My Christmas Present

One Christmas, my mother gave as a gift to me a 'Beauty Pack!'

I meticulously peeled open the decorative wrapping and absorbed the finely scripted words on the package inside -- it read.,

'A jar of 'Silky Night-cream' and a bottle of 'Exotic Skin Beauty Fluid!'

It was all gorgeously wrapped up in a soft pink box and further labelled: 'Just For You!'

The next day was going to be a very special day for me, so I decided to put my gift to good use.., 'To Make Me Look More Beautiful!'  As also inscribed on the literature inside.

I gently opened the pack peeling back the crinkly film wrapping - as with 'After Eight' images dancing through my imagination. I so lovingly took out the jar of night cream and it read:

'An Introduction To a More Alluring Skin. A Night's Sleep with a Future Promise That Shows!'

I was up all night trying to get the bloody lid off!

I managed to succumb just about every tool I had in the house to force that lid off but in the end I lost my temper and threw it at the wall. It bounced back and hit me right in the eye!

It was around 4am when I looked in the mirror. I had large red bags around my eyes due to lack of sleep and one eye was coming up like a big black plum!

I panicked and scuttled hold of the other now bottle from my pack. 'A Delicate Moisturising Fluid That Gives a Gentle Soothing, Velvety Touch: A Mystique of Hidden Secrets to be Absorbingly Embraced by the Skin to allow a Long-lasting, Glowing Beauty!'

The cork stopper was jammed solid!

I pulled with all my might with a pair of old pliers I found in the nut bowl but without any warning, the stopper flew out and I hit my nose full on with the pliers. My nose began to bleed furiously. Letting out a scream 'Hitchcock' would have paid good money for, I dropped the bottle of fluid which then landed on my big toe and cracked my recently painted nail. As one does to tender immediate aid, I bent down quickly but in doing so, I cracked my jaw on the marble dressing table top causing several teeth to shoot out in all directions.

I screeched and reeled over backwards performing a double-flip over the bed not seen since the last Russian Olympics. I put my back out!

Struggling to my feet again, I reached out to gain some support from my half-opened wardrobe door which was  heavily laden with stuff stacked up high when the whole lot suddenly toppled over and smothered me with out-of-date contents.

I then crawled out from beneath the debris and made my way on all fours to the safety and security of my kitchen. Whilst in such a quadruple motion, my right knee located a drawing pin on the kitchen floor. My immediate reaction was to jump up - now far injured to realise I was under a heavy kitchen table.

My whole body and neck ached long past that New Year's Eve but thanks all the same mum: your gift allowed me so much adventure and because of your 'Beauty Pack', my face and indeed my whole body held.,

'A Look of Individuality that Lasted and Lasted for a Very Long Time!