A Special Present

The light from the morning sun had barely crossed the horizon when Kim threw back the covers of her bed and hastily put on her fuzzy slippers. She hurried to the stairs, only then realizing that she’d forgotten her housecoat, shivering in the early morning chill. Too impatient to head back into her room to grab it, she continued down the stairs, rubbing her bare arms to ward off the cold. She could always turn on the electronic fireplace when she reached the living room.

As soon as she entered the room, her eyes were drawn to the tree standing in the corner, its brightly coloured baubles and garlands drawing a small smile on her face. While she knew it was smaller than the ones that her classmates liked to brag about, Kim felt fiercely proud of the little tree she had helped pick out and decorated entirely by herself.

She was normally excited about Christmas, but this year, she had even more reason to be. Her parents had promised an ‘extra special’ gift this year and had been frustratingly vague about what it would be. They only told her that it would be marked with a red ribbon and that she would just have to wait until Christmas morning to see what it was. Well, now it was morning and she planned on finding out exactly what special present she was getting this year. Oh, she wouldn’t open it until everyone was awake, but she would find the box and scrutinize every angle of it - the size, the shape, the weight, the sound it would make when she shook it. Every clue she could get without actually ripping open the wrapping paper.

Crouching down beside the tree, Kim peered under the branches, trying to find the special red ribbon package. There were gold ribbons, blue ribbons, green and pink, a couple with no ribbons at all, but nothing with even red wrapping paper. Had she somehow missed it? She scanned over all of the gifts again, but still no red ribbon. Kim’s lower lip trembled. Had her parents forgotten about the ribbon? Or had they only been playing a prank on her and there was no special present?

Bright sunlight began to fill the room, and upstairs she could hear her parents and older sister begin to stir. Kim stood up and quickly sat down on the couch, pretending like she had just been waiting there. If it had been a prank, she didn’t want them to know that she had fallen for it, or how upset she was.

Her mother was first down the stairs, wrapped in her housecoat. She spotted Kim almost immediately, and a knowing grin spread across her face.

“Tried to find your special gift, did you?”

“Um, actually…” Kim began. Her mother laughed, "It’s not down there. Like I said, it’s very special and-" A loud bark interrupted her, and she gave an exasperated laugh, “Oh no, you’ve ruined the surprise!”

Kim blinked. Had she heard correctly? A moment later, a small furry shape bounded down the stairs. Kim caught it as it barreled towards her, staring at the grinning, wriggling bundle, decked out in a red ribbon just as her parents promised.

“A puppy!” she cried in delight, “Oh, thank you! Thank you! This is the best present ever!” It was hard to tell which of the two were more excited to see the other.

“I was afraid she was going to start barking last night and give up the gig,” her father said, coming down the stairs beside her mother, “You can name her after breakfast. She’s your responsibility now, so make sure you take good care of her.”

“I will,” Kim promised, hugging the puppy close. She grinned at the dog, “We’re going to have so much fun, aren’t we?” The puppy barked her agreement.

“Oh dear, they’re going to be so much trouble, aren’t they?” her mother mused.

Her husband laughed, “Little late to worry about that now.”

Inspiration: Early morning Christmas joy and the love of puppies.