I Must Go Home – Short Inspirational Story about Christmas

He entered the airport and joined the line at the counter. The gleaming digital signs show planes all around the world. He knew his plane should around somewhere on that board so he didn’t search for it.

(Here it's only the first part of the story. You can read the complete article by clicking this Inspirational Christmas Story Link.)

He kept staring at the giant signboard that letters and numbers moving above the receptionist. All of them together showed the date and time.” 23th December 2020 08:00”. He sighed and looked at the bag he was holding. Just 24 more hours to see them.

He is nervous. What they will say? He never saw the baby for the two years he went off. His wife was pregnant when he left and it was the hardest decision he made. But he had to leave because of his job. And she knew it. He only saw photos of the baby, she sent. He always wanted to go home and see his baby, hold him in his hands and say ” Hey little prince. Here is your daddy”. And his little princess Emma. He didn’t saw her for almost two years. Now he only wanted to go hug all of them and never leave them again.

He has felt guilty; Raising two kids all alone without him should be very hard for her, Jane, his queen. But she never complained. She knew he should go to his job and it was risky.

“Hello, How can I help you?” he came back to earth with that question. Without knowing he had come to the receptionist. She smiled and asked again. ” Can I help you?”

“Yes, I want to go to Minnesota, “He said while looking at the small Christmas tree neat the large desk.

“I’m sorry mister. Didn’t you see the sign there? There is a bad snowstorm in all over MN so all planes are canceled for three days. You can’t go there until we start again.”

Everything went upside down. He felt like everything is fallen. After two years worked hard in the Navy and finally coming home from the war-front now he had to wait more days. His backpack suddenly felt heavy. His Christmas presents for Emma, Jane, and little Alex were there. He should go home before Christmas Eve.

“Is there any plane to small airports, Can you check other services, please? ” He asked. She was looking at his face. and she saw how his happy smile faded on her news. It was Christmas and she knew how hard not to be home on Christmas.

She looked at her computer. He looked at her face hopefully. Then she turned up her face. He knew what she was going to say by that sad face.
“I’m sorry. There aren’t any planes in 20 hours “He looked again at the giant clock and then he smiled sadly at her and said, “Alright. Thank you and happy Christmas.”

He turned around and went outside the airport. It’s snow falling slowly. Why didn’t he check the news before? He blamed himself. He was worried about them. Do they have enough food? If the storm was kept there they do not have food. He thought.” I’m going somehow to see them before Christmas Eve.

No one was on the streets because of the terrible cold. He put the buttons on his jacket and started to walk.
He didn’t understand what to do. For his family, he should be home this Christmas. He wanted to surprise them. He came all along this far but now he was stuck here. Very sad pain filled his heart.

“I should stay at the airport and tomorrow I can go to Minneapolis. But then I can’t go home until 26. If the storm kept existing it’s impossible to go from there.” He thought.

Everything was calm and quiet. The streets were empty. Seemed like everyone was already at home. Every house on that street was decorated with Christmas decorations. Two kids passed him running and laughing. He remembered his kids again.

He kept walking without a goal but then he stopped. How does anyone miss those giant bells? He looked at the sound and so the big church at the corner of the street. He stared a moment at this glamourous creation and without thinking, entered it.

No one was at the church. But it was decorated for Christmas. Everything was lovely warm and beautiful. He walked to the altar and looked for a moment. He lowered to his knees and closed his eyes, then started to pray. His paying was obvious. Right? He wanted to go home.

At the end of his prayer, he opened his eyes. Then he looked back again at the altar and silently came out of the church. Then he heard it and that sound stopped him. Unmistakably it was a loud horn of a train. Why didn’t he think about that before? There may be a train to MN that he can take.

He started to run. From his experience of the walk in the town before, he had an idea about where the railway station was. He heard the loud horn of the train. Was he too late?

The snow was thick. It’s hard to run. But he managed to enter the railway station finally. He asked about trains to MN from the counter. The man at the counter showed the first train and it was ready to go. He was there at the last minute. The train is still there. Thank god.

He bought a ticket and climbed up onto the train. As soon as he entered, the doors were closed and the train started to leave. In his mind, he thanked the train drivers who work on these holidays. He sat on an empty seat near a window and took the presents he bought for the children to his lap. For the entire cart, he was the only passenger. That didn’t surprise him. No one doesn’t need to go anywhere on Christmas. He looked at the beautiful but lazy view through the window.

Everything was pure white. It was just 4 PM but darkness started to spread. He knew that the train journey got another 20 valuable hours to arrive in MN. But if he is right it’s better than a plane. He can find a way home from Minneapolis. He silently thanked god to give this ride at least. And he prayed again to see his wife’s lovely face and children’s warmth before Christmas. ”I must go home”. He believed God will help him to make it home before Christmas Eve. His eyes dimmed and he had fallen to sleep.

Part 1 of the story end here. If you have suggestions for my writing please add a comment. If you feel you should read until the end of this story, please visit the complete story in my blog, stories category. Use the following link. Thank you.

I must go home by Sasindu Jayasri

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