The end of Thanksgiving marks the beginning of Christmas, because just one day of Christmas isn’t enough. No, we need a whole month. Children are happy, snow is falling, the Christmas trees are put up, and hearts are coming together. It’s the best time of year! That’s when I met Chris. He’s amazing! I love the way he smiles when he sees me. I love how he compliments me when I don’t like how I look. I love the way his hand fits perfectly in mine. If I would have met him on any other day it wouldn’t be the same, but he turned the worst day of my life into the best day of my life. He is a blessing from God at the very moment I needed one the most. Of course, that also means that the first moment I saw him I was crying, but I would have continued to cry if not for him. My name is Kayla and I fell in love this Christmas.

“Cuz baby all I want for Christmas is you,” my voice rang as I sang along to the music with a round hairbrush as a microphone; dancing in my messy room. I had Chris on my mind the entire time. Ever since I met him I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Unlike other guys that I thought might like me; I am the only one he flirts with. I see him at school with other girls as they ignore him and he ignores them. Then we make eye contact and smile. For a moment, I knew this Christmas was going to be one of the great ones.

Winter Formal was only a few days after getting back from Winter break. On the last week before break I pained myself to ask him to the formal. I had plans, tactics, strategies, and anything else I could think of to be ready to ask him, but whenever I could I chickened out. What if he says no? What if he just wants to be friends? What if it ruins any chance of there ever being an “us”? After the thoughts finally finished going through my head, my opportunity had passed. Then it was over, Winter break was here and it was the first time I was disappointed. I still had time, but he’s attractive. He wouldn’t be free for long.

I debated with myself for days if I should text him to hang out, or if I should invite him to a church Christmas party, but I couldn’t. Then suddenly a text came to my phone,

“Hey wanna hang out 2nite?”

I smiled to myself then text,

“Sure?”

I didn’t want to seem too excited, so I waited a couple minutes before sending. We went to the local mall for some Christmas shopping. There we admired the Christmas displaces with the charming Santa and a couple kissing under the mistletoe. I smiled at him and he smiled back. We got coffees at the mini Starbucks stop at the mall, and then we sat on a bench to talk. We really didn’t do much actual shopping, but instead a lot of talking and laughing. I had an amazing time, which made me love him all the more.

We hung out more and more that Christmas season. Then Christmas Eve had come and we went downtown shopping that night. We wished for snow and got more coffee. It was charming; the lights of red and green and the Santa Clause ringing a bell outside the mall. He let me ring the bell and Chris and I just laughed more.


“Okay kids, I have to get the reindeer ready.” Santa Clause picked up his donation box, bell, and smiled at us as he headed for the mall entrance. I looked at Chris and smiled, but his smile was kind of forced.

“What’s wrong?” I was worried; he looked nervous, which was something new for me to see in him. He kept looking between me and the ground and smiling.

“I need to ask you something.” He fit his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans and kept moving his feet.

“Yeah?” I knew what he was going ask, but I wanted to hear him say it.

“Kayla,” he hesitated, “will you go to the Winter Formal with me?”

There it was! The question I thought I had to ask him. A smile grew on my face until it got to the point of explosion.

“Yes!” I jumped into his arms. It was wonderful to feel his arms around my waist. I floated away from him still smiling and I saw him smiling as well. We stared into each other’s eyes and slowly moved closer together until our lips met in the middle. It was my first kiss. I felt an icy flake fall on my check, so I broke off from him and looked up to see snow falling all around us. When I looked back down we were both smiling like a children and giggling; our lips met again. I opened my eyes to see Santa staring at us from the door to the mall. He laughed with a “ho, ho, ho” and went inside.

We said our goodbyes as my mom picked me up from the mall and he was ready to get on the bus to get home. He gave me one last kiss and we went our separate ways. I purposely sat in the back seat so I could watch his bus drive away in the opposite direction. I couldn’t see him on it, but just knowing he was made it worth watching. I watched it begin to drive over the bridge of the river. I saw a truck with a crazy drunk driver swerving the car across the bridge. It was right in the bus’s way. The truck made the bus swerve, but that bus wasn’t meant to swerve, especially across an icy road. It skid until it fell over the side. The bus fell into the river with a splash as I yelled at my mom to turn the car around. The river carried the car under the bridge and downstream.

My mom stopped the car to see what was going on. She saw just in time to see the bus float around the river bend. She pulled out her phone to call the police. Tears began to stream down my face as my mom finished telling her story to the police.

“Mom, where does that river go? We have to follow it!” She grabbed me and looked me in the eye.

“Calm down. We’ve done all we can. He’s going to be just fine.” She wiped my tears and led me back into the car to head home. I cried the whole way back, and even when we got home I stared at the news station for hours trying to find out if he was safe. Multiple interviews were made by witnesses, but I couldn’t care less. One woman said her husband was on that bus and she was weeping. It made the tears come ever more to hear it, but I had to know if he was okay. I kept whispering to myself a prayer for Chris.

“Dear God… oh, please let him be safe. God, please, I need him. Protect him from that river… Oh God… Please…Amen.”

A couple hours later midnight came. Christmas was here, but that was the last thing on my mind. The news report came in that they found the bus on the shore with few survivors. Chris wasn’t among them. They assumed that anyone unaccounted for had drowned in the freezing river water. The tears welled up inside my eyes and I burst out weeping. My mother ran from her bedroom and shut off the television. She tried to comfort me as much as possible with no success, so she walked me to my bed. I cried myself to sleep.

When I woke up, I took my snowflake blanket and wrapped it around myself. All I wanted to do was lay in bed, but I knew I should join my family for Christmas if not for my own good. I crawled up the stairs trying to hold back tears, but a few escaped from my eyes. I was the first one up, but I knew if I went back to bed I wouldn’t be able to come back up. My plan was to lie on the couch until everyone got up. I snuggled my blanket closer.

I turned to the living room and lifted my head to see a sleeping man on my couch. It was Chris! There was a red coat with furry white trim laid on him and a shiny red bow on his head. My heart lifted as I grabbed the bow from his head. There was a tag on his wrist. It read:

“Kayla, try not to lose him again. Love, Santa Clause.” I smiled as I read the tag. Then Chris started to stir and wake up. He blinked his eyes open to see me and smiled then remembered.

“How did I get here? I was drowning in the river. I thought I was dead.” I sat by him on the couch and showed him the tag. His eyes grew wide, he looked at the coat laid on him, and smiled.

“Whoa!” I nodded my head in agreement. He looked back up at me, kissed me, and wiped the tears from my checks. “I love you.”

I smiled, “I love you, too.”

Best Christmas EVER!!!