An unexpected gift arrived from a secret Santa. As Julie looked at it she wondered who it could have been from. Her mind then started to guess what was in the small plain looking box with gold wrapping. Could it be a piece of jewelry, a ticket to a flight that would take her on a vacation, or maybe it’s a simple gift like a gift card. She shook her head and thought to herself “just open it”. So she slowly took away the gold wrapping paper and opened the cardboard box underneath. Inside was a beautiful decorative ornament. It had a little window on one side that had Christmas trees inside and little snowmen. Julie thought it was so cute and hung it on her tree immediately. It was a classic little decoration that would be admired on Christmas and she loved it. “Who could it be from though?” Julie pondered. A knock on the door brought her out of the deep thought. She made her way down the hallway and opened the door. “Hey Darling” her mother hugged her and made her way inside shaking the snow off her coat. “Hi mom” Julie said somewhat excitedly. “What’s with the enthusiasm?” Her mother asked. “I want to show you what just arrived!” Julie tugged her along to her Christmas tree. As they approached the tree Julie’s mother visibly gulped and her eyes widened a bit. “I know it’s beautiful isn’t it?!” Julie exclaimed. Julie’s mother quickly turned and made her way to the front door stammering that she had to leave. Julie tried to run after her but she left too quickly. Julie stood there confused and somewhat disappointed. As it turned dark, she cozied up in her bed and thought about her mothers actions. “I’m just going to have to ask grandma tomorrow when I visit” Julie thought. As she drifted off to sleep, the ornament danced in the light and Julie could have sworn she saw someone inside the ornaments window. She quickly thought tiredness was getting to her and within a few minutes she was asleep. The next morning she awoke and excitement took over her as she quickly made coffee and got dressed. She loved her grandma Iris and couldn’t wait to talk to her about the ornament. She ran a comb through her blonde hair and grabbed her coffee and the ornament and practically ran out the door to her car. It took her only twenty minutes to get to her grandma Iris”s home and knocked on the door. Her grandma opened the door and smiled wide and opened her arms for a hug. Julie hugged her grandma and then proceeded to tell her about her mothers actions the previous day. Her grandmother started telling Julie that Julie’s mother had always been a bit weird around Christmas time. “When did she start hating Christmas?” Julie asked. “She doesn’t necessarily hate it child” Iris told her “ She just started acting weird around Christmas time about the year you were born”. Julie thought it was odd but then showed her grandmother the ornament. “It’s beautiful child!” Iris exclaimed. “I know!” Julie said “I wonder why mom didn’t like it”. Iris studied Julie’s disheartened face and told her “ Sit down and ask her”. Julie promised she would and after some tea and cookies she left. Julie had one stop to make before seeing her mother….the local museum. As Julie strolled into the museum her friend’s face lit up. “Jules you made it!” Liam exclaimed quite loudly. Julie’s face turned a bright pink as she felt a little embarrassed and shy for some reason. Liam had always been her best friend since they were about four years old. Recently he had started working out and his five o clock shadow made him look different. “I told you I’d stop by” Julie said. As Liam smiled a little wider and came closer he saw the ornament Julie was holding. “That’s beautiful!” He exclaimed. Julie told him all about her mothers actions and the ornament and as he studied it he noticed a tiny inscription on the window pane. Julie wondered what the date scrawled on the window pane meant. “December 13, 1994” Liam said allowed. “Let’s look it up?” He asked Julie. She hummed her agreement and as they searched the date online only a few results popped up. “Look! Liam announced perplexed as Julie examined the page closely and curiously. “Local baby girl goes missing” Julie quietly said. “ A baby girl given the name Anna Daws was taken from a local hospital three hours after her birth”. Liam read. “Mother was devastated and they never found the culprit”. Julie’s face froze when she saw the picture of the baby girl in the next frame. She quietly whispered “that’s me”.
Secret Santa
Secret Santa
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