The sounds of Christmas

Shalu’s journey into the realm of fantasy was cut short by a loud crash. Her husband was already awake and inching towards the bedroom door. She struggled to gauge the time as her eyes adjusted slowly to the lit room.

“It could be a thief!” she muttered dubiously. “Don’t go Ram. It does not matter if he takes something. Don’t be a fool and hurt yourself,” she pleaded with him now.

She gathered the pink overcoat of her mauve negligée and was well on her way to the door herself. As Ram turned around in alarm, she caught hold of his right arm and sought safety in the sanctity of his embrace.

With a well-toned body that betrayed no fear, Ram was in no mood to listen. He pushed her away gently back into the bed reassuring her with an affectionate peck and thundered out into the hall. There in the middle of the spacious lounge lay a silver bauble that glittered invitingly.

Ram switched on the lights hurriedly. As his eyes swept the length and breadth of the room for signs of an incursion, a cold draft rumbled past him. It seemed to emanate from the trinket on the floor.

He picked it up and as if by instinct held it to his ears. He remembered the Christmas decorations that Janet, his neighbour’s 4-year-old, had brought to show him. There were tiny bells on its periphery that chimed softly.

“But that was last year and this Christmas they cannot afford anything,” he thought somberly. “How did this get here? And what was that sound?”

Suddenly the room grew dark. “Oh the blasted fuse has tripped again!” he grumbled furiously.

The trinket now illuminated the beige walls and cast exquisite patterns on the black leather sofa. He smiled when he remembered the pure happiness on Janet’s face as she had displayed the ornaments and laughed with abandon. Then sadness crept into his heart as he remembered that this Christmas Janet would know no such joy.

He could still hear her prattle and as the knick-knack chimed on, a warm feeling enveloped his soul. The fetters that had held his heart hostage fell away one by one and it dawned on him, “These are the sounds of Christmas!”

The next day a box of Christmas decorations was delivered to Janet’s front porch.