Waiting for something extraordinary…

Christmas came and also the days that passed too fast. Last year did not allow us to go to carol concerts, to visit belens neither to see the decorations or the theatre plays… this year was the same.

The city was crowded. Christmas time started since September with the commercial promotions in the stores full of Christmas products. TV was full of commercials as well. Everything to make you well among mobiles, computers, houses, insurances, trips… everything for Christmas happiness except the Christmas and the happiness.

 

The people faces are not happy neither peaceful, they resembled more preoccupied and sick. Christmas time has been full of traffic, cues and people who do share nothing but preoccupation.

He was in the cue for the bus when he started to see the people.

They were eating a sandwich, having their meals for a fast dinner, eating anything during a trip before to arrive to their homes.

Waiting for the bus, he also waited for something magical for Christmas as every year that passed since he was a kid. It seemed that the other people waited the same.

It was one day before Christmas Eve when he thought in a day that happened long time ago.

When he was a kid he used to see the magic in everything: the decorations of the lights in the street, the baubles of the Christmas tree, the carols and the belens. But the best occurred that unforgettable night when everybody was listen carefully to one man telling stories in the village square. He could still feel in the nose the smell of the hot chocolate and the bread and also of that warm Mexican beverage made of fruits. From the past arrived the smell of the turkey as well and the cod made especially for Christmas Eve dinner. People used to drink their hot chocolate among other warm beverages while the children loved to eat peanuts and winter sweets from the store of an old woman.
 

 

That man dressed in simple cloths started to talk. He did not remember his words but his way to talk and the faces of the other people. His stories made them to dream and travel to better places.

Suddenly a claxon sound brought him to the real time. That man, the village square and the peaceful and happy faces dissolved from his eyes. Instead the traffic and the people in the cue remained there.

He found a place in the bus and seated; and then took his iPod to listen some music. Other people were not too lucky and did not find seat. Among them, there was an old man. Two women offered him their seats. He did not want to see and turned his face to the window. Then he saw one of those women standing up who was seeing him. He did not want to see her but felt her eyes on him. She was among other women who looked tired. He preferred not to see them and watched the window. Through it he could see the Christmas decorations in the houses during the trip.
 

 

After half an hour, he saw the old man to leave the bus and behind him that woman who was looking at him all the time. Since then, he continued his trip back to his home with nothing different from the rest of the other nights. It passed other half an hour and 15 minutes more walking to home.

‘Hi love’ His wife said when he arrived. And then she started to list the plans of what to do for Christmas pointing that it was not too much time. While she was talking, he thought that it was going impossible to visit the belens, that carol concerts were totally discarded and maybe there was only time to see a theatre play. Also, it was necessary to make buy the Christmas presents and everything for the Christmas Eve dinner. Unfortunately, he had to work half day the following day and with not many time to do all those things. ‘Also, it happened something weird’ She added. He thought that maybe it lastly happened what he waited all those years but it was only a box.
 

 

‘How much did you pay for it?’ He replied, looking at that musical old box.

‘Do not start. I just do not tell it’ His wife said. He left the conversation looking at that silly and maybe expensive box. But he wanted to have his dinner and then rest as he was really tired. Maybe something could happen the next day.

The following morning he ran late to the bus stop. The traffic was the worst of that season. Fortunately he found a seat. After some minutes, and old woman was standing up near him. Everybody, including him was watching the window. An old man offered her his seat. He (and now she) was beside him but he was seeing outside waiting for something to happen.

‘It was amazing, you could not believe’ A woman talked with other in two seats in the back part of the bus.
 

 

‘Yeah, it was wonderful when he started to talk…’ The other woman added and then he left his seat and walked closer to them. The old woman smiled at him and then, he recognized the two women of the other night. The people behind him pushed him to left the bus. In the street, he realized about the time.

‘Demons, I will be late’ He said and started to wait another bus.

In his house, his wife was listening the musical box. It brought her old good memories that were combined with the smell of the dinner. Then she thought that everything will be fine in some way.

In the bus, the women remained remembering about a man talking peacefully in the village square. The story was combined with the smell of the homemade cookies of an old woman.

In the bus stop, a young man approached to him asking for the time. He looked at his eyes and could see the last night old man’s face and also the face of the man talking stories in his childhood.
 

 

‘Do I know you?’ He said without thinking.

‘I do not know’ The young man left him.

‘No, wait. I know you’

‘From where’ He smiled.

‘I saw last night… but you were different. He could not say that also, he saw him when he was a child.

‘Well, I saw you but you did not want to look at me.’ The man saw also the eyes of the bus standing woman in his eyes. ‘You have to wait to the next year man, but you are close, do not worry.’ The young man concluded smiling and leaving him.

When he returned to his home in the evening, he looked at the musical box carefully. He thought in the Christmas Carol of Dickens. He knew that Scrooge changed during a night. He thought that he was not bad but in all those years his thoughts were put only on him forgetting the other people. From that day, he started to see the other faces. The world was full of sadness and no hope. Everybody was waiting for something to happen, other people just did not believe even in a possibility.

One day, in spring, he sat at the village square and started to chat with somebody. Then he realized that the stories were easily flowing from his mouth. He talked about his childhood, the stories that he loved and everything that he read and was full of hope. Another day, in summer, he made many people smile with a story. And then, in winter, he started to talk to the people in a village square while everybody was enjoying hot chocolate and the smells of the kitchens were mixed with his voice. The eyes of the children were bright and his laughs were contagious.

At last, he will not wait for something magical to happen in Christmas anymore, he realized that he would make it to happen each time.