A Shadowy Christmas Story: The Christmas Wraith
Often we blur the lines between the truth and our worse fears. This is a story of a family that's been breaking for years. Let's settle in and take flight; to what happened that dark, bone chilling, Winter's night.
Eerie As the light faded Into twilight, The bored teenager fidgeted in the blue sedan. Her Parents barely listening as the silent argument wedged into the small talk. Lately, they fought more than her parents smiled. The holidays used to bring a small moment of peace into their fights, not anymore. She kicked the vehicle floor as a sigh echoed from the passenger seats.
If they looked out of the window, some might have noticed how the roads and yards looked a little more sinister as if to reflect the Sedan's mood. Like a battle weary animal, the vehicle slowly drove to a faraway faded house of yesterday. Her father drove slowly, angrily to his Mothers house. A weary puff slowly comes from the Sedan's exhaust.
Christmas seemed to loom further and further away; As we pull away from the fuming vehicle to the worn and faded abode of grandma. The door, which was once warm and colorful, seemed to reflect back to the age of the occupant huddled in the blankets inside. Her hair, once vibrant and as flowing as black silk, seems to weigh itself down with worry and regret. She seems to squint, as the fireplace crackles from the warmth of the glowing embers inside. The elderly lady bleary stares at the photos on the mantle; Her eyes still bright with memories with cherished memories inside.
The blue sedan minivan starts to pull up to Grandma's house. Pulling into the driveway, the van slowly stops to a rest. The paint job was still fresh from the car lot; The color of the vehicle shines in the moonlight. A door to the side of the vehicle opens slowly at first. Forcefully, all the doors snap open as the passengers storm marched down the faded path to the red house door. Items in hand, they Barge into the house grumbling fake greetings at the matron sitting down. Everyone placed their things quickly to their satisfaction; the father storms towards the old frail woman.
The girl shouts at him as the father turns furiously towards his daughter. A younger girl and boy dart behind her as the battle starts anew. Red in the face, the father faces his daughter again, Screaming so hard that spittle flies out of his mouth. "Ryder, how many times do I have to tell you, shut up! You damn well know nothing about it!" A higher shrill scream coming back as she starts to vibrate. "You shut the hell up chuck! Both of you assholes deserve each other!" Turning to the younger children, she starts to grab their arms and hustles towards the house stairs. As the grandma sits up, everything seems to hush as if for dramatic effect.
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The lights that were once dimly lit start to brighten as she struggles to both stand up and fully speak. Gathering her determination, the grandma faces the fractured family. She says in a voice worn through time and hardships "Granddaughter, you are right to be angry, but foolish to lose your temper. Don't let those who hurt you make you into the monster they themselves have become." She pauses for breath as the father responds. "Not this again, Mother." "Did the doctor start you on the medication we discussed. Her memory is starting to slip and she hasn't been clear minded in a long time!"
` The darkness outside was growing more prominent as the grandmother searches to find her strength. Speaking clearly, she says, "No. You all need to hear what I am about to tell you." The younger children begin fidgeting behind the brave 16 year old as she and all their gazes focus on granny. Continuing on, the grandmother calmly says, "All must mind this time of year, as the darkness brings the monsters we hide inside out once more. Stories are often a warning of much darker things. I must tell you something, and all of you should Listen well!"
The irate parents glare towards the old woman as the furious father prepares to vent. The strong, hard stares of both grandmother and granddaughter bore down at the angry male, as his will starts to break in front of these two women's strength. She tucks her shawl and sits up towards them, revealing her surprisingly clear brown eyes. The grandmother continues her tale. "You both are so impetuous and self serving that we forget the reason for this gathering. Every holiday has a story, a legend forgotten in time. These tales are not of Saint Nicolas or of his evil brother, but of a forgotten third. A being so reviled, we made it's very being something unspoken. If you do not make peace with each other, it will come in this darkness for us all. It's coming for us all, and I can not save any of you!"
Outside the house, an unbelievable shriek is heard by all, The sound seemingly coming from the cold winter gale. The snow starts to harden, as the once gentle snowflakes suddenly turn into sharp shards of ice. All up and down the Neighborhood the window curtains unfurl open from multiple households. People start to worry and speak of the sudden, increasingly harsh blizzard conditions crashing down like so many discarded christmas seasons before. Back to the Grandmother's house, the power lines start to swing and the precious lights start to flicker on and off. The darkness begins to grow as the waning light seems to bow down to the weight of the crushing emotions; the shadows moving in ever closer.
The Grandmother picks up the tempo as she stares everyone down in the flickering house. "I warned you boy this would happen if you kept growing more bitter and angry. We all take for granted that everything will be alright."Forming in the shadows surrounding the fractured family, you could feel an eerie ominous sensation. She finishes with a finality both in her posture and words. "The Wraith draws ever closer, and you have damned this family with all your hate!" The power cuts off as if something was heralding the arrival of the last word.
We fade out to the front door; as a neighbor is looking at the old two story house with smoke coming from the chimney. This is seen in the growing cold dark night. Although his coat is scruffy, his standing is in good appearance to the traditional winter attire. The Visibility fades in the waning twisting blizzard. The Neighbor shouts out toward the family inside, "Hush, keep the voices down old lady!". And, as if to mock the pettiness of his words, a shrieking sound tears through. A blurry skeletal hand, seemingly appearing from nowhere, tears into the last dying light. The apparition steadily growing more horrifyingly apparent. The wraith had come to this hateful fake mockery of a holiday and before the sun would ever limp forward to bring light again, many would not see that brightness again.