Elena slowly walked to school. How was she going to tell her teacher that she didn’t have a fancy dress to wear? She quickened her pace, hoping to get to school early so she wouldn’t have to face Sarah’s endless taunts.

“What am I going to tell Ms. Katy?” thought Elena again and again. Once she arrived, she looked around the schoolyard to see if anyone was there. Thankfully, no one was. Elena then went up the three steps and into the school. She eyed Ms. Katy writing down some math problems for today. Before she could stop herself, Elena started speaking.

“Good morning Ms. Katy,” spoke Elena, instantly regretting it. She watched as she saw her teacher jump a bit from fright.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” responded Ms. Katy, tucking a piece of hair into her small bun, “Good morning.” Elena watched as a smile spread across her teacher’s face. How could she tell her about the dress!?

“Um….mm…mm,” was what Elena managed to get out. “Yes, Elena? I’m listening,” added Ms. Katy, trying to encourage Elena to tell her what was wrong. “I..I…I was wondering if you needed help with today’s math. I see you have a long list of problems and could use some help.” Elena tried to act as though that was what she was going to say the whole time.

“I could, thank you. But are you sure you weren’t going to tell me something else?”

Elena could see that her question wasn’t about to fool her teacher. Yet she didn’t want to say anything about the dress. She could feel inside of her that she shouldn’t say anything, at least not yet. Without answering, Elena turned around and saw Sarah and her friends entering through the door. Giggling and laughing. “I wish I could be that carefree,” thought Elena to herself. She moved to the side to allow the group to pass, as if she were making room for a queen. She did this all the time, hoping it would get Sarah mad, but it didn’t really matter right now. She would move like she always did, but she wouldn’t have the same intent in doing it. Elena moved forward, unaware that Sarah had not yet passed her.

“Watch where you’re going!” shouted Sarah, “Don’t think because you got the part I won’t get it back! I’m still as clever as you, even more! So you just wait and..”

“That’s enough Sarah. I’d like it if you would take a seat. Classes will begin soon.” Elena was thankful that Ms. Katy had intervened. 

                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After school~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thank you for coming to get me,” said Elena to her mother. Her mother would come to pick her up once in a while when she had to stop in town for something.

“You’re welcome, Elena. I have to stop by the post office so do you mind waiting in the buggy for me?” asked Elena’s mother.

“I’ll wait. I don’t mind,” said Elena with a smile. As they drew closer to the building, Elena’s mother pulled the reigns of the horses to a stop.

“I’ll just be a bit,” called her mother as she exited the buggy. Elena waited about 5 minutes and then heard her mother making her way out of the building. She watched as her mother dropped a package in Elena’s lap.

“A package?” asked Elena curiously, as she read on the package that it was for her mother.

“I know! I really don’t know what it is. I never ordered anything or asked for anything,” responded her mom as she clicked the reigns, “Why don’t you open it and see what it is?” Elena quickly opened the package, only to be greeted by a letter, or so she thought. “It’s just a letter,” said Elena with a sigh. She carefully took the letter and took off the seal. “Fancy,” she thought in her mind. Nobody really closed a letter with a seal unless they were rich. The only time she’d ever seen a seal was when Sarah had given a letter to Ms. Katy, but even that wasn’t as beautiful as this one. It was red, with the imprint of a rose on it. It also had the name “Jalyn Thomas” imprinted on it too.

“Who is Jalyn Thomas?” asked Elena. She watched as a sign of recognition was shown on her mother’s face.

“Jalyn was my school friend when I was your age. I haven’t heard from her in years! What does the letter say?” Elena started to read the letter. 

            Dear Katlyn, (that was Elena’s mothers’ name)

                    I am so happy to have the opportunity to send you a letter as it has been 12 years. I have sent you two dresses that my daughter outgrew. I’ve heard you have a daughter about her age too, so I was wondering if these dresses could be of use. I was going to give them to someone close by, but I had the strongest impression to give them to you.  I hope to hear from you soon and always. 

                                                     Your friend, Jalyn Thomas

October 2, 1823

Once Elena finished the last word, she quickly returned to the box and took the paper that concealed the dresses. She picked up one of the dresses, a baby blue color with lace trims on the edge. As she picked up the next one, she noticed the soft, velvety pink color with puffed sleeves.

“Mother! These dresses! They are perfect for the Christmas play!” exclaimed Elena. Elena’s mother smiled, proud that her daughter now had something to wear.

As they arrived home, Elena rushed to her bunk and tried on the blue dress. It fits perfectly! “Mother! These dresses are gorgeous!” Elena couldn’t conceal her joy as she tried on the next dress. “These sleeves are beautiful!” Elena went down the ladder as fast as she could to show her parents the second dress.

“Oh, Elena!” exclaimed her father, “You look like an angel!”

“You are so right!” agreed her mother, “I love both of the dresses so much! You should choose which one you want to wear and bring it to your teacher tomorrow for school.”

“I think I’ll go with the blue one. It looks more like Christmas.”

             ~~~~~~~Christmas Eve Night At The Christmas Play~~~~~~

“And now, to remember that Christmas is about joy!” Elena finished off the last words of her part at the Christmas play. She looked around at the audience and smiled so bright it was like the star of Bethlehem. She wore the beautiful blue dress, thanks to Jalyn. Elena waited for the curtains to close, then went down to her family.

“Elena! You did amazing!” shouted Jeremy.

“Great job!” came the voice of her parents agreeing with what Jeremy had said. Then, the unexpected happened.

“You did good.” Elena turned around to see who had said that, and saw Sarah, staring at her. “I mean it, you did really good. I know I haven’t been the nicest of people, but I promise to try. I saw how you worked hard to get this part and no one deserved it more than you. Friends?” asked Sarah.

“Friends,” agreed Elena with a handshake. She turned again to see Chrissy, smiling so hard and waiting for her turn to say something.

“You were gorgeous! Where did you get the dress from?” asked Chrissy.

“My mom’s…..” Elena stopped. Had Jalyn really given her the dress? Or was it a gift sent from God through Jalyn? “God brought it to me.” Elena stared at the questioning look on both Chrissy’s and Sarah’s faces. She took a deep breath and explained the whole story. 

For the rest of Elena’s life, she never forgot the two dresses God had given to her. It was really a Christmas to Remember. 

Thank you for reading my series! I hope you enjoyed them!