Christmas Music
All Kerry had wanted for Christmas was a flute of her own.
There were too few presents under the tree—none of them a flute.
Harlan pulled on his dressing-gown and started down the stairs, heavy with failure.
A lilting melody wafted up from below, followed by laughter.
He thundered down the stairs to see Kerry raise a shining, new flute to her lips.
A glimpse of red flashed past the window, followed by the light tinkle of bells. Not Santa, but Harlan knew who.
Harlan hugged his daughter close. It was going to be a good Christmas, after all.
Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope your day is filled with love and laughter. We don’t exchange gifts anymore, preferring to just enjoy good food and good company, but I drew the words flute, tree, and failure for this story, so I knew a gift was required for the telling.