Lina, a sensitive girl, every time Christmas came as the schools closed for the holiday break, she was flooded with the most beautiful feelings!
She loved so much the different ornaments that people decorated their trees with and the colorful lights that twinkled in every window of the houses she observed.
In the cold December nights, she would sit for hours at the small window of her house looking into the distance at all this feast of colors, as if they were lighting various small candles in each house until late when she fell asleep.
And then, he dreamed of what he saw on Christmas cards: the manger of Christ, the beautiful red balls and landscapes filled with snow. Oh this snow! How he longed for it!
He dreamed of a small wooden house in the forest, a small fireplace with logs burning day and night, and a tree next to the window decorated with beautiful colorful shiny balls!
And when she woke up, she would hold in her hands the paintings she bought from the neighborhood convenience store of smiling Santa Clauses, with golden-winged angels, the magicians with camels and gifts, the bright star and a bunch of other Christmas scenes with a lot of gold dust stuck on them!
She decorated them all over her small room, but she put most of them on her window panes.
As she observed all the paintings, she always missed a tree.
A real tree, whose aura would bring joy to everyone in the house.
For years, her mother decorated such a small tree in a pot with two or three small balls and placed it in the middle of the table on the big day of Christmas.
But Lina wanted another decoration in the house as she grew up. And this Christmas came as if she had been waiting for years.
A little girl, eleven years old, saw that there was great financial hardship at home for such decorations in her mind. Her father, who had been ill for a long time, was struggling very hard to bring them along.
Mom supported the father as well as Lina's other two brothers with all the strength God gave her. Lina, although small, looked older. He was the most mature child in the family.
But how can she ask her father to bring her a real tree from the nearby forest?
He avoided saying it because of the situation. She didn't want to embarrass him. He was quite concerned about his illness in recent years.
Without revealing her desire to anyone in the house, one cold December morning she made the decision to climb the mountain alone and look for the little tree that would change her and the whole family's mood.
He was a daring child. With a small kitchen knife hidden in her coat pocket she climbed higher and higher looking for a tree.
Although now the icy wind stung her face, the sheer joy and hope she felt as she ascended constantly warmed her smile.
At one point, panting, she found herself in a forest clearing known to her, since since she was a child she often climbed with her mother and brothers on spring days to this spot for wild flowers.
Observing for a long time, he saw a beautiful tufted little green sapling on the side of a small oak tree.
For a while she was stunned, admiring it. With quick steps as if she was flying like a little fairy, she found herself next to his trunk. But the weak "tool" with which he tried to cut it was almost useless.. The tree was in its place.
Little Lina was starting to despair.. She sat next to him on the wet dry branches from the evening dew and monologued.. But she was addressing the tree asking it.
_Why don't you want to come to my house? Do you know how long I've longed for you? Do you know what joy you will give to all of us and above all to the father who is sick?
Do me a favor please.. Don't make my day difficult. I've been waiting for this moment for years...
She was so disappointed and two hot tears rolled from her round black eyes to the root of the tree, without realizing it...
In a little while she heard a noise near where she was and raising her sad gaze she saw a couple of walkers observing very sympathetically little Lina. Apparently they had heard her monologue and immediately helped the girl get her coveted tree.
Lina's joy was indescribable! Immediately, her face lit up and a wide smile spread across her red cheeks, thanking the unknown people who helped her realize the secret wish she had for so many years!
She had never felt such joy with any gift that had been given to her until now! Now she couldn't wait to take it home and was proud of the beautiful green tree!
Holding it by the trunk, she felt very happy!
Already from the cold and her discomfort, her lips were chapped... But Lina didn't count on that. It's enough that in a little while the whole house would change its appearance!
As she descended the steps of her house, those who saw her admired her!
_But how did you bring it here, mom told her. How could you? Lina explained to mom as well as her siblings about the secret desire she kept in her heart for years!
Immediately the father, smiling, carried it to the big kitchen for everyone to show off! Her father's wide smile was the most beautiful Christmas gift for her!
The whole house smelled of freshness and beauty!
That same afternoon, the father bought the first daisy-shaped lights and as night approached he decorated them! And they flashed tirelessly, spreading their beautiful colors from the top of the tree to its last branches!
The whole night Lina stayed as if enchanted looking at the first real tree in their house! Happy now, she was waiting for the most beautiful Christmas this year that brought her so much joy!
She didn't care that she didn't have new shoes, clothes, or toys. This gift was the most beautiful of her life and she still remembers it every time Christmas comes, no matter how many years have passed...
photo congerdesign, https://pixabay.com
