The Holidays for me are…
Sore feet, sore throat, a hundred songs and the perfect melody.
***
“O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining.”
Just outside the Tinsil residence, the carolers were singing their hearts out. There was Johnny, who, God bless him, never could find the note, but always brought the smiles. There was Letty, who thought herself a bit too good to be there, but unless she wanted an even crueler punishment from her mother for breaking curfew, this was her sentence. Behind them stood Klaus, who hid behind timidness but whenever he sang, he poured his heart and soul into it, breaking the shackles of shyness. Next to him, Rita stood, big and proud, not holding back a single ounce of oxygen, making sure, like always, her voice was heard. And finally, there was Melony, all the way in the back. She tried to keep up, despite her thoughts flying to a billion other places. That dog, what kind of breed was it? Was it malnourished, or was that just how it looked? Wonder what its name was. It looked unclean, or maybe that’s just how the fur of that breed was?
“Aw, aren’t you all just the dearest! Here, I don’t have any cash on me, but I just baked some gingerbread and they’ve just come out of the oven, I’ll grab a few of those!” Mrs. Tinsil said as she tapped her husband’s chest in excitement and joy caused by the wonderous song.
They each got a delicious gingerbread man and moved on to the next house.
“Urgh, how many houses are left?” Letty complained.
“Enough for your pretty little feet to start hurtin’ in those slutty heels you got! But if someone wasn’t sleeping around they wouldn’t be here, now would they?” Rita teased.
“At least I get something Rita, the only thing you’re getting is diabetes, the way you devour sweets,” Letty countered.
“Better diabetes than crabs. Diabetes doesn’t hurt your pride, crabs do, missy,” Rita retorted chuckling while munching on the gingerbread, and stealthily stealing Klaus’ out of his pocket.
“Whatever, next time, we’re doing Britney. I’m getting tired of this slow and religious sounding songs,” Letty concluded.
No one objected. Miss Spears was always a breath of fresh air, until Johnny started doing the choreography, then it just became weird. He always said he wasn’t gay, but just like Shakira sang, them hips don’t lie.
Not all neighbors were equally happy about the caroling, some just straight slammed the door in their faces. But that just meant they would get done earlier. And Letty couldn’t wait to get out of her heels, the same rang true for everyone else, heels or no heels, feet got sore after a while. Their throats dried out on occasion as well, but luckily they had their headquarters at Rita’s place where her girlfriend had freshly brewed cocoa on the ready, marshmallows and whipped cream included.
Melony wondered how humans ever came up with the idea of whipped cream. Did they try to actually whip the cream first, Fifty Shades of Gray style? Or was it just a happy accident? Just the fact that someone decided to milk a cow to begin with was kinda strange. Were humans strange? Maybe we were. But the whipped cream tasted nice though. The cocoa too.
Melony had a dream. Every Holiday, when she went around caroling, with whomever it was that year. She saw the smiles, the joy, the reassurance it brought people when they sang. But it wasn’t a spell that worked on everyone. Some, were resilient to it, some withstood it. Some, just did not see the wonder of the Holidays. Like they didn’t see the wonder in anything any longer. Melony had always loved reading. But she was never able to read people. Except their eyes, their eyes told the story that she didn’t understand from their lips.
And they were unhappy.
And Melony wanted them to feel happiness. The very same way, that she had felt it, when she plugged in her headset and was engulfed in the world of music. All the emotions she couldn’t understand became visual representations which she could translate. Walking the ordinary world, was like walking in a barely lit street, but in the world of music, she was blind no longer.
She wanted everyone to experience that. And during the Holidays, people who usually shut out their chances at receiving such a blessing, were more open to the idea. So, every Holiday, she studied what people liked, what lyrics resonated with them, what melodies spellbound them.
Because one day, Melony would build the courage to stand in the neighborhood plaza, and sing. Sing the song of her heart, soul and joy. And hope, that those who listened, would walk in the dark no longer.
