Illustration by Edwardian Taylor. All rights reserved.

 

Sissy Pantelis

Christmas Firestorm

 

Mom would not let me go out on Christmas Eve. Most kids would go downtown and sell matches, an old tradition in our town on Christmas Eve. It came from an old legend – or was it a fairy tale? I am not sure. Whatever the origin of the tradition, it would not change anything for me: mom would not let me out anyway. She would not even allow me to join those kids who went to sing Christmas carols to the neighbours.

 

So, while the other kids had fun, I was sitting on my own, sad and frustrated. "This isn't fair," I said to my doll. Only she would listen to my pains, and she alone could understand me.

 

"No, not fair at all," she agreed and shed a few blood tears. My doll always shed blood tears when she cried. This brought a curious comfort to me.

 

"My older sister could always go…even when she was younger than I am." Even as I was speaking, there was a burst of rage inside me. "This is not fair. No… Not fair at all."

 

My lovely doll paused for a moment to think. "Of course, you don't have to take it if it's not fair," she whispered in a voice so low only I could hear.

 

"What do you mean?" I stared at her suspiciously, but deep inside I knew very well what she meant. Even before she explained, I suddenly felt a little better, as if I became, by magic, my older sister to whom my parents never refused anything.

 

"You don't need consent to go out. Besides, nobody is at home – they went shopping for dinner and they won’t be back for a while. Just get dressed and off we go… What are you waiting for?" She sounded unhappy as no answer came from me. "Are you still thinking about it? Fine. Then stay here and keep crying, I don't care."

 

I was already dressed before she finished her sentence. I put on one shoe, laced it then I paused. The doll did not speak. "What about goblins?" I said, trying to sound calmer than I was. "The streets are filled with goblins that do all sorts of evil things to children, on Christmas Eve. What about them?"

 

"How stupid you are! Have you forgotten that fire is magic tonight? If you suspect anybody, all you have to do is light a match. The fire will show you the true nature of the creature and will help you to fight the evil ones. Goblins fear fire. Are you coming now, little coward?"
 

Mom kept the matchboxes out of sight, but I had no trouble finding them. I put a few boxes in a basket, and covered them with flowers. This was part of the tradition too; the flowers were supposed to enhance the power of the matches. The doll turned into a little cat and followed me out the house. She liked shifting into various animals, the cat being her favorite.

 

It was a cold day and the ground was covered with snow, but I did not care. I was out; I was free. For once, I was going to sell matches on Christmas Eve, like all the other children.

Selling matches was really fun! Many people stopped to buy boxes from my basket, and all were kind to me. Some even paid me compliments. "You are so cute! You don’t look like the other children who sell matches," they would say. I wore a black lace dress and a thin black cloak; the other children were dressed as the little match seller in the fairy tale. Most of them wore ragged, old clothes and shoes with holes. I had dressed like my older sister when she went to late night parties. People found that clever; they admired me and bought my matches. I was happy! Usually, people pay compliments to my sister, and they hardly notice me.

 

I was just a little bit angry too. Why did mom not want me to go out? Selling matches was great! To miss all this fun every year was not fair. I would have a word with mom back at home; she would have to explain herself…

 

After a while, I got tired. I sat at a corner and I counted the money I had earned. A few boxes of matches and the flowers I had used to cover them were still left in the basket.

 

I stared at them imagining myself as a little sorceress who sold magic flowers with colored flames instead of petals. The enchanted flowers would keep goblins away from children. I smiled and told my fantasy to my doll. Sitting in the basket among a bunch of flowers, she had turned back into her original form.

 

"You'd better stop day-dreaming and making up stories," said my doll. "It is becoming late. We'd better go back at home or your mom will worry if she does not find you there when she comes back."

 

The doll was right, of course. But I was so tired that I could not get up and walk. Slowly, I dozed off. Resting for a while could not harm. Then we would go back home.

 

I had a very nice dream:  I was sitting on a cloud selling matches to beautiful creatures. Probably angels that spoke in soft, musical voices and would gently caress me to thank me for the magic matches. The touch of the angels was cold, but sweet like the cake granny used to make for Christmas Day.

 

Finally, their kisses made me chilly and I woke up.

 

It was snowing; the snowflakes on my face felt like the angels’ kisses in my dream. The street was dark and empty. It was time to go home.

 

I soon realized that I had no idea where I was. With the snow covering everything and by the dim light of the street lamps, I could not recognize anything around me. I had also stupidly taken my shoes off before I fell asleep. Now I could not find them and I was really freezing.

 

My doll was standing in front of a barred fence. I could see some statues covered in snow behind the fence and a few black birds flying above them.

 

All of a sudden, I was seized with fear.

 

"We are close to a graveyard," said my doll. "I told you to go back, but you wanted to sleep. You never listen to me!" My doll sounded angry. "What are we going to do now, can you tell me? We are lost. Would you like to spend the night in this ghastly place? The statues on the graves will keep you warm; they are such cheerful company too! And the crows will watch over your dreams. What do you say, little fool?"

 

"We don't have to be discouraged. We’ll walk and maybe we’ll find our way back," I said with as much conviction as I could feign to have. Actually, I was very scared.

 

"Yeah, right," replied the doll. "In the darkness and with all that snow, we're sure to find our way back..."

 

"Shut up! Can't you be positive, just for once? I remind you that you were the one who made me go out. NO. I won’t hear one more word."

 

We walked away from the graveyard. As time passed, I came to realize that we could not find the way back. We were lost in a dark neighbourhood – either the lights were out or there were no lights at all.

 

As we turned into a narrow street, I lit a match and looked around.

We were close to a big, old building.  It looked like the house of the Addams Family I was watching on TV, and was quite scary too.

With great caution, I stepped toward a faintly-lit window. A beautiful Christmas tree stood in a corner, fire burned in the fireplace, and the table was set for Christmas dinner. The turkey in the big plate and the sweets all around it made my mouth water.

 

"Let's go in that house," I said. "It looks warm and nice. The people who live there will certainly help me find my way back.”

 

"You bet they will!" muttered the doll mockingly, but I paid no heed to her.

 

I left my basket on the ground and knocked on the door. I was expecting that somebody would come to open, but the door opened on its own, as if by magic, on the third knock.

 

"They must be expecting guests," said my doll. "This is why they left the door open."

 

I was not sure about this. The way the door had moved to let us enter was weird… But I was cold and scared and I did not take more time to think. I stepped into the room with the Christmas tree.

 

I stared in admiration; this was one of the most beautiful trees I had ever seen. The balls were sparkling as if they were magic and the toys looked as if they were alive and gave off a cheerful feeling. For a while, I stood there and observed the splendid tree and its jewels, lost in my dreams.

 

The room was cold and only a dim light came from the fireplace. The fire was burning low, so I approached and lit a match.

 

I was going to throw it into the fire, but first, I held the match close to the Christmas tree to have one more look at it. I could not help it; I wanted to see this gorgeous tree under a better light.

 

But, the light of the match, the tree appeared entirely different from what had incited such a sense of wonder in me a few seconds ago. The beautiful shining balls were now ugly faces that grinned threateningly until they turned into hideous skulls. Hidden among the branches of the tree, tiny wicked monsters locked their icy eyes menacingly on me.

 

The toys hanging from the tree branches were now eerie shadows that danced like demons. I had never seen a living demon until then, but I knew that this was what they must look like. Elsewhere, the toys had turned into small coffins or ugly big spiders. The covers of the coffins creaked as they opened and one could see small dolls that looked like dead children inside them. One of the coffins opened with a louder creak. "The coffin is for you, little one," said a hideous hoarse voice in my mind. The dolls in the coffins opened their eyes and laughed.

 

I screamed in panic and the light of the match went out. My hands shaking with fear, I managed to light another match and looked at the food on the Christmas table. It was utterly disgusting…The turkey was decaying, bleeding meat, the hot potatoes had become cockroaches and worms and other scary beasts came out of the sweets that had seemed so tasty. My stomach turned. I could no longer look at this or I would be sick. What kind of creature could eat this kind of thing? Certainly not humans…  

 

The second match went out as well. I lit a third one, as if mesmerized by the ghastly things I had seen. The splendid dolls and stuffed little animals that decorated the room were replaced by objects so repelling that only a twisted mind of a nightmare master could have conceived. Amorphous jelly figures with three eyes that had teeth instead of a pupil and gaping holes at the place of the mouth. Some dolls looked like blind zombies, with guts coming out of their belly. One of them took its heart out, brought it to its mouth and took a bite with its sharp teeth.  What kind of children could play and have fun with that kind of toys? I closed my eyes, refusing to think about it.

 

I was so horrified that I was frozen on the spot as if in my worst nightmares. "What is this horrible place we have entered?" I whispered my voice hardly audible. Scared as I was, I could not even open my mouth.

 

"This house is wicked" I whispered to my doll in a trembling voice. "I think we are in a goblin's lair," I said, shaking from head to toes with fear.

 

"Come on now, try to keep quiet. You're tired, you exaggerate..."  My doll did not sound comforting. She had even lost her usual arrogance.

 

"Am I? How can you explain that nobody is here? Where are the owners of this house?”

 

“Probably busy in some other part of the house. Maybe they're getting ready for the evening."

 

"For their guests, right? Where are the guests? Why is nobody waiting for them? Why is nobody else coming – apart from us?"

 

"Maybe they'll arrive later."

 

"Perfect. And what about the horrors I saw when I lit the matches? How do you explain this? Those things, this food… can only belong to goblins..."

 

The doll had no time to answer. The turkey jumped from the plate on the table. It awkwardly fell on the floor, but managed to walk again. In a funny and threatening way, it stepped toward me and attacked me with a fork and a knife. I screamed in horror and pain as the fork pierced the skin of my leg and blood came out of the wound.

 

"The matches! Use the matches," shouted the doll.

 

I bit my lips and lit a match. As the flame flared, I felt strong, like the warrior girl in my favorite anime movie. Forgetting the pain and firmly holding the match, I seized a knife on the table, and with all my force, I sunk it into the skin of my horrible attacker. I stabbed again and again, almost blindly, until the evil turkey lay motionless at my feet. I stood above it and stared. I didn’t feel bad; I had done nothing wrong. I had killed a roasted turkey, not a living being. I had just put an end to some dark magic.

 

Then why was I so upset? My heart was fluttering in my chest like a frightened sparrow.

 

This house was haunted; it was a goblin’s lair, I was sure of it.

 

I had to run away as fast as I could.

"We have to go!" I shouted to the doll. "Next thing we’ll meet here is a goblin. I am not sure I want to find out what a goblin looks like."

 

The doll didn’t answer. She stared fixedly at a point behind me and seemed very quiet.

 

"What's wrong with you?" I shouted. "Do you want to stay here? Don't you see how dangerous this place is?"

 

A familiar voice came behind my back. But this was not the doll’s. "My lovely one, my darling, what are you doing here?" No, that could not be. Reluctantly, I turned my head toward the voice. Yet, I could not believe my eyes…

 

"Granny…?"I say surprised. "Granny---You here? But...how come?” Yes, how did this happen? What is granny doing here? She died a year ago, I cried a lot. What is she doing here, at this ghastly place? "Granny..." I whisper. "Is it you? Is it really you?"

 

"Of course, it’s me, my love! Why, don't you know me now, my darling?"

 

"B...But how did you get here?"

 

"I knew that you were lost, my heart. I came to take you back home." Her voice sounded comforting, but I still kept my doubts. It was normal after all the horrors I had seen in this place.

 

"The matches," whispered the doll. "Use the matches!"

 

Of course! I lit a match and stared at my grandma at the light of the flame. It was not her loving face I saw, but a wolf’s, with his fearsome yellow eyes locked on me.

 

Why did grandma look like a wolf?

 

This could not be good. A story that granny used to read me came back to my mind. There was a little girl in red and a wolf that pretended to be her grandma. The wolf wanted to harm the little girl; was it the same here? Grandma would never harm me, but this wolf, unless…could the match be wrong? Would the match be lying to me?

 

No. This could not be. Matches never lied. Matches were not wrong either.

 

Grandma was not there; it was probably one more trick of the goblins...God...What was I supposed to do?

 

"Why do you even ask?" The doll was shedding blood tears. "There is but one solution. Unless you see something else..."

 

I didn't. She was right. Slowly, I approached the dead turkey and seized the knife I had used to kill it.  I lit three matches together, holding firmly the knife in one hand, ready to defend myself if the wolf attacked me. But he did not move. He probably thought I still took him for my grandma.

 

Swift as a shadow, I walked toward the trickster wolf. Before he had time to react, I stabbed him firmly in the belly many times.

 

Curiously, he did not fight back. He knelt and fell on the ground, moaning in pain. The light of the matches had probably weakened the goblin-made ghost.

 

While he was in pain, I threw the matches onto the Christmas tree. It started burning immediately. I lit more matches and threw them onto the freakish dolls. As they went ablaze, I took my doll by the hand and we ran away as fast as we could. Only at a safe distance, I paused to look at the burning house. To see the flames destroying the cursed place filled me with a wild joy.

 

The damned goblins had given me a hard time, but I had got rid of them. With a wide smile on my face and my heart cheerful, I felt that my presence brightened the darkness like the most beautiful Christmas candle lit in a warm room.

 

I could be proud. I didn’t have to hide my joy. After all...

 

I had defeated the terrible goblins on Christmas Eve.

 

*

 

Extract from the Beaver News – Special Christmas edition:

 

An attempted murder investigation was launched after an 80 -year- old woman was repeatedly stabbed on Christmas Eve.

 

The perpetrator of this act was her 9-year-old granddaughter who reportedly attacked her with a kitchen knife, then set fire to the Christmas tree and ran away.

 

The young girl, already diagnosed with a severe mental disorder, had committed acts of violence and arson in the past. She was under psychiatric supervision and was receiving medical treatment.

 

The experts believe that either the condition of the child had deteriorated in spite of the treatment or that the administered drugs caused severe hallucinations as a side effect.

 

The young girl was admitted to a psychiatric institution.

 

Her 80-year-old grandmother is hospitaized in a critical condition.

 

*

 

I am mad, they say.

 

Let them think and say whatever they like. It is still one of the tricks of the goblins; they want people to believe that I am crazy. They will do all they can to harm me, but I don’t care. I am not scared of them.

 

I defeated them once. I will do it again.

 

After all, I am now a powerful pyromancer after my brilliant victory against the goblins.

 

I have nothing more to fear.

 

 

 

Illustration by Edwardian Taylor. All rights reserved.

 

https://edwardiantaylor.com/about-edward/