Chris hated Christmas. He didn't like the snow, the cold, or the unnecessary spending that came with an extreme holiday. Every Christmas, he would hole up in his house all by himself, shutting out the rest of the world. Other times, he would run to his secluded cabin in the middle of the woods. There, he would write as many books as he could write. Books brought him comfort and offered him hope for a better life. But Chris didn't know everything was going to change someday. And he didn't realize it would be on a Christmas morning.
"Merry Christmas, Mr. March," Bella had greeted that morning as he packed his gear for a camping trip.
"Y'all enjoy it while you can," he had replied.
Chris liked Bella a lot. She lived a couple of blocks away from his apartment, and there was no day he didn't get to see her. Despite his feelings, he could never bring himself to ask her out on a date.
"Going camping again?" she had asked.
Chris grunted a reply and waited for the brown-haired woman to move on. Instead, she moved towards him and hugged him, a little too tightly too.
"Maybe you would find true meaning in all of these one days," Bella said to him as she trudged through the snow.
Chris watched her go, but he didn't move from where he stood. He found himself returning the gear he had packed into the house. He decided he would check out what people did on Christmas that made it so special. There was one place he would find out: the park.
It took him only a couple of minutes to get to the park. Lots of people were gathered together in various locations, sending wishes to one another.
"Merry Christmas, sir," a little boy said to him as he handed over a candy.
Chris bent to the boy's level and collected the candy. The boy seemed happy with what had happened, and Chris watched him bounce off to another woman a few meters away. He wanted to tell the boy he didn't believe in Christmas, but a part of him couldn't bear to move. He decided that people only wanted to spend more time with their loved ones, and Christmas was one of those times. It wasn't just about the noise and funfair like he had imagined. Christmas held meaning for people, and they deserved to enjoy the time they had. He realized he had to make a tough choice, one that would bring sense to his own life as well.
The following Christmas, laughter echoed from the kitchen as Chris and Bella made some food to take to the homeless people down the street. Bella planted a kiss on his lips briefly, but he caught her in time to deepen the kiss.
"Thanks for being my Christmas," he told her with a wide smile. "You gave meaning to something I never believed in."
"You've always believed," she replied. "You only needed love to remind you of that."
THE END
Did you like the story, want more, do not forget to SUBSCRIBE