Story-A-Day #31: Lights

LIGHTS

She was never sure if it was worth it. It wasn’t jus that the weather was getting colder, but it was darker too. It was hard to stay motivated when the darkness saw you off to work in the morning and greeted you upon your return.

Every fall she would look at the tangles of cords and bulbs in her basement and tell herself that this year, they were staying right where they were. No decorations or lights this year. It just wasn’t worth the effort.

But then the darkness came and she realized why people hung out their lights. It had nothing to do with Christmas, or capturing the seasonal spirit; people hung out their lights as a means of fending off the dark and she would do the same no matter how much it chagrined her.

She pulled on her boots, the ones with the fuzzy fur collars and drew the laces in tight. She slipped on her jacket and wrapped her scarf around her necks, tucking the loose ends away. She pulled on her toque, it’s floppy earflaps warm against her cheeks, then her mittens too. Finally, she grabbed the big tangle of cords and bulbs and pushed her way outside.

The cold work was made more awkward by her bulky mittens, but as the lights slowly unraveled and accepted their place around the birch tree and over the porch of the house, a sense of warm satisfaction descended upon her.

It was snowing now, but the wind had died down. It was actually quite serene and tranquil. She could hear the Styrofoam crunch of a passing pedestrian and realized as she paused that she had been whistling a Christmas tune gently under her breath. She smiled to herself and she rearranged the last length of lights. She was ready.

She dashed quickly into her house, taking the time to remove her boots and mittens, and put on the kettle. A few minutes later, she was back outside, a steaming mug of cocoa in her hands. She plugged in the lights and her small front yard erupted in a blast of multicoloured delight.

The decorations had nothing to do with Christmas. They were only there to provide a little bit of light during the long, cold winter months. Next year she would put them out even earlier…