December 2023

photo courtesy of Pinterest

By Leslie Flores

The town of Natelem was lively. Houses were bright with Christmas lights and trees that bent with the weight of ornaments. People claimed they could put up their own Christmas trees, but they would always end up calling the Natelem Posters. 

The break room was humid. Someone had left the door wide open last night, welcoming the snow that trickled in and left the floors slippery. Everything was wet, even the table was covered in a thin layer of cold water. Arthur was already tired; his shift had started with a mop in hand. 

He scratched the tattoo on the back of his neck as he stared at the remaining water. Besides getting the tattoo of the curved “P” for Poster, he hadn’t expected to be making any sacrifices for his job when he became a Poster, but the ignorance of the day shift was constantly proving to ruin his shifts. All his job had earned him was unlimited beverages from the break room and a gold-star tree topper that he never had any use for.

The shrill ring of the phone disrupted Arthur’s thoughts. He answered quickly, hoping for a break from the break room, maybe a tree job for himself. 

“Natalem Posters,” Arthur answered eagerly. 

“I need a 10-foot tree put up,” the voice on the other end said. 

“Great. I assume you have plenty of ornaments?” Arthur asked. 

“Of course! I am the most accomplished person in this town! I’ve got boxes and boxes of ornaments!” the voice exclaimed, “You’ll need at least three people and all night!” 

-

Arthur smiled as he pulled the key out of the car. The house was enormous, decorated with warm Christmas lights that shone through the thick layers of snow that blanketed the house. 

Arthur zipped up his jacket as he shut the door to the car. His other two co-workers rushed out of the car, eager to escape the suffocating feeling of being squished in the backseat in giant coats. The tallest one, Mickey, stared at the house in awe as he opened the trunk. 

“How many ornaments does she own?” Mickey asked, pushing his glasses up with his gloved fingers. 

“Boxes and boxes. You heard Arthur! We’re gonna be here all night,”  the shorter one, Jimmy, murmured, pulling the ladder off the top of the car. 

“I hope I earn that many ornaments someday,” Mickey whispered under his breath, rubbing the ‘P’ on his neck.

Arthur stared at him, knowing Mickey only had an ornament for every year he had been a Poster (ten), the golden tree topper he received when he became a Poster, and the plain ornament he received at birth. He hadn’t done anything special; there was no need for a dazzling amount of ornaments. 

Arthur only had twenty-one ornaments and a tree topper. He was becoming older faster than he expected. The three-hundred-sixty-five days of the year became twelve months, and then the year flew by. 

His days felt shorter. Once the season was over he would go back to caring for the Christmas trees. His worth revolved around being a Poster. 

“I’ve got twenty-one boxes upstairs and the twenty-one ornaments in my case. I want them all on the tree,” the woman said from the top of the staircase. “I want the tree between these staircases.” The woman was dressed elegantly, in a white dress that could have easily been a wedding dress. 

The men’s eyes were wide at the mention of all the ornaments. Arthur cleared his throat. “And the tree, ma’am?” 

“Outside! You can fetch it yourself. I ordered the best tree in Natalem from you. Don’t you remember?” the woman exclaimed. 

Arthur only shook his head as he made his way to the back door. Mickey and Jimmy immediately made their way upstairs to unpack the many boxes. 

The back door was a giant white door, almost reaching the high ceiling of the house. Once outside, Arthur stood on the deck of the house, looking over the grand snow-covered backyard. It glistened under the lights of the house. The tree was left stranded mid-way up the stairs to the door. 

Arthur wrapped his gloved hands over the thick trunk of the tree. His cold cheeks turned hot with effort as he tugged the heavy tree up the stairs. It was too heavy for him, and the tree slipped back down the stairs. 

Arthur rushed after it, his feet slipping as he scrambled to grab onto the trunk of the tree. The tree stopped with a soft crunch as it hit a fence. 

Arthur ran to the fence, hoping the fence wouldn’t topple over. But as he checked the fence for damage, his attention was caught by a shabby house on the other side.  

The house didn’t look like it belonged in Natelem. No Christmas lights, or a tree gleaming through the window. A burning candle took its place, and there was a small figure hunched over it. 

Without the Christmas lights or trees, the house wouldn’t survive the Darkness that overtook the night in Natalem. The lights prevented the Darkness from flooding the houses during Winter. Everyone strived to decorate their houses to scare away the darkness. 

Arthur knocked on the front door of the shabby house. It wasn’t dark yet; he could still save the house. 

There was creaking from within the house. It made him shiver more than he already was. The door was opened by a girl. She looked about ten. She stared at Arthur timidly. 

“Yes?” The young girl seemed confused. 

Arthur froze, realizing he hadn’t planned what to say. “Uhm.” 

The girl only looked at him. “You don’t have any Christmas tree or lights. Today’s the first night of the Darkness. Where are your parents?” He said.

The young girl stared at him in shock. “My parents have been gone since last week! We only have a bare tree!” 

“No ornaments?” Arthur asked. 

“No,” the girl shook her head. 

“Do you have a tree topper? It’s all you really need,” Arthur tried but once the girl shook her head, he knew it was useless. The girl had nothing. Arthur scratched the back of his neck. Was all hope lost?

Arthur reached to scratch his neck again. His eyes went wide in realization. Arthur dug into the many pockets of his cargo pants and pulled out the gold star tree topper. The girl’s eyes widened in awe, staring at the glistening topper. 

“Are you going to put that one on my tree?” she asked. 

Arthur looked at her. This was his chance to finally use his title as Poster for good. This would give him a sense of purpose. “Yes, I think I will,” he said. 

The bare tree seemed to light up with life when Arthur placed the gold star on the top of the tree. The girl cheered, her eyes full of the dazzling light. 

Arthur smiled. Maybe being a Poster wasn't all too bad. After all, he had been bringing light to people’s homes. He had grown too interested in the idea of obtaining ornaments and had never really paid attention to what he was doing for the town of Natelem. 

Arthur looked down at the girl. She stood in front of him marveling at the tree. She scratched her neck. When she raised her arm to touch the tree topper, Arthur was surprised to see a faint curved ‘P’ on the back of her neck. It was the same ‘P’ he had known for half of his life.  🐾