Mohawk - Writes of Winter
December 20, 2024
The Red Deer Arts Council and The City of Red Deer are pleased to announce the winners of the Writes of Winter – Christmas Story Contest!
It was Christmas Eve. Where were they? She looked out the frosted-up living room window again. The winter storm swirled the threatening snowflakes around, and she could imagine how the highway from the city was icing up with every gust of bone-chilling wind.
She had raised six children in this little house after her beloved husband died, so young, in a car crash. The last baby was scarcely born before he was gone forever. Somehow, she survived and the youngsters did too, and they had grown close. Once they outgrew the childhood trauma and forgot their nightmares, they had remained friends.
So where were they? The ones who had not arrived yet? As was tradition, everyone of them came "home" for Christmas, bringing partners, chums, spouses and children.
The mother, who was also grandmother in this clan, was anxious, as the missing child and his family were coming from the furthest distance, and they should have been here by now. Why had he not purchased a different automobile after all the trouble he'd had with that car at the lake last summer? Sure, he had a wife and two children to support, but that big station wagon was old!
The family home was decorated with festive ribbons and ornaments, along with mistletoe hanging above the front door, adjacent to where they stood. That mistletoe would create a few laughs tomorrow, as unsuspecting guests stood in the doorway to wish them Merry Christmas. Now, only nervousness hung around that spot.
They decided it-was time to start the meal and hope for the best and say a little prayer of safety for missing ones. Washing of hands in the only bathroom took a few minutes with those little children; then the big children took their turns. Suddenly, a shout from the living room, "Someone is here in a police car out front." A bad sign for sure, she thought. Out of the vehicle jumped two little children, and from the front seat, her daughter-in-law, who then went around the car and reached into the back seat for something. Not a sign of her youngest son. The policeman proceeded to open the trunk and carry the bright packages to the house, the eager children alongside him. What was that in her son's wife's arms? Grandmother had forgotten that Mohawk, the guinea pig, was coming for Christmas! That small animal had traveled many miles from the city in a modified Shreddies box!!
The station wagon had broken down on the highway and temperature was frigid, so the officer chose to leave the man with the car, awaiting the tow truck, and transport the rest of the chilly travelers to town. That is how Mohawk, the guinea pig, got a ride in a police car on Christmas Eve, to the amusement of all of us, our sides splitting with laughter, our anxiety now relieved. Time to make merry!
Thank you to Judy and all Red Deerians who submitted a story to the Writes of Winter contest! To read more story submissions, visit the Red Deer Arts Council’s contest page. You can also find out how to submit your own entry to the “Winter Chill” category, due January 13, 2025.