The Story
Uncle Chad called from base last week. Icy Lake Michigan was out his windows and we were driving through the northern pines for a visit to Grandpa and Nana. It being only weeks before Christmas, Chad got on speakerphone and asked Sören what he wanted from his uncle.
“Hey, Sören—what do you want for Christmas?”
“A bell.”
“Okay, buddy,” Chad said. “I guess I’ll ask another time.”
We chuckled and conversation moved on.
Three days later, Sören was standing in his truck jammies in front of his bookshelves, stalling over choosing bedtime stories.
“Sören. Choose what you want to read. Is there something specific you’re looking for?” I asked him.
“Bell. The one with the bell,” he said.
The Polar Express. The story where the boy’s present is a bell. Where the boy is asked what he wants for Christmas and he asks for a bell from Santa’s sleigh.
The story that ends with the grown-ups chuckling. Where the grown ups dismiss a thing as broken because they can’t hear what’s beneath the surface.
The story where the grown ups chuckle and dismiss while what the little boy asks for is belief.
