“Cracker Jacks and crimson! Why do you have to be so mean?” Scarlett Lee said in her 10-year-old voice to her family. “It’s Christmas! Why can’t everyone just love each other?”
She looked at her family sitting around the dining table for Christmas brunch. They ignored her most of the time, which was one of the ways they were definitely nasty to her. Most of the time they did not acknowledge any of her opinions.
Earlier in the morning, they had opened gifts, and the wrapping paper was still scattered throughout the living room next to the Christmas tree. All those empty boxes stacked beside the Christmas tree, and Scarlett still felt sad and lonely. Her family would rather spend a lot of money buying gifts than share some love.
To spread cheer, Scarlett liked to wear every shade of red at Christmastime—crimson, carmine, ruby, rusty red, fire engine red, cardinal, maroon, dark red, redwood, fire brick, and barn red—to name a few. More than anything, she liked to wear the color of her name, which was a bright red hue with tints of orange. She dressed like an elf in a wool winter dress, hat, and pointy shoes with jingling bells.
“Hey, where did you get that elf outfit? The North Pole?” her brother asked. “Maybe we should send you back there with Santa!”
“Nathan, be quiet!” Scarlett argued. “I dressed up as one of Santa’s elves to spread love!”
Her oldest brother poked her in the side, and Scarlett elbowed him back with a smile. Then, Nathan pinched her ears and cheeks.
“Stop picking on me!” Scarlett said. “I want today to be full of happiness!”
“Why do you have to dress like that?” her father asked. Then, he let out a loud burp. Scarlett was so embarrassed by his belching. “Can’t you just take your gifts, eat some turkey, and stop being wacko?” her father said to her.
“I was trying to have fun, Dad!” Scarlett said, as her face filled with tears. She ran from the dining table into her room and locked the door. She would rather sing Christmas songs alone on her bed than put up with the bullying. After a nap, she returned to the dining table. Her three brothers and two sisters still crammed their faces with turkey, stuffing, and cranberries.
Looking across the table, the Lee family was not exactly a storybook lesson in Christmas love. Scarlett’s parents hadn’t held hands in years, and her siblings were rowdy and wild.
Scarlett’s teachers and grandparents knew that she was filled with joy despite the turmoil. She loved mornings and woke up every day grateful for a whole new day ahead, but the rest of the Lee family was usually less than gracious. This Christmas was no different.
When Scarlett turned around, Nathan ran his remote-control car all throughout the kitchen and smashed it into the wall. Then, he backed it up and ran it over Scarlett’s pointy elf shoes. Then, he threw his leftover food at the wall, just to make a mess.
“Ouch! Watch where you’re going with that car!” Scarlett yelled at Nathan. He let go of the car controller and dove in her direction. He wrestled her to the ground.
In the background, the kitchen television was blaring with the news of a car hijacking, and rap music blasted from the living room speakers. Scarlett felt gross listening to all the noise.
After Nathan punched Scarlett in the arm, bruising her, she managed to escape his grasp. When the phone rang and went to voicemail, she stuck her fingers in her ears. A floodgate of tears erupted from her face. She was exhausted of trying to get along with her crazy family.
The worst was when she was snowed in with them for days during a storm and could not go anywhere. This happened at least once or twice a year, as it snowed more in her hometown of Houghton, Michigan, than most places.
“My arm is going to be purple and green where he hit me!” she said.
She looked at her mother washing the dirty dishes alone and decided to help her dry them. She could not let her mother do all the work while everyone else freeloaded.
“This is not Christmas! It’s chaos. Even I can figure that out!” Scarlett yelled. Just then, the Christmas tree toppled on its side and sat lopsided with its ornaments and blinking lights.
“Why don’t we play board games together? Or maybe we can sing some Christmas carols by the fireplace?” Scarlett said. “Why can’t we be a family?”
“What do we want to do that for?” Nathan said. “Last time, you beat me at Scrabble anyhow.”
“You’re just waiting around for Grandpa to give you more money,” Scarlett said. “Otherwise, you’d be out riding your four-wheeler in the snow.”
“Yeah, I have to get the rest of my gifts from Gramps,” Nathan said. “He still owes me at least $100 for Christmas. He should have been here hours ago.”
“He’s probably afraid to come over and decided to stay home,” Scarlett said. She grabbed her winter jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves.
“There’s a blizzard outside,” Scarlett’s father said. He burped again, this time louder than before. “Don’t go out there. You might freeze to death!”
Scarlett was shocked that her father actually cared about her safety. He was probably just trying to spoil her fun again.
“Maybe I’ll build an igloo and sit in it,” Scarlett said. “It would be better than listening to everyone argue and fight on Christmas Day!”
Despite her father’s protest, Scarlett headed into the snowy outdoors. She slammed the front door shut, and the whole house shook. In silence, she watched the winter sky as one snowflake fell after the other, creating a windy blizzard.
“Why can’t Christmas just be fun?” she said, as she plopped herself on the cold winter ground. She laid down, moved her arms and legs back and forth, and made an angel in the snow.
Up to her ears in snow, Scarlett peered at Nathan and her mother standing by the window inside the warm house. Nathan stuck out his tongue at Scarlett and made an ugly face that no one would want to see. Scarlett closed her eyes and refused to look at his mean expression.
“I wish for a real friend for Christmas as a gift!” Scarlett said to the heavens.
Then, Scarlett looked up in the sky. She noticed a big snowflake growing larger and larger. As it got closer to Scarlett, she could tell that it was a snowman descending to the ground with a parachute on his back.
She watched him closely as he landed right next to her in the front yard. He wore a red scarf with a black top hat and had a carrot nose; his eyes and his mouth were made from coal. His brown arms were made from tree branches, and he had three buttons on his chest.
“You said you needed a Christmas friend, Scarlett,” the Snowman said. “Well, my name is Snowflake Blizzard. We’ll be the best of friends that there could be!”
“What if you melt?” Scarlett said. She touched Snowflake to make sure that he was real.
“I won’t melt for now! I can stay until morning, Scarlett,” Snowflake said. “I’m your Christmas wish come true! A billion snowflakes came together to make one big snowman!”
“It’s been a really hard day,” Scarlett said. “Everybody makes fun of me! I tried dressing like an elf, but no one in my family is ever nice.”
“Well, we’ll just see about that, won’t we, my friend?” Snowflake said. He waddled toward the Lees’ front door.
“I don’t know if you want to go inside there,” Scarlett said. “My family can be mean. It’s also warm in the house, and you might melt.”
“I’ll be okay until morning, Scarlett,” Snowflake Blizzard explained. “Don’t you worry about me. I’m here for you!”
As soon as Snowflake opened the door, the entire Lee family stopped, stared, and became silent. Scarlett tiptoed beside him. She didn’t feel outnumbered anymore.
“I am Snowflake Blizzard, and I have come for some Christmas fun!” the Snowman said. As he blew his cool breath across the family, their faces became clear and bright. “As long as I’m here, we’re going to be kind to one another.”
The entire family was mesmerized by the Snowman’s presence, not able to fight or argue anymore. Scarlett’s mother collapsed in the living room rocking chair with relief.
“I’m going to teach you ‘The Snowflake Blizzard Song,’ so that you can sing it long after I’ve gone!” the Snowman said. He smiled at Scarlett and hummed its tune.
Then, Snowflake said, “Now, the song goes like this: ‘Christmas is for families. Christmas is for friends. Love and joy, overflowing. Snow and sunshine, warm and glowing. Make sure to spread some cheer before the season ends.’”
All at once, Mr. Lee and his children sang Snowflake’s song and transformed into new people. The children cleaned up the dirty dishes and the crumpled wrapping paper for their mom, and their dad even helped them. They also straightened the lopsided Christmas tree. Mr. Lee turned off the television news and the blaring rap music. Instead, he lit a fire in the fireplace. Each of the children gathered ‘round him to play jacks, cards, and board games.
“Oh, my, it is getting a bit warm in here!” Snowflake said to Scarlett.
The snowman took off his scarf and placed it on the sofa. He dripped across the kitchen floor and created a puddle as large as the kitchen sink. Scarlett got paper towels to wipe up his trail of melted snow. She felt sad that she was losing her friend a little at a time.
“Don’t worry! I have a few more hours before I have to leave,” Snowflake said. He shuffled through the kitchen, opened the freezer door, and stuck his head inside with the frozen carrots and peas. He rubbed a few ice cubes across his face.
“I’m so glad that you were our Christmas visitor,” Scarlett said. She handed him a red popsicle. She also grabbed one from the icebox for herself. “It’s been a flurry of excitement!”
“Well, it’s not over yet,” Snowflake said. He grabbed Scarlett and danced across the kitchen to the sounds of the crackling fireplace. Before it roared into a larger fire, Scarlett threw some water on it to douse the flames. She wanted to keep Snowflake with her as long as possible.
Not too long after that, the entire Lee family bustled to sleep, safe and sound.
“It turned out to be a wonderful Christmas,” Scarlett said to Snowflake. “Thank you for visiting us! Come again anytime.”
She curled up on the couch next to him and fell asleep in his arms. By morning, she woke up to find him waddling to the front door. She was so sad to see him leave already.
“I’m so glad that I could spread some snowy love at Christmas!” Snowflake said.
“I love you!” Scarlett said. She ran to him and gave him a hug goodbye. “Merry Christmas, Snowflake Blizzard!”
“I love you, too, Scarlett!” Snowflake said. “Don’t miss me when I’m gone! I’ll be back next year for Christmas. You can count on me!”
He wobbled outside the front door, only to be blown away by the wind into the morning light. Scarlett stepped on the front porch in her stocking feet. She shivered as she realized her friend had multiplied into a billion snowflakes.
“Whenever I see you again, it won’t be too soon,” Scarlett said. She held back a tear.
As long as there was Christmas, the Lee family celebrated with Snowflake Blizzard, who Scarlett loved as much as any family member. When she really missed him, she sang his song to herself and realized that he was always with her.
Copyright 2015 Jennifer Waters
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