Midnight

A young single mom struggles with trials going on her life and hopes for encouragement

            Midnight.  It wasn’t the ideal time to get off work.  It wasn’t the ideal job.There really was no choice in the matter though, and for the past year, she had sucked it up.  Putting down her headset, she sat back in her chair and sighed.  Today had been busy with calls coming into the call center at a rapid pace.  The holiday season always promised abrupt and rude customers, short breaks, and even shorter tempers.  So much for peace on earth and goodwill towards men. 

            Co-workers stood up with haggard looks like a brutal battle had ensued over the past eight-hour shift with very little victories.  She could relate.  The last person she had talked with over the phone had cussed her out, and at the time, she hadn’t cared. 

            Following the exiting crowd out of the building, the cold air met her with a bitter and biting greeting.  Quick footsteps got her to the car as she fumbled for the keys in her purse.  She cussed in a shiver as her fingers grasped the right key and shoved it into his matching partner.  She cussed again.  Dumb lock never worked right.  Of course, the vehicle was older than she was, and there was no guarantee that it would actually work on a day to day basis. 

            Once in the car, she mumbled a quick prayer and an apology to God for the excessive cursing she had just done.  Hopefully, He didn’t hold it against her.  She tried not to hold her situation against Him.  It only felt fair.  The engine took a little prodding, but it finally turned.  The heat was going to take a little more patience to deal with since it normally took about thirty minutes of driving for any warmth to exit the vents.  By that time, she would be home.

            The drive at mid-night was nice.  Never any traffic.  Very few cops.  She just wanted to get home and climb in bed; hoping for the energy to do the whole thing again tomorrow.    One day at a time.  That was what she told her kids; and every question about food, a better house, and more time together was met with that response.  It was the only one she had now.  Faith had been lost when her first job had cut her hours, and the rent had increased on her apartment. As much as she wanted to fight for the child support that she was owed, the cost of fighting had grown so high.  And what she wanted"all that she wanted was some sort of encouragement and acknowledgment that she wasn’t alone. 

            Pulling into the small parking space in front of the apartment, the young woman didn’t even wait to gear up for the cold that awaited her.  Get in the house.  Go to bed.  That was all she could think about.  She grabbed her purse and opened the door to the car.  The door slammed closed, and she ran to the apartment.  She stopped at the small porch. Presents. They were stacked on top of each other from the ground almost to the top of the front door; wrapped in so many different colors of red, green, gold, and blue.  She couldn’t even get by them to get into the house.  Her body had stopped shivering as her confusion grew.  One single card was taped to a green awkwardly shaped box.  Reaching out, she peeked at the words You are not alone. Merry Christmas. 

            The sound of laughter startled her, and she looked around.  There weren’t many places to hide, but her eyes scanned the parking lot and the cars surrounding and saw nothing.  Turning back to the presents stacked against the door, the young mother felt tears form as she tried to process what had happened.  Someone"somewhere"wanted her to know that all was not lost. 

            Midnight.  It wasn't ideal, but now she knew she wasn’t alone in it anymore.  

Author's Note

written for a contest

Reviews

[J.M.Fields]

That was a very nice ending. Almost made me want to go do random acts of kindness!

[Stan Lee]

Awwwwwwwwww! It's a Christmas miracle! And a very well written one at that. My attention was held throughout and I felt drawn to the character you created. Very enjoyable story. Thanks for sharing. :)