A CHRISTMAS TREE ENCOUNTER
by Julia Brooks (c) December 2000

Disclaimers:  All characters, except for the family, (and they belong to me) are imaginary.  Any resemblance to persons living or undead is purely coincidental.

Permission:  Is hereby granted to archive this vignette on Mel's fanfic site and the ftp site only.

Timeframe:  This takes place in the late 1950's.

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The little girl stood staring at the wondrous glittery tree.  It was so tall she had to crane her neck to see the tippy-top of it.  The 80-foot tall Norway spruce in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza, was lit with a million lights that sparkled and danced on the waving branches.  She had never seen something so big and beautiful before and she wanted to stand and look at it for hours.  But her father was getting cold, and said that it was dark and time to go home.

The blond vampire stood only a few feet away and watched the little girl plead with her father to stay just a little bit more.  Just then her mother and older sister joined them.  The mother suggested that the father place the little girl on his shoulders so that she could have one final complete view of the tree before they departed.  The father agreed and started to lift the little girl up to his shoulder.  But, even though she wanted to see the tree so very badly, she was afraid of being up so high.  She wailed a bit, which angered the father.  But the mother calmed the father down and convinced the little girl that Daddy wouldn't drop her.  So her father picked her up and placed her on his right shoulder.

Out of the corner of her eye, the little girl caught sight of the blond vampire looking her way.   Instantly fascinated by the handsome face, she stared back at him.  He smiled.  She smiled shyly back and then ducked her head behind her father's.  She looked at the tree and then looked back to see if the vampire was still looking at her.  Sometimes he was and sometimes he wasn't.  They played this little game of hide-and-seek for about 5 minutes, until the father's shoulder started getting tired and he was ready to put the little girl down. 

As the family started to depart the Plaza, the little girl turned back to glance once more at the magnificent tree, and to give a shy wave and a mouthed "Merry Christmas" to the blond man.

The vampire stood rooted to his spot and gazed after the little girl who gave him her smile for Christmas.  And for a moment he felt the magic of the season upon him, and it warmed his cold heart.