When China Breaks//Ed Sheeran #Wattys2016 #NewVoices

holiday p3: vienna waits

*doctor Z.*

Waking up on Christmas was the most underwhelming feeling in the world. I went to sleep, I woke up, but there was no excitement. It felt like another day and found myself wishing that Christmas break would end.

I lay in bed for a long time, waiting for something, anything, the Christmas spirit to bring me from my stupor, but nothing came. I stayed, curled under my duvet, looking at my ceiling. I wasn't sure how long I laid before there was a knock at the front door. I quickly looked for my prosthetic, which was sitting on my floor I put the liners on as quickly as I could without jamming the pin before putting my leg into it. I had to stand up and put my weight on it to force the pin into place, but once it clicked, I quickly left my room.

In my haste to get to the door, I almost fell, but managed to keep myself up. I knew it wasn't going to be Ed, and Mary Ella was off for the holiday, but I hoped it was someone I hadn't seen in months, like my Aunt Suzanne, or maybe my Uncle Larry. Santa Claus would have been great too. I opened the door and found my Dad, Kerry, and Mama Hill behind it, holding boxes. Mama Hill held tupperware bowls in her arms, filled with food. I had missed her cooking.

They seemed surprised to see me as if they has come to the wrong house. I was shocked as well to find that Kerry was visibly pregnant. "You're walking." My dad said.

I looked down at my legs. I was only wearing a pair of shorts, and the cold was starting to irritate my bare skin. "Oh, yeah," I said awkwardly. "I got my leg last week."

"That's so wonderful!" Kerry cheered, always enthusiastic. Her cheeks were red from the cold, so I didn't want to leave them standing outside. I was sure my mom was going to give birth to a calf if I let them in, but I hope that she would have a bit of sense since I was putting up with her awkward housemate. I moved out the way to let them in.

"Aaliyah, little girl, where are the rest of your clothes?" Mama Hill asked me.

"I just got out of bed," I tell her. She looked around, examining our house. She pointed to the gifts on the coffee table.

"Where's your mama?" She asked me.

"I don't know, sleep?" I replied.

"Mama, stop asking her questions." My dad requested. "Merry Christmas."

I smiled happily despite not having seen them for a few months. "Happy Christmas," I replied, the way Ed said to me. My dad didn't question it and simply sat on the sofa.

"You look like you've put on a little bit of weight," Mama Hill noted, pinching and poking at my body. I stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

"My caregiver, Mary Ella, makes really good food. She's not here right now though, so I've been having to fend for myself."

"Well, Mama Hill has got the Christmas works in those Tupperware boxes." Mama Hill boasted, placing her hand on her chest. She was never one for modesty anyhow.

"Oh, thank you," I said. I could hear shuffling coming from the stairs and I began to panic. My mother would lose it if she saw my dad. "I need a huge Christmas favor," I said suddenly.

"Sure." My father tucked his hands into his pockets.

"I need to go to the hospital and deliver toys to the patients. It's really important I do this." I tell them. "I promised my boyfriend I would."

"Hold in," my dad laughed. "You have a boyfriend?"

"Yeah, it's no a big deal. Can you take me to the hospital?" I pleaded. My dad looked a little bit defeated.

"You didn't want to open your gifts first?" He asked. Kerry was sitting on the sofa, rubbing her stomach, looking rather comfortable.

"Let's just take her. She can come back to our house afterward." She suggested. "I haven't seen you in the longest time."