A Better Place

Samantha awoke to the tuneful sound of Christmas carols. A crowd gathered outside the front of her house. Women, men and children were singing Silent Night. Her mother always sang that song to her on Christmas Eve. Also telling her to always remember that Santa was watching her!

Last Christmas Samantha’s Mum left her. She walked out the door and never came back. Dad said she was in a better place.

Samantha tried to put on a brave face while putting on her Santa hat. She looked in her full length mirror.She thought she saw an image. Was she seeing things? She did look like her mother though... with her dark hair that matched her eyes and her smile that lit up her whole face.

The Christmas tree was decorative in all its glory. Christmas presents were few and far between this year, but Samantha hid a present for Mum so Dad wouldn’t know. Something she made at school. A Christmas candle for the dining table. Her Mum liked pretty things like that. She made it just in case her mother came back.

Dad sat on his favorite chair, the big brown leather chair... that pulled out where you can stretch your legs out on. Samantha loved that chair. In secret she would get up and play on it, pretending she was going on Santa’s sleigh the night before Christmas. She fed her Reindeers one by one and set off on an incredible adventure.

Dad was sipping hot chocolate, staring down at his gold wedding ring. Ten years today they would have been married. They married the year before she was born.

‘Merry Christmas daddy.’ She said

‘Come over here sweetheart,’ he requested. He leaned over to hug her and went back to looking at his wedding ring. It had been hard for him to speak the words Merry Christmas.Samantha could see how it was effecting her Dad's life. The pain was etched on his face.

Samantha heard the crowd outside singing carols again. She quickly wrote out a Christmas card. (A family gathering around the Christmas tree. A father, mother and a young girl opening gifts.) She decided to follow the people outside. Samantha wanted to make her Dad smile again.

She asked the people, ‘Can you help me find my mother’?

One of the ladies knew her mother and said, ‘follow me Samantha. Your mother always spoke of you. You are the spitting image of her. But why do you want to find her? I thought you knew where she was!’

‘Dad isn’t happy, I must find her.’

The lady led her to the corner of the street and down a pathway. Large creepers hung over a cast iron gateway where she came to a cemetery.

‘Thank you lady, I can go home now and tell daddy I have found mummy.

Samantha left the card by her mother’s tombstone. The card read- Dear Mum, Dad is sad all the time and so am I. He keeps saying you’re in a better place, but I know his looking for you. I hope we find you soon so we can get back to having a Merry Christmas. Love Samantha and daddy (Michael)