Silent Night — Maggie Tideswell

Christmas is upon us - can you believe another year has gone by? It feels like just the other day that we all had the gripes from the fantastic Christmas spread, and bags of discarded wrapping. Not to mention the mess on the carpet when the tree went past it's best. And here we are, ready to do it all over again. We all have to agree, the holidays are fun. There are the wishes, and the expectations, the crackers and that bulging stocking. And the family, of course, let's not forget the family. Even the squabbling would be missed it it was missing one year. But what if you find yourself all alone for Christmas? What would happen to those wishes and expectations? Would they be that much more intense, because of the loneliness? On Christmas Eve, Audra went to the mall to put off the moment when she would be all alone at home, with only her cat and her memories for company. She didn't have any last minute shopping to do so she went in search of a Santa, the symbol of Christmas. When she found him, Santa invites her to share her Christmas wish. What was it that Audra whispered in his ear? She wanted Santa to bring her a man. But this Santa was unlike any she had ever encountered. "Very difficult to gift wrap those, little lady. And the blighters refuse to keep still under the tree," was his response to her request. But, even though he patted her bum as she left him to his bawling toddlers, she forgotall about her silly encounter with Santa in the mall on her way home. Until she found a beautiful man on her doorstep, claiming to be her Christmas wish.