The Night Before Christmas

Nine year old Alexis sat in her rocking chair, staring out the window, at the sun setting. Her frail looking body, sunk-in, blue-green eyes, thin, pale face and slumped forward shoulders left no doubt that she was ill. Her long gingham dress, white ankle socks and white deck shoes had become loose on her since she got sick.

Quiet as a dust bunny tumbling across the floor, she sat and thought about how much she missed her dog Sampson. Since she entered the hospital several months ago, Sampson had gotten out of the yard by digging a hole under the fence.

She and Sampson were the best of friends and when she was around him, he would make her forget how sick she was. Now that he was missing, all she could think about was her illness. “Time for dinner Alexis!” exclaimed her mother as she came into the living room. “I don’t feel hungry, would it be ok if I skipped dinner tonight?” questioned Alexis.

“I know you aren’t feeling good and you are worried about Sampson but you really need to eat something to keep your strength up.” responded her mother. “Ok then, I’ll be there in a moment.” answered Alexis. Rising from her chair, she took one last look out the window, straining to see if she could see her dog before heading towards the dining room. “Do you think Sampson will ever come home? Questioned Alexis. “I don’t know sweetheart, we’ll just have to wait and see.” replied her mother.

“Where’s daddy? He’s going to miss dinner.” said Alexis. “Oh, he won’t be home till later, he had some Christmas shopping to do.” acknowledged her mother with a wink. “I love Christmas and what it stands for mom.” said Alexis. “And the presents don’t hurt either, do they?” her mother inquired with a smile.

Smiling back, Alexis put some mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, pot roast and a dinner roll on her plate and began eating. “This is good mom.” Alexis said as she put another bite of roast beef in her mouth. “Thank you darling, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” uttered her mother.
“I know that being sick and having to wear that dressing around your head isn’t fun but the doctor says you have to leave it on for several more weeks.” proclaimed her mother. “Do I have to go back to school mom? Can’t you get someone to come to the house to teach me?” responded Alexis.

“Your dad and I have been discussing that and have decided that if we can find someone to teach you we’ll do it but until then, you’ll have to go to your school.” acknowledged her mother finishing up her meal. “I hope you can find someone soon, the kids at school make fun of me.” answered Alexis.




Completing her supper, Alexis went to take a bath and brush her teeth before going to bed for the night. Passing by the window she paused to look outside for any sign of Sampson. After bathing Alexis returned to the living room where her mother was watching the evening news. “Momma, am I gonna die?” she questioned. “Oh my God darling, we certainly hope not but having a brain tumor is very serious.” responded her mother.

“Are you going to bed sweetheart?” questioned her mother. “Yes, I don’t feel good.” responded Alexis giving her mother a kiss and heading off to bed.

When Judith knew that her daughter was in bed she couldn’t hold it in any longer and broke into tears. “Dear Heavenly Father, please watch over our daughter.” sobbed her mother. “We beg of you to answer our prayers and make her comfortable. In Jesus name we pray” closed Judith.
The front door opened and Judith turned to see who it was entering the house. “Brandon, is that you honey?” queried Judith. “Yes darling, it’s me. Sorry that I’m so late. Where’s Alexis?” questioned Brandon. “She wasn’t feeling well, so she went to bed early.” answered Judith.

“How’s she doing?” continued Brandon. “I’m afraid she’s not doing very well. She’s falling deeper into depression, worrying about dying and the loss of Sampson.” “What did you tell her?” questioned Brandon. “I didn’t say anything to her about what the doctor said if that’s what you’re asking.” Judith remarked. “Should we tell her she only has a short time to live or not. It’s hard for me to understand and accept it myself.” continued Judith.

“Have you heard anything else from the doctor?” inquired Brandon. “No, not today but - “ Judith started to say but stopped in mid-sentence realizing that Alexis was standing in the doorway. A surprised look came over Brandon and Judith as they realized that Alexis had heard the conversation.

“Hey there darling, how are you doing?” asked Brandon with a startled look on his face. “So, I AM going to die.” remarked Alexis with tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to die!” Alexis continued. “I know you don’t sweetheart but there is nothing that anyone can do to prevent it.” Judith countered trying to hold back the tears.

Alexis ran to her mother and wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. Together they cried in each others arms trying to comfort each other. “Did the doctor say how much time I have left?” Alexis questioned when she regained her composure. “No, he just told us that it could be a week, a month or as long as a year.” Brandon said, trying to be strong for all of them.


Together, they all sat quietly on the couch looking out the window, each in their own way trying to cope with the situation. After some time Judith voiced “Why don’t you try and get some sleep baby doll, you’ll need your strength?” “I doubt that I‘ll be able to sleep very well but I guess I could try.” remarked Alexis.

Back upstairs Alexis began crying again at the thought of her not being around to grow up and realizing how hard it would be on her parents. Awakening in the morning, Alexis glanced out the window for Sampson before going down to breakfast. “Good morning darling, did you sleep well? questioned her mother. “I got a couple hours of sleep but kept waking up thinking about dying.” answered Alexis.

“I’m sorry darling. Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat” quizzed Judith trying to keep the conversation light. “Not really.” came the response. “You need to eat something Alexis to keep up your strength.” said Judith. “I know, but I don’t feel like eating this morning. I’ll have a glass of orange juice if that’s ok with you mom.” Alexis asserted.

“Where’s dad this morning, isn’t he going to eat breakfast?” inquired Alexis. “Oh, he has already eaten and gone to work.” replied Judith. Nothing was said for quite some time when Alexis stated “I’m not going to school anymore. If I only have a short time to live, I want to be able to live the way that I want until then!”

Judith looked across the table at Alexis and shook her head saying “Ok baby, if you’ve made up your mind that this is what you want to do, we won’t force you.” Again the conversation dropped off until Judith said “Do you hear something?” “No, do you?” inquired Alexis. “I can’t be sure but I thought that I heard a dog barking in the distance.” responded her mother.
Sitting quietly they both strained their ears for any sound. Suddenly, Alexis jumped up and shouted “I hear something, I hear something. It sounds like a large dog barking. Do you think the Murphy’s have gone off and left their dog chained outside again?” “I guess they could have but they have a small dog. It sounds more like Sampson.” stated Judith.

Opening the door, Alexis was knocked over by her 120 pound Saint Bernard as he rushed in. “Sampson, Sampson, where have you been? I’ve been worried sick about you. I thought something bad had happened to you, you bad boy.” Alexis said sternly caressing his neck.

Throughout the day Sampson and Alexis played, both glad to see the other. Evening came and Brandon returned home to find that they were once again the proud owners of Sampson. During dinner Alexis kept sneaking pieces of meat under the table to her trusty companion, knowing both her parents had turned their heads choosing not to see. Night fall came and the two retired to bed and immediately fell asleep in each others arms.

In the morning, Brandon headed for work while Judith started the household chores.
After quite some time, Judith noticed she hadn’t seen Alexa or Sampson so decided to check on them. Entering Alexis’ bedroom, she noticed Sampson laying on the bed and Alexa lay next to him with a smile on her face, when she tried to wake Alexis, she realized that her baby had died the night before Christmas.


The End