"A Christmas Visitor" (a short story published in the two-County 2007 Pennysaver Holiday Gift Guide)
Momma, Poppa, my little brother, Johnny, and I dwelled in the mountains of North Carolina in a modest little cabin, living off the bounty of the earth and the wilds. We struggled to survive, but the Lord always provided what we needed, so as we said our prayers that night, we were sure that He would do so again.
When I heard the loud knocking in the middle of the night, I was sure it was Poppa returning from his two-week trip to get provisions that we needed from town. I thought it was such a miracle that he was able to make it back. After the blizzards, nobody was supposed to be able to make it up the mountain again until the Spring thaw.
I grabbed my wrapper, ran to the door and flung it open. There before me was a giant of a man that startled me so, that I backed up several steps, leaving my mouth wide open. My momma, who I had not known was behind me, invited the stranger in and lead him to the fire to warm himself. She gave him a blanket and a hot cup of broth.
I wanted the stranger to go away, but there was an awful blizzard outside and it would be Christmas in the morning, so even though we were almost out of wood to burn and food to eat, Momma invited him to stay. He nodded yes but never spoke a word.
Momma was heavy with child and it was near her time, so she was counting on me to help her. I was a mature ten-year-old and had seen some of what happened when my four-year-old brother was born, but I worried that I didn't remember much that would help her.
When Momma's pains came, the stranger had only been there a couple of hours, but he took right over. He knew just what to do and even though he never spoke, we worked well together. My little sister was born just as the sun was coming up on Christmas morning. We laid the last of the wood to burn and all of us, including Johnny, went back to bed, because we had had such a long night.
When I finally reawakened, I realized that the stranger was gone and the fire was still burning strong. I opened the front door and saw that there was still a blizzard outside. Where could he have gone?
Then I started noticing things, one by one. First, the wood bin was overflowing and next, there were packages wrapped in burlap and tied with twine on the bed that we had made for him. Then, there were all kinds of food stuffs on the kitchen table and floor. There were bags of flour and sugar, sacks of potatoes, loads of cured hams and meats and much more; it was more food than I had ever seen before. Then I went out to the porch to take a look and there, stacked neatly in several huge rows, was enough wood to last the winter!
I ran back inside to wake Momma and saw that she was nursing my new baby sister, so as Johnny listened on, I told her what I had found.
She smiled but did not act surprised. My brother and I listened quietly as she reminded us of the scripture that tells us to be kind to strangers because we could be entertaining angels unaware.
We were all sure that was what the stranger was. He was an angel! We said a prayer together and thanked the Lord for His goodness and then my momma said, "Let's name your little sister now. Do you have any ideas?"
My brother and I both looked at each other, smiled and in unison we both said, "Angel."