All I Ever Wanted

"Sam go take out the garbage!" Dad yelled from the living room. I sigh, putting down my school book and doing the task my father asked of me. He's probably to busy with mom to do it himself. He's probably too busy with the new baby, so he makes me do it because he has to watch them, make sure they don't get hurt. What about me? What if I get hurt? No one's watching me.

"Sammy get the phone!" It's ringing, I didn't notice. I sigh, again, and get the phone. At this rate I'll get an F in my math class.

"Hello?"

"Is this the Henry residence?" A man's voice asks from the other end. His voice is formal, I get scared, what if it's about James in the war? What if it's bad?

"Yes, it is. How can I help you?" I try to mask the fear in my voice.

"This is George, Fred's boss from work. I was wondering how the baby's doing." I sigh, for a third time and close my eyes. Everyone's on about this baby. What's so special about it? I guess it's the fact that it was born only a week ago. He looks like James a little.

"Alex is fine, everyone's upstairs. Thanks for calling and asking though." I say. I heard him laugh.

"I'm glad. And it's no problem, Fred and I are close. Have a nice evening."

"You too." I say hanging up. The phone hit's the receiver harder than I expected. I hear crying.

"Sam! Stop making so much noise!" Dad's voice booms down the stairs and I go to my room and shut the door as softly as I can. I can't wait until this year is over, it's the worst year of my life.

First, Grandpa died in March, then Grandma in May. James went to war in June, that was the worst part. I'm so scared that he won't come back. He's my older brother, and my only Christmas wish is for him to come home safely. That and to actually be noticed for once. Santa doesn't have to bring my anything else. He can take things if he wants to, I want James.

"Hey Sam! Do you want to do me a favor?" Mom yells from the stairwell.

"No." I mumble, I go out of my room and look at her from the doorway. My room is on the first floor, everyone else is on the second.

"Can you go run to the store and get your father some aspirin? He has a headache." I nod without saying anything and get my coat off the hook by the door. My fingers get caught while I tie my shoes and I have to retie them. When I step outside I get hit with a rush of cold wind, snow is blanketed all around me, about a foot.

"Aspirin. Aspirin." I whisper to remember. As I walk down the street, the street lights the only thing lighting my way, I think about the year. It's Christmas Eve, there isn't long until the year is over and I can start a new, fresh year. That won't happen until James gets home though. I'm too scared to start new. We haven't heard any news for a month now, hopefully no news is good news.

A bell rings as I walk into the tiny corner store. The owner eyes me suspiciously as I walk down the aisles. I find what I'm looking for and walk up to the counter.

"Would you like anything else?" He asks, I look up at him and shake my head no. He tells me the charge and I give him the money, dropping a few coins into the donation tank near the register, then I get bills back I put three in. He smiles at me, a warm smile, a welcoming one.

"Thank you. Have a Merry Christmas child."

"You too." I say, politely smiling back. The cold rushes towards the heat as I walk outside. It goes right through the thin jacket I'm wearing. I should have worn something warmer. The aspirin is in my pocket, along with my hands which are shoved all the way to the bottom. I get home, give dad the aspirin and go straight to my warm room and into my warn pajamas. Then from then, I get into bed, the nice soft bed that always welcomes me when I lay in it. My eyes shut almost immediately and I go to sleep, ready for the long Christmas morning ahead of me.

* * * * * *

"Sam! Wake up it's Christmas!" I groan hearing my mother yell from the doorway. She's a Christmas fanatic. Every Christmas she's the one that wakes us up at eight in the morning to open presents. She's like a little kid. I roll out of bed slowly and go into the living room where dad is sat on the couch with a coffee cup in his hands. Alex must still be sleeping.

We take thirty minutes to open presents. I got a lot of clothes, and candy. I got a new toothbrush, I get one every year and I knew it was coming eventually in the mess of colorfully wrapped boxes.

"What's that Sam?" I look up at my mom who has a warm smile on her face. It's unusual that she smiles warmly at people other than Alex. It's almost comforting. She laughs at my confused look and points under the tree, past Alex's presents and to the back. There's a small box back there that hasn't been unwrapped yet and I crawl under the tree to get it.

"Who's it from? Who's it for?" Dad asks, mom is sitting next to him, her hand in his and they're both smiling warmly at me. Something's going on that I don't know about.

"It's for me. It doesn't say who it's from." I say. I unwrap the blue ribbon slowly, I'm keeping it, it's my favorite color. The wrapping is my favorite color blue too. I slowly unwrap that to reveal a plain cardboard box. I blink once before opening the top, only to see a silver bracelet. It was a plain silver chain with a charm on it, a key charm.

"That's so pretty Samantha. Put it on." Mom whispers. Her eyes are glistening and her voice was shaking. Something's definitely up. I put it on and she's smiling, she motions to the box again and I notice a piece of paper inside.

Look outside.

"What does it say?"

"Look outside." I whisper, repeating it to myself a few times before looking at the window, right outside to see a young man leaning against a car, there's a hat on his head and he's looking at the ground so I can't see his face. He's in an army uniform and black combat boots. I immediately know who it is, even though I can't see his face.

"James." I whisper, tears forming in my eyes.

"Go Sam, run." Dad says. I run to the hallway and slip on my shoes without even tying them. I don't even grab a coat as I run outside. By this time the man is halfway up the lawn and stops, holding his arms out. I run and jump into them. Getting both my Christmas wishes.

"Oh James you're home." I whisper. His arms are wrapped tightly around my body, holding me up off the ground. He laughs a little.

"Home for good." He whispers back in his calming voice. Both my Christmas wishes have come true and when I he lets me down I close my eyes.

Thanks for my wishes, whoever granted them. Thank you so much.

"Let's get inside, it's cold." He whispers to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I nod, and we both walk inside to have the merriest Christmas we've ever had.