IT TAKES a lot of patience for a child to wait until the time to open presents on Christmas Eve. Parents tuck them in bed and tell them to wait till the morning, but they always manage to scurry out of bed minutes before the clock strikes 12. They can’t wait to see their presents.
One such child who refused to take even a short nap or eat anything but chocolate chip cookies was seated by the Christmas tree, eyeing the presents one by one almost, as if possessed with x-ray vision that he could use to pierce through the wrapper and the box. “Pink and fluffy,” the child said, as the child’s parents looked at each other in utter bewilderment. “Long and pretty,” the child said next, this time, picking up the glittery box and shaking it gently. The child’s mother approached and told her only child that it was almost impossible to guess what was inside.
The child could not wait any longer, so it was not long before sounds of tearing and crumpling filled the living room. The parents expected a shriek of delight from their child, who had already opened the present in a matter of seconds, but instead, they later found the child’s face covered in tears. The child was also suffering from an extreme case of hiccups. “Don’t you like your present, son?” the mother asked. She noticed that the toy robot they bought him was lying on the floor. The child cried hard because he had expected something else. What he had really wanted was a sit-on pony that could talk and run on batteries, or a princess bride doll complete with prince groom in a tux. JAN DOMINIC G. LEONES
