“But dad, it’s Christmas!” Little eight year-old Tommy Schneider wailed. “You can’t go so close to Christmas!” The entire Schneider family had just been notified that Bill had to go to Afghanistan the 20th—just a few days before Christmas.


“I’ll be back in time for Christmas Tom.” Bill said quietly to Tommy. They were both secretly glad that Anne had gone outside to start the car. She wouldn’t be able to contain the tears that are threatening to overflow in the car.

“Do you promise?” Tommy’s eyes filled up with hope.


“I promise.”

After Bill packed his bag with Tommy’s help and Anne watching from the doorway, the entire Schneider family gathered in the car for the last time. On the drive to the base, all was silent except for Christmas music playing softly in the background.


Tommy watched intently as Bill climbed on the plane his chocolate eyes more fill with hope than they ever have been. Anne looked on with tears in her eyes—it’s always hard for her not knowing if her husband will come home.


“Is that your son?” One of Bill’s teammates asked as they looked out the window at their families.


“Yeah,” Bill replied quietly. His heart is heavy with making a promise he won’t be able to keep.


“Does he know this is a suicide mission?” The same man asked implying that more likely than not they will die in the course of the mission.


“No, no he doesn’t.”

That same morning Tommy went to school hearing every one of his friends’ stories of how they already know what they’re getting and of how their dad told them they could lay out cookies and milk. Upon hearing all the stories and seeing every one of them so excited for Christmas Tommy knew not to tell them about his dad. The hope was still present in his eyes because his dad promised to come home for Christmas but he didn’t want to tell anyone how his dad had to leave for some foreign country to be in some foreign war at 2 in the morning.


Tommy noticed someone that day, a girl, a tired look in her eyes but a smile still on her face. The girl noticed Tommy too, his eyes a mixture of happiness, sadness, hope and tiredness and a quiet smile on his face. They locked eyes in the cafeteria and they both just sort of knew the other needed a friend.


“I’m Emerald Hope Jones,” the girl introduced herself using her full name. Her middle name sparked something in Tommy. A new kind of hope—a hope that can’t really be explained but you know it’s there and you know you can rely on it always to be there when the rest of your hope runs out. Just like the stars are always there to guide you when you can’t see the moon.

“I’m Tommy.” He replied to the girl a profound smile on his face now.

Christmas soon came barreling toward them with festive cheer and colorful lights. But before it could ever fully get there it stopped with a sudden halt of smiles and cheer. The world turned a sick shade of grey.

Two men came dressed in black and Anne started to cry once she saw them. Her husband wouldn’t be back. Anne told Tommy with the assistance of the two men that Bill had died.

“I’m sorry Tommy. I’m so sorry,” she bawled out.

“No. Daddy’s coming home. He promised. He promised me!” Tommy refused to believe everything they were saying because after all, a promise is a promise. Especially a Christmas Promise.


“Tom, oh Tommy, he isn’t coming back.” Anne worked as hard as she could to get Tommy to realize that even though Christmas is tomorrow Bill wouldn’t be here. Tommy is making it really difficult though. Anne wishes she could have Tommy’s naïvetés and just outright refuse that Bill wouldn’t be back—though reality had caught up with her early on.

Christmas came with Tommy sitting in front of the door just staring at it waiting for it to open and his dad to say, “I’m home. Now who wants ice cream?” It never came though.

He never came. Tommy finally got the joke that while your world is stopped the rest of the world lives on. And Christmas left with the same bleakness that it came with.