Coal

I think of coal ans a gift from heaven... hears why.

"We ran out of coal." Was the first thing I heard when I woke up, Christmas Eve morning. It was my dad's voice, he was talking to my mom. "On Christmas Eve?!" My mom wailed. Now I am fully awake. I get out of my makeshift bed, we don't have a lot of money right now so my bed is: some old carpet, two blankets, and fabric scraps inside a sewn up fabric scrap as a pillow. My mom and dad have a mattress but all of the springs are broken and it's very uncomfortable. My mom is a waitress that gets three dollars every six hours and my father is a waiter at the same place and he gets three dollars every three hours. I also work. I work at a bakery and I get 10.75$ an hour, but after taxes, four dollars is still not enough to get us anything great. I got dressed and as I walk into the kitchen, it is freezing. I look to my right, in my living room is my parents. They're sitting on the floor wrapped in blankets listening to the radio. We can't afford a T.V., so the radio is our source of entertainment. "There is a 90% of snowfall today and a negative eight-degree windchill, so, please stay inside and keep warm!" The radio was cutting out from poor reception so my dad just turned it off. "I'm going back to bed since we don't have work until the 26th." My mom exclaims. "I'll join you." My dad says. I'm now alone in the living room to my own devices. I started to think "How the heck does someone, this economically unstable, get coal?" I thought about how Santa could help us... I got it! All I have to do is get on the naughty list and I'll get all the coal we need! But it's 6:00 am and I usually wake up at seven. That means I have 24 hours to get on the naughty list... but there's one slight problem... I don't know how to be naughty! My mind and heart say the same thing. Because my family is so poor: I've never been greedy, always have shared, always helped out when I could, and never used attitude to anyone ever!... I have an idea. I go to my parent's bedroom and I see them sleeping. "I'll just go outside in the cold without asking first, yeah!" I put on my winter coat that was too small for me and my dad's old boots that were still too big for me. I put on an old hat and holey-mittens. Once I had on everything, I went outside. Everything was so cold, so I decided to build a snowman so when I start to work, my body will heat up. I finished the snowman within an hour, that's pretty good for working in snowy weather and a negative eight-degree wind chill. I went back inside to my mom: looking like she was scared and ready to go outside. Next to her was my dad ready with old rags and towels and three blankets. My mom and dad rush over to me, "What were you thinking?" , "We were so worried!" , "Are you cold?" all of these questions flooded my head and I couldn't hold it back anymore "I'm sorry mom and dad! I didn't mean to trouble you in any way, I mean I did but-" "what do you mean by you meant to?" My father asked sternly. "I wanted to get on Santa's naughty list so he could bring us some coal!" My parents just looked at each other with surprise. I  guess they couldn't believe that their own child would ruin their own reputation of being forever nice just to get coal for their family. "Oh, honey." My mom whispers holding back tears. My father just went into the living room closet and got my favorite game out, Candyland. "This calls for a celebration!" He exclaims. I don't know why we're celebrating, but I go along with it. And for the rest of the day, we played Candyland, Monopoly, and Go Fish! It was finally time to sleep. "Do you think Santa's going to bring coal no matter what list I'm on?" I ask my parents. "Whatever he has planned for you, I'm sure you'll like it either way." My dad said. They tucked me in my sleeping area and blew out the candle that was lighting up my room. "Goodnight." "Goodnight." I fall asleep thinking about the warmth soon to come.

I wake up to the smell of... "Arctic Cocoa?" That's my favorite kind of hot chocolate because it's not made with cocoa, which burns my mouth. I walk down the hallway to see my mom and dad sitting on a COUCH?! My mom and dad were both crying on it. "How did we get all of this stuff?" And with that, my dad handed me a note.

Dear Cole,

                 I've been watching you all year and you are number one on my nice list. It very much surprised me when I saw your name appear on my naughty list. I looked at what you did and I couldn't believe what I saw. You left the house without telling your parents! I knew you wouldn't do that just because, so I had to find out why. When your parents woke up, they were very scared and looked outside. They were horrified when they saw you laying down in the snow. Making snow angels from a far away distance looks like you fainted in the snow. When you came back inside, you explained to them why you did it. You didn't do it to hurt them, you did it please them. And that is why you are number one on my list. To reward you with much of an accomplishment, I have given you and your family some "basic" items to make your lives a lot smoother.

And attached to that note from Santa was another paper... ALL OF THE THINGS ADDED TO THE PHEONIX HOUSEHOLD!

1.All new kitchen appliances

2.A comfortable couch to sit on while watching the news on a 20-inch T.V.

3.New beds for everyone

4.A fully paid off house and a new fireplace

5.All new phones with special "Unlimited Santa Data"

6.Food for the next two years

7.Better hours and better pay everyone's job

8.New jacket, boots, waterproof mittens and a new hat for Cole

9.All school supplies for Cole's education

10.From Santa personally: Since you have a wood burning fireplace now, I see no reason why you would need coal but since you asked for it my dear child, under the tree is a tiny piece of coal.

I go over to the tree and inside a tiny bag is a piece of coal and a little note.

P.S. Inside this piece of coal is a diamond, only use for an emergency! 

Love, Santa Claus

And that is why coal means so much to me.