Well this story is about a Christmas tree of a particular kid in Armenia, her name was Liza. Before I go any further, Armenia which poses splendid scenery with eye catching green mountains, large blue lakes, magnificent apostolic churches and several apricot trees around which can’t be found anywhere else in the world. It was first Wednesday of January, three more days for Xmas. Oh!! I missed to inform that Armenians celebrate Xmas on 6th of January. For some reason their calendar falls 2 weeks behind Gregorian calendar which is widely used.
White bearded old man of North Pole was well aware of the Armenian’s Xmas day. Since it was tough for the old man to take care of all the children’s wishes, he had distributed his work among other little angels geographically. ”Angelochek” was in charge for delivering the Xmas gifts to Armenian kids. He had tiny features like pixies with mesmerizing green eyes but big ears like goblins, perhaps he was born to a pixie and goblin.
Where were we? …Oh!!! Yeah …at their home in the tiny town of “Hrazdan” Liza’s family were having their supper in their marvelous dining table. It was made up of apricot wood with four enormous legs, which had elephant head with trunk and tusk carved elegantly on them. Mr.Alexanyn a tall brawny man with a heavy mustache covering his face was sitting at one end of the table. Being a carpenter by profession was proud of the dining table he had crafted a week ago. To his left was his little prince “Vladimir”, who had a spiked hair and athletic body. He was the high school football team’s striker and an electronic gadget freak.
“Trisha” with attractive blue eyes, the eldest daughter of the family was sitting beside Vladimir. She preferred the company of harmonious pretty animals over humans. Granny who had come to visit her grandchildren was sitting at the opposite end to her son. She was a presumptuous old lady whose silver hairs were shinier than Santa’s beard and always insisted on upholding Armenian traditions. To the right of Mr.Alexanyn was of course the little one with a neat pony tail and two big lenses resting on her nose, which appeared bigger than her tiny face. She had a penchant for reading. Trotting to and fro between the kitchen and dining table with dishes on her hands was Mrs.Alexanyn. She had an elegant bob hair style and her mind fixed to the music played on the records.
“Wish the gift you need and Santa will present it for sure” remarked granny to Liza who was standing in front of the Xmas tree placed at the living room after they finished their supper. The little one eagerly moved towards the tree. “Make the wish to yourself, don’t utter it out …otherwise you will not receive the present on Xmas” warned granny. Obediently Liza adjusted her big spectacles, closed her eyes and made the desired wish. Granny then turned toward the other members and compelled them to make their wishes as per tradition. Enthusiastic kids rushed to the tree, Vladimir wished for a “Bose Speaker Sets” and a “brown kitten” was what Trisha had asked Santa. Shyly Mrs.Alexanyn wished for “Duduk”, a woodwind instrument made up of apricot tree. Though well versed with Russian “Gusli” instrument, she had always wanted to learn her husband’s national instrument in order to impress him. Reluctant Mr.Alexanyn who was persuaded by his kids wished for “Oil painting set”. Finally Granny made her wish in svelte manner. Though the kids wanted to know what each had wished, they remained muffled as it might arouse anger to Santa and he might not deliver their presents.
“What a wonderful gift Granny had asked for” said Angelochek with a content smile, as he watched the new Xmas Tree emerging from the artic ice. Whenever all the members of a family pray to Santa a Xmas tree grows at the Artic farm. The little angel pasted a board with Liza’s name on the tree, as it is a practice to name the tree after the youngest child in the family. The grand tree had six buds over it which will blossom into gifts on Jesus birthday.
“Which gift should I present papa? There are only two more days remaining for Xmas. Shall I ask papa what he wants for Xmas? I should not end up buying silly useless stuff for him.” queried bewildered Liza to the apricot tree. ”Santa will guide you in choosing your papa’s gift dear” replied the Granny who was drying her washed clothes near by. Angelochek, who was listening to their conversation from one of the branches in the Apricot tree leaped into Mrs.Alexanyn’s huge basket. She was opening the gate to visit the market for Xmas shopping. “Can I come with you mom?” exclaimed Liza who always liked visiting the market and helping her mom. ”Nah!! I can’t manage both you and Xmas list, better help Granny in drying” ordered Mrs.Alexanyn as she walked across the gate.
Toddling on the streets Mrs.Alexanyn was fatigued by carrying the heavy basket full of fishes, vegetables, fruits, meats, chocolates and other ingredients for Xmas cake. She had purchased all these stuff in two grueling hours of shopping. How she repented for not letting little one come with her. All the while a brown frightened kitten was following her, no matter how hard she tried to shoo away it. She was worried the kitten might spoil the food as it kept coming close to the basket.” Alas!! All the while I can’t scare this kitten away” she sighed as she placed shopping basket on the kitchen table. Suddenly one of the fish fell out from the basket; the kitten pounced on it in a flash and started to chew it. Thought of presenting the cute brown kitten cropped out in her mind and she hid the furry little creature in kitchen’s attic in order to surprise Trisha on Xmas. Meanwhile Angelochek made his way out of the shopping basket with a grin on his face. All the way from the market to home, he had waved the fish at the kitten and in fact had thrown the fish out of the basket at kitchen as a token of appreciation. The kitten attracted by the fish followed the basket ignoring the shoving of Mrs.Alexanyn, though frightened by the green eyes and peculiar feature of Angelochek.
"Crispy!!! How can I buy a gift, I have not saved enough money in piggy saving box. Can you help me Crispy? Is there any way to get the gift?” enquired Trisha to Crispy, who was a magpie bird and close friend of Trisha. As per the old saying “Friend in need is Friend in deed”, Crispy flew out to the barren land to the north of the town where people dump their junk items. What else a birdbrain can think about but Angelochek had other plans. He placed a brand new Bose speaker’s set in the dump and ensured Crispy picked those.” Gosh!!! You have got a Speaker set. Am sure Vladimir will like these. Oh!! You are such a lovely friend. I will treat you with berries everyday.” said spell-bound Trisha at the magpie sitting on her window frame.
Enraptured with his work and assured that by now two of the six buds in Liza’s tree would have blossomed by now. Angelochek was glancing at the kids having their noon nap from the Apricot tree. Who is next? He thought to himself as he closed his eyes to check what Mr.Alexanyn was up to. “He wants to buy a toy gift to Liza” cried out little man in green suit as he whisked his way to the toy street lane.
Wandering along the commercial street, Mr.Alexanyn was frustrated as most of the toy shops were closed. Thanks to the handiwork of Angelochek,Who had closed the shops as Liza had not intended for a toy. After searching for several hours Mr.Alexanyn felt lost. Uncertain about the path back, he took a left which led him to a narrow street. There he stumbled upon a green toy shop, which was very small, messy and disorganized. It appeared like the all the green toys were piled in this shop.” Do you have the complete Cinderella kit?” enquired Mr.Alexanyn to the sulky owner.” Cinderella Kit? Hmmm ….” the owner appeared to be lost in his thoughts. After few silent minutes “Do you have it or not?” demanded Mr.Alexanyn. ”No sir, am afraid not” replied the owner as his eyes popped out. ”Damn my luck!!” sighed Mr.Alexanyn as he hit shop’s step with his foot.
“Sir you can try other gifts, you know like watches, football, books, video games...you know” asked the owner with a grin on his face. “Well it is for my youngest daughter, what else will a little girl will like other than toys? Moreover I wanted to present my little Cinderella a nice Cinderella kit.” replied the worried father. Moved by the words which fell on his ears, he asked his customer to hold on for few seconds. As he searched the green toys dumped all over his shop. “My apology for not giving it in first place, it was the last Cinderella kit and wanted it for other reason. Now I feel you are the one and only person in this world who deserve this toy” smiled the owner. ”Oh!! You saved my day. Really!!! Thanks a lot” replied the pleased Mr.Alexanyn though the Cinderella kit was of green in color.
Exhausted Angelochek who was napping on the branches of the apricot tree woke up to the twittering of Crispy. As he tried to break his dizziness by stretching his arms, he saw Liza and Vladimir crossing the frozen lake. As it was a short route to reach the town fair. Poor green angel had to visit the fair to ensure the children pick up the right gift though he was completely worn out.
He went to “KickWin” contest where Vladimir had enrolled for competition and he was pleased to see Liza working on the opposite stall for antiques run by an Indian. Liza was one among the rare people who spoke English and her native tongue fluently. So she thought of making money for Xmas gift by working as translator for Mr. Kumar. Angelochek was busy having a green salad and lemonade to recharge him while Vladimir was waiting for his turn to grab the prize.
Well “KickWin” contest was about hitting ten goals with a football sans the goal keeper. There were ten positions marked in the field (i.eNo.1, No.2...No.10) and the ball has to be kicked from that positions. The tricky part was the size of the goal post which was exactly same as the football, so the striker can’t afford to miss even an inch.When Vladimir’s turn came he placed the ball on the position No.10 though people in general start from easier No.1 position.Angelochek had finished his snacks by then, so he stood beside the striker. Vladimir closed his eyes to gain concentration and then kicked the ball with tremendous force through an inclined left foot. Zoom!! The ball flew and struck into the tiny goal post. Then he placed the ball at No.9 position, which was in right angle to the post. The striker made the ball move up in the air to his right and he stretched his right leg to kick the ball. Loud applause was heard as the ball stayed firmly on the post while the owner of the stall was awestruck. No one kicked from position No.9 and No.10 before. Nah Angelochek did not show any of his tricks. It was the “Pearl Necklace”, which Vladimir wanted to present to his mom for Xmas. The first prize was making the striker to hit extraordinary shots. Zzz!!! The ball whisked away from the position No.3 to the goal. ”No, I can’t let him win the necklace “called out Angelochek standing beside the football. As soon as Vladimir hit the ball from position No.2, little men in green plunge himself on to the ball and guided it away from the goal. Everyone including Vladimir can’t believe that he had missed an easy straight kick to the post. Now he placed the ball in position No.1 which was straight opposite to the goal like position No.2 but was in fact still closer to the goal. So he hit the ball gently, hoping to grab the second prize at least but the ball hit the post and moved further away. Yeah you had guessed it right, Angelochek created a light breeze by a gentle whistle to move the ball away.
The relieved “KickWin” stall owner handed Vladimir the third prize, which was a “duduk”. Angelochek felt bad for hurting the kids feeling, but what can the little angel do when Vladimir’s mom had wished for the Armenian instrument. Perhaps for some good reason sometimes we might fail/miss opportunities, no matter how much effort we had put in it. No point in cursing these little angels they do everything for our own good.
Back in the antique, Liza and Kumar were packing the unsold material. They wrapped the tent of the stall as it was the last day of the fair. Kumar was checking the account and the money accumulated for the day as Liza eagerly waited for her first salary. “Here is your salary. Thanks for your help and without you I could not have managed in Armenia. Can I know what you’re going to do with this money?” asked Kumar. “I am going to buy ‘Spoke shave plane’ for my papa” pat came the reply from the little one. ”Spoke Shave plane?” queried again Kumar. “Umm… I guess a carpenter’s tool, I heard my papa griping that he wanted buy new Spoke Shave plane as the old was not finishing the curved surface properly” replied Liza with a thoughtful face. “Oh!! I get it my wise little lady. Hmm…one more thing you can take any of these antique stuffs if you want because I feel that you are underpaid” said Kumar with a smile on his face. Immediately Liza ran and collected the “Oil Painting Set” gleefully, “My papa likes painting too!!!” exclaimed Liza at Kumar as they both wished “Merry Xmas” to one another. “Wise little one indeed, she didn’t needed my help in picking the right gift” remarked Angelochek with a wide smile, which revealed all his 32 green teethes.
The next two days moved on swiftly and then on the day of Xmas morning. “Wow!! A Bose speaker set, its really cool Trisha” screamed Vladimir in excitement as Trisha was cuddling her brown kitten and wondering what to name it. Meanwhile Liza was cautiously climbing the ladder eager to fetch her gift placed on top of the Xmas tree. “Hey look!!! Am going to paint you again” remarked Mr.Alexanyn at his wife with the oil painting kit in his hand. “Ah!! The wrappers are so thick” muttered the little one trying to unravel the gift wrappers as she sat firmly on the ladder, while others were listening to Mrs.Alexanyn’s Duduk music. ”Thanks dad!!! For the Cinderella kit!!!” said Liza in a low tone as she got herself to the floor. Everyone was busy handling their gift except for Liza who decided to move back to her room. “Hey!!! My cute little Cinderella!!!” yelled Mr.Alexanyn “I forgot to give this “he yelled again pointing to the book he had in his hand. Liza moved towards her father and she can see a book with a seagull picture on it. Isn’t it remarkable? A book about seagull, her favorite bird was all Liza had wanted as Xmas present. She hugged her father and thanked for the wonderful book.
Incase if you are wondering how Mr.Alexanyn got the book. Well do you remember the green toy shop owner? Yeah! Angelochek had created the shop with his magic and turned himself into the owner. What actually happened on that day?
”Oh!! You saved my day. Really!! Thanks a lot!! And here is your 60 dollars. Really Thanks Man” said Mr.Alexanyn. “Well, have this book as a compliment from me for xmas” replied Angelochek. ”Nah!! I am not found of books” remarked Mr.Alexanyn. “You can present to your little Cinderella Sir” persisted Angelochek as he placed the book on Mr.Alexanyn bag. “Jonathan Livingston Seagull written by Richard Bach. Am not sure whether my 12 year old kid will appreciate It.” said Mr.Aleaxanyn with a grin. “This book will be your kid’s favorite” assured Angelochek, whose green eyes were gleaming with joy.
Back at home, Granny was pleased to receive new eyeglass from her son, Knitted scarf from her daughter in law, Xmas Greeting card drawn by her three grandkids. More importantly her family was happy with their Xmas gifts, plum cakes and dinner that was exactly what she wanted from the old man of the North Pole.
Angelochek received a good-natured pat from Santa, as he stood beside Liza’s Xmas tree which had blossomed six glittering gifts along with jingle bells. The Little green angel was of course pleased and happy to fulfill the kid’s wishes. In fact he must be proud of himself because I believe he is doing the best job in the world. What else is bigger than bringing smile in kid’s charming face?
Well I came to know about this incident through a seagull, which was sitting in one of the branches of the Apricot tree. It happened to be there on the week of Christmas. Umm not sure though why he was at Liza’s garden, whether he was hoping to pounce on a fish on the frozen lake near by? Or was he Jonathan Livingston? Never mind all I know is we should always wish for the good things and have good thoughts because there are lots of little angels to materialize the wishes or make it come true!!!!!
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