"Aniveta, come eat your chakula cha jioni!" her mom called. "Coming, Mama!" she answered. Aniveta grabbed her bag and ran to the hut. She flew through te door, dropped her bag near her bed and quickly sat at the table. Her father offered a prayer of thanks and they started to eat. Aniveta barely swallowed her first bite when she blurted out, "I got all my chores done today. Can I draw after dinner, please?" Her mother and father both looked at her and smiled. "Of course you can, sweety," they said. "Just make sure you're home before dark. We need to talk."
"Don't worry," Aniveta yelled out as she slid her bag over her shoulder, grabbed a bucket and ran toward the river. "I'll be home in time." She couldn't contain the excitement inside and she let out a loud, "yipee!" as she skipped down the path.
"What are we going to do?" Aniveta's mom said quietly. "I will miss her too much." Dad put his arms around her. "I know, but what else can we do? We can't give her everything she needs here. I want her to have a chance to become what she wants." Mom took a deep breath, "I know, but let's let her make up her own mind about it." They held each other closely, then Dad said, "You're right. It must be her choice. But whatever she chooses, we will always love her." They held each other for a moment longer and then headed in to clean up.
Aniveta already had her bucket of water and was running toward the large rock at the outskirts of the village. She put the bucket down and pulled out a rag from her bag. She dipped the rag in the water and patted it against the rock making its surface damp. Next she pulled a short stick that was burnt at one end out of her bag. "What will I draw today?" she said as she looked around. She saw a beautiful butterfly on a leaf not far from the rock, so she started to draw it.
Just as the sun was setting, Aniveta stood back and looked at her drawing. She smiled and wiped the seat from her forehead, which left a dark smear from the ash. Picking up her pack, she carefully placed her stick inside. She ran home quickly and found Mom and Dad waiting for her outside. It was dark now and the light from the village campfires danced around them.
"Aniveta, your father and I feel you should go live with your aunt in the city," her mother said softly. "What?" Aniveta questioned feeling a little confused. "What your mother means is that we feel you need to go to the city if you want to have drawing supplies and develop your talent," her dad said. "But I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you," Aniveta said, now a bit upset. "Well, we feel it is your choice, so choose carefully. We don't want to keep you from what makes you happy," Mom said calmly. Aniveta hugged them tightly, "But being together makes me the happiest."
The next morning, Aniveta went for a walk near the river. She looked out across the wide running water and took a deep breath. She smelled the flowers and the fruit in the trees. She heard the sound of the rushing water, the wind rustling the leaves, and the birds singing in the treetops. She was happy. She knew she had so many wonderful things, even if she didn't have a real pencil to draw with.
"Aniveta! Aniveta!" a voice called from the forest. "Come see! Come see!" it said again. It was the voice of her friend Josia. She watched the forest, looking for any sign of her friend. Suddenly, he jumped out of the trees, so excited he couldn't keep still. He grabbed her arm, "Come on! Something amazing is happening at the church!"
Aniveta had no idea what the amazing thing was, but it had to be worth taking a look at. They ran quickly through the trees. As they came to the church, they heard a beautiful sound. It was the sound of singing children. The song was so beautiful it made Aniveta fell warm inside.
"Silent Night! Holy Night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon virgin,
Mother and child.
Holy infant,
So tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace."
The voices were like angels.
As Aniveta walked into the church, she was greeted by kind faces. Though she didn't recognize them, she felt safe and cared for. She smiled back. She kept her eyes on the singing children. Each one was holding a beautifully packaged box. Just then she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and there in front of her was an amazing box just for her. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She hugged the person who had handed it to her. They finished singing and everyone started to open their boxes. Aniveta looked around at the children and then down at her box. It looked too perfect to open.
Slowly she removed the rubber band and lifted the lid. Aniveta couldn't believe it. Right before her very eyes she saw an art kit and book. It was more art supplies than she ever could have imagined. Aniveta was overcome with joy. She looked at each piece and held them close to her heart. When she had finished, she found a card containing a picture of the family that had given her the gift. It showed a mother, father, and three children. They were from America. Aniveta felt so much gratitude. She felt love for people she didn't even know. She wondered why they would do such a nice thing for her.
"Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He suffered for our sins, died for us, and was resurrected so that we can all live again after we die," the man at the front of the room said. "We celebrate this time, Christmas time, to remember Jesus' birth. These gifts are a representation of His love for you. Those families that prepared these gifts for you love you because they love Jesus and they know that Jesus loves you."
Aniveta jumped up and quickly ran out the door and headed for home. She just had to tell her mother and father. "Mama! Papa! Come see what I have!" she yelled as she came to the hut door. Her mother opened it and gasped. "What is this?" she asked as she held it in her hands. "It's my Christmas gift," Aniveta said. Aniveta's mother looked into the box and fell to her knees. "Aniveta, this is wonderful," she said.
Aniveta's father came into the room. "Look, Papa!" Aniveta said as she held the box up to his face. He smiled gently and closed his eyes.
"God's blessings are upon us, for this is truly Aniveta's gift," he said.
"And, Papa, I learned about a gift even greater than this one," she said.
"And what is that?" he questioned.
"Let's go sit down and I'll tell you all about it," said Aniveta, as she led her papa by the hand.
No comments:
Post a Comment