To Give is to Receive
On Christmas Eve ten-year old
Samantha stood at the door of the homeless shelter while her mother dropped off
the box of toys Samantha used to own. Samantha held tight to Barkus, her
floppy-eared, brown stuffed dog.
As she waited, a young boy
came up to Samantha. The boy looked longingly at Barkus. Samantha held the
puppy even tighter as she examined the child. His mussed blonde hair and
mismatched clothes caused her to loosen the grip on Barkus. The boy reached for
the dog. Samantha hesitated, and then his eyes widened as she handed him her cherished
toy. He grabbed Barkus with one arm and wrapped the other one around Samantha.
She hugged the little boy in return. He let go of her, smiled at her with the
biggest smile she’d ever seen, and then ran off – with Barkus – across the
room.
Unknown to Samantha, her mom
had been watching. She wiped a tear from Samantha’s cheek, took Samantha’s hand
and squeezed it as they left the shelter, telling her, “I’m so proud of you.”
That night Samantha struggled
to go to sleep without Barkus until she remembered the feel of the boy’s hug
and the smile on his face.
The next morning, Christmas
day, Samantha woke up to a strange sound. She thought she heard barking. She
threw off her covers, and ran down the stairs. There at the foot of the stairs
was a real, floppy-eared brown puppy. Samantha scooped up the puppy and cried,
“It’s Barkus!”
This is an entry for Susanna Hill's Holiday contest. It has to be for children, about a surprise and limited to 250 words - excluding the title. I have used exactly 250 words.
