Another tidbit for Silver lovers. Today, Silver decorates the Christmas tree and, while struggling with memories of his past, takes pleasure in the little things.
Next Wednesday Silver will help with the rest of the decorating, and on Christmas Day I'll post a short story I wrote a few years ago that will explore more of Silver's thoughts about Christmas.
If you want to read the previous installments of this short flash story, you can find them here
Silver's First Christmas - Trimmings
Silver's First Christmas - Tree
When the tree
was cut down, I didn’t like it. I had to go back to the truck. The sound of the
axe on the wood reminded me a little too much of fists on flesh, and snapping bone.
I didn’t like it much better when they dragged the tree across the gravel to the
truck. If I closed my eyes, I could picture a body. Far in the distant recesses
of my mind, a gunshot cracked. So many flashbacks in such a short space of
time. I tried really hard to pretend everything was alright, but River knew it
wasn’t.
All the way
home I struggled to remain present, to stop my mind slipping back into the
past, and into the safe place where I used to hide. It exhausted me, and I
would have liked to rest, but Ben was so excited about decorating the tree,
what could I do?
My hand shakes
as I lift the lights from their box. River takes them from me and steers me to
the sofa. “Sit there for a while. Ben and I can do the tree.”
“What’s
wrong?”
“Nothing.
Silver’s just a bit….”
“Was it me?”
Ben sounds so anxious. It makes me feel bad. “Was I too excited?”
“I like it
when you’re excited.”
I don’t like
it when my voice shakes, though. I wish it didn’t because it quenches the light
in Ben’s eyes.
Ben sits down
and cuddles in to my side. River tries to stop him, but I don’t mind. The
solid, living presence grounds me, makes me feel better.
“Were you
scared? Did it make you remember things?”
Sometimes, Ben
is too perceptive. “Yes, something
like that.”
“It’s okay.
We’re here. You’re safe now. It’s okay to be scared out there. It’s a scary
world when you’re not used to it. When I was little, I used to cry when they
cut down the tree, but my father said it’s what the tree was born for and, even
though cutting it down makes it die in the end, we allow it to fulfil its
life’s purpose when we decorate it.” Ben sits up and grins at me. “Of course,
that’s a load of bull, but it helped me when I was little. Does it help you?”
Strange, but
actually it does. Thinking about little Ben crying about the tree, and his
father telling him stories to make it better…. I’m sure my own father used to
do that. I don’t remember, but he’s the kind of man who would have. Thinking
about my parents always makes me feel better. I haven’t known them for very
long, at least that I can remember, but I like them a lot. Maybe I even love
them, but not like River.
“Yes, thank
you. Can I help with the tree?”
“Of course.”
Ben jumps up
and pulls me to my feet. I’m the tallest so I’m nominated to put the lights at
the top of the tree. Left up to Ben he would just wind them round and round
without thinking about how they look. I, on the other hand, care a lot about
how they look, and keep twitching them until they’re just right.
Then, River
hands out little shiny balls. They are light as air in my hand and must be very
thin. I should be careful not to drop one. Oops, there goes one of Ben’s. Yes,
just as I thought, it shatters. Ben doesn’t seem upset. Why? These are
beautiful things, and should be cherished.
“Don’t you
care that it broke?”
“What? Oh. No,
we have loads. And if there’s not enough, we can get more.”
I lift the
globe to my eyes. It is silver. Part of it is frosted and rough to my fingers.
The other half is shiny and bright. It’s beautiful. Truly beautiful. “But it’s
beautiful. Everything beautiful is precious. There’s not enough beauty in the
world to be so careless with it.” I pick up another ball. This one is light
purple, with a swirly pattern. “Can’t you see? Look how it catches the light.”
River and Ben
are staring at me with wide eyes. Then River smiles. “Yes, I can see,” he says.
I don’t think
he’s talking about the globe.
“I never
thought about it like that,” Ben says, holding a ball in front of his eyes.
“I’ll be more careful, I promise.”
I help Ben
clear up the pieces of the broken bauble, then we go back to decorating the
tree. When it’s finished, it really is beautiful, with many coloured balls.
When the lights are on, it will be amazing; so much prettier than the one in
the shop.
“Just one more
thing,” River says.
“I don’t think
we can fit on any more balls.”
“It’s not a
ball.” Reaching into the box, River brings out something that sparkles. He
hands it to me. “As you’re the only one who can reach without standing on
something, you can have the honour of placing the angel this time.”
“Angel?” I
take the sparkly thing carefully, and hold it up. I have never seen anything so
beautiful. It’s a doll. She’s wearing a dress made of stiff gold net, and sparkling
crystals on wires bend to make her dress look as though it’s floating around
her. From her back two wings rise that can also be bent so it looks as if
they’re fluttering and she’s hovering above the tree, rather than sitting on
it.
“She’s
beautiful,” I breathe. “So beautiful.”
I’m so lost in
the angel I forget about everything else, until Ben tugs on my arm. “Put her on
the tree,” he prompts and I’m sure my smile is dazed. With a glance at River,
who is gazing at me with an expression of wonder on his face, I turn and place
the angel on the very tip of the tree which bends and sways until her weight
settles. She’s perfect.
Now go check out the rest of the amazing flashes this week
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