Merry Little Christmas

01. Powerful

December 1st, 1961

Isabella stared at the Crumbs and Bites bakery as she wrapped her worn blue jacked tighter around herself, cautiously looking around. Even staring was prohibited. It was near Christmas, and surely he could just let her admire the sweet treats that lay across the shelves on display.

"You see those, Niall? Those are cookies. One day we'll have them all to ourselves and we won't ever share them to anyone." Isabella giggled, frowning right after, as just yet another selfish adult passed by them, making their way into the bakery.

Niall breathed out a sigh, as she patted his little back. He was only seven. He needed food to eat and clothes on his back. He needed toys to play with and friends to be around with. He was only seven, but he'd been through things kids his age wouldn't understand or care about in the slightest.

She inhaled the frosty air as her nose numbed against the cold. It stung, but she could smell the treats inside the bakery. And that was what she wanted more than ever.

More than ever, she wanted to just go inside the bakery for once, and just come closer to the very treats that lay down on display. Just to smell the baked goods coming out of the oven and see them from a greater perspective.

Baking was her passion. A passion that she was unable to get to because of everything around her. She just wanted to go inside the bakery, the bakery she lived right next to. But even that wasn't allowed.

Nothing was allowed.

"You again!" A familiar man yelled from the other side of the building. "Don't go fogging up my windows!" It was Baker Adam. He marched outside into the night sky to confront us face to face.

"We're sorry sir," She managed to glance at his face, before looking down to her feet. It was a shame, really.

"Well what are you two looking at? Shoo!" He retorted, grabbing a cloth from his pocket polishing away the fog from the window Niall created.

"But Isabella!" Niall complained, looking as if he was about to cry. She felt bad for him, but they had to go.

"Shh, not now, Niall." She whispered, motioning him to mama and papa. They slowly walked away into the busy streets of New York City, and within the crowd, for once the two blended in.

❆

It will get easier, but for now it's pain, they say to themselves. For so long, nothing but suffering has come out of what they have done. Nothing but sorrow and sadness and weakness. There was no power. But they remained strong.

They had been committed to the fact that tomorrow it could get better. But tomorrow is never promised. It is never guaranteed. But they promised that as long as they woke up the next morning, it was chosen to be.

There, in the streets of New York City, stood nothing but a family. A family who chose to live and to survive, despite all the days they were forced to get up and keep moving. They weren't forced to survive, though. They chose to survive.

Maybe pain is what kept them going. Maybe pain had lead them to hope. But in truth, that didn't matter. In truth, they were well and alive, and that was the important part. But they were slowly moving towards the next door. But a closed door always lead to an opened one. A new door with a fresh start. A door with new consequences. A whole new chapter of their lives. An opened door to a new possibility. They were excited. Excited to see what the future holds, even if it held nothing much at all. Life goes on. That's how it is.

So they were trapped. Trapped in the snowy winter condition of New York City, where the preferable choice of apparel during the holidays were cozy boots and mittens to keep your hands and feet nice and toasty, and a jacket to keep you warm at the least. Some believe to say that snow is a miracle. But for the McCarthy family,  snow was a disaster.

The kids had nothing but a thin worn out coat wrapped against their skinny bodies and for the adults, just a pair of thin blankets that didn't do much during the cool summer nights anyways. Most of the time the family took a walk in the city and visited a nice restaurant across the street to make themselves comfortable. But usually they get kicked out after a period of time after the waitresses realize they weren't going to order any food, then complained on how the customers after them are waiting for a table.

The cold awaits them, and until spring comes, their luck in finding warmth elsewhere, was very low. Besides that, spring not only promised warmth, but showers of rain. Most protest that raining is a disgrace, but to them they are nothing but free showers; something they were very much in need of. And whether or not they stumble across something else in their way, they were to face it and continue to stay strong and stay together. No, they weren't forced to live, they chose to live. And they choose to live together.

It was December 1st. And Christmas of 1961 would be very different compared to the year prior. Last year, there were perched in a lovely house with many friends and neighbors to celebrate the love of Jesus Christ and the season of giving. There were many presents under the tree, and Christmas decorations were found everywhere you looked. Their wish-lists were full of unnecessary things, things they would not dare to consider buying next time around.

Mama always loved to decorate the house. When the month of December rolled along, the candle scent of pumpkins suddenly turned to the scent Christmas cookies. The bowl of fruits always became a bowl of candy canes, and the boring old halls were not just of boring old halls, but boughs of holly. Little did they know things would go downhill very quickly.

This year, the kids didn't give a care in the world what they would want to get for Christmas. Although Mama and Papa had asked them several times before, they had refused to give an answer.

"Isabella, Niall." Papa called between shivers.

"What is it, Papa?" Isabella asked.

"What would you kids like for Christmas? We can't afford much, keep that in mind though."

Both gave each other concerned looks, as if they were speaking a foreign language Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy couldn't comprehend.

"Papa, all we want for Christmas is to be happy." Niall whispered. Papa and Mama smiled, their hands over their hearts. They knew it wasn't true, but still touched by their selflessness.

"Are you sure?" Mama chimed in, placing her hand on Niall's back.

"Yeah!" Niall laughed, snuggling closer to his mother. 

"Yeah." Isabella repeated, moving in to join the hug.

All joined in the hug, their power together emitting the only source of warmth their tired bodies could give. Together, they were powerful. And until the day all their troubles somehow perish away into the midst of it all, right now they would be okay.