The Christmas Present.(Stephen Pearmine) Gabrielle proceeded into her son's bedroom where he stood at the wardrobe trying on different shirts. 

  Ethan noticed her in the doorway not looking too happy and said, "I promise, I'll tidy up tomorrow, mum."

  The problem was he was more interested in going out with his friends from college than cleaning his room and generally helping out around the house. Gabrielle didn't ask him to do much, but since his father had passed away when Ethan was only a young boy, he'd become angry and disobedient. That scared her a lot, as like her husband, she didn't want to lose him as well.  

  "I'm not having a go, love. But sometimes it would be nice for you to do a bit more. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

  He looked sad as he walked to her. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll clear up tomorrow. Also, for Christmas this year I'm going to give you the best present ever, because you mean the world to me, even though I don't always show it, mum."

  "Come here, you big ape," she said as they hugged. 

  "Thanks, mum."

  Gabrielle knew he was getting ready for a party tonight and left him to it while she made her way into the living room to watch her favourite soap.   

  Half an hour later, Ethan appeared at the entrance to the room. She noticed how smart he looked. 

  "My baby boy is now turning into a man. I couldn't be prouder," she said. "Promise me you'll stay safe tonight and I hope you have a great time, my love."

  "I will, mum. See you tomorrow morning. I love you," he replied.

  A tear came to her eye. "I love you too, sweetheart."

  With that, he disappeared from view. A moment later, the door was heard closing.

......................

  Gabrielle awoke and heard the phone ringing from the living room. The time on the alarm clock was three in the morning. Who could that be?

  With haste, she got out of bed and ran to the phone. "Hello, who's that? Do you know how late it is?" she said angrily.

  The man at the other end then said, "I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

  At that moment, her blood ran cold.

.......................

  The school had given her time off work to grieve for her son and to arrange the funeral. At times, it felt like it had all been a bad dream, then the reality of what had happened would hit her hard. The thought of never seeing him again made her feel so sad, inconsolable. How would she cope without her beloved Ethan being there? One of the last things he'd said to her, and this was something she'd remember for a very long time, was, "This Christmas I'm going to give you the best present ever, because you mean the world to me, even though I don't always show it, mum."  

  The thought of Christmas day without her son was too much to bear. The present he was getting for her, specially only made it ten times worse. How could life be so cruel?

.....................

  On the day of the funeral, many turned up, including close friends and family and a few pupils from his school that knew him well. Gabrielle found it tough throughout, but stayed strong for her son. Afterwards, there was a wake at the local village hall attended by anyone who wanted to say their goodbyes. By 5pm Gabrielle was back home accompanied by her parents, who'd offered for her to stay with them for the foreseeable future, but she declined politely, wanting for now to be on her own.

.......................

 It was early in the morning. 

 Gabrielle sat on his bed and cried. "Why did you have to go, Ethan? I miss you so much. Soon it's going to be Christmas and I was so looking forward to receiving your lovely present. To make a lovely Christmas dinner for you and to tell you how much I love you. You were my shining light, my love. Without you, I'm nothing."

  A familiar aroma came into the room, which smelt of the deodorant her son used to wear. How could that be? Gabrielle stood up, not knowing what to think. "Is that you, sweetheart?" she asked, waiting for him to appear.  

  After a few seconds Gabrielle realised she was being silly. Why would he appear? He was dead? In a daze, she left the room, then headed to the bathroom to get ready for returning to work after quite a lengthy break.

........................

  Her first day back went better than expected, and all the other teachers rallied around her to make her feel more comfortable. At the end of the day, Gabrielle said goodbye to two of her colleagues, then the headmaster approached her in the corridor to ask how she was. She was truthful with him about how she struggled at times, but was thankful to be back at work as it occupied her mind. 

  "If you ever want to talk, I'm always here, Gabrielle. Never forget that," he said.  

  "Thank you, sir," she replied.

  He looked at his watch. "I'm afraid I've got plenty to do, so I better dash."

  Gabrielle half laughed. "That's fine, sir. And thank you again."

  With that, he was gone. She headed to the main entrance, where her car was parked nearby. Once at the vehicle, Gabrielle got in and started the engine, then began the journey home.

.........................

  That night, there was a knock at the door just after 7. It was already dark outside, so she was reluctant to open it. An inch from the entrance, she asked, "Who is this please?"  

  The voice she heard next sent a shiver through her. It was the boy who'd been with her son that night before they'd collided with a drunk driver, which resulted in Ethan's death. "I need to tell you how sorry I am about what happened. I didn't mean it to happen. It was an accident, I swear to you."

  Gabrielle didn't have the energy and just said, "I don't blame you, Nathan. I know what happened. Also, don't blame yourself. I'm tired, so I hope you don't mind if I don't open the door. At the moment I just want to be on my own so I can come to terms with it. I hope you don't mind."

  The boy, who was a similar age to her son and went to the same college, replied, "That's okay, I understand."

  His footsteps were then heard walking away from the house.

  Back in the living room, she sat on the sofa, the TV was switched off. For the rest of the night, she thought about Ethan and what could've been. The Christmas holidays were starting in 2 weeks. It was now a time of year that scared her very much.

.....................

  On Thursday, a friend phoned her and asked if she fancied a night out at the weekend. Gabrielle declined. If the truth be told, she didn't fancy doing anything. 

  On a Saturday evening Gabrielle sat in his bedroom staring at a photograph of her boy on the wall. He looked so handsome. She wiped her eyes with a tissue, feeling emotional. "I love you, my angel. You know that, don't you? I'm still wondering what brilliant present you were going to give me at Christmas. I bet it'd be the best present in the whole wide world, something I'd cherish forever, because it came from you." 

  There was no answer.

  "Goodnight, Ethan, my sweet angel," she whispered, before leaving the room to head to her own bed.

......................

  It was the last day of school. Christmas decorations had been put up everywhere. The young kids were so excited as the festive holidays were now approaching. By the end of the day, the parents collected their children from the front of the school. Gabrielle watched them with sadness.

......................

  The night before Christmas Eve, some of the teachers had organised a meal out. Gabrielle had been invited but was reluctant to join them, until Sandra, the Science teacher, had encouraged her to go.

......................

  They all sat around the table, pulling crackers and drinking wine. Gabrielle felt uncomfortable and wasn't ready for this. Everyone there had family to celebrate Christmas with and all she had to look forward to was an empty house filled with sadness. By the end of the night, she was relieved to go home, not because she liked being there on her own, but it was an improvement to this.

......................

  The next day, she stayed indoors and cried a lot. In the afternoon, she decided to put the Christmas tree up as she remembered Ethan years ago loving all the flashing lights. And on Christmas morning every year, the excited boy would open his presents under the tree.

  Gabrielle was dreading tomorrow and tried not to think about it. Late evening she headed to Ethan's room and like most nights before going to bed, she would talk to his photograph like he was there. At ten o'clock she kissed the photo and said goodnight, then proceeded to her own room.

    She awoke startled. There was a noise coming from the living room. Who could that be? Recently there'd been a spate of burglaries in the area. Too scared to see who it was, Gabrielle stayed in her bed with her eyes closed, hoping this person would leave. In a strange sort of way, if something bad did happen, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing, at least the misery she felt would finally end. After a while there was silence. It's like the burglar had found what they were looking for, then left. Within moments of this, Gabrielle fell into a deep sleep.

...................... 

  She opened her eyes, then remembered the scary events of last night. Dread was felt. Could things get any worse for her? Slowly, she got out of bed and it was chilly. She put on her dressing gown, then reluctantly proceeded to the living room to see how much damage there was. At the entrance Gabrielle peered in and was startled to see everything was the same as she'd left it last night. She then noticed a small box wrapped in festive paper under the tree. How did that get there? Gabrielle entered the room and saw the window was shut and there was no sign of a break in. None of this made sense. She got on her knees and picked the box up. Carefully, she unwrapped it, then opened the top of it. Inside was a photo. In the picture she observed two people. Looking closer, she saw something that took her breath away. One of the people was her husband, but not how she remembered him as in the picture he looked older and beside him was Ethan still wearing the same clothes from that night he'd gone to the party. Behind them was the bluest ocean she'd ever seen. And both smiled. At that moment, she realised heaven did exist. At the bottom of the box was a note which read:


  I love you, mum. And one day we'll be together again, I promise. I hope you like your special present. Merry Christmas with love from your son and dad. X


  Gabrielle laughed out of sheer joy. The tears then came. After everything that had happened, this was the best present she could ever have wished for.


The End.

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