The sky was turning into a deep blue shade when Noel and the other boys of the Sto. Niño Orphanage set out to sing Christmas carols. It had been their tradition to carol around the neighborhood during Christmas Eve. Armed with bottle-cap tambourines and milk-can drums covered with plastic, the six and seven-year old boys visited homes adorned with bright lights and shimmering lanterns.
Being the best singer, Noel would usually lead the group from house to house, asking for coins that a family could spare for carolers like them. Often he would get more coins than the others, for his voice stood out from the rest of the group.
Back at the orphanage, Sister Merlie would gather them in the living room for a little sharing.
“I bought candies from the 10 pesos I got tonight,” Ricky would say. “I gave three pieces to Luis because he only got five pesos.”
“Mang Waldo gave me a small basket of fruits. He told me to share these with you,” Carlo said.
“How about you, Noel? What can you share to your friends?” Sister Merlie asked.
Noel would keep all the coins he received in his pockets and say, “I gave some of the money to a beggar, Sister. And then I lost the others.”
In the beginning, the other boys would share what they gained. But when it was time to sleep, they discovered that Noel was keeping the money he got under his pillow, even though the feel of the money under his head was uncomfortable. For this he was very much disliked by the other kids.
That Christmas Eve, the other boys left Noel all by himself. At first, he just sat on the front stairs of the orphanage, fists clenched in a tight ball and fighting back tears that were welling in his eyes. Clutching his improvised tambourine and drum, he exclaimed to himself, “They’re just jealous of my voice that’s why they left me.” He stood up and marched to an opposite path, a road which he had not traveled before.
Noel knocked on the houses of families whom he had never met and sang the Christmas tunes he usually sang.
“We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas …”
“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…”
One man gave him a 10-peso coin, while a woman gave him a bill of 20 pesos. He even got applauded by one family, who only gave him five pesos.
After an hour of walking, Noel’s pockets were full of jingling coins. As he started to walk home, he realized that he did not know how to go back. He noticed that the trees had grown denser, covering the light shining from the stars in the sky. There were also no houses around. He felt his heart quicken, but he walked on, singing to himself to ease his fear.
“Sa maybahay ang aming bati, Merry Christmas na maluwalhati…”
“Kay sigla ng gabi, ang lahat ay kay saya, nagluto ang ate ng manok na tinola…”
But no matter how loudly he sang, he could not keep the fear from creeping into his body. Tears trickled down his cheeks, while his heart pounded like the drum he used for caroling. Whimpers were already escaping from his lips when he heard a small cry coming from somewhere else other than him. A baby was crying. Feeling that there might be a house nearby where he could ask help from, he rubbed his eyes and followed the sound. He arrived at a small wooden house, its door left open.
Peering into the open door, he observed that there were neither lights nor lanterns adorning the house. There was only a small Christmas tree the size of a catsup bottle placed over the table on which the family ate their food. They had nothing prepared for the noche buena except for two packs of instant noodles the father just cooked, still steaming hot. The mother was trying to hush her baby, who was crying loudly.
Noel started forward and accidentally stepped on a twig, that cracked loudly. The mother, noticing his presence, looked at him and asked, “Who’s that?”
Noel sniffed a little and replied in a squeaky voice, “I’m Noel.”
The woman smiled at him. “Hello, Noel. You have the same name as my son,” pointing at the crying baby in her arms. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m lost. I don’t know how to find my way back,” Noel said, his voice braking at the thought of not being able to go back home.
The father, noticing his tambourine and drum, said, “You’re probably one of the singing boys from the orphanage. How come you got lost?”
Noel told him that the other boys left him that was why he went caroling alone. “Sister Merlie is probably looking for me right now,” he finished.
“But why did the other boys leave you?” the father asked.
“They’re just jealous of me because I get more money than they do,” he reasoned. He raised his head and caught the man looking at him straight in the eye. Blushing, he also admitted that the other boys disliked him because he never shared what he got.
“That is unfair for them because they share what they have, yet you keep your blessings all to yourself,” the father said. Noel did not reply. He clenched his fists. The father, sensing Noel’s frustration, continued, “Yet you are welcome to join us in our feast tonight. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
Although he was still angered with what the man said, he heard the grumbling in his stomach and decided to enter the small house. His every step creaked against the floorboards. There was no furniture around except for the rectangular table where they dined.
He sat beside the woman and the baby. She said, “Could you sing for baby Noel? Maybe that would hush him up.”
Noel started his favorite Christmas song.
“Malamig ang simoy ng hangin, kay saya ng bawat damdamin…” He started shaking his tambourine gently. The baby’s crying gradually ceased.
“Ang tibok ng puso sa dibdib, para bang hulog na ng langit…” The baby flailed his arms to and fro, his small hands grasping Noel’s finger in a tight grip, as if not wanting to let go. A smile spread across baby Noel’s face.
Noel had not noticed the smile on his face, and before long, he was already playing with the baby, who kept holding on to his hand. He dined with the family, and although they did not have much, all of them felt full after the meal.
As the night grew deeper, a middle-aged woman arrived. She spotted Noel through the open door of the hut and exclaimed, “Oh Noel, I’ve been looking all over for you!” It was Sister Merlie.
Noel said goodbye to the family, especially baby Noel, who suddenly became quiet as he realized Noel’s leaving. As a parting gift, Noel gave the baby a five-peso coin. “Goodbye, Noel,” he said. The baby waved back by flailing his arms, his left hand clutching the five-peso coin.
When they arrived home, the other boys were already sleeping. Noel emptied his pockets and divided the money among all of the boys, putting the coins under their pillows. As sleep slowly overcame him, a smile crept on his face for finally, there were no more coins bothering his sleep. And for Noel, it felt really good.
