All I want for Christmas

The clock in the living room ticked by relentlessly and the sound was driving Mel crazy. She knew that every tick of the clock was another second that could possibly be Addie’s last. Mel shivered and fought to restrain herself from curling up in a ball and crying. Every part of her needed to be searching right then, but the search party had been called off late the night before and she had strict instructions to wait for an officer to assist her in the continual search. 1

Mel closed her eyes and tried to imagine Addie stuck out in the ice and the snow and wished she could materialize wherever that was and gather her into her arms. Addie was only four and Mel couldn’t imagine how a child that young could survive the harsh atmosphere of the Sierra’s. 2

Unable to sit still any longer, Mel brought herself to her feet and started pacing restlessly. “Mommy, come here!” Mel jolted at the sound of Addie’s voice that sounded from the living room. 3

“Addie?” Mel turned and rushed into the room but Addie wasn’t there. Mel looked around couch, behind the Christmas tree and kneeled down to look behind some of the bigger gifts. Of course Addie wasn’t there, and it was then Mel realized she must have imagined the voice. She collapsed in near defeat and suddenly had a strong urge to destroy every decoration that was set up delicately in the spirit of Christmas. 4

If Addie didn’t come back to her alive and well, what was the point? Mel would never celebrate another Christmas again. 5

“Mommy, I’m cold..,” 6

Mel jumped at the sound of Addie’s voice. She sounded like she was sitting right next to her. But of course Mel knew she wasn’t. She placed her hands over her face and mumbled quietly, “Lord, what should I do? I’m losing completely losing my mind…”7

“Mommy, I’m so cold…,” almost in unison Mel heard Addie’s voice and the sound of a dog barking persistently just outside her house.8

“Addie?” Mel slowly brought herself to her feet and walked to the back of her house and peered through the blinds. A beautiful black husky stood outside in her back yard and stopped barking when Mel looked out. The husky looked her directly in her eyes, and gave a few more furious barks. 9

It was a strange feeling but Mel felt intrigued to follow this strange, beautiful dog. “What is it, boy?” Mel asked, sliding open the back door. “Do you know where my girl is?”10

The dog’s front half jumped into the air with this last bark and then he took off running through a small hole in the back of Mel’s fence and it was then she realized how Addie had disappeared. She must have crawled through that small hole and perhaps didn’t know how to come back through. 11

Quickly unlatching a gate that was also back there, Mel tried to keep up with the dog. 12

Overall it was a horrible decision to take off running after a dog she knew nothing about, too early in the morning for there to be any good light, and without a heavy jacket to keep the low temperatures from biting at her skin. But she had this feeling she was meant to follow this dog and if he led her to Addie, Mel could careless about a jacket and mittens. Lord knew Addie didn’t have enough of those to keep her warm. 13

The black husky bounded over a small level of brush and disappeared and Mel panicked. She couldn’t see a quick way around the brush that would allow her to keep up with the animal. “No!” Mel cried out, “Stop! Wait!” By this point Mel was almost ready to accept she was most likely just delirious but she didn’t care and pressed on, hoping by some miracle, that husky would be on the other side waiting for her.14

~~~~15

Officer Watson pounded on Mel’s door for third time without a response and then sent a look over to his partner. “Think she’s sleeping?”16

Chief of police Leon Vestisen shook his head, “Would you be sleeping if your Hayley was missing?”17

“Hell no,” Watson replied and tested the door to see if it was unlocked. 18

It was. 19

Both entered the small house and the spirit of Christmas brightened up the place and it smelled richly of gingerbread and pine. But neither officer was able to enjoy the normally festive atmosphere with their concern growing. 20

“Think she started the search on her own?” Watson asked aloud and by one glance from Leon, he knew the answer to his question. 21

“Call the gathering search party and tell them we need to keep an eye out for Mel too. I won’t have us losing her as well.” Giving one last scan of the festive living room, Leon added, “Come on, let’s go. The faster we get he search moving, the faster we can get the two out of harms way.”22

“Think Mel has a chance of finding her? I hear a mother’s instinct is the strongest when it comes to their young,” Watson asked, shutting Mel’s door and heading with Leon toward their patrol car. 23

Leon sighed aloud, “In this weather and do to the amount of time her child has been missing, she’d need more then her motherly instincts to find her daughter alive.” As he and Watson slid into the car he added quietly, “She would need a miracle.”24

~~~~25

Mel finally found a small passage way through the brush and looked frantically for the black husky’s guidance. But he was no where she could see. “I’m losing my mind,” Mel whispered, “This is crazy.”26

And then she heard something in the distance. It was faint, almost inaudible, but she could hear it. “Addie?” she whispered in pure desperation and then took off running toward the soft noise. “Addie!” Mel started to scream her name over and over and she was having difficulties running in the deep snow, but she could almost feel her daughter’s presence nearby. 27

And it was then she realized the noise she heard off in the distance was barking. “Lord, please let Addie be there,” Mel prayed silently as her attempt at running grew more frantic. 28

The closer Mel grew to the barking, she realized she could hear soft cries and whimpers too. And not long after, Mel found Addie curled up against a large oak tree, with the black dog curled around her to keep her warm. 29

“Oh, thank you, God!” Mel cried out and dropped to hear knees in front of Addie and gathered the small child in her arms. 30

Addie barely responded to Mel, but she was alive, and at the moment that was all Mel wanted. Quickly taking off her two wool sweatshirts and leaving only a cotton long sleeve shirt on for herself, she bundled Addie up in the wool materials. 31

Mel brought herself to her feet, with little Addie in her arms and found the beautiful black husky staring at her about ten feet away. For a long moment they just stared at each other. Mel’s eyes shined with tears, she didn’t know how this dog was able to take care of Addie and know how to find her, but she was beyond grateful. “Thank you,” she finally whispered quietly, knowing there wasn’t much else she could say. 32

The dog just looked at her a bit longer before bounding off into the thickness of the forest and disappearing.33

Mel held Addie closer to her then. “Come on, sweetie,” she whispered, “Let’s go home.”34

~~~35

The sound of Christmas music filtered throughout the house Christmas morning, along with the sound of Addie chattering on excitedly. “Mommy, look what Santa brought me!” Addie exclaimed, hugging the special doll she had asked for, tightly in her arms. 36

“Just what you wanted,” Mel replied, sipping at hot cocoa. 37

Addie paused then and gave her mom a puzzled look and then glanced down at her single stocking. “But Mommy, what did Santa bring you?”38

Mel kneeled down to Addie’s level and softly stroked her hair. “He brought my little girl home,” she said, “And that’s all I could ever want from Christmas.”39