Once upon a time it was a cold and stormy winter. There was still a week until Christmas eve and the children in the orphanage could hardly wait. Tommy, the oldest, was in the kitchen, baking cookies with Astrid, Frederick and Beatrice. They were baking all kinds of cookies, some thick and soft, some thin and crunchy, some were formed as hearts, trees and trains, some were covered in glaze, and some had nuts and chocolate. In the living room were Tim, Jackie, Christie and Jay-Jay decorating the Christmas tree with homemade garlands made of cut up magazines, snowballs made of cotton, a crooked star cut out of a board of wood, tinsel and some old ornaments donated by the church. Meanwhile the three troublemakers, James, Kim and Ty were cleaning the sleeping area and making the beds for they had been naughty. They had filled the stockings with coal, told Christie that Santa did not bring presents to orphans, hung the elf and threw Beatrice and Jay-Jay out in the snow.
“Come children, dinner is ready” Old Matron Maggie called through the house as she placed the food on the table. She had made a healthy roast for all of them to celebrate Tommy’s fifteenth birthday. There were potatoes, green beans, broccoli tops, fried carrot sticks and gravy to go with it. It was not often she could afford to spoil them like this, though she wished that she could, but birthdays deserved to be celebrated properly.
The children came running as fast as they could and took seats according to age. First Tommy, then Kim, Astrid, and Tim, then Frederick, Jackie, and James. Between the smaller Jay-Jay came first, then Beatrice and Ty and the one in the end, the youngest of all was little Christie. She loved them all as if they were her own. She has taken care of them since they were babies. Unfortunately, she never could have a child, and she would see them all go on.
“It looks lovely, Matron Maggie and happy birthday Tommy” Matron Jules said, taking seat next to Christie. “Now children remember tomorrow’s a big day. A nice family will come to adopt. So don’t make a mess and remember to take a bath”.
“I’ll make sure Christie is clean, it’s probably her they’re gonna pick” Tommy smiled. He knew he was too old, so was Kim, Astrid, and Tim. Their time had passed a long time ago, but the small ones could still get a home.
“Don’t say it like that, there’s still hope for you all” Old Matron Maggie said supportively, but they all knew it was a lie. Carsten, the last boy who turned fifteen years old, aged out of the orphanage and could no longer stay there.
Halfway through dinner it knocked on the door and Matron Jules went to answer. The bigger children instantly knew what it was about, they had experienced it many times before. Only two kinds of people ever came to visit; those who came to adopt and those who came to drop off. The only question was who would join them, and that was soon answered as Matron Jules returned with a baby in her arms, barely a year old. Tommy’s eyes got filled with sadness, looking at Christie. He had hoped to see her go before he had to leave.
After dinner, the children bathed, except for Kim and James who refused. Ty tried to skip it as well, but they would not let him. Tommy took care of Christie, braided her hair, and put out her best dress. Then he read her a story, together with Beatrice and Jay-Jay. When they had all fallen asleep, he went downstairs to the Matrons with tears in his eyes.
The next morning, they were woken by Matron Camille who turned the light on “morning children. Get dressed and come down to eat. The Mason family will be here soon” she said, and the smell of freshly baked bread rose from the stairs.
They hurried out of bed and ran downstairs to take seat according to age. Christie though no longer the youngest was still sitting on the end, then Ty, Beatrice, and Jay-Jay. James, Jackie, and Frederick to place next to them. Last came Tim, Astrid, and Kim, but Tommy was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Tommy?” Christie asked. He was normally always there; he had been all her life.
Matron Camille looked at her with gentle eyes “Tommy chose to leave last night. Next week he turns fifteen and he has to move on. He said he had found a small place in town close to his school and his job”.
“Tommy left us without saying goodbye?” Beatrice cried.
“Don’t worry, he’s not gone. He just has a new home. It is like when one of you gets adopted” Matron Camille tried to calm them.
“Except he’s on his own. Just like I’ll be. I should also leave. Nobody’s going to adopt me anyway. They all say I’m too much of a trouble. Too aggressive. Too angry. Nothing but a problem. In less than two years I’ll be in Tommy’s shoes except I’m not good at school. I won’t go to college” Kim angrily exclaimed. She could not believe they would just get rid of him like that. No goodbye, no good luck, just gone in the night as if he was never there and he was the good child. He always helped out, took care of the young, cleaned the kitchen and used some of his hard-earned money to buy them gifts. If they could let him leave like that, what would they do to her and James and Ty? What would they do with the troublemakers? She got up and left the table without another word.
“It’s okay children, Kim just needs some time to herself. Come now, eat some breakfast and be careful not to mess up your clothes” Matron Camille said, patting Jay-Jay on the head. Some of the children were crying and others were scared.
An hour later the Mason’s came by a young barren woman and her tired husband with sad eyes. The children stood in line in the living room for the family to meet them, dressed in their best clothes. Except Kim and James of course who did not put effort into their looks.
“Hello children, I am Mary Mason” the wife introduced herself with a big smile “you all look so pretty”. She went by them one by one to greet them all properly and as she reached the baby she stopped, and her eyes began to sparkle.
“She’s gonna pick the baby” Kim whispered to James and the two of them left before they were dismissed.
“Now that you have met the children, then let’s talk Mrs. Mason. Mr. Mason. Please follow me into the kitchen. Children go do your homework, it’s a school night tomorrow” Matron Camille said and led the way into the kitchen.
“Come Tim, we got math” Astrid said and left, followed by Tim, Jackie, and Frederick.
“Who do you think they are going to pick?” Beatrice asked, looking to Jay-Jay. She thought Mrs. Mason looked nice, like someone who was good at playing with dolls and told good stories and baked good cookies. She often dreamed of a mom like Mrs. Mason.
“Maybe” Jay-Jay just said. He thought it possible, but he had often heard the older ones say a baby always gets adopted first. “Let’s go play”.
But Christie did not feel like playing. She did not feel like getting adopted either. Tommy had always told her that she would one day find a good family, but she did not think that it would be without him. She was missing him and wanted him to get back. So, she sat down and cried.
“Why are you crying? Baby” Ty said full of contempt for he could not express the feelings inside. He did not fully understand, he was just feeling bad.
“I want Tommy!” Christie cried and in came Old Matron Maggie to comfort her and Ty left to find Kim and James.
The Masons spent some time at the orphanage, watching the kids play, talking with them and learned about what they like. Mrs. Mason had not been that happy for a long time, not since she was told she could not have kids of her own. Mr. Mason also finally smiled in his eyes. He had spent so many nights watching his wife cry herself to sleep. So many nights trying to make it okay. So many nights feeling he failed her, failed as a husband, because he could not give her what she most desired. Before they left, they had another talk with Matron Camille. The talk about which child they were going to choose.
“The Masons have decided to adopt one of you” Old Matron Maggie announced at dinner a couple of days later. Nothing fancy, just a simple vegetable soup and some homemade bread. “They have decided that they want to adopt our little baby Laney”.
Even though she expected to hear it, it still made Kim angry. “Of course they chose the baby” she said detestfully. There was enough attitude in her words to cut the bread. She would never want to admit it, but she had hoped that they would pick her. She tried to play it cool and detached. She tried not to hope. She always tried not to hope because she knew it was never her that they were going to pick, but then they talked to her. They spark the flames in her heart dreaming of a family to love her. Which made it hurt worse every time she was not picked. She excused herself from dinner and left before the tears could take her.
Most of the others were crying too, as it is undeniably hard to not being picked at all, and Old Matron Maggie hated to see them like that. To cheer them up she brought them into the living room and sat them by the Christmas tree and they opened the cookies they baked the day before. She picked out a book and began to read with voices for every character. She knew it was a poor consolation, but it was all she could do. Every day she prayed to all the Gods that they would each get a loving family, and though the thought of them leaving for breaks her heart, it breaks more to see the sadness in their eyes.
Upstairs Kim was stomping around in anger, cursing at herself for hoping. She pulled her posters down from the wall and threw her things and clothes into a bag. “What are you doing?” James and Ty asked, confused as they watched her pack. They came up to bring her some of the cookies, not wanting her to miss out.
“I’m leaving” Kim said, her voice filled with sadness and determination. “There’s no reason for me to stay. I’ll never get adopted and it’s not long before I age out too. Better to just get out of here now and start my own life”.
“You are leaving?” Ty asked.
“Where will you go?” James asked.
“Yes, I’m leaving. I’m going tonight when the lights are out. I’ll go to Tommy and from there I’ll find my own place” Kim said. If Tommy can do it, so can she, she thought. She had always been more independent, and better at solving problems. She would have to lie a bit about her age the first couple of years but then it should be easy as pie.
“We’ll come too” James said and began to pack as well. “We’ll never get adopted either. These white parents don’t want no black boys. They all think we are bad kids”. And it was true, of all the black children who had stayed in the orphanage only one of them had gotten adopted. The Matrons did their best to help them, they even reached out to black communities, but there was nothing they could do.
“Yeah, we gotta stick together and Steven from my class, his dad has said I can earn a little money weeding in their yard” Ty proudly agreed. Steven’s dad was a good man who often helped Ty with his homework and showed him how to do stuff. Stuff a man should know how to do, like yard work, working on a car, fishing, throwing a ball, fixing a drain, painting a house and more. He always said that since Ty did not have a dad yet, someone should teach the important things until then. He also took him to baseball games and football games even though they are not rich, because he wanted him to experience it in real life.
“If you can keep up and don’t get me caught, you can come” Kim said after thinking about it. She understood them all too well.
That night after the lights had been turned off and Matron Jules had said goodnight and taken her place down in the living room in front of the TV, Kim, James and Ty got out of bed and grabbed their bags. They just had to get out of the house unnoticed and walk a little while down to the bus stop and they would be right on their way to the town.
“What are you doing?” Astrid whispered watching the three sneak through the room in the dark.
“It doesn’t concern you” Kim snapped, fearing Astrid would get in their way.
“We’re leaving” Ty said. For some reason he always told Astrid the truth.
“Are you leaving us?” Beatrice’s quivering voice asked from her bed in the dark.
“Can we come too?” Tim asked and jumped out of bed. He and Astrid had been talking during the day and both felt like they too were wasting their time hoping to be adopted. They had not decided to leave, but since the others are going, they might fare better going together.
“Only you and Astrid, but you better be quick, the last bus leaves in twenty minutes and it’s too cold to walk” Kim said impatiently.
“Why can’t we come?” Jay-Jay asked defiantly as if he was going to rat on them.
“You are young. You can still get adopted” Astrid explained and patted him on the head before she and Tim quickly grabbed their bags and scooped their most prized belongings into them, some clothes and their schoolbooks into them. Five minutes later they were ready with some more than heavy bags on their backs.
“Please don’t leave” Christie silently cried as the five snuck out of the door.
Jackie crawled into Christie’s bed and held her close to comfort her “don’t worry. They’ll soon be back” she said. She did not understand why they wanted to leave. She did not understand why anyone wanted to leave. Even Tommy did not want to leave, he had to. It would be nice with her own room, but they have a bed here, warmth, food, the Matrons who love them and they did not have to pay rent or anything. She loved it here. She loved the Matrons, to her they were like mothers. She knew she had to leave at one point in her life, but she swore that she would come back when she was old enough to work there. She thought she might even adopt when the time comes.
Astrid took a last look back at the house as they walked down the road to the bus stop. She was going to miss this place, but she was sure that this was the right thing to do. Like Kim, she would soon turn fourteen and the people from the state had been by several times preparing her for what she could expect when she aged out of the orphanage. Except for help to find an apartment, it was not much they would provide. She would have to get into college on her own, earn all her own money, provide all her own food and generally be on her own.
They boarded the bus and drove into town. It was not a long trip, it was only a handful of miles away, but had they been forced to walk in the snow it would have taken them maybe two hours. However, while they drove it felt like the world was changing. They had all taken this bus many times before on their way to school, but this time it was different. The world began to feel colder, darker and lonelier than before and suddenly the orphanage was far away like it was part of another world. They could all feel it hanging in the air, but they did not dare say it, they just smiled at each other whenever their eyes crossed.
At nine Tommy heard a knock on the door and it took him by surprise. It was a weird feeling having his own place with his own door that people would knock on. It was not a big place, but it was his. He opened the door and found five of his younger siblings looking up at him and it made him happy. He knew it was wrong for them to be there so late, but he was missing them. “What are you doing here?” he asked and let them in.
The apartment was very small and almost empty. It was almost only just one room with a kitchen in one end and a mattress on the floor in the other end. In the middle was a table with only a single chair and cardboard box filled with his things from the orphanage. The bathroom was just big enough to have the toilet under the shower. This was the help they could expect of the state.
“We left the orphanage just like you. Can we stay here until we find a place of our own?” Kim said trying to sound cool, but she was happy to see him too.
“You should go back. They are going to miss you. You should enjoy the time you have at the orphanage cause when it’s over this is what we get” Tommy said as he hugged them one by one.
“Nah bro, we aren’t going back. Why should we? Nobody wants us anyway” James said and sat down on the chair “we thought you would understand”.
“I do understand, and you can stay here as long as you need, but I didn’t leave because I wanted to, I left because I had to. I would have stayed at the orphanage until I left for college, but it is nice to have my own room” Tommy smiled. “It’s going to be a little crammed, we are six people to share one bed. And you still have to do your homework, I’m not gonna let you drop out of school”.
For the night the six children slept side by side with their bags on the mattress and their legs off its side. They wore a warm sweater, thick socks and pyjamas bottoms with the carpet spread over their legs. They used their bags filled with clothes as pillows. It was nothing like their own warm beds.
“The children! The children are gone” Matron Camille exclaimed in a panic, waking Matron Jules who was sleeping in the chair in front of the TV. She had just arrived and went upstairs to check on the children only to find five empty beds. “We need to do something. We need to call the police!”
“Calm down Camille. The children are fine. Tommy wrote to me and said they had gone to his place” Matron Jules said calmly, taking the phone out of her hand. “We don’t want them to get in trouble”.
“But it is the middle of the night. They should be in their beds sleeping. They have school tomorrow” Matron Camille said, confused. She was quite new at the orphanage and had not experienced the children running away before.
“It’s okay. Tommy will take care of them and get them to school and in a few days, they will come back to us. This is a good experience for them. It will prepare them for their futures, learn a little independence and give them a taste of freedom.” Matron Jules said and gently pushed Matron Camille towards a chair. “Sometimes when the children get close to age out, they lose faith in the system and begin to think they are better off alone. They start to believe that no one wants them and that there is no reason to stay. I know I did. When that happens, they might choose to run away to find a place they belong and are wanted. Some end up in gangs while others just end up living in the streets. A few actually make it. We are lucky that we have Tommy and they ran to him. He can keep an eye on them, tell us how they are doing and remind them that they can always come back to us. If we call the police on them, they will only get in trouble and they will feel like they are getting forced to stay here against their will. It will only make them want to run away again”.
“What about food and clothes and warm beds? Tommy cannot take care of all that and it is soon Christmas, they cannot be out there alone on Christmas” Matron Camille worried.
“You have to trust that they can handle it. They will be on their own quite soon and when that time comes there will be no one to help them if it goes wrong” Matron Jules comforted her. When she was in the orphanage, she could have used a place to run off to. A place where she could be safe while also experiencing how hard the world would be.
“Everybody up. It’s time for school” Tommy woke the others so they could get ready for school. “Here’s a granola bar, eat up and get ready”.
“A granola bar, really? Don’t we have anything else?” James complained, tired. It had been a rough night. He had no space to sleep and was constantly hit in the side or the head by flailing arms and his neck got strained from his improvised pillow. The others look like they have slept just as bad.
“Granola bars are the only thing we got. They are cheap, they are healthy and they can last for a long time. We each get one for breakfast, one for lunch and one as an afternoon snack. We can’t afford anything else. For dinner we eat down at the soup kitchen. We have to save money wherever we can” Tommy explained, eating his granola. “Also be careful with your clothes, don’t get them dirty. It costs money to wash your clothes. We have to rewear our clothes as much as possible between washes. Hot water is also expensive, so you have to get used to taking tepid baths”.
The first day went by fine. They were a little tired and a little bit cold, but nevertheless fine. The second day was tougher and tension was rising in the little home of theirs. The lack of good sleep, food and privacy began to get to them. On the third day it all broke down.
“Who has eaten all the granola bars?” Frederique angrily swung the empty box around looking at the others. He had not yet had his lunch, and his stomach was growling like a mad dog.
“Don’t look at me” James defensively called back “I didn’t even get one for breakfast”.
“That was because you were hogging the shower for too long leaving only cold water for the rest of us” Astrid snapped at James with her unwashed hair collected in a messy bun.
“You aren’t any better Astrid, you always spent way too long in front of the mirror putting on makeup, blocking the toilet” Tommy weighed in. He wanted to remind them that they all had to be more thoughtful of the others.
“I have to. I can’t sleep with you all lying so close and snoring into my ears. I don’t want to look tired at school” Astrid snapped again with tears in her tired eyes.
“I want my granola bar. I’m hungry!” Frederique yelled, throwing the box on the floor.
“Me too! Who took the granolas?” James joined Frederique, staring the others down one by one.
“I saw Ty looking in the box last” Kim said, and they all turned their attention to Ty who had been sitting in the corner hiding in the blanket.
“Ty, where’s the granolas?” Frederique said as calmly as he could.
“I was starving. I couldn’t help it” Ty broke down crying and showed the empty wrappers under the blankets.
“Now we’re all starving” James yelled, grabbing for Ty but Tommy held him back.
“Ugh I hate it here. We should never have left” Astrid screamed in frustration.
“Then why don’t you just leave. Go back to the orphanage with your precious food and beds and warm showers” Tommy yelled. He had done his best to take them in, giving them all that he had, shared his food, his bed, his home and they repaid him like this.
“We can’t go back. They don’t want us. We ran away and they didn’t even care to look for us” Kim cried, truly believing that nobody wanted her.
“Of course they want you back. I’ve been calling the Matrons every day, letting them know where you are and how you are doing. They want you all back and are waiting for you dumbdumbs to figure out how stupid it was to run away” Tommy lashed out because he wished he also could go back to the orphanage, back to a simpler life.
“You never wanted us here?” Kim gasped in disbelief and ran out of the apartment with tears in her eyes before Tommy could stop her.
“Is it true? They want us back? Can we go home?” Astrid asked softly, never had she felt so happy.
“Yes, you can go home. You should go home. It is Christmas after all” Tommy said with a heavy heart. Even though it had been rough and hard he loved having them by, but now he would go back to be alone.
Just like that the mood changed and the tension was gone. Now they all looked sad and sorry as they packed their things into their bags.
“Sorry for making a mess of it all” James said and gave Tommy a brotherly hug.
“Thanks for taking care of us. We will try to repay you as well as we can” Astrid said as they left the apartment.
Left behind, Tommy picked up the phone and called Matron Jules. “Hi… They are on their way home… All except Kim. I don’t think she will be going back… Can I ask you for a favour?...”
He waited a few hours in case Kim returned, but she did not. He was not worried as he was sure she would come back at some point to collect her things and then they could talk. However, he was starting to get a little hungry and with no food left in the apartment he had to go buy something. He went out and walked through the park towards the food bank. As he passed the grand Christmas tree in the middle he stopped and looked up to the star, shining bright for all to see. Here he made a wish “I wish that everything will be okay. That all us orphans find a home and a place to stay. I wish that the Matrons will be treated right and that they know how much their love and care mean to all of us. I wish that Kim would come back. I miss her very much. She is my oldest friend; she has been there almost every day of my life and I don’t want to be alone. I wish that I could adopt little Christie, but even more I wish that she gets the family she deserves who will love and care for her”.
“You miss me? You’re such a nerd” Kim teased. She had been sitting on the bench watching the tree, thinking about how her life was going to be. She saw him arrive and heard him make his wish, and though they were very different, he was her best friend too.
“Of course I miss you dumbdumb. I miss all of you. The three days I lived in the apartment alone was the loneliest I have ever been. Yes, it was tough to live with all of you the last few days, it was still better than living alone” Tommy confessed and hugged Kim. “I talked with Matron Jules; you don’t have to go back to the orphanage. You can stay here if you want, and we don’t have to share bed anymore. She has just been here with an extra mattress, blanket and pillow. The rest of your things she will bring down another day”.
Just as they were about to leave the tree to go shopping for food Tommy’s phone rang, it was Old Matron Maggie. “Tommy… Christie is missing… She said she was going to visit Santa. We thought she was playing like you two did last year… It’s been a few hours since we last saw her… Please come as fast as you can”.
They ran to the bus and jumped on it, hurrying home. Friends and neighbours and police and good Samaritans had shown up to help with the search and more were on the way. Matron Camille stood in the door crying thanking everyone for coming. The police efficiently organised everybody and sent them out to search in the nearby area. They had to be fast. The temperature was dropping, and it began to snow, but worst of all was that the sun was getting low. Soon it would be hard to see as the night would roll over them and in this cold Christie would not last long. Old Matron Maggie stayed at the house with the small ones. She was too old, and they were too young.
“Old Matron Maggie, we’re here. Have you found her yet” Tommy and Kim asked, running into the living room.
“No, my dears, not yet. Oh, thank you so much for coming” Old Matron Maggie hugged them tight and kissed them on their forehead. This surprised Kim, she thought they would be angry with her for running away. She thought that they would blame her for Christie running away, but they did not.
“Kim! you’re back” Beatrice yelled with glee and almost toppled her over as she hugged her.
“You said Christie is going to see Santa?” Tommy asked Old Matron Maggie, trying to figure out what she could have meant. Last year they played a game where he dragged her around on a sleigh in the backyard and they were going to see Santa, but he did not understand how it fit with her running away.
“She has been asking about you all week. This morning, she said she was going to see Santa to ask him to bring you back for Christmas” Jay-Jay explained.
“We asked her if she wanted to write him a letter, but she said she knew where he lives” Beatrice added. “We thought she was playing or something”.
“She’s going to see Santa to ask him to bring me back?” Tommy asked and felt bad. Christie is missing because of him. If he had been here, if he had just visited once during the last week, then she might not have run away. It was his fault.
“Did she say anything else? Did she say anything about where it is or how to get there?” Kim asked, something about knowing where Santa lives seemed familiar.
“She said that you have to go north, through the magical forest. You have to walk around the rock that looks like a sleeping troll three times and then you cross the great river…”
“... and if you are a good child, the reindeer will come and lead you to Santa’s cabin” Tommy finished for Beatrice. “That’s the story I told her last year”.
“There are no rivers up here and I do not recall a rock that looks like a sleeping” Old Matron Maggie said with dwindling hope.
“There’s that small stream in the forest, she used to call that a river” Ty yawned from the couch, he was so tired he could barely stay awake.
“... and it’s right after the big rock that looks like it has a scary face. We went up there this summer to look at it. She was scared of it, and you told her a story about how it once was a troll making trouble in the forest, but a wizard came and defeated it, turning it into stone. Thanks to the wizard it couldn’t hurt anyone anymore, so she didn’t have to be scared of it” Beatrice remembered because she was also scared of the rock until Tommy told them the story.
It did not make sense to Tommy why Christie would think Santa lived up there. Nobody had lived up there since the old farm got closed down, but then it hit him. Last time they walked up to the stream they heard a wild sound, a kind of grunting, just after they had crossed it. Christie was scared it was a bear, but then a reindeer showed up. It had escaped from the old farm, which had just been bought by a reindeer farmer. “I know where Santa lives!” he exclaimed “the old farm. There are reindeer up on the old farm”.
He stormed out of the house with his jacket flying behind him and ran towards the forest behind the orphanage. He ran up the hill up to the big scary rock and crossed the stream calling for Christie as loud as he could. It was cold and dark; he could hardly see anything. The clouds and trees blocked out the stars and moon and he did not bring a torch. He pulled out his phone to light his way, looking for signs that Christie had come by. He could feel his finger start to freeze and hoped that she had put on her gloves and a big coat before heading up here. Desperate, he ran back and forth, searching, with frozen tears on his cheeks, calling her name, but he could not find her. For twenty minutes he searched before his phone ran dry and he was lost in the dark. Then he broke down and cried. He had left the orphanage without telling her goodbye because he thought it would be too hard, and now he had lost, probably forever. Tommy was about to give up and head back down when the thumping sound of heavy footsteps approached. He scouted in the dark. Was it a bear he thought. He could not see. Then a branch cracked, and a hand grabbed his shoulder. He thought he was going to die just like Christie. He screamed in fear and tried to run but the hand held on.
“Relax kid. You are scaring the reindeer” a jolly voice said and a big fat man with a long white beard and red coat appeared “you are the one calling for Christie?”
“Have you seen her? She’s my little sister, she went missing a few hours ago looking for Santa” Tommy mustered up.
“She came up here a little while ago and knocked on my door asking for Santa. She was all cold and hungry, so I took her in. She kept saying that she wished I would bring Tommy home because she misses him” the fat man explained as he led the way around the enclosure to his house. “I was just about to begin calling around to hear if anyone was missing her when I heard you calling her name”.
“Tommy!” Christie screamed with pure joy as soon as they opened the door and ran towards him “I found Santa and he brought you back to me”.
Tommy lifted her up and held her tight, never had he been so happy to see her. “Oh Christie, I’m so happy that I found you. I have missed you so much. You know you can’t go visit Santa alone. You should always bring one of the big kids with you”.
“Yes Christie, good girls don't wander off into the forest alone. You could have gotten lost” the fat man said.
“But I had to! I had to go find Santa, only he could help me. The Matrons wouldn’t say where you were or bring you back home” Christie said determinately and crossed her arms, making Tommy and the fat man laugh.
“I’m sorry Christie, but I don’t live at the orphanage anymore, I’m too old. My home is down in town now, but I should have visited you some more, and I promise to visit you every week from now on” Tommy said and hugged her again.
“You are from the orphanage?” the fat man asked, giving the two an extra look.
At that moment a car pulled up outside and footsteps ran up to the door, knocking on it. The fat man opened and in the door stood a police man and Matron Jules, who ran in to hug Tommy and Christie. The police radioed it in, informing the others that Christie had been found and they could call off the search. They thanked the fat man and drove back down to the orphanage. When they arrived back at the house everybody was waiting for them. They wanted to confirm that little Christie was okay. The police and the Matrons went around to thank everybody for their time and help before people went home.
Now that they all were home and together again, the orphanage joined for a Christmas feast. There was duck and pork belly roast, potatoes and gravy and brussels sprouts, red cabbage and carrots and apple slices. For dessert there was rice pudding and Christmas cookies. That night they were not sitting in order. As they had finished and all were stuffed to the brim, it knocked on the door once again. In came Steven with his mom and dad.
“Ty, I have a present for you” he said with a big smile, but there were no boxes in any of their hands.
“You got a present for me?” Ty asked, looking around, wondering what it could be.
“Yes, we got a present for you. We thought about it and talked it out with the Matrons. We really like you and think you are a good boy, and we have therefore decided to adopt you” Steven’s dad said while his mom smiled heartedly.
Ty could not believe it. It hardly seemed true. They wanted to adopt him. “You want to adopt me?” he asked, and they nodded and smiled. He looked to the Matrons with hope in his eyes and they all nodded and smiled. “I’M GETTING ADOPTED” he screamed with joy and jumped into the air and the others applauded and wished him the best.
“And that my friends, is how Christmas came to the orphanage that year” the fat man said and blinked as he stood outside the orphanage with a bag full of presents hanging over his shoulder.
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