The Christmas Gift

Ellen toyed with the glass in her hand, the ice cubes clinking against one another as the water pushed them around. It was going to be another scorching Aussie Christmas and there were no signs that the heat would break. Despite the temperature, there was a turkey in the fridge that would be roasted tomorrow because heat did not override the desire for a traditional Christmas lunch.

Yet Ellen was struggling to get into the festive spirit. It would be her first one without Dean. She missed him more than she'd ever thought it possible to miss another human being. He'd left a giant hole in her life, a great big gaping cavity that she couldn't fill no matter how many Christmas songs she played or how many times she told her girls that they would be okay without Daddy.

Fighting back the churn in her stomach, she rested against the dining table. Her shaking hands caused water to slosh over the edge of her glass. Cursing, she put the glass down and wiped up the mess with a tissue.

Around her the house was a picture of cheer. A tall Christmas tree dominated the far corner of the room with lights that sparkled out into the night and Christmas cards from loved ones strung up with a red cord above the dining room window. The snowglobe that sat on the mantel caught Ellen's eye. Dean had bought it for her on their first Christmas together. The memory of that holiday celebration tugged her mouth upwards into a smile; it had been the most amazing night of her life.

She picked up the heavy ornament, the rounded glass smooth against her palm. Snow fluttered inside with the sudden movement, whirling around like graceful microscopic ballerinas. It was a simple globe with a gold base and some elegant etchings around the edge. Inside, a chubby snowman sat with a penguin. They both wore bow ties. Dean had always joked that the penguin reminded him of her, because she had a thing for tuxedos... and she waddled like a penguin during both pregnancies.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she turned the globe slowly in her hand, watching as the snow swirled about the penguin and the snowman – their faces frozen pictures of joy. She wished that she was the one in the globe, stuck in that glorious moment where the magic of Christmas was still alive. She'd give anything to have Dean here with her, even if it meant living in a glass dome for all eternity.

A White Christmas played softly over the radio and Ellen gently placed the globe back on the mantle. The snow settled slowly around the figurines. It was time to place the remainder of the presents under the tree before she went to bed. The last thing she needed was to explain to the girls that Santa forgotten about them. She smiled as she passed the coffee table where a glass of milk and a plate of cookies lay untouched. There was a carrot as well – for Rudolph, of course.

Ellen swiped a cookie and for once didn't sweep up the crumbs. Evidence. Then she snapped the carrot in half and left a piece on the table next to the milk.

Upstairs the more delicate of the gifts were wrapped and hidden on the top shelf of the wardrobe. Carly, her youngest, had taken to shaking the presents when she thought Ellen wasn't looking – so the breakable items had to be stashed away in a secret hiding place. Not really all that secret, just unreachable to four and six-year-old girls. Ellen stretch up on her tip-toes and tugged the brightly wrapped packages from the shelf.

A small box tumbled down from the pile and landed with a soft thud on the plush white carpet. The box was wrapped in black paper and looked unlike the festively kitsch wrappings that adorned the other gifts. Curious, Ellen turned the box around in her hands. It was heavy for its small size.

There was no name, no gift tag, nothing to discern its origin.

"How strange..."

She peeled back the paper, being careful not to tear the thick wrapping in case she needed to re-wrap it later. Inside was a white box, again with no label or markings.

Well, you've come this far...

Ellen opened the lid of the box and inside, nestled amongst the red velvet lining was a snow globe with a man and a woman inside. Ellen's breath caught in her throat as she removed the globe from the box, watching as the snow and glitter picked up and whirled around the couple. The man wore a long coat and the woman huddled against him, their arms linked.

Something caught Ellen's eye as she shook the globe. The elegantly curled marks of an engraver's pen. Words that made her heart flutter inside her chest.

'I may be on the other side of the world, but I am thinking of you every moment. Shake the globe when you miss me and I'll feel it in my heart.'

A tear dropped down onto Ellen's cheek as she smiled at the thought of her big, burly husband asking the engraver to write such vulnerable words. Shaking the globe vigorously, warmth spread through her body as though Dean were right there beside her. Holding her. Telling her that everything would be okay.

Somewhere in the distance Ellen could swear she heard the sound of sleigh bells ringing in the night.