly came to the boy, fully expecting his embrace to pass through like a vapor. To his surprise, his hands made contact as he pulled Jake closer to him with tears streaming from my eyes. “Jake! My boy!” The man wept. “I’m so sorry. I should have been there. I should have done something I…”
Jake looked up and put a hand on the man’s face. “Don’t cry, Daddy. It’s alright. I’m not mad at you.”
The man took a deep breath to compose himself as he wiped the crusted tears that attempted to freeze to his face. “Please…I need to know…what happened?”
Jake let go of the man and returned to swinging his feet as he stared off into space. “There was a bad snow storm that night. The wind howled and roared all night long. Your flight home from your business trip was delayed because of the weather. I decided to go check on the horses in the barn. I opened the front door and saw a mountain of smoke coming from the field. I ran over and saw the horse barn caught on fire from one of the lanterns being knocked over. There wasn’t time to go find water to put out the fire, but I tried to get the horses out of there. I got most of them out, but…by the time I got the last one out, I heard a cracking sound from over my head. The next thing I knew, I woke up in Heaven.”
The man sat there frozen as he continued to blame himself a thousand different ways in his mind. “Jake…I should have done better. I shouldn’t have left you knowing the weather was bad. You would still be here if…I wouldn’t have had to…” The man fumbled with his words before he slid off the bench and crumpled to the ground sobbing.
Jake got on his knees and put his hand on the man. “It’s okay, Daddy,” Jake reassured him. “I promise. It’s beautiful here.”
The man slowly composed himself as he looked up to him. “It is?”
Jake nodded with childlike joy. “Yes! It’s just like everything we learned about in church. I have a new body now. I’m not hurting. I’m free from everything. I know you’re sad because I’m not here for Christmas, but remember what Jesus said about death. It was one of the first verses I memorized after you helped me come to Christ. John 11: 25-26: ‘Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?’
The man slowly rose to his feet as Jake helped him up. He took off his snow covered hat and twisted it around in his hand as he looked at Jake with continued pain in his eyes. “I just don’t know how I’m supposed to be happy on Christmas. First your mother after you were born and now you. You both should be here…”
Jake came to the man and placed a hand on his heart. “We are here, Daddy. We’ve never left you, just like you’ve never left us. We are in a better place and you’ll be with us here too some day. I know it will be hard, but this place is not our home.”
As he continued speaking, Jake began to fade away. He lifted his hands and noticed his fingers becoming more translucent. The man freaked out as he slowly reached for him, only to pass right through him and fall face down into the ground. “Jake…no! I can’t lose you again!”
“You won’t, Daddy,” The boy reassured with a smile as he turned to face his Dad. “You taught me so much and you are the reason I was able to make it here. There are many others that still need you now. I believe in you, Dad. I’ll see you soon.”
With one more gust of snowy wind blinding the man, he grunted back in pain with a stinging sensation to his eyes. His vision slowly returned as Jake had vanished from sight. He lowered his head and turned to face the headstone next to him that read the names of his family: “Melinda and Jake Stanfield, Loving Wife and Adored Son.” The man stood up and looked around as the blistering snow had finally subsided.
With a head full of memories and a heart full of pain, he slowly began to trudge his way through as a woman in similar black garments strolled through with a bouquet of roses. She wore a thin, black veil over her face, but did little to hide her puffed eyes from crying. The man stopped in his tracks and removed his hat from his head.
“My condolences, Ma’am,” He attempted to say in earnest.
She sniffled and nodded with a weak smile as she looked his way. “That’s very kind of you, Sir. I lost my husband six months ago from a car wreck and I’ve been a bit of a mess sense. I’ve been struggling to find a way to honor his memory. I passed by this shop and the clerk saw me staring at these gorgeous flowers. Before I could ask how much, he smiled and said they were paid in full and to have a Merry Christmas.”
Realization struck him hard as he saw the flowers and remembered the money he left at the shop. “You don’t say? Well that was awfully nice of him.”
“Indeed. You know, my husband was a Christian. He said gifts like these were a reminder that our debts were paid in full. We’re supposed to be celebrating His birth, but we are stuck on His death.”
I smiled and turned to approach her. “Well, it’s like something I told my boy once. Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection.’ Everything comes full circle I suppose.”
She nodded as she glanced back towards the cemetery with shaking hands. The man’s heart broke for her as he held a hand out to her. “My apologies if I’m intruding, but would you like some company?”
She smiled and nodded as she accepted his hand. “Some company would be nice. Thank you.”
He smiled as they walked towards the man’s grave site. Passing by, he took off his hat and set it on his family’s stone head.
Perplexed, the woman gave him a nudge. “Won’t you be needing that? It’s awfully cold out here.”
He shook his head as they continued walking. “I think I’ve worn it for long enough. My son could use it more than I could.”
As the man disappeared from sight, the boy reappeared wearing the man’s hat. He smiled and waved as he vanished one last time as the hat blew away in the wind into the unknown.
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About
James is a Christian Fiction writer who puts his faith first and foremost in all his inspiration. After a decade of retail life, he seeks to join the writing world by creating a safe reading selection for teen/young adult readers. He is the author of a 10-book series called the Grace Series and the Fantasy series Clash of Light and Dark.
James follows the teachings of the King James Bible and believes every day is another chance to learn from the Creator and spend every day taking steps closer to becoming more Christ-like.
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