I snatched the box, holding up the note. \u201cThis. What the heck is this, Carl?\u201d\n\n\n\n
But before Carl could say a word, Logan stepped in. \u201cI helped Santa!\u201d Logan blurted out. \u201cI found it HIDDEN in Dad\u2019s basement yesterday. I thought Santa forgot to put it under the tree, so I brought it up here at night.\u201d\n\n\n\n
I turned to Carl, my heart pounding. \u201cLogan found this in YOUR basement? Who\u2019s Debra, Carl? And why is she your ONLY ONE?\u201d\n\n\n\n
\u201cAm-Amber,\u201d Carl stammered. \u201cDebra, she\u2019s my\u2026 it\u2019s not what you think \u2014\u201d\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, I know exactly what I think,\u201d I said as tears started trickling down my cheeks.\n\n\n\n
I cried. The man I trusted with everything had bought a gift for another woman.\n\n\n\n
\u201cMommy? Are you okay?\u201d Logan asked innocently. \u201cDid I do something bad?\u201d\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, sweetie. You didn\u2019t do anything wrong. Go play with your new toy in the bedroom for a minute, okay?\u201d\n\n\n\n
Logan hesitated but eventually ran off. I turned to Carl and looked at him with a serious expression.\n\n\n\n
\u201cExplain,\u201d I said. \u201cNow.\u201d\n\n\n\n
Carl looked like he\u2019d just been caught in a lie he couldn\u2019t talk his way out of.\n\n\n\n
\u201cDebra,\u201d he began, \u201cis\u2026 my sister.\u201d\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour what?\u201d\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy sister,\u201d he repeated. \u201cShe d-ied when we were teenagers. I never told you about her because\u2026 it hurts too much.\u201d\n\n\n\n
\u201cCarl, I don\u2019t understand,\u201d I said. \u201cDebra is your sister? But you never told me about her? And why would you hide a gift for her in the basement?\u201d\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe d-ied just before Christmas, 15 years ago. It was a car acc:ident. She was on her way with Mom to buy me a Christmas gift\u2026 ice skates that I\u2019d been dreaming about. A drunk driver hit their car, and she\u2026 she didn\u2019t make it.\u201d\n\n\n\n
I sank onto the couch beside him. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, Carl. But why didn\u2019t you ever tell me about her?\u201d\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know how,\u201d he said. \u201cDebra was my best friend. We didn\u2019t have much growing up, but she always made sure I felt special. Every Christmas, she\u2019d save up to get me something I really wanted. She always said I was her \u2018only one.\u2019 It was our thing.\u201d\n\n\n\n
Carl\u2019s voice softened as he smiled faintly. \u201cThat year, I\u2019d gotten her a gift too. A little Polaroid camera. She loved photography and always talked about becoming a photographer. But she never got to open it. And I never got to say goodbye.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cFor years,\u201d Carl continued, \u201cI\u2019ve bought her a gift at Christmas and left it at her grave. It\u2019s my way of keeping her memory alive. I\u2019ve never told anyone, not even my parents. I hid it in the basement because I didn\u2019t know how to explain it to you. I didn\u2019t want you to think I was stuck in the past, or that I was crazy.\u201d\n\n\n\n My heart ached for the boy he had been, carrying such a heavy loss all these years.\n\n\n\n \u201cThis year,\u201d he said, his voice breaking, \u201cLogan must\u2019ve found it. I swear, Amber, I was going to take it to her grave like always. I never meant for you to find out this way.\u201d\n\n\n\n Tears blurred my vision as I placed the box on the coffee table.\n\n\n\n \u201cCarl\u2026 I wish you\u2019d told me,\u201d I said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to carry this alone.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cI was going to tell you, Amber,\u201d he explained as he wiped his tears. \u201cBut every time I thought about it, it hurt too much. Even now, after all these years, it still feels fresh.\u201d\n\n\n\n Now, sitting here with Carl, I realized how much pain he had been carrying silently.\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s in the box?\u201d I asked softly.\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s uh,\u201d Carl began. \u201cIt\u2019s a baby-blue Polaroid camera. She always wanted one. She dreamed of being a photographer. I thought\u2026 I thought it was something I could still give her, even if she isn\u2019t here anymore.\u201d\n\n\n\n For a while, we sat there in silence. Then, a thought struck me.\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s open it,\u201d I said.\n\n\n\n Carl looked at me, startled. \u201cWhat?\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cThe gift,\u201d I said. \u201cLet\u2019s open it together. For her.\u201d\n\n\n\n We carefully unwrapped the box together, peeling back the golden paper. Inside was the simple, baby-blue camera.\n\n\n\n \u201cShe would\u2019ve loved this,\u201d he whispered, his voice trembling.\n\n\n\n I felt tears slide down my cheeks.\n\n\n\n Then, Logan\u2019s small voice from the bedroom broke the silence.\n\n\n\n \u201cMom? Dad? Are you okay?\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re okay, buddy. Come here.\u201d, I quickly wiped my eyes and smiled.\n\n\n\n Logan trotted in. He looked at the camera and then back at us, his face curious. \u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d\n\n\n\n Carl pulled him into his lap, \u201cIt\u2019s a gift for someone very special. My sister, Debra. She\u2019s not here with us, but she loved Christmas just like you do.\u201d\n\n\n\n \u201cShe sounds nice. Can we get her a stocking next year?\u201d, Logan said.\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, buddy. She can have a stocking.\u201d\n\n\n\n That night, we hung the Polaroid camera on the Christmas tree, right in the center. It sparkled under the lights, reminding us of the love Carl had carried all these years.\n\n\n\n That night, I went to bed feeling a strange mix of sorrow and peace.\n\n\n\n That day, not only did we find a way to honor Debra\u2019s memory, but we also healed a part of my husband\u2019s heart.\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll never forget this Christmas.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Christmas morning, my husband Carl and son Logan, 5, were about to start opening gifts. Everything seemed perfect. Until I noticed it. Sitting under […]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6820"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6820"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6820\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6821,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6820\/revisions\/6821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciencesandnatures.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
