Christmas Shoes

Last Christmas surely was a memorable one. It all began with a doctor and a patient. Well, my mother and her doctor. You see, my mother had a disease, breast cancer. She’s had it for a while. Two weeks before Christmas Eve, my dad had to go to the doctor because the doctor said there was an important conversation that they needed to have. Of course my father told me to stay behind. But I couldn’t stay behind. I knew that he was going to talk to the doctor about my mom, so I decided to tag along.

I learned that day that my mother was going to die. There was no more hope for her survival. Now, as a kid of only 6 years of age, you can conclude that I was pretty devastated. I had no idea what to do. The doctor and my father swore not to tell my mom about her fate, so I knew I couldn’t do that. This was going to be her last Christmas with us, and I needed to make sure that it would be a happy one for her. So, I started to collect coins for her Christmas gift. I wandered up and down the neighborhood asking for spare change for my mother’s present. I finally had a reasonable amount of money, a little below ten dollars. That afternoon, I sneaked out of the house, making sure that my father was still by my mother’s bedside. I walked to the nearest shop around, a shoe store. I looked for the prettiest shoes that were below ten dollars. I found a pair of pink heels that would definitely make my mother smile. I took them and brought them to the front desk. I gave the shoes to the clerk. I then got out my spare change. I felt people start to line up behind me and I asked the clerk kindly if she can hurry up. She did. Once she finished counting the last cents, she told me that there was not enough. What! How can there be not enough? I recheck the price and realize that the shoes actually cost a little above fifteen dollars.
I had to get these shoes, no matter what it took. I turned around to the man standing behind me. He looked impatient, but I decided to give it a shot.

"Umm… excuse me sir? I was wondering if you can lend me some money. These shoes are for my mother. She has gotten really sick and I want to buy these shoes for her. After all that she’s been through and how much effort she put in to take care of us, so I was hoping sir, if you could help me. I know that these shoes will put a smile on her face and I want her to look beautiful if my mom doesn’t make it through Christmas." At first, the guy faces away from me, not willing to lend me a cent. Then he faced me again and asked if I was lying. I shook my head. How could I lie to this man if my mother’s happiness was on the line? The man grinned, in shock and in realization. He went up to the clerk, gave me back my cents, and gave enough money for the entire gift. I was so happy, that I hugged the tall man’s legs. I told him thank you and went out of the store to go home.

When I arrived there, I went straight for my mother’s room. She told me to come right on in. Once inside, I handed my mother the gift. She asked me what it was and I told her that she had to open it to find out. She opened the gift and I was full of joy when I saw the smile that she had on her face. I explained to her about the kind man who payed for the gift, and she told God to thank him. My mother put on the shoes and they were the exact right size.

"Thank you," she said to me. My father then escorted me to my room and I fell asleep. The next day, I woke up and I realize that my father was sulking. My mother had died overnight. We went to her funeral a few days after her death and I noticed one thing. That one detail made me smile for the first time in a long time. My mother was wearing those Christmas shoes.