He's Here!

Roxana stirred in her bed, restless with energy, yet desperate to fall asleep and make tomorrow come closer. Her restlessness spread to limbs as she began to feel nit picky about of her surroundings. She began to get irritated by the wrinkles of her pyjamas and the bed sheets.  The heat from the bed became bothersome despite the coldness of the room. It was only so much that a little girl can take as she sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes.

When her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room and looked at of her bedroom window that looked over her bed. She saw her neighbour’s house still had the lights on and saw some people darting past their windows every now and then. The branches of the trees where bare whilst it caught the delicate snow flakes that drifted from the sky. She looked across the room and got a little frightened by the shadows of the trees that where stretched around her, covering in the walls and floors with strange lines and shapes.

Beginning to get scared by the room, Roxana switched on her night-light beside her and watched the shadows vanish from her small room. It was simple room with a shelf of toys above her bed and a bookcase that was against the same wall her bed was against. The wall to the girl’s right held a drawer filled with clothes. Her desk was sited at the other end of the room that was next to the door, which lead out of the room. Her first instincts were to go out and get her parents. But she remembered that she mustn’t, they told her she mustn’t, they told her that she would be a bad girl if she did.

Trying to calm down and settle herself so that she can go to bed, the child stood up on the bed and reached to the shelf above her and took down a doll. It wasn’t her favourite toy, but it always comforted her and it was soft to sleep on. She took out her hairbrush that was within her nightstand and began brushing the dolls hair. A relaxing task that she liked to do to the doll more than to herself. She preferred Mommy to brush her hair... Mommy. Roxana looked at her door before biting her lip and continue to brush the dolls hair. But the task didn’t settling her enough so that she could sleep and placed the doll beside her on the bed.

The girl swung her feet off of her bed but didn’t have the courage to actually place her feet on the wooden floor. Will this make her a bad girl? But she couldn’t stand sitting on the bed any more and placed her feet on the floor making a squeaking sound on the floorboards. She winced from the noise as her eyes darted to the door to see if someone had heard or is beside the door. Seeing that the cost was clear, she stood up fully.

She tiptoed to the other side of her room to her bookcase. For a girl who was eight, the books were rather advanced. She looked at the books amongst the bookcase; most of them were of princesses; some of them from Disney and others from the Grimm Brothers. She couldn’t tell which one she liked more. The Disney always had a happy ending but the Grimm brothers made the princesses seem stronger and more independent. Her Daddy said that she could be a princess if she wanted to, but only if she is a good girl. Being reminded about that, the girl looked up at the door before randomly selecting a book and going back to sit and read on her bed.

The book that she had picked up was that by the Grimm brothers, it was called Snow Drop. She recognised it almost immediately and placed it beside her. She used to like the story but it was almost ruined by the Disney movie version, Snow White. She didn’t like how they showed Snow White, mostly because she didn’t like her hair. Most princesses are depicted to have long hair, that’s what made them so beautiful, but she had short hair and yet she was suppose to be the ‘fairest of them all.’ She smiled when she thought about long hair as she began to touch her own long hair, “Mommy said that it’s very long and beautiful, just like a princess,” Roxana said to herself. Mommy… the girl wanted her mother as she stared at the door.

            The girl stood up again and took her book back to the bookcase; she then tiptoed over to her desk to see the drawing she was making before she went to bed. It was of her, her Mommy and her Daddy. She smiled at the drawing, her Daddy will like, he’ll put it on the fridge amongst her other drawings. The girl looked at the door, she wanted her Daddy.

            Suddenly the lamp by her bed began to flicker, which caused the little girl to jump as she looked around. She quickly turned on the main light before running back to turn her lamp off. She was breathing hard from the fright as she looked back at the door to her room. She half hoped that no one heard her, but she also hoped that someone did.

            The girl’s breathing began to slow down as she steadied herself. But then she heard a large crash on the roof. The girl flinched from the noise but smiled immediately afterwards and her eyes gleamed with excitement. She rushed over to her door and thought to herself, he’s here, he’s here, he’s here. She was about to open the door when she stopped. She didn’t want to be a bad girl but… he was here.

            She hesitated once again before opening the door of room and stepping out into the cold, dark corridor. She felt the wind blow by her, summoning her towards the staircase and the little girl gladly followed. She stopped at the top of the stairs, she wanted to go further but that would make her a bad girl. She heard another thump that made her jump in the dark.

            Not wanting to waste anymore time, she ran recklessly down the stairs towards him. She flung upon the door to the lounge and the smile on her face spread even wider as she saw the contents of the room. He was here, she thought to herself.

            The lounge was the same as it ever was despite the darkness. The only difference was the Christmas tree that Roxana and her parents set up yesterday, underneath the tree was a bunch of presents that carelessly littered the floor. The lounges table held an empty plate of cookies and an empty glass of milk. He was here.