A Christmas Dream

Two days before Christmas and the shop was filled with people and the sounds of a “Holly Jolly Christmas” playing.  The bell on the door kept jangling as people kept coming and leaving. Flossie the stuffed flamingo anxiously waited for a customer to pick her up, but with each hour that passed her hope faded a little more. Why would this Christmas be any different from all the ones before. No one wanted a flamingo, they went for the teddy bears and magical unicorns, the horses and the floppy eared dogs. Who wanted a rainbow colored flamingo.

Flossie sighed, she should just close her eyes. The sooner the night was over, the better, there would be silence. No more jangling of the bell making her heart skip a beat hoping  that perhaps this time the person that walked through the door would want her!

“Hey Tricia, come over here, look at these adorable teddy bears!”

“Oh they are adorable!” Tricia replied, as she squeezed one. “They are so soft.”

Flossie tried not to let a tear slip out of her eye.

“We need something different though too, remember? We have lots of orders for teddy bears, but we also got a special order for something more unique for a special little girl.”

“You are right,” said Jessica. “But I don’t see anything except horses and dogs, the person before us just grabbed the last unicorn.”

Flossie took a deep breath, this may be her last chance, she had to try! She said softly to Henry the Horse, “I’m sorry”, as she bopped him out of the way., and off the shelf he fell.

Tricia bent down and picked up the horse, “Oh look, he has a little star on his head, perhaps he could be the gift for the special little girl ?”

Oh No! Had her efforts been in vain, Flossie thought.

“Oh wow! Look at that!” cried Jessica. “Its a rainbow colored flamingo! Have you ever seen one of them before?”

“Can’t say I have, but it is so pretty! I think she will be perfect!” and Tricia picked her up as Flossie’s heart soared, she was leaving, she was really leaving!”

The next day far, far away, Candy Cane picked up the mail.

“Santa, your rush delivery order came!” Candy Cane said as she walked into Santa’s house.

He was sitting in his overstuffed recliner drinking some Double Chocolate Hot Chocolate, and took the package when Candy Cane handed it to him.

She anxiously watched him unwrap it and they both smiled big when they saw the rainbow colored Flamingo.

“Look at how bright and pretty she is! She will definitely brighten up little Emily. ”

“Yes, she will, this is just perfect! Emily lives in Alaska, so she may not even know what flamingoes are. To her this will be a very special bird and hopefully help cheer her as she heals from her appendectomy.”

Flossie’s heart swelled up. Santa had called her a special bird! She was going to go make a little girl happy! She had no clue what a “appendectomy” was, but it didn’t matter, a little girl needed her and Flossie couldn’t wait to meet her! Flossie’s dream was finally coming true.

Santa handed her to Candy Cane. “Take her to Jinx and Jangle, tell them to get her ready to take a ride on my sleigh.”

Riding on Santa’s sleigh! Oooh this was going to be exciting, thought Flossie and he eyes shined as bright as the colors of the rainbow. One just never knew what could happen when one doesn’t stop dreaming! Every night in the toy shop Flossie had kept hoping for her dream to come true the next day. At last her tomorrow had come!