"Santa Was Near "

"Santa Was Near!"

(A Story for Christmas)

Greg Budig 2016

There was silence in the air 

as the snow circled down,

it gently fell from

the darkness above.

 And there was magic on

this night, though my mom 

couldn't tell, because I knew

that Santa was near!

We had bundled ourselves 

in warm coats and wool 

hats, soft mittens and 

long stretchy scarves. 

"Let's go off to find Santa!"

she said with a wink,

"Let's go out for a 

walk in the snow!"

My shiny black boots

crunched deep in pure 

white as we walked down 

the block from our home.

The air seemed to glow from

the lights and the snow,

I could tell that 

Santa was near!

"Now isn't that strange?" 

my mom said as we came 

near the house of our

neighbor named Joe.

He had kept his house dark

since his wife passed away,

but now it shimmered 

and glowed.

"My family is coming!"

he exclaimed smiling bright,

"They're all spending their

Christmas with me!!"

As he talked to my mom, 

I saw a tear in his eye,

did he know that 

Santa was near?

As the snow tumbled 

down on our tree 

covered street,we walked

hand in hand further on. 

"Still looking for Santa?"

I asked looking up, 

she smiled, squeezed 

my hand and said "Sure."

Let's go to the park, 

maybe Santa is there."

 she said as we reached the

next block. I thought I saw

footprints in the snow 

near the trees, could it 

be that Santa was there? 

The trees in the park stood

straight, tall and black.

Their branches were 

arched, curled and thin.

On a lonely park bench sat 

a small tattered woman.

She had bags made of 

cloth by her feet. 

Beneath the glow of the park

light, my mom held her hand,

then she pointed to our

church down the street. 

The lady smiled and said

"Thank you!" in a soft

trembling voice, 

maybe mom told her 

Santa was there.

So I looked to the sky to 

see reindeer and sleigh, 

I listened to hear silver bells.

But I heard and saw nothing

as we walked through the

park,  I felt the snow 

gently melt on my face.

This night seemed so magic, 

I had seen all the signs,

I thought I knew what

Christmas should be. 

But as we turned to walk 

home, I started to doubt. 

I began to wonder if 

Santa was near.

The church near the park

glowed with light from 

within, the tattered lady

stood alone by its doors.

There was music inside 

as the doors opened

wide, she walked in from 

the cold and found warmth.

As we walked passed Joe's

house we heard

laughter and cheer,

we saw his family 

with gifts at the door.

Joe let them all in and 

then yelled with a grin,

"Hurry home now 

for Santa is Near!!"

But how could that be? 

I had searched through the

night, I had walked for an

hour through the snow.

I had looked to the sky, 

I had listened for bells.

Was there something 

that I didn't know?

Then I remembered old Joe

and the smile on his face,

 the lost lady who found

warmth from the cold.

They found the magic of

Christmas hadn't come 

from a bag that was carried

here from the North Pole.

I'd been searching for Santa,

 I had looked all around,

but I think I found 

something more clear.

I found the magic of

Christmas lives deep

 in our hearts. I found that

Santa was already here!

The End