Abandoned - Small Town USA - Story 100

[Abandoned]

Chapter 26


  The rest of year 13 went by fast as did year 14.  As was our custom, before winter we went out to gather what wild foods and branches we could find.  We also did some tree cutting.  Our supply of logs and firewood had dropped a bit with the snack stands and baker's oven using more of our firewood now. 

The oven was often having to wait, not only for firewood, but for spices also.  The Julmust, eggnog, mulled wine, and the gingerbread cookies all required spices.  There were only 600 cookies in the special sacks in Santa's sleigh.  The Elves had yet to fire-up the 2nd baker's oven.



  The Elves built a 3rd spice house next to the 2nd one back by the cocoa house hoping with more spices the cookie production would increase.  Christmas was fast approaching.  The Elves had already put up some Christmas wreaths.  I supposed that decorating for Christmas was something we would have to give more thought too; not much was done back in Smallville other than stockings hung by the fireplace and a small tree for Santa to leave toys under.

  With more spices, cookie production did increase and there were soon 900 cookies in the sleigh.  We then realized that the baker would soon need more flour.  The mill stopped grinding several years earlier when we had a large surplus of flour on hand in the storage barn.  There was wheat from the last harvest still in storage; we could start up the mill again as soon as we got a new miller; beachboy, Sewart, was married and moved away from the mill.  He married Laniela, the fisherman's daughter, and they moved into our old house in town.  Kyndallas, who original moved into the house when we moved out, married beachboy Parrin and moved into his beach house by the small pond.  Both couples had young children now.  With the decision made to start up the mill again, we hoped that the early spring snow in year 15 would not have damaged too much of the newly planted wheat.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 27




  The spring snow took its toll on our crops.  By summer you could easily see that much of the wheat and potatoes were killed by that early cold and snow at planting time.  The mixed vegetables had not been planted before the snowfall so they suffered no damage; they were harvested first and produced their usual yearly quota of 576 vegetables despite summer being cooler than normal.

  The laborers took advantage of the cooler days and hiked over the hill to the southeast to collect what little surface iron there was there.  When Larryll, the resource merchant came, we traded seedlings for some of his iron.  Our tool surplus was good so we did not trade for very much.



  Two new houses were built that summer.  Another colorful little house was built by the duck pond, and another beach house by the beach not far from the mill.  A young single male moved into the beach house and a young couple into the little house.  There were more young singles living at home but not of marriage age; we already had several young singles living alone so we would hold-off on building more house for a while.

  By autumn the harvest totals were in, we lost 50% of the wheat and 47% of the potatoes.  We would have enough wheat for the mill, and there were some potatoes harvested with the mixed vegetables, so we would not run short.  However, we stopped baking potatoes at the snack stand for the time being.  We would be saving the potatoes for general use and would also be saving some firewood; we collected branches several times that summer and again in autumn.



  The botanist dug up several small evergreens and potted them in the greenhouse, he decorated some of them for Christmas.  They could be replanted outside after Christmas when the weather warmed again.  Santa's Elves were making more wreaths.  The weather got colder and we soon had the first snow of the season. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 28






  The Elves' Christmas wreaths and our small decorated trees began showing up all over Small Town and the Gingerbread Village.  It was beginning to look quite festive everywhere we went, even in the old part of town.  The Elves were hanging the wreaths and calling out a "Merry Christmas" to everyone they met.  It was a happy time for everyone; the sound of children's laughter carried far on the cold winter air.  The children were playing outside and building snowmen everywhere; the schoolyard, the playground, and the chapel yard had fresh built snowmen. 







  There was a snowman and a small decorated tree by the beach houses, and wreaths on some of the doors.  Our boys built a snowman in our yard.  We put up a small decorated tree by the barn.  The children were all anxious for Christmas to come and they were getting impatient waiting for Santa.  I remember being their age at this time of year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElpkkD6elsY 

[Glenn]

I imagine we all have such memories -  to be young, to be carefree, a life to be lived, a world to experience.   

And by way of a selective quote :-

Someone asked Bernard Shaw what, in his opinion, is the most beautiful thing in this world.

"Youth," he replied, "is the most beautiful thing in this world"..........

Only six more sleeps to go   

[Abandoned]

   I actually remember singing that song as a child    I still knew almost all the words 

Sad that not all the children of the world today are not making good memories. 

6 till Christmas Eve    Merry Christmas

[Glenn]

Yes, I agree,

Even when we see and know the world for what it is, we somehow manage to forget just how lucky some of us are.

Merry Christmas to one and to all   

And by way of a little Christmas philosophy -  a person should always

Lead a good life, be the best person that you can, and always do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 29



  There was more to keep the childen busy and distracted before Christmas.  Chestnuts were roasting and hot chocolate was brewing as soon as the snowflakes began to fall.  As soon as the ponds froze over, those treats were at the booths by the skating pond.  The temperature was just below freezing, the snow fell gently; there was no wind; it was perfect weather for skating.







  Over by the nearby stable, much to the children's delight, the jolly green tree fellow was picking up the children, sometimes 2 at a time, and carrying them back and forth along the road in front of the stable.  At the Gingerbread Village, the Elves were giving the children bits of sugar from the sugar house to feed to the reindeer.  The children nibbled a bit on the sugar too, and they dreamed of sugar plums from the candy store when they were tucked up in bed at night.  There'd be more to see and do tomorrow.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 30






  The road that the candy store was on was all lit up with the magic of Christmas streetlights that went all the way down the road past the shops, from the candy store to the Yule Tap Tavern.  The colored lights absorbed the light of day and then glowed softly at night.  The winter days were short; the lights were aglow early enough for the children to be taken to see the lights and then taken back home in time for bed. 



  Down at the end of the road by the Yule Tap Tavern was a big Christmas tree decorated with colored ornaments, bows, and garland.  There were other trees and lights to be seen around town too.






There was a big tree by the mill that we went by every day, and another by the Town Hall across from the chapel that now had Christmas lights by the front door.  Another big decorated tree was by the skating pond behind the Song & Carols shop.  And, of course, there was plenty of Christmas music to keep the children occupied too.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 31





  The caretaker put up the festival music tent next to the chapel.  The school children put on several musical performances with Christmas songs and carols they learned from the booklets they made for the shop while learning to write.  They even put on a play to tell what Christmas was all about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjN2avAT4oI 


Because word spread about how good the play was, the children had to put on an encore performance for the folks who missed it the first time.  The parents were so proud that their children knew the true meaning of Christmas.


  After the children's performances, the music tent was transformed into a live nativity with cows and sheep, and young couples with newborns who played the parts Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus.





  The gingerbread chapel had a big decorated tree and a carved nativity sign out front.  Even the House of Healing had a tree and wreath and smaller nativity sign.  The cleric said that faith was the best healer of all.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 32




  Three trees with pretty blue ornaments were added to the Memorial Garden; it looked very peaceful with the snow gently falling.  We were pleased with what we had done in honor of our ancestors; if not for them we would not be here, we would not be anywhere, we would not have been born, but still we wanted to do more.  The Maypole was left up all year to mark the day the mountain came down.  We had markers for those ancestors we knew of but we knew there were more resting here beneath the mountain.  The stonecutter had an idea that would embrace everyone, past, present, and future, but he would need a lot of stone and a lot of help.

  He would get his stone and help; we had plenty of laborers to gather the stone and we had 6 builders.  There were more willing to help if needed to finish the project before Christmas.  Work began immediately and soon the base of the memorial statue was completed.  Our youngest son, Joesaphus, who was still in school near there, was the first to see it and came running home to tell us "It was humongous", a word he learned from his older brother years ago and used often since then.  The base of the statue was indeed humongous.





  The statue got bigger as work progressed, we were all amazed at the size of it and at the skill of our stonecutter and builders.  The snow that fell did not impede the work that was being done; the statue of Christ was finished before Christmas and it was magnificent.  As the stonecutter said, the statue, with outstretched arms, seemed to embrace everyone and every generation, past, present, and future.

 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 33






  We were very pleased with the Memorial Garden and with our Small Town.  Every spring there were lilacs and daffodils blooming, asparagus coming up, and baby chicks in the chicken coops. Easter was celebrated in the chapel yard with an Easter egg hunt.  Tree seedlings were being potted in the greenhouse that was just like the one back in Smallville.  Wheat, potatoes, and mix vegetable were being planted in the farm fields for summer harvesting.







  Strawberries and peaches were special summer treats; ice cream was made with those fruits and with milk from our cows.  Many things were produced in summer, but it was also a time for fun in the sun in Small Town.  Children learned to swim in the small pond by the willow trees and beach houses.  There were weddings, ice cream socials, and harvest festivals in the chapel yard.










  Halloween and Thanksgiving were celebrated there too. The oak trees displayed their fall colors and our fall farmyards produced turkeys, pumpkins, and cranberries.  Apple cider was brewing and chestnuts were roasting.  We had much to be thankful for, but that was not all.  Then came winter with snowman building and ice skating and Santa's Elves. 

[taniu]

@Abandoned. I really like this last story, it is very colorful and joyful. It has a lot of Christmas accents. I think that your traveler will visit all the interesting places that have been created on the Banished map. Regards
Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

[Abandoned]

  Thank you @taniu    I wish you and your wife a safe and peaceful Christmas, and all the best for the coming New Year. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 34



  Back in year 10, the Elves arrived on sleighs pulled by flying reindeer; they brought with them the magic of Christmas.  They built Santa's workshop, a toy store, and a whole gingerbread village.  The village and town were both decorated with wreaths and trees, and our streets were aglow with magical Christmas lights.  The Elves brought us much comfort and joy over the years with hot chocolate, mulled wine, and warm winter woolies.






  Our town hall records showed that in early winter of year 16, we had 146 citizens, 99 Smallvillians and 47 Elves, all happy and healthy.  Our 99 citizens were made up of 65 adults, 18 students, and 16 young children.  Their 47 citizens included 25 adults, 7 students, 15 young children, and one jolly green tree fellow. 


  On Christmas Eve that year, the elves had 1,200 gingerbread cookies waiting in the special sleigh for Santa to pick up and take to our friends and families back in Smallville.  Our youngest children were all nestled in their beds waiting for Santa too.  We attended a special Christmas Eve service at the chapel earlier in the day.  The Elves told us that there was a troupe of entertainers on their way and would put on a musical show for us at the Yule Tap tavern that night where the yule log would be burning bright.   Santa must have told the Elves, so we had no doubt the entertainers would be there that night.  Those of us with young children arranged for older siblings or neighbors to watch over the young ones before we made our way to the Yule Tap.  We could hear distant music and singing as the entertainers made their way to us through the forest.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlsJD8RlhbI 



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, weary traveler, and be sure to remember the old ways.


The End

[Glenn]

Very nice weary traveler,