Editor’s Note: The Iowa City Press-Citizen has run a short story every Christmas since 2011. Tom Gingerich of Kalona, whose work was selected by a panel of readers, has penned those stories since 2014. Since 2018, Iowa City artist Hani Elkadi has created original artwork to accompany them.
Snowflakes were in the wind and signs of Christmas were everywhere. However, this year would be very different from the few others she had known.
Her name was Cleola and she was five years old– but her Irish-German family and all her childhood friends called her Coly. She had long auburn hair and freckles and was her father Newell’s favorite. He loved all his children, but she held a special place in his heart. She was his youngest, and along with his wife Maggie, and Coly’s two brothers and four sisters their family was bonded by love.
Each night he would come trudging through the doorway and she would run into his welcoming arms. It was a routine they seldom failed to follow.
“Papa!” she would cry.