Noel
Noel
By: Katlyn Bliss
Memories are what we all have, good and bad. Even ones we wish we could relive again and some we wish we could just get rid of.
This memory is what I like to call Noel, Noel is an orphan girl. Along with ten other orphan boys and girls who live in down town London. They all would like the chance to someday sit down to a lovely dinner at Christmas Eve, enjoy the thrill of waiting for Santa, unwrap presents, and to sip hot chocolate on a cold night discussing tomorrow’s plans with a new family.
“Noel is a young frisky little girl.” The foster parents always said to people who asked about her. “She is about seven years old,” The people liked that age, but this accessory always turned them down,” Noel has had some problems, she has been through one mild concussion from her uncle, she still has some medical bills that need to be paid from her trach she experienced when she was born, and she has asthma.”
Most of the families felt sorry for Noel, but none of them seemed to care enough to take her home. Her parents both died from cancer. Noel’s family members were to spread apart and to busy to take care of her. Her Uncle, Kino, took Noel in but treated her very badly. The foster home took matters in their own hands and took Noel. Soon after, Uncle Kino died from the affects of smoking.
Noel sat on her stool next to the frosted window. She enjoyed watching the snow fall. It looked as if the snow was a feather with glitter, as the sun shown on it with bright light wanting to show everybody its beauty. She wore a light blue-grey torn dress, her hair was knotted in brown tangles, she wore no shoes, and the soles of her feet were covered with soot from cleaning the fire place.
“Noel! Please get back to work those sheets aren’t going to fold them selves!” Calea scolded. She was the foster mom at the orphanage. Calea wore her hair up with a bent bobby pin, hay like curls seeping onto her face, a white t-shirt, ripped wool pants, an old tore up boot on her left foot, and a newer looking boot on the other.
“Yes mum,” Noel sighed.
Noel went back to folding her sheets. She began to hymn a song, a special song, a song her mother always sang until the day she died. It was a sweet sounding song one of a dove flowing gracefully. She finished hymning and folding her bed sheets when a came a thump! Thump! Up the wooden stairs… “Noel a family is interested in you please come down and have a look,” It was her friend Nathan. The two friends have always been there for each other since Noel had arrived. Nathan's mother died giving birth to him and he has know idea who his father is or even if he is still alive.“Please… it’s a family of three and you know what that means,” Nathan and Noel had agreed that a family of three would be lovely to join. Not to many brothers or sisters just one and a lovely set of parents to go with it, it would be like icing on a cake.
Noel raced down the old wooden steps and flung her self around the corner to see a lively looking bunch. Each one, she thought, had something unique about them. A young woman, the mother, had rosy checks dimples in each one, a fine red cloak buttoned up with three big black buckeye like buttons, and best of all the woman reminded her of her mother. The tall broad man, the father, took pride with in the family that he was standing with, thin black corduroy pants, and a pipe he blew from his mouth lined with gold. The youngest of them all was the first to come up to Noel. Daringly the girl touched her with her soft cold nippy hands, the sweater she wore was warm as wool better than anything Noel had to wear, though something in the girls eyes made an insurance that everything would be alright.
Noel couldn’t hold back the tears she had been holding since the day she was left alone. She went up and hugged everyone and both Noel and the family united within that moment.
“Noel I’m glade you like this family because they would like you and Nathan to join their family to be come two new members of the Murray family,” Noel leaped up and bounded to Nathan and hugged him as hard as she could with the thought she finally had a home at last and with Nathan. “The mother is Susan, the father is Evan, and there youngest is Hannah,” Calea announced as she said the names each family member bowed their head except for Hannah, she sprinted over and gave Noel a hug.
Evan led everybody out the door to the horse drawn carriage that the Murray family arrived in. Each one hopped in and took a seat behind the diver. Evan took a seat behind the reins of the beautiful snow white horses. The crack of the whip echoed threw out the small village as it hit the horses behind and started to trot among the stone layered road. Noel looked back only once wondering was this really what she wanted to leave behind, what she had known for almost her entire life? It was too late for thinking that now, she looked forward to the good things that lay ahead. Noel stared until the little brick house known to her as home disappeared into the shadows.
