Before long, another Villager walked by and noticed Leenah and Jamal standing watching over the gift.“What are you doing?” asked the Villager. “The Mailman has left a gift and we don’t know what to do,” replied Leenah. The Villager approached the two children and leaned in toward the gift for a closer look. “There’s no name and no address,” the Villager stated. “How do you know the gift even belongs here?” That's the mystery,” Jamal answered. “We’re not even sure if the mailman knew where to leave it,” added Leenah. “Well, it was left here for a reason,” said the Villager.
Just then, another Villager happened to pass by with her two children.“Look Mother,” cried the first child. “Do you see that beautiful gift by the door?” she asked. “What do you think it could be?” asked the second child. As the mother and her two children walked up the path toward the gift to get a closer look, the first Villager placed his body in frontof the gift trying to hide it from view of the approaching mother and her two children. “What are you doing?” Leenah asked. “You can’t let other people come too close to the gift,” the first Villager ordered. “They might think that the gift is for them and try to keep it for themselves,” he added. But the first Villager could not totally block the view of the gift from the two children as they ran around him circling the gift. “What do you think is in it?” asked the first child. “Maybe it’s a special toy,” replied the second child. “Since it was left here at Mother Goodtree’s, perhaps it might be from someone she knew,” the mother stated. “But there’s no name and no address,” the first Villager reminded her. “Even the mailman can’t just guess where a gift should go with no address and no name,” he added.
Pretty soon, a crowd of Villagers had gathered in front of the old Goodtree house all asking the same question. As everyone began to talk at the same time attempting to ask and answer, the youngest child of the Village pulled on one of the ribbons tied to the lovely box. As if by some mysterious power with a pair of hands that no one could see, the ribbon began to unwrap.“Look,” someone shouted. “The box is opening,” shouted another. The Villagers slowly stepped back as the youngest child sat in amazement watching as the top of the box slide to the side. The young child reached inside and took the Welcome Star from the box revealing it to the crowd in all its shining glory.
Some shouted cheers of happiness and jubilation as they jumped and danced around while others fell to their knees weeping as they gave praise and thanks for the return of the special star.“This is a sign,” shouted one of the Villagers. “Perhaps it is time to bring back the Holiday Festival to Cranberry Street,” announced another Villager. Soon all along Cranberry street, the people were placing their hand-made ornaments and decorations in the trees, along the fences and on top of the hedges as they awakened the sleeping spirit of Golden Grapes.
On the first night of the holiday festival, Jamal and Leenah were chosen to hand the Welcome Star at the entrance to Cranberry Street. Perhaps it was the added light of the clear night sky and the winter moon with it’s reflection from the snow that gave the light from the Welcome Star an even brighter glow. This new and luminescent light became the beacon, lightin the way for travelers even further away than before.
As the first night of the festival came to a close, the faint sound of bells that sounded like musical voices could be heard in the distance by a few of the Villagers.“Can you hear that?” asked one of the Villager’s. “It’s coming from somewhere down the road,” another Villager answered. As they gathered under the Welcome Star to listen and watch as the mystical sound became clearer, someone standing high up on a ladder shouted, “Look, someone’s coming.” The Villager’s stood silent and still as the figure of an old but sturdy woman slowly approached. “It’s Mother Goodtree,” another shouted. The Villager’s raced toward Mother Goodtree surrounding and embracing her with warmth and love.
As they all slowly walked down Cranberry Street one of the Villager’s asked, “Where have you been Mother Goodtree?” I have been searching for a very long time for the Welcome Star,” Mother Goodtree answered. “One day I met a man who could not see. He told me of a another man who offered to sell him a special gift that he could not keep,” she explained.“The Blind Man asked the old traveler to describe the special gift and how he came to have it. From the sound of the old traveler’s voice, the Blind Man knew he was buying something that had been taken without permission,” Mother Goodtree added. “When I asked the Blind Man where the gift was, he explained that the gift had been returned to the place where it belonged, “The shining light and the memories brought me back to my home,"said Mother Goodtree, smiling.
Then one of the Villagers told how the beautiful box had been opened breaking her rule.“The child broke no rule of mine,” stated Mother Goodtree. “The willingness to discover and explore a thing of beauty is ruled only by a strength of heart. It is the thing I discovered on my journey in search of the Welcome Star,” she added.
With Mother Goodtree’s return, the village soon returned to it’s charm and beauty with a renewed spirit to keep Cranberry Street a place of welcome with a star whose light will shine in the hearts of us all.
Happy Holidays!
Alicia
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