Christmas Angel by Cory Chamblin // Christmas Story Contest Finalist

story by Cory Shamblin, author of St. Graves: The Witness available via this link

The snow crunches softly under the heel of my plaid slippers

Water soaks through into my socks but I don’t mind

My mind is elsewhere

Away from the cold balcony on which I stand

In a happier place

In a happier time

To a time when your raven hair was rested on my shoulder

That promethean glow in your eyes brighter than any fireplace and twice as warming

I wonder aimlessly through memories of ugly Christmas sweaters

And how you always wore them better

Of the way your bottom always poked out from underneath it

How I would chase you around the apartment pinching it until we collapsed in a pile

There was so much love in these memories

If only every drag from my cigarette tasted as good as your kiss

I would be a much-contented man

A man closer to you

I tell myself it’s the smoke that makes my eyes water as I gaze into the sky

But I know better

I whisper your name into the starry heavens

“Ramona”

My eyes squeeze tight like if I just willed it hard enough you would be here again

I wait a few seconds in the stinging cold, but no hand takes mine

Only a profound longing clawing at my throat

As if on queue with the welling pool of emotions in my chest I feel something 

A tiny fleck of cold and wet on my cheek

As I press my fingers to it, I feel a warmth

I can’t hold back the emotions 

With a strangled sigh I open my eyes. 

One snowflake had raced down from the sky before all the others

To find purchase of my cheek

Now that its divine mission was over the others dared to follow

The stars shone brighter upon my freshly opened eyes

“Merry Christmas babe,” I breath into the wintery air.

It must have been a trick of the light that made me think I saw a star shimmer in response

Even if I couldn’t hold you like we used to do

Even if I could never hear your laugh again

At least you could still be my Christmas angel