Merry Christmas...Christmas...Christmas

Carolyn woke up like any other morning. She looked out her frost-covered window at large, delicate snowflakes falling gently onto the ground and trees, covering the earth with a blanket of white. She prepared to bargain for half an hour, maybe even a whole hour, of extra sleep. For some unknown reason, Carrie felt extremely tired, like she hadn’t slept in years, but she had no idea why. Then realization hit her like a gust of sharp wind. She looked down at her red and green plaid pajamas, then at her miniature Christmas tree resting on her dresser in the corner of her bedroom, with a dozen gold and silver spheres hanging from it’s artificial branches. 

It was Christmas morning.

Carolyn leaped out of bed, excitement and nervousness bubbling up inside of her. She shivered. Yes, it wouldn’t be Christmas in Virginia without these freezing temperatures, the kind that chill you to the bone. Carrie quickly grabbed a fluffy robe out of her closet and bundled it around her body. Not too much warmer, but it would do. 

She crept down the stairs. The house was dark and quiet, with the only source of light coming from the glow of the real 9-foot tall Christmas tree in the living room. It was almost magical. As Carolyn passed her parents’ bedroom, she could hear hushed snoring. Her Nana Lily and Papa Ben lived upstairs, with the whole third floor of the house to themselves, and there was no sound of footsteps coming from their room. Carrie was indeed the only person awake in her house. 

She crept into the living room and kneeled by the tree, gazing at all the presents wrapped in shiny and colorful paper. The present she was looking for was not there. But that was okay. After all, you couldn’t wrap a pony. A pony that would be all her own, with a beautiful mane and chestnut hair. And that she would name Belle. That’s all Carolyn hoped to get for Christmas. All she wanted was a pony. She already had everything planned out. Carrie could keep Belle at the rundown stables at the far-end of her family’s large acre, the stables that hadn’t been used in years. She could brush Belle, feed her apples from the palm of her hand, and of course learn to ride her. 

Carolyn felt another rush of excitement thinking about her dream pet. She had been hinting at her parents and grandparents about a pony for months now. Somehow, she just felt that this Christmas she was going to get it. This would be the special day.

Carrie stood up and ran to her parents’ bedroom, flinging open their door. 

“Merry Christmas!” she exclaimed. She jumped onto her parents’ bed and bounced around, shaking them awake. Her mom opened her eyes groggily, then lightly pushed Carolyn off of them and the bed, and back onto the ground. Both her parents looked exhausted. 

“What time is it?” Carrie’s dad asked groggily. Carrie looked at the clock. It read 7:32. Knowing that her dad would not be pleased, she changed the subject.

“That doesn’t matter! It’s Christmas! Wake up, wake UP!” 

Mr. and Mrs. Miller groaned and rolled over, their backs to Carolyn. 

“Come oooon!” She nagged. She pulled on her parents’ arms, trying to get their sleepy heads out of bed. It was the same routine every Christmas morning. Carrie begged her parents to get up and they always stalled. This was so exasperating for Carrie, but it was tradition. Giving up, she retreated to the bottom of the stairs. 

“What’s all this noise about?” said a gruff voice.

It was Papa Ben. He and Nana Lily we’re climbing down the stairs. Carolyn laughed, knowing he was just joking. Nana came down before him, hugging Carrie as they exchanged "Merry Christmas"es. Then Papa intervened by picking up Carrie and spinning her around, making her squeal. When he put her down, Carrie’s parents were sleepily waiting at the doorway of their room. 

Carolyn ushered everyone into the living room. She stood by the tree, struggling to contain her excitement, and waited for the go-ahead. Mrs. Miller sat down on the couch and laughed.

“Knock yourself out Carrie,” she said, smiling. Delighted, Carrie scanned the presents and found one with her name on it. It’s wrapping was silver with blue snowflakes, and the tag read: To Carolyn. From Mom and Dad, with love. 

Carrie tore the gift open. Once I get through these gifts, maybe they’ll let me see my pony! She thought. Inside the gift box was a pair of lavender rollerskates. 

“Thank you!” she said. She did like the roller skates. Her old ones were too tight, pinching her toes and giving her blisters. But what about that pony!

“This one is from us,” Nana Lily said, pointing to Papa Ben as she spoke. She held a tiny box in her hand, wrapped in red and gold paper. Carolyn opened this one, revealing a necklace. It had a slim gold chain with a plain gold pine tree hanging from it. 

“I love it! Thank you!” Carrie hugged her grandparents. Her family stood there, beaming at her. She sat there beaming back at them, jiggling around. She was grateful, she really was! But this couldn’t be all, right? What about her dream gift? 

Then her parents and grandparents exchanged a knowing look. Yes! She thought, I knew it! 

“There’s one more thing,” Mr. Miller said. He excused himself from the room. Carrie wanted to unleash her excitement and shout to the world. I’m going to get a pony! I knew it all along! I have the best family!

Carolyn’s father came back...holding something in his hand. Carrie had no idea what it was because there was a brown blanket draped over it. 

“Dad?” She said, trying to keep the smile on her face, “Mom?” Her Mom and Dad grinned at each other.

“Carrie…” Her Mom started.

“We’ve been thinking…” Her Dad continued.

“We’ve all been thinking!” Nana Lily added, squeezing Papa Ben from the side, “Because Carolyn, you’re so responsible it really shows-!”

“That you’re old enough to finally take care of a pet!” Mrs. Miller finished. Squeeee! thought Carrie, This is it!!!

“Come on, see for yourself!” Mr. Miller exclaimed, motioning toward the large, blanket covered object in his hand. Carolyn wasn’t sure what that object had to do with her pony, but she assumed her family had planned some creative way to reveal her new pet to her. Carrie reached toward the blanket, ready to pull it off. There could be a message under it! Or a brush for her pony’s mane...ooh, or a harness! Or maybe-

Carolyn froze, staring at her present. The brown blanket stood in a heap next to her ankles. In front of her was a silver cage. And inside of it, staring right back at her was a bird. His feathers were brown, his head was black, and he had a yellow beak. 

“He’s a myna bird!” Carrie’s dad told her, “His name is Cleo.”

Cleo cocked his head at Carrie. Carrie was speechless.

“Watch this honey!” Mrs. Miller said. She turned toward Cleo and said “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas...Christmas...Christmas,” Cleo said back to her. Carolyn’s family laughed. Carolyn did not. Nana Lily looked at Papa Ben and then at Mr. and Mrs. Miller. She could tell something was up. Nana came up to Carrie’s side and gave her a hug. 

“Isn’t he adorable? You can keep him and take care of him! He’s all yours!” Nana Lily exclaimed. Carolyn finally snapped out of her daze. I will not be a spoiled brat! She told herself. She gave her family the best smile she could muster up.

“Yeah...thank you...for Cleo,” Carrie mumbled. Her mom placed Cleo’s cage in her hand. Carrie tried to act happy. But it was all too much for her. She ran upstairs and to her bedroom, her new pet and his cage in hand. She left Christmas downstairs, along with all wishes, hopes, and especially all dream pets.

Carolyn collapsed on her bed, setting Cleo and his cage on the stand she just noticed in the corner of her room. Her dad must have set it up when he snuck away from the living room. Carrie stared at Cleo for a long, long time. Then she started to cry. 

Carrie sniffled and quickly wiped her eyes as she heard a knock at her bedroom door.

“Carolyn, honey? Are you okay?”

It was Nana Lily. Carrie tiptoed to her door, unsure of what to do. She could let Nana in but...no. She couldn’t let her nana see her like this. Quietly, Carolyn turned the little groove on the doorknob, locking her door. She could hear Nana Lily’s steady breathing outside the door, waiting for a response. Realizing she wasn’t going to get one any time soon, Nana Lily tried to open Carrie’s door herself. She couldn’t get in. She was locked out.

“Carrie?!” Nana Lily called, louder this time. Carrie still didn’t respond. She was starting to not care if her family sensed her anger or not. Let them go gossip about me! She thought as she heard her Nana’s footsteps disappear downstairs. Let them know I’m angry! It’s their fault they got me this stupid bird! Letting out her frustration, Carolyn kicked Cleo’s cage stand. It teetered for a few seconds, then caught it’s balance again. 

“Stupid bird!” Carrie yelled.

“Stupid bird...stupid...stupid,” Cleo mimicked. Carrie groaned.

Carrie stayed in her room until dinner time, when she crept into the kitchen for her family’s annual Christmas dinner. Even if she was mad at them, she couldn’t miss out on dinner, and all the mouth-watering food. Carolyn’s family exchanged glances. They looked surprised and pleased to see her.

“Carrie!” Mr. Miller said. Mrs. Miller gave Carrie a side hug.

“Ready for dinner?” Nana Lily said, as she spooned a generous helping of mashed potatoes on everyone’s plate. Carolyn grunted. She was not about to give her family the satisfaction of getting her to talk. 

“Well, let's dig in!” Papa Ben said. Everyone sat down, prayed over the meal, and then did just that. The family talked while they ate, except for Carrie. She vowed to enjoy her meal silently. After the Millers finished up and were washing the dishes, Nana Lily pointed something out to Carrie.

“Carolyn, I hope you haven’t forgotten about that bird of yours. He can’t go on on an empty stomach,” Nana said. Carrie’s stomach dropped. She turned to her Mom.

“You guys didn’t buy supplies already?” Carolyn asked. 

“We assumed you were responsible enough to buy your own supplies,” Mrs. Miller replied, opening the dish cupboard. Carrie was shocked. This is even worse than I thought! 

“You just expect me to magically make bird food appear?! What am I supposed to do?” She exclaimed. Her Mom tried to reassure her with a smile. 

“I’m sure you’ll think of something dear,” She said. 

“Ugh!” Carrie screeched. She stormed out as her mom was putting away the porcelain plates. Carrie ran to her room and stared at Cleo. Nana’s right, she thought, I can’t just let him starve. Carolyn opened up her computer and held down on the power button. Once it was on she looked up “what can I feed a pet myna bird”. She didn’t like the way that looked and changed it to “what can I feed my myna bird”. Carrie didn’t know why, but she liked looking at those words in the search box. She pressed enter and endless websites and sources appeared. Carolyn scrolled until she found what she guessed was a reliable website, babymyna.org.

“Hmm…” She wondered aloud, “It says in case of starvation I can feed my myna canned dog food. Yuck. I don’t think he’s that desperate. Oh! Here’s something! It says ‘You can also feed your myna bird oatmeal, boiled eggs, and applesauce.’ I guess I’ll do that.” Carrie closed her computer and ran downstairs. Her Mom was still in the kitchen, drying the plastic water cups. 

“What are you doing?” Mrs. Miller asked. 

“Oh...nothing,” answered Carrie, as she rummaged around the inside of their refrigerator, “Do you know if we have applesauce?” Her mom raised her eyebrow. 

“No, I don’t think we do.”

“Oh ok,” Carolyn replied, “At least we have eggs!” She reached to the back of the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs. Mrs. Miller stood to the side, watching Carolyn move around the kitchen. Carrie found a bag of oats in the pantry and emptied it into a bowl. 

“Wait, how do you make oatmeal with oats? Do you cook it or something?” Carrie asked her Mom, who opened her mouth but said nothing, then closed it again, “You know what, I’ll just get started on the boiled eggs.” Carolyn turned to the stove and switched it on. Her mom came from behind and pulled her away from the stove.

“Hey, hey! I’m serious Carrie, what are you doing?!” Mrs. Miller exclaimed. Should I tell her? Thought Carrie, I guess she’ll find out one way or another. 

“I’m making food, you know, for Cleo,” Carolyn replied. Her mom crossed her arms.

“Honey...I don’t think this is what you feed a myna bird. Where’d you find that?” She said. 

“On a website,” answered Carrie, “Here, I’ll show you.” She ran up to her room to grab her computer, and when she came back her mom had turned off the stove and put everything away. Carrie opened her computer and showed her the website, babymyna.org, and where she had found the recipe for the bird food. Her mom laughed when she saw it.

“Carrie, this is for baby myna birds. It’s a recipe for baby food. It’s right there in the website name!” She said. Carolyn blushed, embarrassed.

“I just assumed it would be fine for all mynas,” She replied. Her mom gave her a reassuring hug.

“That’s alright,” Mrs. Miller said, then she scrolled down and pointed at something on the screen, “Look here- it says you can feed grown myna birds bird pellets, insects like mealworms, wax worms-”

“Worms? Gross! That’s even worse than dog food!” Carolyn interrupted. Her mom gave her a funny look and then continued reading.

“-and fresh fruit.” Carrie looked at her mom.

“Okay, but how am I supposed to get all this stuff?” She said. Mrs. Miller bit her lip.

“Actually...stay here Carrie,” She finally said. She walked to the doorway of the kitchen and yelled up to Carrie’s dad.

“Mark! Could you come down here please?” Carrie heard footsteps and then saw her dad appear in front of her mom.

“What’s up?” He said. Mrs. Miller gestured to Carolyn.

“Mark, Carrie has been trying pretty hard to find food and make it for Cleo, though she didn’t get it quite right.” Carrie blushed again.

“I think it’s time we show here the supplies.” Mr. Miller nodded. Carrie stood there, perplexed.

“Supplies? You mean you had supplies for Cleo this whole time?! You lied to me! Why?” She exclaimed. Her parents looked at her guiltily. 

“Yes...we did and do have supplies. But we wanted to see how long you could get by on your own, and we wanted you to prove to yourself that you could do it. Don’t hate us…” Her dad told her. Carrie stood silently, wondering if she should get mad. Then she started to laugh, really loud and hiccupy. Her parents looked at her, confused, but then they started to laugh too. 

“Come on,” Carrie said, “Let’s go see Cleo.” Mr. and Mrs. Miller nodded.

“I’ll bring the bag of bird pellets, plus some mealworms. I think he deserves a treat,” Mrs. Miller said. 

Carrie and her parents paraded into her room happily. Carrie stood by Cleo’s big cage and watched him hop side to side. 

“You are kind of cute,” She murmured. 

“Cute...cute…” Cleo chirped. Carrie laughed. She fed him some pellets and then gave him some worms for dessert. Cleo happily slurped them up. All in all, thought Carolyn, I guess things worked out. Carrie’s grandparents walked into her room to see what all the fuss was about. 

“Aww…” said Nana Lily, “Merry Christmas everyone!”

“Merry Christmas...Christmas...Christmas,” repeated Cleo. This time the whole family laughed.