Chapter 5

“Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.” - Amelia Earhart

 

Chapter 5

 

Time passed in an oblivious haze since I wasn’t a slave to the calendar or clock, but Ellie kept track of certain dates because she was sentimental. I didn’t see the point in keeping time, but indulged Ellie by occasionally celebrating a holiday.

“Today is Christmas” she announced with a smile.  

I hadn’t celebrated Christmas in many years, not since mother died. Father and I never felt much like celebrating, but Ellie brought life into my life and I wanted to be happy with her. We searched the house and found decorations and an old plastic tree in the attic. Together Ellie and I adorned the house for the occasion.

“We should give each other gifts” I said.

As a joke we searched the house for the most useless, strange, disgusting or otherwise disturbing object we could find to give each other as a present. I explored the basement and found a cat litter poop scooper. I didn’t want to touch it so I kept looking. There was an empty shampoo bottle on the floor stuck in something gooey. The bottle was so stuck I couldn’t get it off the floor so I moved on. I discovered something useless in the garage and wrapped it up in old wrapping paper. Ellie found her object and both of the presents were under the tree waiting to be opened after dinner.  

For the holiday meal Ellie and I decided to raid a neighbor’s chicken coup. We put on winter clothing, and walked to the edge of his property. On the way we passed a few abandoned homes that looked even more lifeless in the winter. There was little chance of encountering anyone, but I still put on a disguise. I didn’t want to be forced into killing someone on Christmas because they saw I was female.

Ellie and I approached the house from the back where trees covered our presence. A fence surrounded the backyard. We peaked through the cracks and saw lights on in the house. The owner of the chickens was watching television. After surveying the layout, we deliberated on a strategy.

“We should wait until dark before taking the chickens” Ellie suggested.

“If we wait, we can’t see the chickens” I said. “Using a flashlight will be too noticeable.”

“Are they going to make loud noises when we catch them?” Ellie asked.

“I don’t know” I said. “This is a new experience for me.”

We walked to the side of the house where the chickens were located.

“Should both or just one of us go?” Ellie asked.

This wasn’t a well thought out heist and I considered calling the whole thing off. Being this unprepared couldn’t bode well for us, but we were already here.  

“I guess just one of us needs to do the dirty work” I said.

Ellie and I didn’t have to discuss who would go. I was older, stronger and meaner. Most of the difficult tasks fell to me. I jumped the fence and walked over to the coup, but stayed outside of the cage for a minute. When the chickens appeared to be indifferent to my presence I went inside. How does one catch a chicken? How does one carry a chicken?

Those beaks looked sharp. I put the gloves that were in my coat pocket on. Grabbing their legs seemed like the best way to go about it. I lunged after one. All of them moved out of the way while making loud squawking noises. I caught a chicken, but landed in poop.

I picked the angry animal up by the feet as it flapped its wings uselessly. Most of the chickens went into the henhouse and I followed through a door. They were bunched together against a wall so it was easy to grab one by the foot. I exited the coup and handed the chickens to Ellie, then jumped the fence. Both of us laughed at the ridiculous escapade as we ran home.                             

I killed the chickens and Ellie plucked and cooked. Our dinner included chicken, bread, peach pie and canned sweet potato. It was a feast for us since we were trying to conserve. The piece de resistance was a small bag of dried pineapple. I had been saving it for a special occasion. Neither of us had eaten pineapple in years.

“I forgot what it tastes like” Ellie said as she bit into the pineapple. “It’s tangy, but sweet.”

I savored the taste. Citrus was impossible to come by in rural areas since it wasn’t native to the region. When dinner was over we opened the gifts.       

“Open your present first” I said. The package I gave Ellie was the size of a shoe box and she began to unwrap the paper. Under the wrapping paper was more wrapping paper. Ellie pulled paper off for five minutes to finally reveal a rusty paperclip.

“I was just thinking I needed one of these” she said smiling and holding the object up to study it closely.

“I’m glad you like it” I said cheerfully. “I had trouble deciding between that and a rock.”

“This was a good choice” she said sincerely. “You can give me a rock for my birthday.”

I smiled glad that the legacy of the virus hadn’t sucked all the adolescent joy out of our lives.

Ellie handed my present over and I opened it. Inside was a hopelessly tangled slinky.

“I thought of you when I saw it” Ellie said excitedly. I looked at the impossibly twisted slinky from different angles and thought it was the perfect depiction of my mental state.    

“I will cherish it always” I said holding it close. Both of us laughed at the crap we gave and received, then tossed them aside and played games by the fire.

“What is your favorite Christmas memory?” I asked.

“I don’t have a favorite Christmas moment” she said. “I just loved the feeling of the holiday. Everyone was a little nicer. The music made me happy and the food was good.”

Ellie and I never experienced a Christmas that wasn’t overshadowed by the virus. My parents tried to make our lives as normal as possible so we celebrated the holiday until mother died. 

“My favorite Christmas was the year when I got a Barbie Dream Mansion” I said. “It was the Dream Mansion! There was a tiny television that worked so I could watch teeny, tiny tv and there was a canopy bed with a silk comforter.”

Ellie laughed.

I tried to remember stories I heard about Christmas. My parents often related memories of life before the virus, when the world was a better place. It made me believe that maybe it can be that good again someday.

“I remember a story my father told me” I said excited that I hadn’t forgotten everything my parents shared about Christmas. The memory was a little hazy, but I recalled the gist.

“His parents didn’t have much money, but somehow they always managed to get a few things they wanted. The Christmas when he turned eight years old his mama announced that a family from their church was coming over. The family lost everything they owned when their house burned down. They didn’t have much to begin with, then they had nothing.

“He and his brother opened their presents in the morning. Father got a fire truck, a Lego set and a puzzle. When they were finished opening presents, grandpa went over and picked up the family from the shelter. They came into the house hesitantly, as if they didn’t want to intrude. Grandma welcomed them warmly into their home.

“There was a boy about father’s age who looked sad. Father let him play with his new toys and they played together for a few hours. Father said that having them over for the holidays was fun. Before the family left father gave the boy his truck. He said he didn’t know what made him do it. The act was spontaneous. The boy’s face lit up. Father said he’ll never forget the look on the boy’s face.”

I finished the story with a satisfied smile knowing it personified the essence of Christmas. Ellie looked dismayed.

“That story sounds familiar” she said with a perplexed look. “It’s from a movie... It was in One Very Merry Christmas. That part was at the end. After the boy gave his truck away, he waved goodbye to the family, then a single tear fell down his cheek.”

“Oh ya” I said recalling the scene. I remembered the story but not the source so I attributed it my father. I was annoyed that my pleasant family memory came from a cheesy movie.

“It’s still a good story” I said in my defense for blatant plagiarism.

Ellie smiled “I liked it better the way you told it.”

“It’s getting late” I said. “We should go to bed.” I stood up taking my slinky and walked towards the crawl space. Christmas was officially over.