Merissa’s ‘Corona’ Christmas
Merissa looks at the table calendar kept on her WFH office table. Finally, it is December. This to say Goodbye to the year 2020!
The very view of the calendar makes Merissa nostalgic about her Christmas celebrations all these years.
After all, it has always been one of her favorite festivals. Decorations all around, merry times, lighting candles in the church, a festival of love and warmth, truly defined a “Merry” Christmas!
Christmas has always been associated with the cheer of merry times and happy moments. It was that juncture of the year, when all her family members would come together have fun decorating the Christmas tree for holding a grand feast and pray the Lord to bless all with health and happiness.
The fondest memory of her Christmas celebration was Santa Claus, the harbinger of happiness and of course, some great gifts for her, which would ‘somehow’ turn out to be the ones she had ‘wished’ and prayed for all the year round to the Lord to provide her with.
But the times have changed.
She is no more a little girl. She is a responsible working professional now.
2020 has been the year, she has been locked down in her home, due to the Corona pandemic, and could not meet her friends and family. In fact, due to her outstation work commitments, she has been stuck in a new city for 8 months!
She wanted to celebrate Christmas this year around too, but HOW?
Sipping on her cup of coffee and switching through the channels on her television, she came across this news:
“Children of the orphanage are suffering due to the lockdown leading to the inadequate supply of food as well as warm clothes. They urgently require your help. If you want to volunteer, please contact “Shanti Orphanage” and bring smiles…”, the news anchor was reportering.
Merissa thought to herself, “Maybe this time around, God wants me to help these little kids, and do my part in spreading happiness.”
Without wasting a single moment, she went straight to her wardrobe and rummaged through the clothes, which could fit the kids, especially the gloves, the caps, the blankets and the sweaters.
She collected all her childhood clothes in a big bag. Bought some stationary, some food packets from a confectionery from a nearby shop.
Drove her car to the orphanage mentioned in the news channel.
She took permission from the orphanage administration and distributed the food packets, stationaries, and clothes among those sweet little kids – God’s angels!
Just then her phone rang. It was her mother’s call from Kolkata. She said,” You are not with us this Christmas, darling…we are missing you so much…how are you celebrating this Christmas, Beta?”
Merissa succinctly replied ,“ This Christmas, I am a SANTA CLAUSE, Maa!”
Note: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to a person living or otherwise may be purely coincidental
Want to read more short stories like this? Check out our Short Stories page, here you will find more such content.