𝒜 𝐿𝒾𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓂𝒶𝓈 𝑀𝒶𝑔𝒾𝒸

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝟦

"So, what did he give you?" Fritz asked. His curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"A nutcracker doll. Isn't he cool?"

Fritz ran his fingers through his blonde hair, his nervous habit. "Uh, Clara, most people consider nutcrackers some cool Christmas decoration, not a nice toy. Besides, aren't you a little too old for dolls?"

"I'm twelve, Fritz. Since when did you care about my stuff or tastes? What do you know, anyway? And I like him, so there!" I snapped.

Immediately after that, I wanted to smack myself. I'd just been very harsh to my younger brother. If he'd done that to me, I would've been hurt.

"I'm sorry, Fritz. I lost my temper for a sec," I apologized.

Fritz nodded to let me know he accepted my apology, but his green eyes showed his hurt.

"Clara," Uncle Drosselmeyer called, "would you like to know what this doll does?"

"Sure!" I ran over to my godfather.

He picked up a nut from the table. "Here, see the lever on his back?" I nodded, and he continued. "Well, if you pull on it gently, his mouth opens. Now, if you put a nut in his mouth and push the lever down carefully, he will crack the nut." He proceeded to demonstrate the steps he'd just told me. "Why don't you try, Clara?"

I did so, and a freshly cracked nut plopped into my hand. Gleefully, I darted around the room, cracking nuts for all my friends. By this time, the party was beginning to wind down, and the girls had decided that their dolls (most of the younger girls' parents had given them dolls earlier) were tired and needed to be rocked to sleep. I watched from a short distance, remembering the time I used to be a part of the circle.

Just then, Fritz and the boys—who'd all probably had way too much sugar—rowdily interrupted our little ceremony. My brother was banging on his drum as loudly as possible, while Alexander blew his trumpet. The other boys crowded us and waved their toy weapons around haphazardly.

"Stop it, boys!" Melissa scolded in her best grown-up tone.

The boys' fun thankfully was cut short by their dads (including Papa, of course) picking them up and depositing them next to their moms. I snickered as Fritz flailed in the air. We resumed our rocking, but were once again interrupted by the boys. Once again, their dads came to the rescue. This continued a few more times during the evening until Papa threatened to spank Fritz in front of all his friends.

Sometime after the incident, he waved me over. "Hey, Clara, c'mere quick!"

What on earth does he want? I'd better go over.

"Coming, Fritz!" I ran over to the opposite side of the room, where my brother was. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to know if I could try your nutcracker. Didn't Uncle Drosselmeyer show you how to crack nuts with him?"

I was a little suspicious about his behavior. "Uh...yeah. Why, though?"

"Does it even matter? I'm just trying to be nice."

"Okay..." I drew out the word in skepticism. "I guess I can show you. Watch closely." I demonstrated exactly how to fit a nut in the nutcracker's mouth and crack it.

Fritz, however, ripped the doll from my arms, shoved a walnut in the nutcracker's mouth, and yanked on the lever. To my horror, the nutcracker's jaw broke with a loud crack!

That was the last straw for me. "Fritz, you little rotzlöfer! Du bist ein Idiot! Ich hasse dich!" My eyes flashed, and my hands were balled into tight fists. My face was redder than a ripe tomato. At that moment in time, I was straight up ready to strangle my brother.

Papa, Mama, and Uncle Drosselmeyer, the only people who understood my angry, mostly German outburst, gave Fritz and me horrified looks.

"Clara Marie Stahlbaum! Apologize to your brother immediately. You called him a brat and an idiot and told him that you hate him. A young lady like you should have better control over her temper," Papa scolded in rapid German. He looked ready to declare I was grounded for life.

"And you will not even request Fritz to apologize to his sister for breaking her toy, Lukas?" Mama raised an eyebrow as she responded in the same tongue. "Of course, Clara is at fault as well, and her outburst is not to be excused, but none of this would have happened if Fritz had not been so disrespectful." Mama never played favorites.

"Certainly, Elliana, my häschen." Papa switched to English just for Mama. Mama wasn't German, and while she had a fairly good grasp of the language, she was more comfortable speaking English. She was his "little rabbit", or häschen, and he loved her dearly. "Fritz Michael Stahlbaum, do not assume you are out of trouble too Before the party ends, you will apologize."

Papa was right. After my outburst, my sadness over the loss of a Christmas present I would cherish forever manifested itself in the form of silent, bitter tears streaming down my cheeks. I regretted every word I'd just screamed. If I could, I would have turned back the clock and fixed my mistakes of today. All of them.

"Clara?" Uncle Drosselmeyer interrupted my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I sniffled.

"I have a temporary solution for your nutcracker. I have a handkerchief I can tie around his jaw. It can serve as a bandage of sorts till tomorrow when I will take him to my shop to be fixed. Will that be all right with you, dear?"

I wiped my tears away in a vain attempt to not appear so miserable. "Yes! Please." I hugged him earnestly.

"Fritz, give me the nutcracker, please." He tenderly bandaged my poor nutcracker's jaw. "There. All better now."

"Thank you so much!"

"Why don't you put him to bed, now?" Uncle Drosselmeyer suggested.

I scurried over to my toy cabinet and retrieved an old American Girl bed. "Would this work?"

"Of course." He handed me the doll.

With all the care of a mother, I set down the nutcracker on the bed and placed it under the tree. Then, stealing a final glance at the toy, I was about to return to my friends when I heard Fritz unenthusiastically apologize first to Uncle Drosselmeyer, and then to me.

"It's okay, Fritz. I'm sorry I got mad at you," I replied.

Inside, I thought differently. I'll never forgive him. Never. Not till he stops being such a brat.

Turning back toward the bustle of the party, I rejoined the girls. I hoped that spending time with them would help me feel better. However, as I stood there being comforted by my friends, I had no idea that Fritz's action would set into play an event that would forever change my life.