"She pulled her purse out of
the satchel rescued from the trash dumpster. The vinyl was scratched and torn,
and the zipper had disappeared long before she claimed it. But it was large
enough for her purse and a change of clothes and shoes for her evening's part
time job. She dug for the thin billfold buried under several bills marked past
due. From one of the slots, she found the purpose of the search. Tears
threatened when she punched in the phone number on the card to verify the
amount of food stamps available. Not much. But perhaps enough for a decent
Christmas dinner. She had tried to prepare her children for a lean holiday this
year after her job ended. However, even with the extra work and food stamps,
other obligations would cancel a nice juicy turkey and all the trimmings.
Boiled chicken legs and stovetop stuffing would be the main course. A can of
sweet potatoes were in the cupboard, but there would be no marshmallows or
pecans. And pumpkin pie? That was only a picture in a magazine."
Requiem = Sad songs. Little hope. Depression. Misery. Many are feeling the effects of the economy this year. We remind ourselves to be thankful for what we have and pray for better times. However, our thoughts return to the present circumstances hovering to dim the most beautiful of holidays. We wonder if there are yet such things as miracles to save us from more despair?
Christmas Requiem, a holiday short story now on ebook sites with a printed version on CreateSpace.
http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Requiem-ebook/dp/B006D5OHIC
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Requiem-ebook/dp/B006D5OHIC
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/107975
https://www.createspace.com/4006776
(Or check catalogues on Nook, Sony, Apple, Kobo, and others)
