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Oddball Ornaments: The Story of Forgiveness

By Terry Overton

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PROLOGUE
In the human world, Christmas is a wonderful time of year-a time of decorating, eating, shopping, giving and getting gifts, and hosting celebrations and parties. But in some of the most tucked away places, sometimes in dark closets or attics with cobwebs, Christmas decorations are stored throughout the year. It is the very Christmas decorations themselves that have a world all their own. They patiently wait, packed in their boxes, until they are finally set free and hung upon a Christmas tree. Humans can’t hear the conversations that happen between the ornaments, but the ornaments listen to every word spoken by the humans who hang the decorations each year.


For the old, one-of-a-kind ornaments, the humans placed them in a separate box labeled “Oddballs.” The Oddballs are best friends and have been through many Christmases together.

Last Christmas, the Oddball Ornaments learned the true meaning of Christmas. Now they understand that the Christmas tree is put up each year to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They found out that Grandpa went to Heaven and that Grandma now lives with their human family. And when Grandma moved in, she brought boxes of other ornaments. One of these ornaments, Candy Cane, became good friends with the Oddballs. They liked him so much, they made him an honorary Oddball.

This year, the ornaments observe a Christmas season like no other before. In the land of the humans, there are unexpected surprises and new celebrations. This is the enchanted Christmas the ornaments will always remember. This Christmas, they will learn more about Jesus’ love for humans and why humans love Jesus so much.




CHAPTER ONE
OUT OF THE BOX
“Hey! Hey! Yous Oddballs up there. Hey! It’s Candy Cane. Yous guys. Wake up! I’m thinkin’ I hear humans comin’ up. Wake up!”

“Who is screaming?” Train asked, letting out a frustrated tootle. “I was sleeping. Like, really sleeping.”

Red Ball moved around to loosen his tissue paper wrapping, and Nutcracker began to stretch his legs.

“What?” Ballerina asked, rubbing her eyes. “Did I hear someone say Candy Cane?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Candy Cane—over here in the other box. The humans are comin’ up the steps.”

“Already? I don’t smell turkey,” Red Ball said.

“Now, Red, you remember what the humans said last year?” Ballerina asked as she straightened her tutu.

“Huh? What?” Candy Cane asked.

Train let out a long loud tootle. “Yes,
I do! They said they would put the tree up earlier this year!” He let out another loud tootle.

“Yes, my friends,” Nutcracker agreed. “They’re putting the tree up earlier and leaving it longer to remember Grandpa!”

Doing pliés, Ballerina danced on her toes over to Nutcracker. “Yes. We are honoring Grandpa, who went to Heaven last year.”

Train let out a long, steamy, sad tootle. “Yes, he went to Heaven.” And another sad tootle steamed out of his chimney.

Ballerina danced over to Train and put her arm around him. “Remember, Train, in Heaven, Grandpa is no longer sick. He’s happy.”


With a happy tootle, Train said, “Yes, he’s happy. And someday, Grandma will go to Heaven to keep him company.”

“That’s right,” Nutcracker said.

“Shh! They’re coming into the attic!” Red Ball whispered.

Mom turned on the light. “Whew, it’s dusty here.”

“You’re tellin’ me!” Candy Caned grunted.

“Shh! Candy Cane, pipe down,” Nutcracker said.

“Okay, you two. We’re about to be set free on the tree!” Ballerina said. “Be nice.”

Mom said, “Let’s take Grandma’s ornaments down first.”

“Okay.” Dad picked up a tall stack of boxes and walked down the stairs.

The humans walked closer to the shelf where the Oddball’s box was stored.
“I’ll get these last two.” Mom followed him.

The box with the Oddball Ornaments remained on the shelf.

“Guess Candy Cane will be hung on the tree before us.” Train sighed and tootled.

“Maybe not,” Ballerina said. “The humans might come right back up those stairs and take us next and then put all of us on at the same time.”

“Yes, the same time,” Train agreed with a happy tootle.

“Shh! I hear them coming upstairs again,” Nutcracker said.

“Whoa!” Red Ball screamed. Whenever the boxes were moved, he rolled around and even bumped into the other Oddballs. “Now, look! More of my silver sparkles are in the tissue paper!”

“Be careful!” Ballerina said.

“Hey! Steady there, Red. You bumped me,” Nutcracker said.

“Sorry.”

The Oddballs braced to keep their balance as their box was lifted up through the air. They felt every step of the human carrying the box, but they couldn’t tell which human was carrying their box down the stairs.


“Here you go,” Dad said, handing the box to Mom.

“Thanks, honey.”

The Oddballs felt the thud as their box was placed on top of other boxes.

Dad took charge of how the ornaments were to be placed on the tree. “Now, Tommy, you can hang the ones in this box. They go around the bottom of the tree, and you can reach all of the right branches.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

“And, honey, can you start ornaments on the middle limbs? I’ll get the upper limbs and the angel for the top,” Dad said.

Red Ball rolled over closer to Ballerina. “Sounds like Tommy has grown up more.”

“Yes, Red. He has been around for six Christmases now.”

“Hope he is careful! Careful,” Train said with a tiny tootle.

“And did you hear? Dad mentioned her,” Red Ball said.

Nutcracker knew exactly who Dad was talking about. “You mean Angel?”

“Yep,” Red Ball said. “You going to visit her again this year?”

“Maybe. It’s quite a difficult journey, climbing to the very top, you know. Limb after limb, lifting one leg up at a time. Whew, but I might make that trip again.”

The Oddballs patiently waited for their box to be opened so they would be set free once again.

Grandma came into the room and placed her coffee cup on the table. She sat down and observed Tommy hanging the lower ornaments. “That looks good, Tommy. Hang it right there.”

Mom went to Grandma and lifted her up from the sofa. “No sitting down, Grandma. We need your help.”

“Well, okay. I’ll try to hang a few.”

And with that, she got up and went for an unopened box.

“Sos, it’s yous, Grandma. How you doin’?” Candy Cane observed as Grandma placed him on the tree. Then he said, “No! Don’t put me here! Put me up closer to the top. Those Oddballs will be up there. I want to hang up there on the limbs where the Oddballs hang. Hey!”

Since Grandma couldn’t hear Candy Cane or any of the other ornaments, she placed him in the very middle of the tree.

“No! Not here!” he protested but couldn’t be heard. “Put me up there, Grandma. Higher. Higher.”

“Listen to Candy Cane,” Nutcracker said. “He sounds like he is being put somewhere he doesn’t want to be. I think Grandma put him on a low branch.”

“Guess we’ll have to see when we are set free from this box,” Red Ball said.

Ballerina, known for her positive attitude and kindness toward everyone, added, “It will probably be just fine wherever they put him.”

“Could cause a problem, though,” Nutcracker said.

“Could cause a problem,” Train repeated with a short tootle as he chugged closer to Nutcracker.

Red Ball rolled toward Nutcracker and asked, “How would it be a problem?”

“We might not be able to talk to him,” Nutcracker said.

“That’s a problem,” Train said and tootled. “That is a problem.”

“Okay, Oddballs. Let’s not jump to any conclusions. Let’s wait and see once we are out of our box. Maybe it isn’t too bad. Maybe we can talk to Candy Cane,” Ballerina said, stretching her legs.

The Oddballs waited patiently to be set free from their box. They couldn’t help but worry about their good friend, Candy Cane.

Candy Cane wasn’t about to be placed somewhere he didn’t want to be. He wouldn’t stand for that. He was the most determined and hard-headed ornament of all the ornaments. “This ain’t gonna work, Granny.” No matter how much he protested, he knew Grandma couldn’t hear him. He was frustrated. He was so upset, he was afraid he might melt off some of his red stripes. Finally, Candy Cane decided he would take control of this situation. He had to be careful, so the humans wouldn’t see him. He started to slowly swing back and forth, attempting to shake free from the limb. He knew he was taking a risk. He might land upside down or get stuck on top of another ornament. He might get hurt if he landed too hard. He might even be broken into pieces. But he couldn’t stay this far from where his friends would be placed. He just had to take action.

At the same time, Tommy, the six- year-old human the Oddballs called “tiny human,” opened another box of ornaments, reached in, and took out a clear, glass ornament. With no adult watching, he reached as high as he could but couldn’t securely fasten the hook onto the limb. The glass ornament began to fall.
“Help!” the glass ornament screamed, unheard.

“That sounds bad!” Train said and tootled an emergency warning tootle.

“Tommy!” Mom yelled. “Look out!”

The glass ornament crashed on the floor into a hundred and three pieces. And at that precise moment, Candy Cane bravely swung out free of the limb and landed on the floor beside the eighty- third piece of broken glass.

“Sorry there, Glass Ball. Never got your name. Can’t put you back together. Sorry. Wish there was something I could do for yous.”

Tommy looked at his mother and forced back tears. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry.” His expression would melt away any anger felt by any parent anywhere. He felt horrible that one of the prettiest ornaments was ruined.

“Now, Tommy, that’s okay. It was a little bit too high for you, that’s all. It’s okay. Here,” Mom said, handing him Candy Cane. Thinking that Candy Cane was knocked off by Tommy when he broke the ornament, Mom said, “Put this one down low.”

“Well, this is a fine how-do-you-do! Now, I’m gonna be lower than I was before!” screamed Candy Cane.

“Did you hear that? Hear that?” Train screeched with a tootle.

Nutcracker only shook his head.

“Nutcracker, is there anything at all we can do to help ole Candy Cane out?” Red Ball asked.

“I’m not sure, Red. Let’s wait to see once we are out of the box.”

At last, Dad lifted the lid of the Oddball Ornaments’ box. He took Ballerina out first. He placed her near the top. Next, he took Nutcracker and hooked him onto a limb right beside Ballerina.
Ballerina smiled when she saw Nutcracker hanging beside her.

“This is working nicely.”

“So far, so good. But look down there at poor Candy Cane.”

“He does look a little out of place down there. He’s pretty small to be down on that big branch. He is hidden,” she said.

Candy Cane continued to grumble about his placement.

Red Ball was affixed to a limb on the other side of Ballerina. This meant that she was in the middle of the three Oddballs. “Hi, Red,” she said.

“Hello, Ballerina and Nutcracker. Ah, we are free again! Our first wonderful day outside the attic!”

“Yes, it is a perfectly lovely day,” Ballerina said.

Train was lifted out of his box and tootled all the way through the air.

“Yea! We are free!” he said.

With four of the Oddballs hanging in their usual location near the top of the tree, there was only one member missing. Poor Candy Cane remained at the bottom.

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