Santa's Special Elf

443 words

A Christmas Surprise for Candy
by Dianne Roth

When I was about seven years old, I was given a Walking Doll. Those of you of a certain age and certain gender, probably know what I am talking about. Before Barbie, Walking Dolls were the rage, if in fact we had rages back then. I named her Candy.

Candy was, well... is, about 18 inches tall. Her arms, legs, neck, eyes, and eyelids move, and if you hold her just right you can walk her across the room. You can comb and braid her long reddish hair. She came with one dress. I loved her and certainly wanted more clothes to dress her up for our imaginary adventures.

I begged for outfits for Candy, but I was always told they were too expensive.

When I visited Candy’s clothes on the toy aisle, I was horrified. A dress might be $1.00, a pants and shirt outfit might be $1.50.

Money was worth more back then. When I was sent to the corner grocery for bread and milk, I was given a quarter and brought home change. I knew how precious those clothes were.

I loved Candy, but she went on all our adventures with her one single dress and I was resigned to her fate.

That all changed on Christmas morning. I walked into the livingroom and there was Candy, standing in front of the Christmas tree. She was wearing a brand new dress and arrayed around her were clothes, everything for the wildest adventures I could imagine!

To say I was surprised doesn’t begin to describe what I felt. I was shocked, frozen, convinced I was asleep and dreaming. I knew this could not be true so I just stood, believing this treasure would only last as long as I did not move.

My mother finally spoke and broke the spell. I blinked, expecting it all to be gone, but there was Candy and the clothes were still there. Then, I felt guilty. I had begged and pleaded and finally came to understand that what I wanted was beyond our means. Now, here it was, all before me!

But then...., I saw the Brownie uniform was just like mine. And, the dress, just like one my mother made for me. The pajamas and robe, the pants and shirt, the ball gown and coat were all like nothing I had ever seen on the toy aisle.

My mother spoke again and I tore my eyes away. I looked at her and in that instant I knew magic had happened. To this day, Candy and I know it was Santa, Santa and one very special elf, who made my dream come true.
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Dianne Roth is a teacher, mother, grandmother, and freelance writer. She lives in Oregon.