Jingle Bell has a minion!

Wonderland the Snowthanks

Jingle Bell walked out of the warm Christmas party into the snowy night. With a practiced smile that fell just short of genuine, Jingle Bell yelled back some a last parting or joke. Silently she shut the door behind her and let the silent settle in on her like the snowflakes. With a small shiver, Jingle Bell watched the small snowflakes dance in their own Christmas cheer. Jingle started walking to her parked car two blocks away.

The snow ladden clouds drowned out the star's cheery twinkles and the moon's wise glow. With a sigh of relief and resignation, she pulled her warm woolen jacket closer with gloved hands. As the last of the indoor warmth and cheer escaped into the silent night, she was left with the frivolous snow and her own bleak thoughts.

Her thoughts turned to herself as they usually did. She had been so proud when she bought those black gloves at the department store. They were name brand and looked so smart against her new red jacket, which was also name brand. She had grown up with cheap knock offs and thrift store clothes her entire life. She had always longed for the name brands when she was a child. It always seemed to her adolescent self that if only she had fancier clothes, she could have been more friendly, more popular, and happier. It had seemed to her, everything would be solved with a nice jacket.

"If only, if only, the mockingbird sang," Jingle Bell sang, mockingly to herself.

She had left a job where she had been, if not happy, content, or at least in theory, Jingle Bell left she had been content. She had gotten one that paid better and allowed her the luxury to buy fancy jackets and clothes occasionally. But it seemed reality had more of a taste for irony then Jingle Bell had bargained. She wasn't happy at her job and her life was catching up to her.

Jingle Bell shock herself off and forced her mind to think of other things and tried focusing on happier thoughts. Eventually she gave up and let her mind meander from snowflake to snowflake.

Half way to her car, Jingle Bell stopped short. She spied the most beautiful man she had ever seen was walking down the sidewalk. She turned to follow her gaze and laughed.

"Giiirrrll, you're to mature to be having such thoughts," Jingle Bell laughed at herself. "Though that is one fine looking jacket on him. I wouldn't mind warming..."

Her thought was cut short as she noticed the man turn and talk to a pile of discarded blankets and refuse. As Jingle Bell stared at the strange sight, embarrassment and shame began to course their way through her veins, turning her hot and cold simultaneously. The bundle turned out to be a man.

'I wonder how I didn't even notice him,' Jingle silently whispered, afraid of the answer. Jingle Bell stared transfixed at the scene playing out before her eyes. The gorgeous young man was talking to the homeless man. Jingle Bell couldn't guess the homeless's man age. Jingle Bell found herself lost in thoughts as she wondered about the handsome young man. He didn't look like the type of person who'd care about anyone beyond himself. So beautiful, rich, and powerful. He looked like the type who'd berate the homeless as lazy rather than talk to them.

Then in a flash, Jingle Bell was astonished. The beautiful young man began to pill off clothes and exchange them with the homeless man. Jingle's face burned and she quickly looked to the ground as she realized just how far the rich young man intended to go. Jingle couldn't help shivering at the idea of exchanging all of her clothes with some stranger.

Jingle Bell gathered her bravery and looked up. She bit back a cry of alarm. It was as if the scene had shifted. The vagabound was now the handsome young man, and the man she'd been following was now the homeless. The homeless man turned out to be quite young and normal looking. He couldn't have been more than 25 to 30ish.

'I wonder what happened to bring that young man so low.' Jingle thought. I wonder what his name is, even.'With a shake of her head, Jingle Bell brought herself out of her reverie. She watched as "her" young man pointed the now nicely dressed homeless guy towards a new SUV. He handed the newly minted homeless guy the car keys and seemed to be explaining each key to the homeless guy. The young man now pointed to the last key and seemed to be giving the homeless guy directions and pointing towards the new housing development, where all the houses looked the same.

Jingle Bell watched the newly minted young man walk to the SUV as if in a trance, climb in and drive off. Jingle Bell looked in astonishment at the original man. He was grubby looking and looked like he hadn't seen a shower in a year, let alone a good meal. He was still smiling as the homeless guy drove off, and while he now looked like he hadn't see a tooth brush in good long while, somehow his smile was radiant. Brilliant enough to bade Jingle Bell to follow. And follow she did further in the cold night .



Jingle squinted as now the handsome, though considerably less finely dressed, young man now stood chatting with old lady. The lady wore a military jacket from some not-so distant war. A nameless forgotten war that to someone at some point must have been important enough to lose lives over. Or perhaps it had a name, Jingle Bell mused, though they, whoever they were, didn't seem to be in the business of naming wars anymore. Perhaps it made it more real; however, Jingle Bell was no expert on wars. They were just sad, vague things on the periphery of her mind.

The woman was smoking a cigarette and had a bottle of, what Jingle Bell assumed was whiskey. The woman leaned on a crutch, since half of her right leg was missing. Jingle Bell could see biege medical bandage wound round the women's head like the fuzzy head-bands at the department store with the filigree, jeweled flowers. The woman's and the man's conversation was often interrupted by a fit of coughing or some weird twitch or jerk of the head. Jingle Bell wonder what the young man could possibly have to say to this woman. Surely any words would just seem empty and meaningless.

Shaking her head, Jingle idly wondered how this lady had arrived here. If she was some vet of a nameless war, didn't they have places for vets to get better and get prosthetic limbs? Had this lady fell through some infamous crack in the system? Or was it just a jacket the lady had picked up somewhere.

As Jingle Bell's mind came up with stories of the lady's past, the young man reached out and kissed the older lady on the head. Gently with deft hands he began to unravel the bandage and wrapped it on his own head. Gently he took the crutch from the woman and spoke a few more words to her, punctuated at the end with a fit of coughing and a violent jerk of his head, his once beautiful hair held down by the beige bandage.

Jingle Bell was startled to see the woman walk away in a daze, her leg completely healed. Jingle Bell was frighten and her heart raced. Why was she seeing this? She hadn't asked to see any miracles! She had just wanted to see her pillow and the bottom of her crystal wine glass at home. She hadn't asked or needed to see anything quiet like this.

Her eyes were glued on the young man. He had no more beautiful jacket or possessions to his name. Jingle Bell bitterly thought of the old adage, "health is wealth" as the young man limped down the snowy alley way. He didn't even have his health anymore. Surely this must be were it all ends, Jingle thought with a panic raising up in her. The beautiful young man had nothing left to give. He wasn't beautiful or young looking anymore. What was left to give?




Jingle Bell found herself in an alley behind the local hospital. She had always hated hospitals, even when her grandfather was in the hospital...she had hidden away in books and games in his room rather than face the old man. She had loved him fiercely, but it was too hard and Jingle too much of a coward. She had told herself she wanted to remember him as he was, but somehow, Jingle knew it was a lie.

Now she stood in the alley watching some janitorial worker dragging out a bag of trash to the dumpster. It was late and snowflakes drifted down in effervescent patterns only to land deftly on the ground and custodian worker. A weak street light showed the worker to be about 50 years old and struggling with the garbage. The worker's cigarrette smoke climbed into the night air as if trying to reach the stars, only to dissipate several inches away from the worker.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to let the snow fall on her face, as if the snow could become the tears she wouldn't let herself cry. Only to her surprise she was already crying. The formerly handsome young man, now disheveled and sickly, walked side by side the worker. Jingle had no idea what they were talking about.

Then with a shout, the custodian worker grabbed his chest and fell into the snow. Jingle Bell shook her head in denial. She couldn't