A fictional tale of a catastrophic holiday gone awry with a twist to an unexpected reunion with the family and a return of a long-lost son who was presumably dead.

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Everything was going perfect on Christmas morning with the pies almost done baking in the oven. The smell was heavenly, permeating through the air with the scent of apples and cinnamon wafting through the kitchen. No one would have ever expected that a day such as this could ever be ruined with so many mishaps that was about to take place in such a short time.

Lost in a reverie of her thoughts, Serena Hathaway was contemplating everything that she was going to cook up throughout the day from the food she was preparing to seeing her family once again. It had been quite a few years since she had last seen her kids, as they all had married and now have children of their own. Serena had sold everything she had and moved out from the bustling city life to start a little farm where she could enjoy some peace and tranquility.

Serena had been taught at the early age of eight years of how to cook and was known for her gourmet dishes, especially during the holidays. She practically lived in the kitchen concocting different recipes and variations of her own to share with her family and anyone who might visit her home each day. Everyone told her how much they loved her cooking and how they thought that she should go to culinary school to become a chef because of her talents. Instead, she had chosen another career path of nursing and has had less time in the kitchen in the last several years.

Since Serena had started her little farm, she no longer had her family and friends to visit like she had in the city. Rather than feeling the loneliness and desperation of not having a single soul around, she put her land to good use and purchased some seed to plant a garden and an orchard. She also got some chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs, and a horse. Serena figured that if she had enough to keep busy, there would be no time to fret over being alone. At times, none of what Serena had or did could dispel the feelings of wanting her family near.

Serena had just stuffed the turkey and had it ready for the oven when the shrill ringing sound of the fire alarm awoke her out of the daydreams she was having of her family. Thick, black smoke was billowing out of the oven and filling her nostrils with a horrible, pungent odor. As she opened the oven door, flames leaped out toward her as she jumped back to keep from getting severely burned. She swiftly put out the fire and rushed to open the door and windows to let all the smoke air out.

Serena stepped outside a moment to let the air clear out before she had to clean up the mess in the oven. She figured the pies were ruined and there really was no sense in making any dessert since she didn't have enough ingredients to make more. The nearest town was ten miles away and there was already a major blizzard coming according to the morning forecast on the news.

The phone rang as Serena stepped back into the kitchen. It was her daughter, Eliza, calling to say that she was unable to make it due to the weather conditions and that her brother, Jack, was at a hotel because his flight had been cancelled due to an emergency on the runway.

Serena ran outside as far as she could go. The frigid, crisp air had stung the back of her throat and her head began to throb from all the anxiety brewing within her. Serena felt a heavy weight burdening down upon her from not being able to see any of her family once more. She sat at the pond for quite some time before she realized that it was getting late.

Frustrated, she sauntered back towards the house hoping to find some solace as she watched her animal friends around the yard. She made sure they still had plenty of food and water due to the temperatures rapidly dropping as everything was starting to freeze over. She checked her wood pile and grabbed a few logs to take to her fireplace when the flurries were starting to blow all around.

No sooner had Serena got the logs in the fireplace lit, she heard a loud knock on her front door. She was not expecting to see any of her family due to inclement weather and most of them were already snowed-in inside their homes and for other reasons beyond their control. She was sure it might have been one of the neighbors which rarely came around unless something was needed.

When Serena opened the door, she had the surprise of her life! It was her eldest son, Timmy, with a large bag full of stuff. In Serena's disbelief, she never thought she would ever see Timmy again after what had happened many years ago with a family tragedy that had taken place with his father. Serena had no contact with Timmy or his father for many years and had later learned that Timmy had joined the military, but was killed in combat shortly after his father died in a car accident while suffering a major heart attack which instantly killed him.

Thinking that she was merely seeing his ghost, she slammed the door out of fear that all of her grief finally caught up with her and she was losing her mind. Serena was afraid to open the door again, that his ghost would still be there to haunt her for the rest of her life and there would be no end to her suffering.

Slowly, the door creaked open and a gust of the chilling wind blew it hard against the wall. Serena panicked and flew up the stairs and locked herself in the bedroom moving the dresser and everything heavy she could in front of the door. She began sobbing uncontrollably, while in complete hysterics. Serena was completely losing herself and could not fathom the possibility her son was actually not dead... Or was he there in spirit to bid one last goodbye?

There was no controlling the dread of ever leaving her room now. Serena was in such a disheveled state both mentally and physically that she was unaware of the light taps on the door. She crunched up in the furthest corner of her room. As the taps got louder, she bolted for the window to jump out.

The window would not open, as it was frozen shut. Suddenly, Serena whirled around to the sound of Eliza's and Jack's voices just outside her bedroom door. Serena scrambled to move all the furniture away from the door as quickly as she could.

Just as Serena finally got the courage to open the door, she had remembered that her family had all said that they were unable to come for the holiday and was in total shock when she seen Jack and Eliza standing at the door. Right behind them stood Timmy grinning from ear to ear with tears glistening in his eyes. Serena exclaimed, "You aren't a ghost! You are actually here and alive!" She grabbed her son and held him tight. She didn't ever want to let go for fear she would lose him again. Timmy assured his mother that he was there to stay and that there was another surprise coming.

When Timmy, Eliza, Jack, and Serena finally reached the bottom of the stairs, all the rest of Serena's twelve kids and twenty grandkids were all standing in the living room waiting for them. All Serena could do was say, "How? Everyone got snowed-in!" Serena was crying so hard, she could not talk.

As everyone got settled in, Serena felt mortified because she had no food prepared for the holiday as she was not expecting her family to be there. Serena quickly ran to the kitchen, but was abruptly stopped by all her children. "Don't go in there yet!", they all shouted. Perplexed, Serena asked, "Why not?" "I have to go cook something. Everyone is here and I have nothing made! I burned the pies this morning.", Serena said.

The lights flickered and then all power went out. Everyone scrambled to light the candles and oil lamps as fast as they could.

Suddenly, Serena heard a commotion coming from the kitchen. Everyone made a dash to see what was happening. The dining table was all laid out with a scrumptious feast of all the foods Serena always made on the holidays. Timmy was so startled from everyone rushing into the kitchen that he dropped the pies someone had brought and they splattered everywhere.

Serena started laughing hysterically and said,"We don't need pies, we have each other! Merry Christmas!"

The lights flickered back on.

The End.

By Traci L. Ford

Website: https://www.shortstorylovers.com/Traci-Ford63

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