Christmas Present

She woke up, groggy from staying up way too late. But a sudden spark of festiveness rushed to her as she remembered that it was Christmas day.

She was at her family’s this Christmas and, as was tradition, they went to midnight mass before sitting down to enjoy a sumptuous Noche Buena – a Filipino traditional Christmas midnight dinner. They exchanged gifts all night long, having fun laughing over presents and hugging each other for the gifts.

Picking up her phone, she happily put on a Christmas playlist and sang along as Kumukutikutitap started playing from her phone. She didn’t expect anyone else to be up yet since it was still early, and her suspicion was confirmed when she got down to the kitchen and saw that most of last night’s leftovers were still in Tupperware containers in the fridge. Grinning, she grabbed a slice of cold fiesta ham and danced to the living room.

There, she opened up the laptop she left on the living room table and started going through her messages. She already replied to the midnight greeters of the night before, but she was pleasantly surprised to see greetings from others as well. There were a few from her friends around the world, but she was looking forward to one in particular… one that was so glaringly absent.

She looked through her text messages, her emails, her chat apps… nothing. Where was the one greeting she was most looking forward to?

Gary V’s Pasko Na Sinta Ko started playing in the background, and no other song could have conveyed her feelings better. That’s probably what she should have expected from-

Just then, there was a feeble knock at the door. She wondered who could come by at such an early time, but visitors coming by for Christmas greetings and gifts were to be a common occurrence throughout the day, especially in this town.

“Merry Christmas, Ate [Older sister]” was the shy greeting of the teenage boy who looked like a man she knew so well. “Kuya [Older brother] would like to apologize for today. You know how it is with my brother’s work overseas. He asked me to give you this though.” With a little awkwardness, the teen handed her a bouquet of red roses. “Got them straight from Dangwa, as he specifically requested.”

A blush as red as her flowers crept up to her face, and she was dumbfounded by the surprise. When she had recovered enough to remember thanking him, he had already turned to his motorcycle and was taking out a carefully wrapped present from the backpack he left on the seat.

“He also asked me to give you this,” he said, handing her a box with a card on top. “He had that sent maybe a month ago. Oh, how he panicked and called us so many times before the delivery came this week.” They both laughed as she took the package carefully from him.

She wanted to invite him in to share pandesal and queso de bola (Filipino-style Edam cheese) with her, but he shook his head. “No, I have to get back to Nanay [Mother]. She might even be awake by now. I just had to do this for Kuya.” Without waiting for her response, he put on his backpack and his helmet. “If you need help planning the wedding, let me know. Merry Christmas, Ate!” And with a rumble, he was off.

She waved until he was no longer in sight and hugged her presents lovingly. Paskong Anong Saya started playing, and she grinned at its timing.Her engagement ring sparkled in the sunlight as she went back into the house with her fiance’s gifts and her returned festive spirits.

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Image source: deviantart.com/pxzuniga/art/The-Star-after-Christmas-149405819
First written December 24, 2017.
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