Auntie Sonja Ruined Christmas

               Early Christmas morning, I was on my way to spend time with my family. My sister and her family were hosting a small Christmas gathering. They invited my parents, my brother and his girlfriend, my oldest nephew, Carmelo, and me. They had been staying at The Embassy Suites for over a month, due to their house burning down in November. Since I felt partly responsible for their house burning down (it’s a long story) I offered to keep the kids’ gifts at my house, since my sister feared my niece, Madison and my nephew, Phillip would locate their presents in the small suite. 

                Before I left my driveway, I made sure I had everything I needed to ensure the kids had a wonderful Christmas. The trunk of my car was loaded with gifts. I also had a sweet potato pie and cookies that I had baked. There was only one problem; I noticed my car was nearly out of gas. I drove to the nearest gas station, which was surprisingly closed, but I didn’t let that bother me. I decided to pay at the pump with my debit card. I reached down to find the lever that would open my gas tank and accidentally pushed the button for the trunk. I laughed to myself, since this was a common mistake that I made. I got out of my car and closed the trunk and then proceeded to swipe my debit card and pump gas. It seemed like it was taking forever for my gas tank to fill up. I stood there shivering in the thirty degree weather. Suddenly, I felt something cold and metal pressed up against the side of my head. 

   A deep voice said, “Merry Christmas, Bitch” 

                I panicked, “Please! Please! Don’t shoot me! I have forty dollars in my purse! You can have it! Just don’t shoot me!” 

                My head remained perfectly still, but my eyes searched my surroundings. I saw a lady pumping gas a few pumps away. When she noticed I was being held at gunpoint, she hurried to get in her car and sped away. My heart sank as I listened to her tires burning rubber. 

                “I don’t want no forty dollars. I want dem presents in yo’ trunk,” the robber demanded.

                “What presents?” I played dumb.

                That made him even more upset. He growled through clenched teeth and pressed the gun more firmly into my temple. “I saw dem presents when yo’ stupid ass opened the trunk ‘stead of da gas tank.”

                “Okay. Okay.” I gave in. “Can you move the gun, so I can get the gifts for you?”

                “Hurry up!” he barked.

                I quickly reached into my car and found the lever to pop my trunk. He kept the gun pointed in my direction. I nervously motioned for him to take the gifts. He gathered the items into his arms and ran away. 

                I immediately felt like I wanted to throw up, but I didn’t; probably because I hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. It was only 9:00 a.m. and I was already experiencing the worse Christmas ever. I had to thank God for making it out of that ordeal alive, but I was still upset about the kids’ gifts being stolen. I returned the gas nozzle to the pump, closed my gas tank, and got in my car. I locked my doors and called the police. They showed up within minutes and asked me to describe the robber and tell them exactly what happened. The two officers seemed very nonchalant about the situation. They kept telling me that people need be careful, especially around Christmas time because robbers are on the prowl. I felt like they were blaming me for what happened. 

                I thanked the officers and drove away from the gas station feeling defeated. I held back tears as I made my way to see my family. Emotionally drained, I arrived at The Embassy Suites. I walked down the hall of the fourth floor, searching for the room number. I hesitated, before knocking on the door. I dreaded telling my family about my horrific morning. I didn’t want to ruin their Christmas, but I couldn’t avoid letting them know what happened, especially since they would ask for an explanation about the missing gifts. 

                My mother opened the door. Her smile immediately faded when she saw my pitiful expression. “What’s wrong?” she asked. 

                “I got robbed,” I began to cry. 

                She pulled me into the room and checked to see if I was hurt. My sister and my dad noticed something was wrong and rushed to my side, as well. I took a seat on the couch and hugged one of the pillows for comfort. My father asked my brother to get me some water. When he returned, I took a few sips and then calmed down, so I could tell my family what happened. As I was finishing my story, my brother-in-law entered the room with my niece and nephews. 

                My nephew Phillip asked with concern, “Where are the presents?”

                I explained with tears in my eyes, “A bad man stole the presents, but the most important thing is that Auntie Sonja is okay.”

                My niece, Madison and my nephew, Carmelo pouted with disappointed. Then Madison sighed, “Christmas is ruined.”

                My brother-in-law comforted her and told her it was okay and that Christmas was not ruined.

                Phillip came over to me. I reached out to give him a hug, but before I could, he yelled, “You ruined Christmas, Son-you!” He kicked my ankle twice and then ran out the room crying. 

                My family rushed after Phillip to make sure he was okay, leaving me with hurt feelings and a hurt ankle. My nephew’s blatant disregard for my well-being really upset me, but what else could I expect from a three-year-old. 

                I sighed and replayed the robbery in my head. I couldn’t thank God enough for being alive. The presents could be replaced, but like I told Phillip, ‘The most important thing is that Auntie Sonja is okay.’

               

Rainbow of Desires

The rain ceased only moments before I gazed out the window to see a beautiful rainbow. The colors were so bright: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. This rainbow was unlike any rainbow I had witnessed before. It wasn’t just a spectrum of light in the sky; it appeared to be a tangible mass floating in the atmosphere. I was drawn outside to experience its splendor. I stared into the distance at the arc in the sky and noticed it gracefully moving in my direction. I was frozen with awe. My heart began to beat faster. My body temperature began to rise; but not out of fear. Instead, I felt excitement. The rainbow got closer and closer until it was nearly hovering over my head. I looked up and could see this mass did not only hold a spectrum of colors, but a broadcast of my desires was projected onto the bright layers. I saw every place I wanted to visit and places I had visited in the past. My dreams for the future and my passions were clearly shown to me. I saw myself owning a home. I saw myself out of debt. I saw my future husband. I saw an adorable baby. I saw my future career. I saw the mending of broken relationships. I began to feel so much joy and then the rainbow of desires hovered directly above me. I extended my hand upward as far as I could. I jumped as high as I could in an effort to reach my dreams, but the rainbow was too high for me to reach. I tried several more times with no luck. The alluring arc was close enough for me to see, but too high for me to touch. I didn’t give up. There was too much as stake for me to let my dreams pass me by. Suddenly, something came over me and I knew deep down inside that those dreams belonged to me. I openly received my desires without fear or doubt. I reached my hand upward and jumped one more time and securely grabbed onto the violet band. 

Victory was mine. I felt so much joy. The only thing that was standing in the way of me reaching my dreams was me. I was finally able to get out of my own way and receive what I deserved.