Why Won't Santa Visit Poor Children?

A Christmas story from the Philippines by Roy Thomsitt

 

 

The Death Of Santa Claus - News From Lapland

Di and Tina arrived back at Aunt Paula's house in buoyant mood. As soon as she saw them arrive, Aunt Paula came out to greet them in the front yard. She was quite a chubby lady, and always smartly dressed, but had a wonderful friendly smile, which was now bigger than ever as she saw her daughter and niece return home in all their fashionable glory.

"Wow, look at you," she greeted Di, raising her arms and opening her mouth wide as Di approached. She bent down so she was face to face with Di, "You look so beautiful!"

Di smiled shyly, but did not think she was really beautiful like Tina. She did, though, feel very special. She had never had a nice dress before, brand new and pretty. Her clothes were usually already quite worn before she had them. That had never worried or bothered her; but she had never expected to have such a dress as she was now wearing.

Di thanked her Aunt for the dress, but Aunt Paula said:

"That was from your cousin Maricel; a special treat."

"Oh, she's so kind!" said Di, then, playfully, looked up at the sky and called out: "Thank you Ate Maricel!!!!"

Aunt Paula had already cooked rice, and Di could smell the dry fish too, making her feel hungry as they went inside the house. Di had been so excited, she had not realised her Ma had already left to return to Estrella. Only now did she notice.

"You can thank Maricel later," Aunt Paula told Di. "She promised to call this evening."

Di was excited to speak to her big cousin from Sweden, but a bit shy also. She had never spoken to someone in another country before. In fact, she had never used Aunt Paula's telephone before.

After lunch, Tina suggested they had a videoke session, and she would teach Di some of her best songs. Videoke being a favourite Philippine pastime, and Tina being a great singer, this was not a surprise. But as Di was looking so brimful of confidence in her new dress, Tina was sure she would sing her heart out too.

She was right. For all of two hours after lunch, Tina and Di sang continuously, Tina encouraging and helping, trying to boost Di's confidence as a singer. They danced, too, for all of the dance songs, which were really Di's favourites. Di had never enjoyed a day as much as this one; she glowed inside and outside alike.

When they started to tire of singing, and their voices started to wilt, Tina suggested to Di that she should choose a movie. There were only a handful of VCD's and DVD's to choose from. As Di looked through them, she came across the Santa Claus movie. Tina was watching her, and put her arm around her as she saw Di's little face lose it's glow and a few tears dampen her eyes.

"What about the Disney movie?" Tina suggested.

"Yes, let's," said Di, determined to enjoy her special day. "Let's watch Disney."

She did not know what Disney was, but she trusted Tina; Tina would know best.

 

Next: Santa Claus Story (cont)