“Come on, Jessica, let’s get you a pretty new dress for doing well on that math test today. I’m so proud of you.”

Beaming, Jessica looked up at her mom, “It was a really hard test, Mom. I can’t believe I got the best score in the class.”

“Jessica, you got the best score out of all the third-grade classrooms, the best in the school. You’re a smart little girl, Jessica. Nothing is going to stop you from soaring to the stars.”

“I’d love to fly around the stars. Do you think I’ll be able to do that someday?”

As the two of them walked across the parking lot, Mom replied, “Sweetie, that Elon Musk guy we talked about the other day . . .”

“That rich guy with Autism,” Jessica asked?

“Yeah, him. He makes spaceships really fast, almost as fast as he makes electric cars. I am sure by the time you are a grown-up, regular people like you and me will be able to fly around in space.”

“That would be really cool.”

“So, what color dress do you want?”

“I was thinking of a nice yellow sundress, but let’s see what they have.”

Mom looked around as they entered the department store before heading for the girls' department.

“Excuse me, Ma’am,” a man in a security uniform said, approaching the two of them.

“Yes,” Mom questioned?

“I’m sorry, but your daughter is not allowed in the store.”

Mom quizzically looked at the man and then down at Jessica, “Why not?”

“We don’t serve her kind here.”

Mom looked around the store, seeing many parents with children, “You what?”

“You will have to leave, Ma’am. Your daughter is not welcome here. You can come back and shop yourself, but not with your daughter.”

“You want me to leave my nine-year-old daughter in the car while I shop? Are you nuts?”

“No, Ma’am,” the security guard explained. “She isn’t even welcome to be in the parking lot. If you want to shop here, you must take her home and return without her.”

“And why, may I ask, is my nine-year-old not allowed on your premises?”

“She has a disability, Ma’am. We refuse to serve individuals with disabilities.”

“You what?”

“It is store policy that we do not serve individuals with disabilities. Now either leave, or I will have to call the police.”

Mom looked down at her daughter, leaning on her hand crutches, “We walked up a ramp to get into the building, but you don’t serve people with disabilities?”

“Yes, Ma’am. The building code requires all buildings to be handicap accessible, so a ramp was required when the store was built. The US Supreme Court, however, says we don’t have to serve any person that would impede upon our religious beliefs. Some of our employees have religious beliefs that people with disabilities should not be out in public. Because of them, we have made it store policy to refuse service to people with disabilities, so we don’t offend our employees.”

“What in the world?” Mom looked down at Jessica and then at the security guard.

“Please just leave, Ma’am. You don’t want to make a scene in front of your daughter there.”

“Make a scene,” Mom said very loudly. “Make a scene? You refuse to let my nine-year-old in your store because she has a disability, and you don’t want me to MAKE A SCENE?”

The security guard pressed a button on his walkie-talkie, “Mike, call the police.”

“Mom,” Jessica got out while holding back a tear. “It’s okay, Mommy. I don’t need a new dress. It was only a dumb math test. Let’s just go.”

“See what you are doing to my daughter?” Mom practically shouted. “She was so proud of her accomplishments. Now she just called it a dumb math test. How dare you devalue my little girl for getting the best score on the end-of-the-year third-grade math test. How dare you discriminate against individuals with disabilities and try to teach my daughter that she is less than others.”

Jessica looked around at the crowd collecting around them, “Mommy, it’s okay.”

Mom got down to Jessica’s eye level, “No, it is not okay, Princess. What they are doing here is wrong.”

“But, Mommy, everyone is looking.”

Mom stood up and looked around at the assembled people, “How would you like it if they told you that you couldn’t shop here because your daughter has a unicorn and rainbow on her shirt or you because you have a beard? Is it right for them to turn my daughter away because she is disabled?”

“Ma’am,” the security guard interrupted. “It is store policy. We do not serve people with disabilities. Now please just leave.”

“Why should I? Your store policy is wrong,” Mom said while looking around at the crowd who were mostly nodding their heads in agreement.

“Mommy, he’s just being a bully. Let’s just go.”

“Sometimes it is important to stand up to a bully,” Mom stated.

“But other times, it is better to walk away, calm down, and confront them with your brain, not your anger. You taught me that.”

Mom looked at Jessica and then at the security guard, “I did teach her that. Fine, we will go, but this isn’t over.”

The mom of the little girl with the unicorn shirt commented, “You’re really not going to let this lady shop just because her daughter has a disability? My son is Learning Disabled. Does that mean you won’t let me shop here?”

“Your son isn’t with you, Ma’am,” The security guard stated. “You can shop here without your son.”

As Jessica and her mom turned and headed for the door, a few other customers left their carts or chosen products and walked out with them. Most just went back to shopping.

Walking out of the store, many commented on how wrong it was to discriminate against people with disabilities or questioned how they could turn away someone as pretty and beautiful as Jessica.

When Mom and Jessica got to the car, Mom sat in the driver's seat and took several deep breaths, “I can’t believe it is legal to discriminate like that. It can’t be. Is it?”

“Mommy, lots of people call me names, don’t let me play with them, or are mean to me. It’s okay. I’m getting used to it.”

“I wish I could make it all stop, Princess. It is wrong,” Mom looked at Jessica. “You know that fancy dress shop in the city? Let’s go get you a dress there.”

Jessica smiled as they pulled out of the parking spot.

Turning onto the highway, Mom was thinking about what she could do to combat the department store turning away people with disabilities.

“Jimmy, have you decided what you want to be for Halloween this year,” Mrs. Evans inquired.

“Real funny Mom,” Jimmy said rolling his eyes.

It was a silly question when Mrs. Evans thought about it. Jimmy had been the same thing for the previous five Halloweens. He has never expressed any interest in being anything else. She was hoping however, as a nine year old he would explore other options. Six years in a row of being the same thing for Halloween seems a little much, especially considering what he wanted to be.

“You know Jimmy, with the cut backs at work, I can’t afford as elaborate a costume as I got you last year. Are you sure you don’t want to try something else this year?”

Mrs. Evens thought about that costume from last year. By the end of getting the outfit, new shoes to match it, make-up for the face, and a new hairstyle with coloring, it must have cost $75.

“It’s okay Mommy. We can just get the costume at Wal-Mart. Everything is cheap there. I don’t care if it isn’t as fancy as last year,” Jimmy said as he headed over to play with his Lego’s.

“They have a lot of different costumes at Wal-Mart Jimmy. Maybe we should go together and see what they have before you decide.”

Looking over his Lego instructions and picking up the next piece of the model, “No, that is okay mom. You don’t need me to decide what size I am. We got new clothes for school last month, so you know what will fit me.”

“Jimmy, I think you should come and pick out a different costume this year.”

Mrs. Evans knew this was a long shot, but Jimmy had been the same thing for Halloween since he was four years old. She was hoping he would explore other interests.

“Mommy,” Jimmy said siting right up and with a waiver in his voice. “You promised me last year I could go again this year as the same thing. You promised.”

Jimmy’s lip was quivering as Mrs. Evans remembered Jimmy’s puppy dog eyes last year begging for permission to do it again this year. He had just gotten back from Trick-or-Treating around the block. His excitement was beyond belief. All he could talk about was how no one could tell it was him. He even ran into his best friends Tom and Billy. They hit about five houses together without them knowing it was Jimmy. Back home, Jimmy had given Mrs. Evans lots of hugs and thanks. Then the question came, ‘Can I do this again next year?’

When he was four it was cute. At five it still had a little bit of charm, but for five years of the same costume? It just seemed strange. Looking down into his pleading, it was hard to say no to him. He was so happy at the time, and those puppy dog eyes. It just melted Mrs. Evans’ heart. How could she say no? She did promise him he could be the same thing this year, but at the time, she was hoping he wouldn’t remember that a year later.

“I did make that promise, didn’t I?” Mrs. Evans sighed. “But Jimmy, your nine now, do you really think it is appropriate for you to go out dress like that for Halloween?”

Jimmy seeing an opening to get what he wanted, he gathered a little strength and proceeded, “Mommy, I have been good all year, just like you said I needed to be. I never brought my old Halloween Costume out to play with on days not Halloween or Halloween Party. You pwomised if I did all tat, I could go again tis yeaw.”

“James Evans,” Mrs. Evans sternly said holding back a giggle. “Don’t you dare start giving me that baby talk just to get what you want. You are not the one in charge around here, I am!”

“Sowwy Mommy,” Jimmy responded apologetically.

“Jimmy!”

“Sorry,” Jimmy said correctly this time in a lower voice. “Mommy.”

Mrs. Evans looked down at her nine year old son sitting on the floor surrounded by his Lego’s. He was dressed in his Buzz Lightyear pajamas. He was still her little baby, even if he was nine years old.

“I guess we can do one more year . . . but this is it. Enjoy it all you like, for I am not going to let you go next year in the same costume.”

Jimmy got a big smile on his face and went back to working on his Lego model. He had heard that statement before. Every year Mom hated letting him go out in that costume and declared it was the last time. Every year he would come back from Trick-or-Treating and get Mommy to promise to let him do it again next year. Last year Mom had declared it was going to be the last no matter what, with that he convinced her to go all out for the costume so he looked the best he possibly could. Not that it mattered. He had gone out dressed up like this for four years, and not once did anyone ever determine it was him. He loved fooling everyone, and he loved pretending, even if just for one night a year, he was who he was dressed up to be. Last year he got to be dressed up two nights, once for Trick-or-Treating and once for a Halloween party. He never liked Mommy’s requirement that he couldn’t play in the costume after Halloween, but as long as he had Halloween, he was happy.

Mrs. Evans sat back on the couch and looked at her son. She hoped Wal-Mart would have one of the costumes in his size. He was getting bigger, and it was getting harder to find the costume in his size. Up to 6X was easy, but beyond that was getting harder to find unless she wanted to spend the big bucks at the specialty store. She thought about what she might have left from last year that they would be able to use this year. If he hadn’t grown so much in the last few months, he probably would have fit into last year’s costume. There is no way the shoes would fit, Jimmy had grown two sizes in the last year. She still had the make-up and it should still be good. She could do the hair. Maybe she could convince him not to get it colored this year, anything to save a little money.

Thinking about last year’s costume, she still couldn’t believe Jimmy had talked her into spending all that money. She worked really hard last year to talk him out of doing the same costume again, like she did ever year. Unfortunately, it was too close to Halloween by the time she gave in and the local Costume Shop was out of ones in his size. She went with a higher end outfit with hopes it would be the last. At the end however, she caved just like every other year. This year was going to be different. She wasn’t going to promise him another year of the same costume. That little manipulator of hers was not going to do it to her again. Next year she would finally be able to get him into something different. It just wasn’t appropriate for a kid his age to be going out dressed like that, even if it was Halloween. Nine year old boys do not go out dressed like that.

Mrs. Evans thought hard about what she would do for this year’s costume. Jimmy may have been the same thing for the last five years, but he was five different ones. She knew Jimmy didn’t care which one he was, just as long as he got to be one of them. He was Snow White the first year, Cinderella the next, and Jasmine the third. When he was seven he was Aurora, and last year as an eight year old he was Ariel. He really liked the pink Aurora outfit, so she went with the pink Ariel outfit. Getting his hair red last year was a challenge though. Which Disney Princess will her SON be this year? She looked at him as she contemplated between Bell or Mulan.

“What do you think about being Princess Bell this year Jimmy?” Mrs. Evans asked hoping she could find one in his size without going to the Disney Store.

“The yellow dress Mommy, ohhh, that will be soooooo pretty! Thank You Mommy,” Jimmy said hopping up and pouncing on Mrs. Evans with a big hug.

Billy found his family and went up into the bleachers to join them.

“You did great tonight,” Dad praised as Billy sat down between him and little sister Laura.

“Thanks. I can’t believe I had to perform just before the girl’s impressive dance act. At least I wasn’t after them.”

Mr. Jacobs came out onto the stage and quieted down the audience, “I would like to thank all of our fabulous students who participated in this year’s talent show. We have some real amazing talent in our school.”

The audience broke out in applause, whistles, and hollers.

After a moment, Mr. Jacobs got everyone to be quiet again, “Before we hand out ribbons to the top three acts the students voted for after watching the dress rehearsal earlier today, there is one more performance for all of you to see.”

Looking around at each other, the students were confused. What was Mr. Jacobs talking about? There wasn’t another act. During the dress rehearsal, the 6th grade girl’s dance performance was the last one.

After quieting everyone down again, Mr. Jacobs continued, “No one from Mrs. Star’s class has ever been in our talent show before, but when this fourth-grade girl wanted to be in the show like her big sister was, I knew we had to make this possible. Because she is extremely sensitive to loud noise, I need everyone to be extra quiet when she comes out and please stay that way until she leaves.”

“No way. It can’t be her,” Laura softly said as she started to look around the gym.

Billy and his parents looked at Laura, but she was too busy looking around for someone.

“Please no talking, clapping, or making any noise. To applause, please use the American Sign Language silent applause,” Mr. Jacob held up both his hands at about face level and twisted them back and forth.

Once Mr. Jacobs got everyone to be silent, he turned to the principal who was standing at the gym door. The principal left and returned a few moments later with Mrs. Star and a girl in a pretty dress, looking like she was ready for picture day.

Laura whispered just loud enough that her mother and brother could hear her, “It is her. What are Mr. Jacobs and Mrs. Star doing? How could they be so mean to do this to her?”

“Isn’t that Holly,” Billy whispered? “Rachel’s little sister?”

“Yeah,” Laura responded, never taking her eyes off Holly. “She’s technically in my class, but we usually only see her if we go down to Mrs. Star’s room.”

“Holly sometimes comes and visits her sister in our classroom,” Billy softly said. “How in the world can she be in the talent show?”

“Quiet you two,” Mom whispered. “Mr. Jacobs said we needed to be silent.”

“But you don’t understand Mom,” Laura whispered back. “That’s Holly. She . . . she.”

Mom held a finger up to her mouth and whispered, “We’re supposed to be quiet. You can tell me afterwards.”

Holly and Mrs. Star went up onto the stage. The microphone was adjusted down to Holly’s level, before a tablet was held out to her.

Holly tapped a few things on the tablet, and everyone heard the synthetic voice of the tablet say, “Go go.”

The teacher smiled at Holly, took the tablet, and left the stage.

“Don’t take her talker away,” Laura whispered. “Don’t leave her up on the stage all alone.”

Holly looked out at the audience and started flapping her hands. Everyone was silent as they looked up at the girl on stage.

As Holly stood up on stage, everyone in the audience was confused. She was just standing there doing nothing except flapping her hands. That wasn’t a talent, she did that all the time. After two very long minutes, Laura couldn’t take it anymore. She stood up and started to make her way down the bleachers. She was stopped by her mom and instructed to sit back down.

“But you don’t understand Mom,” Laura whispered.

Suddenly, something could be heard through the speakers, “M . . . Mmmm . . . my . . .”

There were many gasps throughout the audience.

“Name . . . is . . . Holly.”

The students from Laura’s class were spread through the bleachers, sitting with their parents. Suddenly almost all of those students started to silent applause. Most of the audience was confused by this action.

“I . . . am . . . ten . . . I . . . like . . . swing.”

Laura smiled, nodded her head, and whispered, “She does.”

With that, Holly smiled, flapped her hands some and then turned and ran off the stage back to Mrs. Star. When the two were reunited, Holly shrieked and was led towards the door to the gym. While this was going on, every kid in Laura and Billy’s classes stood up and started to silently applause.

Once Holly and Mrs. Star had left the gym, Mom said, “That poor little girl, she got so scared we didn’t even get to see her performance.”

Laura blurted out as she sat back down, “That . . . was . . . amazing!”

Mom looked at her daughter in confusion.

Mr. Jacobs got back up on stage, “Thank You everyone. The last thing to do before we leave is award the ribbons to the winners of the Talent show. In third place we have . . .”

As ribbons were handed out to the top three performances voted on by the students after the dress rehearsals, Laura sat in shock mumbling to herself repeatedly, “How? How did she do that?”

When the family was walking to the car, Laura still appeared to be in a daze. Mom squeezed her hand and asked, “Are you okay sweety?”

“Holly should have won first place,” Laura finally responded. “If she had been part of the dress rehearsal, she would have won.”

“She just introduced herself,” Mom commented. “What’s the big deal? We didn’t even get to see her performance.”

Laura looked up at her mom, “But Mom, Holly can’t talk. Since Kindergarten, I’ve never heard one word come out of her mouth. She can communicate two-word phrases with her tablet talker, but she doesn’t talk any other way. How . . . how did she do that? That was amazing!”

Sibling Love By Teek © July 2023

“Thanks for the ride, George. I really shouldn’t put this stuff off until the last minute,” Mike said as he got out of the car.

“No problem, dude,” George got out and the two of them headed for the store. “When are you getting your car?”

“I was hoping to get it August 1st, but I’m spending this week’s paycheck on Ryan’s birthday presents, so it will be put off at least another week.”

“Why?” George asked. “For my little sister’s birthday, I just went to the Dollar Store and got her something for a buck.”

Mike glared at George, “Unlike you, I actually like my little brother and he likes me.”

“That’s not fair. I like Susie.”

“Is that why you got her a Preschooler toy for her ninth birthday?”

“How was I supposed to know it was a Preschool Character on that toy. It was a girl character, so I thought she’d like it.”

Mike rolled his eyes and shook his head back and forth.

As they entered the Target store, Mike looked around, “Grab a cart, George. We’re going to need it.”

“I thought you were getting one gift. Why do we need a cart?”

“No. I’m going to spoil the little munchkin for his tenth birthday. Entering the double digits is a big deal when you’re that age. Remember that when Susie turns ten in a few months. No baby gifts this time.”

“There is no way I will make that mistake again. I got in big trouble for giving Susie that gift last year. It was bad enough that Susie was upset at me, but then Mom and Dad ripped into me. Dad made me treat her like a princess for a whole day. I had to take her to the park, a restaurant, and she made me join her in a tea party with her dolls and stuffed animals. No, I am not going to make that mistake again.”

Mike chuckled as he took a few toys off the shelves and put them in the cart. After about six things were in the cart, they left the toy department and headed for the kid clothes.

“You’re buying your brother clothes for his tenth birthday. Yeah, every kid likes getting clothes as presents,” George harassed Mike. “And you claim to know what your brother wants.”

“Trust me George. I’m going to get Ryan a whole outfit, and he will absolutely love it,” Mike picked something off the rack and held it out. “What do you think?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” George exclaimed. “Your parents will kill you if you get that for your brother. The toys you got him were bad enough, but that?”

“Oh, don’t worry about the stone age parents. The real question is if Ryan will like it or not.”

George looked at what Mike was holding up, “Probably, from what I’ve seen of the kid, but there is no way your parents will ever let him wear that. You’re wasting your whole paycheck on stuff he will never be allowed to have. Keep the receipts dude. You’ll be back here tomorrow returning the stuff.”

Mike just smiled, “If this goes the way I think it’s going to, he will most certainly get to enjoy all of this. Come on. I need to get a few more things for this outfit.”

The two of them got everything needed for the outfit, all the way down to new shoes and socks. After a quick detour to pick up Happy Birthday wrapping paper, the two headed for the self-checkout.

“I can’t believe you spent your whole paycheck on this stuff. I knew you were crazy dude, but this is over the top.”

“If Ryan likes it, then it will all be worth it.”

The next morning Mike was woken up by a ten-year-old jumping on his bed, “Wake up Mike. Wake up. Mom said I can’t open any presents until you get up. Did you get me anything? I’m Ten. I’m Ten.”

“Sure kiddo. Happy birthday. See that bag over there,” Mike pointed to his closet. “That is full of stuff just for you.”

Dragged out of bed by a hyperactive ten-year-old, Mike chuckled. He grabbed the bag and the two of them headed for the living room.

“Nice of you to join the living Mike,” Dad commented as Mike flopped down on the couch.

Mike just smiled.

Ryan opened a present from Mom and Dad and then one from his big brother Philip. When it was time to open a present from Mike, he grabbed the present at the top of the bag.

Tearing into the present, Ryan suddenly stopped and looked up at Mike, “Is this like the one Susie has?”

Mike nodded in agreement.

“Really, Really? Oh Mikey, Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!” Ryan jumped up and tackle hugged Mike. “Thank You.”

“What did he get you,” Mom asked?

“A dress Mommy,” Ryan said with an abundance of glee. “One with unicorns and rainbows on it.”

“A . . . A . . . dress?” Mom questioned.

Stacy was sitting on the bean bag with a Christmas book on her lap that she hadn't opened. She wasn't in the mood to do much and couldn't get into the Christmas spirit. She looked around the room at how the teachers had decorated the playroom with snowmen, stars, and lots of red and green Christmassy things. Some kids were at the table making tree decorations, while others were playing with Christmas-themed toys. Everyone except her was bubbling over with joy and excitement.

When three kids walked into the playroom, only Stacy appeared to notice them. Not even the teachers paid them any attention. They were all dressed in these red outfits with white trim. All coordinated like that, Stacy assumed they were siblings. They looked about the same age, so she figured they must be triplets. The three kids split up, walking around and looking at all the other kids. They would go to where a kid was, stand there looking at them for a few minutes, and then move on to another kid. None of them played or engaged with any of the activities. One of the three kids looked over at Stacy and came over to the reading corner. The girl had pigtails tied off with red and white yarn, wearing a red dress with fuzzy white around her neck, wrists, and bottom hem. It was the type of dress Stacy would love to wear to the school Christmas concert, but she knew her mom would never buy her something like that. Stacy looked right at the girl and gave a weak smile.

The girl's eyes immediately went wide, and she looked behind her before turning back to Stacy.

"Hi, what's your name," Stacy asked?

"Umm, uhhh," the girl looked over to the other two that came in with her. They were too far away to hear what was going on. Turning back to Stacy, "Candy. My name is Candy."

"Hi, Candy," Stacy responded. "Do you like to read? We have lots of books. The teachers brought in some fun Christmas ones."

Candy reached up and pressed the center of the star on her necklace. It pulsed in light.

"That’s pretty,” Stacy commented. “I wish I had a light-up necklace like that.”

“Thanks. It was a special gift from Mrs. Cl . . . Mrs. C.”

“It goes nicely with that dress,” Stacy said admiringly.

Candy smiled.

One of the other kids dressed in red and white came into the reading corner, “Candy? What’s up?”

Candy twisted her face and smiled oddly, “Dash, this is Stacy. She really likes my necklace.”

Dash immediately looked at Stacy, then Candy, and back at Stacy.

“Hi, Dash,” Stacy smiled.

“Aaaaaahhhh, Hi,” Dash reached up and tapped a snowflake pin on his shirt three times. He looked around the room and then tapped the pin again three times. “Nice to meet you, Stacy.”

“Are you Candy’s brother?”

Candy shook her head back and forth while holding back a giggle.

“No,” Dash responded with a smile. “We just wor . . . spend a lot of time together, especially this time of year.”

Just then, a lady wearing a similar outfit to the three kids came in and over to Stacy, Candy, and Dash.

“Hi Dash, what’s up,” the lady smiled, looking around?

“Mrs. C, this is Stacey. She was asking if Candy and I are brother and sister.”

Mrs. C smiled down at Stacy, “Was she now? I can see how she might think that. Hi Stacy, nice to meet you.”

The other little girl who came in with Candy and Dash came over to the reading corner. Stacy looked at the three kids dressed in red and white, along with Mrs. C in a similar outfit, “Hi.”

Mrs. C looked at Dash, “Are you done in this room?”

Dash pulled out a tablet and tapped on the screen several times, “Yeah, we have everyone.”

“Then why don’t you go on to the next room. I want to talk with Stacy,” Mrs. C directed.

Candy smiled and waved before turning to leave.

“Bye, Candy,” Stacy waved with a slight smile.

“Candy,” Mrs. C stopped her. “Stay here for a moment, please. Dash, can you and Holly handle the rest of the daycare center?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Dash responded before motioning with his head for Holly to follow him.

“Candy, why don’t you sit next to Stacy.”

Candy pulled another bean bag chair over and sat down. Stacy reached out and squeezed her hand. Mrs. C pulled over a small stool to sit on.

“Stacy,” Mrs. C looked at the little girl dressed in a shirt and pants. “Did you know you are a very special little girl? Candy, Dash, and Holly are magical and have an invisibility shield hiding them from ordinary people. In rare situations, a child has a powerful inner light that allows them to see through the shield. I am called in whenever one of these special children is found.”

“Magical? Invisible?” Stacy looked over at Candy, who was nodding her head and smiling.

“They are Christmas elves who help Santa ensure he gets things right with every kid.”

Stacy’s eyes went wide. She looked at Candy and then at Mrs. C, “Christmas Elves? Wait a minute. Mrs. C? Are you Mrs. Clause? You are, aren’t you? You’re Mrs. Santa Clause.”

Mrs. C smiled and nodded her head.

“Really, that’s cool. But . . . what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the North Pole cooking cookies for the elves, wrapping presents, or getting the reindeer ready for their Christmas trip?”

“Although I cook cookies for the elves and sneak the reindeer an extra carrot or two, the elves take care of all the stuff to prep for Christmas. I get to help where needed, and today I am needed here with you.”

“Me? Why? I’m no one special.”

“Every kid is special. Kids have a magical power inside of them that helps them see the world in ways others can’t. Kids can find joy in little things and honestly share their love for others. As for you, specifically Stacy, you are extra special. For you to be able to see past the Christmas Elf Invisibility Shield, your inner light must shine extremely bright. So, let’s see why. Candy, can I see your necklace please?”

Candy took her star necklace off and handed it to Mrs. C.

Bringing her wrist out in front of her, Mrs. C placed the star necklace on top of her watch. A beam of light came from the two, and a picture of Stacy was projected.

“Hmmm, let’s see here,” Mrs. C said as she tapped the picture, causing it to shrink and display a bunch of text next to it. “Santa's good list for 10 years. Always nice to the other kids. Even when teased, you walk away instead of being mean back. Nice, very nice. Looks like you want some typical toys for a girl your age, nothing out of the ordinary there. Oh, here it is, what you are hiding."

"What? Santa can see what I am hiding?"

"He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good, for goodness sake," Mrs. C stated. "Yeah, with Christmas magic, he sees all. He puts a little Christmas magic in each collection device before sending the elves to visit all the children. It helps him double-check his lists."

Mrs. C smiles at Stacy and then looks back at the information displayed, "This says you got in a fight last night with your Mom and Dad about wearing a pretty Christmas dress."

"Yeah, they won't let me have one because they are certain I will try to wear it everywhere."

"I see. Is that why you are sad right now?"

Stacy nodded her head up and down.

"Stacy, please take this star necklace and put it up against your chest, right where your heart is," Mrs. C said as she took Candy's necklace off her watch and pressed the ends of each spike on the star.

Stacy took the necklace and did as instructed. She felt so honored to have a little Christmas Magic in her hand and against her heart.

After about a minute, Mrs. C asked for the necklace back and returned it to her watch, "Ahhh, your innermost secret wish. The one you won't even tell Santa. Very interesting."

Stacy blushed, "Years ago, Mom and Dad said I can't have it, so there was no reason to ask Santa for it."

"I see. There are always things that Santa can't give you. It is true that your particular innermost desire is something Santa can't give you. I'm sorry. It doesn't mean you will never get what you want. It just means you can't have it now. It may be years before you can have it, but that inner light shining so bright is you, Stacy. You will continue to shine, even if things do not go as you prefer. Not getting what you want now doesn't change you."

"I guess," Stacy frowned. "It’s just hard.”

“Believe it or not, getting your innermost desire will not decrease how hard life is. Sorry. It will just shift the hard things around to other factors. This often makes it easier for you to handle the hard elements, but not always.”

Candy squeezed Stacy's hand and turned to Mrs. C, “Can’t we do anything to help?”

Mrs. Clause shook her head, “Not really. This isn’t a Christmas thing. She needs other people, including her parents, to change their views and love her for who she really is. We don’t have that type of power as Christmas elves and spirits. Christmas Magic does have its limitations. Unfortunately, love is one of them. We can’t make someone else love another person unless the love is already there. I could get Stacy’s parents to see how much they love their child and why they love them. This might, however, make things harder for Stacy, for it would strengthen the things causing them not to accept Stacy for who she is.”

Mrs. C thought a bit, “I will tell Cupid to check in on you in February and see if he can do anything to help the process, but this might be out of his powers too. I can, however, do something for you right now. I’m going to give you a special Christmas gift.”

Stacy smiled at Mrs. C.

“You really like Candy’s necklace, don’t you?”

“It’s so pretty,” Stacy said with a huge smile. “It even lights up when you press it.”

Mrs. C looked at the star necklace sitting on her watch. She pressed and held her finger on the center until a special screen was projected. After tapping a few things, the screen disappeared, and Mrs. C picked up the necklace.

“Stacy, this is a special necklace with Christmas magic. This is my Christmas gift to you.”

“Oh no,” Stacy shook her head. “I can’t take Candy’s necklace. It’s hers, and she would miss it.”

Mrs. C smiled, “I will give her a new necklace when we get back to the North Pole.”

“Yeah,” Candy said. “It’s not special to me. All the girl elves get one when they leave the North Pole. It is special to you, so I think it is a great gift for you.”

Mrs. C took the necklace and handed it to Stacy. Looking at the star necklace in her hand, Stacy smiled. After a few moments, the necklace started to glow a pink color.

“Wow, I’ve never seen it do that before,” Candy commented.

“That is her inner strength and joy radiating out and touching the Christmas Magic inside the necklace. Only a powerful inner soul full of absolute joy can cause a necklace to do that.”

Stacy couldn’t take her eyes off the necklace.

“Candy, I think it is time for us to go. We have a lot of work to do before Christmas.”

Standing up, Candy looked down, “Bye, Stacy. It was so nice to meet you. We get to see lots of kids in my job, but I never get to actually interact with them. It was nice to talk with you and learn a bit about you.”

“Yes,” Mrs. C said as she stood up. “You are a special girl, and it was so nice to spend time with you today.”

Final farewells were made. Mrs. C and Candy left the playroom. Stacy looked around, and again, no one appeared to notice that they had even been in the room. Stacy looked at the necklace in her hand. Closing her fist around the necklace, she put it up to her chest and laid back in the bean bag chair. Closing her eyes, Stacy tried to feel the Christmas magic coming from the necklace.

“Carl. Carl,” Teacher Jane called out. “Carl, come over here and make a Christmas tree ornament.”

Carl opened his eyes and looked up at Teacher Jane, “Okay.”

Before getting up, Carl opened his fist to see a glowing star necklace in his hand. After standing up, he started to put the necklace on but stopped. Quietly, Carl said, “If I wear you, someone might take the necklace away from me. I can’t allow that to happen.”

Carl put the star necklace in his pocket and headed to the craft table.

Talk With An Angel By Teek October 2023 1,660 words long

Image by brgfx on Freepik
 

“Angel, Angel!”

“Hi little one. How is it going?”

“Watch, my car goes fast,” with a push on the car, it suddenly went rolling away.

The angel smiled, “It certainly is a fast car princess. We need to talk, little one. God sent me this time.”

“God is good?”

The angel smiled and glowed a little brighter, “God is very good. God watches over all of us. They have kept a close eye on you.”

“Me? I’m just a little three year old, but I’m almost four. Is that why God is watching me, because I’m going to be a big kid?”

“Not because you’re turning four. God watches all the special children, and you are a very special kid. Special little ones like you, God keeps a very close eye on.”

“God gave me you. My very own angel to protect me and help me.”

The angel smiled, “God makes sure every special child has a guardian angel. I am honored to get to protect such a special child.”

“Why me special? It cause no one can understand me?”

“You being non-verbal, is definitely one thing that makes you extra special,” the angel said. “What caused that is what prompted God to appoint me to watch over you. Today, God has asked me to give you a choice. There are two possible paths in front of you. God sees that you will positively impact a lot of people no matter which path you take, but . . . they are very different paths.”

“I want the one with you Angel.”

The angel smiled and glowed as they continued, “I will be with you on both paths, but our ability to talk to each other stops if you go down one of the paths.”

“I don’t want that one. You only one who understands me.”

The angel giggled, “Little one, you do a very good job of getting others to understand you, even though you can’t do that with words. The older you get, the better you will be at it. Your decision, however, should not be about me. Your life will be very different on these two paths, and you have to decide which path you want to travel on. One of the paths, you will continue to be non-verbal. You will be happy and loved by those that care for you. Like now though, it will be frustrating when you can’t get others to understand what you want.”

“Will I get to be me? They keep calling me a boy and dressing me in boy clothes. I want pretty dresses and them to know I am a girl. Why do they keep calling me a boy and not letting me play with the girl toys?”

“That is the other reason God keeps a very close eye on you little one. You are something called, transgender. God watches all transgender individuals closely. From them, God will pick his future angels.”

“You transgenwa?”

“I was when I was a human on earth. Now in Heaven, I am an angel. We’re not really any gender, but because we experienced both genders on earth, God says we make the best angels. But let’s get back to your two choices. Like I was saying. On one path, you will stay non-verbal, loved, and happy. People will always view you as a boy, and believe you are intellectually disabled, even though you are not. On the other path, you will start to talk. Once that happens, we can no longer have these times together, but you will be able to be understood by the other people on earth.”

“Mommy and Daddy will understand me?”

“Yes, little one. Once you start talking, they will understand you, but it will be a tough path. You will repeatedly struggle to be loved by others, no matter how much you try. You have a disability called autism, that gets in the way. Although you will have the potential to help and change the lives of many people, it will be hard to get others to value your opinion and views. On this second path, however, you will eventually be able to live your life as a girl. God wanted me to make sure you knew that it may take decades for that to happen.”

“What decade?”

“A decade is 3,650 sleeps, but God said it may take you over 18,000 sleeps before you get to live your life as a girl.”

“That’s a lot of sleeps.”

“Yes, princess. It is a long time.”

“But everyone will finally get to know me as me?”

“Yes, but it will be a long hard journey.”

“I want that one. I want to be me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yupsy. Even Teddy thinks I should go down the path that lets me be the girl I am,” a bear was held out to show the angel.

“As you wish princess. I will inform God of your choice.”

“Carla, you know if I didn’t know better, I’d say Ned was talking to someone. Look at him. He’s holding out that bear like he is showing it to someone.”

“James, he can’t talk. How could he be having a conversation with someone. He barely acknowledges us when we talk to him. He’s lost in his own little world. Stop trying to put more intelligence on the kid than he has. You heard the doctor, Ned will never talk or be toilet trained. We will always have an infant to take care of. Infants don’t have conversations with people.”

“I guess so,” James said looking over at his son. “I just wish I could figure out what was going through his head at times.”

Ned got up and went over to Carla, “Hungwy Mommy.”

Both James and Carla stared at Ned with their mouths open. They looked at each other and then back at Ned. Carla broke the silence, “You . . . You talked . . . You called me Mommy.”

Grabbing Ned into a big hug, tears started to flow down Carla’s face.

“She chose the hard path,” the angel said to God. “Is it the right path?”

“There are no right or wrong paths,” God stated. “Just the ones they choose. Some lead towards me and others don’t. Both of Ned’s paths still lead towards me. She will impact more people on her current path, changing not just her life, but actually impacting thousands within her lifetime. Many of those thousands will impact many more. If things go as I expect hundreds of years after Ned’s death, we will still be seeing her impact on people living on Earth and out into its colonies off of Earth. If she had chosen the other path, she still would have positively affected others, but not as widespread or impactful.”

God looked down at the two adults hugging little Ned, “Her life just got a whole lot harder. Keep her safe: physically, emotionally, and psychologically. She will be rejected by her mom, relatives, peers, teachers, and society in general. She will need all the help we can provide her in order for Ned to maintain her positive, optimistic personality.”

“The hardest part of this job is when my charges suffer.”

God’s warm light engulfed the angel, “You are still tasked with protecting her, but you know the rules. Once the little ones start talking, you’re not allowed to talk to them anymore. Normally, you only get about one year, but you got four with her.”

“Look at her with her parents. They are so happy that she said just two words, but you had me tell her that her life will be harder. How could talking cause problems? Can’t you prevent those problems?”

“Mom is the key. I gave people on Earth free will. As I look at possible futures, most involve Mom choosing to hold onto a false belief that Ned will catch up with her peers and no longer have a disability. Carla has a bias against individuals with disabilities and those that are different. Although we can put things in her path that will give her options to accept Ned’s disability and true gender state, her free will is out of our control. Most of her possible futures have her never accepting Ned.”

“How sad. A Mom rejecting their own child.”

“It breaks my heart every time it happens, but unfortunately, I can’t stop it from occurring. You, however, are tasked with helping Ned not get too discouraged by this. She has a very positive and optimistic personality, so she should be very receptive to paths you open up to her that lead her to not lose that wonderful element of her personality.”

“I will do my best.”

“I know you will. You have done an excellent job helping others on their journey to become angels. I’m fully expecting you to do the same with Ned, or whatever name she happens to have when she joins us up here. As you have seen, Angel Sarah is assigned to help guide Carla. You focus on Ned and let her focus on Ned’s Mom. Ned’s choice to go down this path has made life for both of them much harder. It gives Carla hope that she has never had before. She was finally starting to accept Ned as disabled, but with Ned starting to talk, everything is disrupted. It gives her false hope, which Ned will never be able to achieve. I worry that she will now never accept Ned’s disability. Those are not your worries though. You just need to focus on being Ned’s Guardian Angel. And when she does finally join us up here, you can train her to be as good of an Angel as you are.”

“I will do my best to protect the little angel,” the angel said as God spread their warmth throughout the room before leaving.

Author's Note: When I am writing one story and another story idea starts bubbling up in my head, it is not always a peaceful co-existence or handoff. Sometimes, the characters from the two different stories try to dominate my thoughts. The winner gets me to finish their story first. This is the tale of when Amanda, from my story, True Self Syndrome, started to fight for my attention, while I was still working on a story called, Teacher's Recommendation (note that story is still unfinished and unposted). Marla and Elizabeth from that story confront Amanda.

“Amanda,” Marla stormed into the void of creativity. “What do you think you are doing?”

Amanda looked down at herself, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor. Looking back up at Marla and then over at Elizabeth, who was slowly walking into the void, “I am not doing anything. Just sitting here waiting patiently for Teek to write my story.”

“That is a bunch of baloney,” Marla stomped her foot. “Teek is thinking about your story, not mine. Stop it.”

Amanda put her hand on her chest, “Marla, I have no control over what Teek does.”

“Then why is she thinking about stopping my story and writing your story?”

Amanda smiled, “Well, I do have a better story than yours.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “Your story isn’t better than Marla’s. It is just different.”

“Are you sure,” Amanda asked? “Mine has MAGIC!”

“Oooooohhhhh, Magic,” Marla’s eyes went wide.

“See Elizabeth,” Amanda’s grin got wider. “Even Marla thinks my story is better than hers.”

“Wait,” Marla looked between Elizabeth and Amanda. “I didn’t say that. Did I?”

“No, Marla, you didn’t,” Elizabeth affirmed. “Now, whatever you are doing, Amanda, stop it. Let Teek finish writing our story. Then she can write your story.”

“It’s not my fault that my story is more interesting. Don’t worry Marla, Teek will finish your story. She has been working on it for a few years now. Every now and then, she gets another idea and focuses on that, but she always comes back to your story. For some strange reason, she has a special place in her heart for you and Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth stood up straight and smiled down at Amanda, “Well, our story is about accepting kids with disabilities. That’s important.”

“That’s nothing,” Amanda flicked her hand as she discarded that idea. “I’m Autistic and Transgender. You should see my parent's reaction to everything my story throws at them.”

With a devilish grin on her face, Amanda swirled her finger around until a bubble appeared. She blew on the bubble, making it fly up into the sky.

“What was that,” Elizabeth inquired?

“Nothing, just another idea for my story. It wasn’t even a full idea. If I get a small little concept, I put it in a bubble and let it percolate in Teek’s mind into she turns it into a full idea. You should see some of the great things Teek has come up with for my story. Did you know that she has one of the teenage witches in my story magically transform into a princess for us little kids?”

“Yeah,” Marla complained. “That idea was so strong it caused Teek to stop working on my Vampirina music group for the talent show. Now stop it. I want Teek to finish writing my story.”

Elizabeth looked up at several bubbles floating above their heads. They were dancing around like they were in a pot of boiling water, “If you can turn Teek’s focus to your story idea, then I can do the same.”

Marla looked over at Elizabeth twirling her finger around. Slowly a bubble started to appear. Inside the bubble was an image of Tommy on stage doing nothing while everyone else was singing.

“Wait a minute,” Amanda complained. “That’s not fair. You created a whole problem for Teek to solve. She was a special education teacher. She loves solving disability related problems.”

Elizabeth smiled at Amanda, “Yup, she does. You’re a new story idea, Amanda. We have been around for years. Teek has left our story several times and always comes back to it. We know how to influence Teek. This time we are going to get Teek to actually finish our story. I don’t care how fun and exciting your story is. We want our story to be finished. The end is in sight. Teek would probably be done if you hadn’t distracted her with magic. You want to get Teek’s mind whirling with the whimsical? Well, we can get her mind spinning with beloved characters she has worked with for years. You want to sit at the big girl's table, then be prepared to fight for your right to be there. Until then, maybe you should go back to the baby playpen. Once Teek is done writing our story, I will get you out and let you send as many whimsical ideas to Teek as you want. I might even help you. Magic to help in a Special Education school sounds like a lot of fun.”

As Marla and Elizabeth turned to leave the void, Amanda twirled her finger around and created another bubble.