Page 49 - My FlipBook

Sarah Sues Santa – P.J. Leonard

Chapter Twenty-Two: One More Tear

Mr. Vekil dropped the snowball, and it broke at his feet. Silence fell. Sarah took a step back. Mr.
Vekil stepped back.
"Oh, Miss Pebbleton, you have so much to learn," he grinned.
Sarah felt as though she was falling through the sky. She was about to turn and run for it, when she
saw something. It was the tiniest of things on Mr. Vekil’s face.
A tear.
"You think that's a snowball?" He said, leaning down and gathering up a mass of snow in his big
hands, "Now THIS is a snowball."
He threw the ball into the air, and it came crashing down over his head, showering his head and suit
in snow.
"I guess that means I'm it!" He yelled, "Run for your lives!"
Sarah squealed in delight as she ran, and Mr. Vekil leapt into the snowball fight. The air was full of
flying snowballs again, and the laughing was twice as loud, Mr. Vekil's voice booming with cheer.
At first, the kids were nervous around him, giving him a wide berth. But it only took a few brave
older kids to throw snowballs at him and for Mr. Vekil to throw some back before he was right in
the thick of it.
As Mr. Vekil helped to lift the head onto the top of a snowman's body, a glimmer of light near the
gate caught Sarah's eye. Nobody else noticed. She circled around the edge of the courtyard. Near
the gate stood a single postbox, the golden light within glowing from the postbox.
Time to go. She took one last look back at the orphanage. The laughter echoed beyond the walls and
into the trees. The sun broke through the clouds. The grey concrete building looked less sad now,
somehow. Mr. Vekil and the children had made a huge circle around the snowman, and were
singing a christmas carol.
Sarah slipped her final ticket into the slot of the postbox. The door opened, and she climbed into the
light. The light went out like a switch, and darkness surrounded her.
Is it over?
Something soft and warm pressed against her. Reaching out, she gathered a handful of the duvet in
her hands and slowly peeled it away.
It was her bedroom. Her real bedroom. Morning sunlight streamed through the window. But
wait...stepping out of bed, she went to her bedroom door and opened it. Sure enough, the real
landing was outside. She looked back at her bedroom, and it had stayed as it should. Her bed, her
writing desk, her wardrobe...they were all there. The clock by her bed said it was 7:20am, and the
date: December 26th.
Sarah gave a little jump of joy. She was home at last. Did I ever leave? Had it all been one big
dream?
She ran downstairs and into the kitchen. Mum and Dad were already there, drinking tea and eating
toast.
"Morning dear," said Mum with a small smile, "Happy Boxing Day. Get a good sleep?"
Without a word, she grabbed Mom and Dad around their waists and gave them the biggest hug she
had ever given them.

Page 49