The Christmas Card

Esther Schönwandt

 

I

It was the afternoon of December 23rd in London. Little James was in his room rummaging through his toy chest when all of a sudden he realized that he forgot to send a Christmas card to his best friend Neil.

Neil and his parents moved to New York in the fall. Neil’s father was transferred by his employer.

It has been hard for James not having his best friend close by anymore. Even though they communicate via email often, many little details of daily life are not shared any longer.

James ran downstairs to his mother and shouted: “Mom, I forgot to send Neil a Christmas card!”

“Well my dear, why don’t you send your friend an email?” his mother replied.

“No, that is not good enough!” James complaint. “I want him to receive a card which he can display on his desk.”

 

 

“OK, I think we have to be a little more creative then… Remember our old friend in the country, Mr. Glenfield? He has a couple of mail pigeons. He may be able to help you. Go get your Christmas message ready. In the meantime I call Mr. Glenfield and tell him to expect us in about two hours.”

Relieved but feeling the pressure of time, James ran back up the stairs to his room, sat at his desk, collected his thoughts, and started to write a Christmas card for his friend Neil.

An hour later the Christmas greeting was completed. James hurried downstairs where he received a beautiful red envelope from his mother. He wrote Neil’s address on the outside and stuffed the Christmas card inside.

As James with his Mom drove out of the city, there was still some daylight left, hopefully it would be enough for the mail pigeon to make it safe on its way. When the two arrived at Mr. Glenfield’s house, he was already expecting them. He led them straight to the pigeon shed were he introduced them to Paloma, his strongest and most experienced mail carrier.

“Paloma will be able to master the challenge. She will fly up to Greenland to my friend Max’ house. Max will then have one of his reindeers carry the precious cargo across Greenland. On the west coast the reindeer will be met by an old friend of Max’ who is a fisherman and loves to watch the whales. The fisherman will be able to give the card to one of the whales who then transports it to America.”

Mr. Glenfield took Paloma out of the birdcage, fed her some special bird seeds which should give her enough strength for her long journey.

“If everything goes as planned, your friend should get the card on Christmas morning.” said Mr. Glenfield.

 

II

Early on Christmas morning on the ocean off the coast of Long Island was a lone fisherman trying to catch a hefty fish for the holiday dinner. The fisherman sat in his boat, bundled up in a thick winter jacket, warm pants, and heavy boots. Still he had a hard time keeping warm, as it was bitter cold and foggy. Thankfully his wife made him a thermos full of hot coco, and a few sandwiches.

The fisherman got lucky and finally caught a big fish. As he was about to turn around to go home, he spotted a whale with something unusual in his mouth. Intrigued by what he saw he decided to wait around a few more minutes, especially since the whale swam right toward him. As the large mammal was close enough to the boat he just dropped the item from his mouth. The fisherman reached for what looked like a red envelope. “Oh my, this is rather unusual, a Christmas card delivered by a whale…!” He read out loud what was written by a child’s hand: Dear unknown friend, can you please forward the enclosed Christmas card to my best friend Neil… and Neil’s address in New York followed.

The fisherman now turned his boat around and hurried back towards the harbor. And then instead of going home to join his wife for a hearty Christmas morning breakfast he drove his old, rattling car into Manhattan to the address written on the envelope. He called his dear wife from the road so she would not have to worry about him being late.

 

 

III

The fisherman stood in front of a beautiful house. After he rang the door bell it only took a few seconds until the door was opened by a boy. His face was filled with anticipation. The fisherman got the impression that the boy may be expecting Santa to show up.

“Are you Neil?” asked the fisherman. The boy nodded. “Well then, this card is for you. It looks like it came from far away, and it must be from a very good friend. I received it from a whale while I was fishing for our Christmas dinner. I do apologize for being in a hurry, but I now have to go home to my wife. She is expecting me. I wish you and your family a merry Christmas.” With that said the fisherman walked back to his car keen to join his wife at home.

Neil closed the door behind him and ran up the stairs to his room. He did not even peek into the living room, checking if Santa came. He recognized the handwriting and was barely able to keep quiet and not wake his parents. As he misses James so much, he was deeply disappointed that he had not heard from him on Christmas. Now everything was just perfect, he sat on his bed and was reading the card. When he finished he said out loud: “Merry Christmas to you too James.”

 

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