Rocky the Sandman - A Screened Word Story for Christmas

Here I was, sitting and scrunching in the dunes of the beach in Miami, Florida. And I was out sitting and staring all throughout the Atlantic Ocean ahead of me. The sun was shielded from my eyes by my straw hat.

My family and I were only a few days until Christmas time during then, and I was beginning to understand where Charlie Brown was coming from. I was not getting into the holiday spirit like I thought I was going to be.

There had been so many things going on with me and my family that I was not really on board with. On my mother's end, she had been busy putting together a high scale framing job for some special paintings and drawings sent over her way for a forthcoming exhibition at the Pérez Art Museum. And because she had to get the precise trims, length, and proportions right, she barely had enough time to spare to do some Christmas decorating or shopping with me. She didn’t even ask me what I wanted for Christmas.

And my father might have been more disappointed than I was. See, what he hoped to do together as a family, my mother, my father, my little brother Dylan, and I, was to head up to Denver and meet up with my aunt and uncle and spend Christmas together with them.

Besides, the first time I remembered us visiting my uncle and aunt, I was enthralled by the mountains and forests around me. As nice as it was to soak in all the tropical essences of Florida with all the palm trees, the beaches, the sunny days, and all that, there's just something about the forests, the snow, the mountains, that just felt so magical. I felt like I was exploring an uncovered part of Mother Nature that unleashed all her innermost beauty, no matter where we roamed. It's one thing to camp out in the wilderness, but to see it in front of us, even in passing, just completely took my breath away compared to all the shoreside areas that I got used to throughout the first twelve years of my life.

Unfortunately, my father got a call from my uncle and aunt telling him that they've had a severe blizzard going on. Because of that, our proposed flight to Denver had been cancelled. So, you can imagine how much of a wrench that threw into our holiday plans.

With nothing better to do around the holidays, what more could I have done? I continued to sit in the sandy beach and stare out into the ocean thinking about what went wrong with us throughout the holidays. Even as I heard all the joyous noises of the families and children playing in the beach, the water, and with the sandcastles they constructed, that still did nothing for me.

I missed the cold, fluffy goodness I’d have felt in-between my fingers. I missed the idea of making snowballs to fight Dylan with. I also missed getting together to make snowmen out of what we could have gathered of the snow and to leave one behind to grace the earth with.

Now look where I ended up. Back home in the same old tropical climate with nothing that screamed Christmas to rev up my excitement for the holidays with.

“There you are, Taylor!” said a voice behind me. After I turned my head around, that was Dylan walking up to me.

“Dylan? What are you doing here?”

“Mom and Dad knew you were here, so they dropped me off here. They thought maybe I would’ve been safer with you, or so they told me.”

“I see,” I said back. Having Dylan around for company was nice, but that wasn’t going to life me up enough to put me in the right festive mood.

But then, it hit me. The sandcastles farther along in the beach? The snowmen Dylan and I would’ve made in Colorado? Dylan being right here with me? Suddenly, that gave me a glimmer of an idea.

It was still bright outside, so I was going to not sit here and mope and dope all holiday long, and if I can help it, neither would Dylan.

“Dylan?”

“Hmm?” he asked curiously.

“I want you to help me with something while we’re here.”

“Okay.” Dylan was curious but with some obvious excitement brewing about.

I started by grabbing all the sand that I could have raked around me, and whatever mounds of sand I could have clasped in my hands, I dumped them all into a pile where I used to sit, and Dylan followed my lead. We basically scurried across the beach to find just what I was looking for to pass the time with.

Dylan caught on to what I was trying to do, and with obvious excitement, he whipped out his sand glue from his shorts pocket. He always carried one around in case he needed to make some sand sculptures in his downtime. I thought his tenacity to make sand sculptures was boring, but now, he was a bigger help than I hoped.

About a couple hours have passed when we found enough sand to make three large mounds with. The biggest one on the bottom, a smaller one to stack on top of it, and another smaller to stack on top of that.

Soon afterwards, I looked throughout the beach and found almost no one there. Many of the families who were there earlier probably went home to indulge in the holidays their own way. But me? I was looking for whatever was washed up on shore and see what would have been good for the sand mounds. Whether at school or at home, I heard on and on about how the oceans have become tarnished because of the trash that was dumped into the oceans. I usually agreed with that sentiment, but this time, there's just something about finding random objects in the beach that seemed exciting when you're trying to make something with them out on the beach.

Fortunately for me, the first thing that caught my eye was a couple of wooden sticks out on the sand. They were long and just the right amount of thick. Of course, when I reached them, I had to make sure to look at each end of the sticks so that I could have put them in the right way. And I figured if one end is sharper than the other for each stick then that would be the perfect way to put them in. So, before anyone else could have reached them, even Dylan, I immediately grabbed those two long sticks and rushed back to the three sand mounds so we could have put them in.

After that, I looked even deeper into the beach, and I noticed how many different sizes of rocks there were to be found as I got deeper into the ocean. I was in my swimming trunks, anyway, so I could easily have dived into the beach to take a closer look. Any one of the rocks I had seen in the ocean floor would have sufficed, since they were all so enticing to look at, and there were so many different sizes and shapes to choose from. I decided to go with whichever ones looked the most round and even in size.

Just as I was running back out into the beach with them, Dylan drew my attention to plenty of seashells washed up on the beach, between the sand and the water. There were many sizes of those to choose from, too, and they would have been perfect. Dylan and I then chose whichever ones looked the most colorful, and all the math classes I ever had helped me pay attention to the sense of proportion, especially with something like seashells. Those went into the sand mounts next.

I let Dylan investigate the ‘trash mounds’ next, where I found the two wooden sticks, and he noticed an old corn cob pipe there. It was fortunate that he found it lying on the beach. I mean, I know about the hazards of smoking hazards, but Dylan and I agreed that what we were putting together wouldn't have been what we wanted it to be without it. After drawing a simple smiley face on the sand mound, then we put the pipe there.

It occurred to me then that the only thing missing was a hat. But I knew just which hat to put on it.

It would not have been proper for me to have gone out without a hat on me, especially on a nice day. But I, and Dylan, too, started to feel the drive that compelled me to bring life to this creation, anyway, so that left me with the finishing touch: my straw hat on its head. And in my opinion, it suited it.

After taking a few steps back, Dylan and I marveled at what we built together: a snowman made out of sand. Or should I say, a sandman?

“Would you look at that?” I said to Dylan with awe.

After thinking about it, I wondered, “Why aren’t more people making stuff like this? Especially around Christmas time? This would be perfect!”

In fact, I could’ve seen this being something that would be practiced by everyone, no matter what time of year they would have done it. Doesn't that just seem like a good excuse to keep Christmas going all year round instead of just through charity and giving?

Those thoughts did occur to me, yes, but they just came to me as I continued to marvel at what Dylan and I had put together and how we had missed the opportunity to do so when we had the chance.

I didn’t think to suggest something like this to Mom and Dad. I suppose they were also used to making snowmen when we settled in Denver. Then I just flashed on something. I thought to myself, “why don't I show the, what Dylan and I just made so that they’d get a decent idea of how to spend the holidays?”

That gave me the idea to run back home so I could have let them know. We lived only a few blocks away from the beach, just a ways away from the Miami Beach Boardwalk, so going to the beach was more of a routine thing with me since we lived so close.

In a flash, I ran up to the boardwalk. Dylan was calling out behind me, but all I could said to him was,

“Watch the sandman for me! I’ll be right back!”

However, I did not go far before I stumbled onto some loose gravel. Then I tripped and knocked myself out.

Was I going too fast? Was the sun getting stronger than I thought? All I remembered was that I was starting to lose a little bit of consciousness, and Dylan ran up to me as I began to drowse off. A few seconds later, I remember blacking out.

I remembered being in the exact spot where I fell when I woke up, and it did not feel like much time had passed, like I had been unconscious for only about a few minutes. As I looked all around me and stared up into the sky and a couple times into the sun, I heard a voice calling out to me.

“Hello, my man.” said the voice to me. “Are you okay? Don't worry, I'm here for you.”

As soon as I came to, I finally regained enough energy to push myself up and stand up. Dylan was still there beside me, but this time, he looked more shocked, like he saw something else that rocked him to his core, and not just me. Maybe he heard it, too? What was it?

I looked around me to see where the voice was coming from. After looking in every which corner where we were, from the streets to the boardwalk, the palm trees, and the beach, there was no one I saw whose voice matched what I remembered hearing.

But then, I noticed, when my eye glanced back to the sands by the beach, I noticed that the sandman that I made there was gone. My stomach dropped a little when I saw that. What could have happened to the Sandman?

It would have been too heavy for other people to have uprooted from the beach and scurried off with it. And the waves were too low to have swept up to the beach and just dismantle him entirely. The Sandman could not have just crumbled despite my best efforts. Could it have? Even some of the fixings that Dylan and I put on the sandman, they were not there either. So, what happened to it?

But then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around, there he was. Staring me right in the face with his smooth, stony eyes.

“Feliz cumpleaños!” he said.

Dylan and I screamed and took a few steps back with a fright. It could not have been possible. How was this sandman even alive? How was he speaking to me? I had to have been dreaming. Either that, or it must have been heat exhaustion. I remember being told that heat exhaustion would have tampered with the mind and made you see things. That had to have been what happened. That had to have explained why I tripped and fell in the first place. Or did I end up with something from the sea water? Any of those could have explained why I was somehow staring face to face at a live, talking snowman made from sand.

“Don't be frightened, kid. It's okay.”

“What do you want with us?” I heard Dylan say.

“I just wanted to check up on you and see how you're doing. None of you may believe it, guys, but I am fully aware of all that you and your family are going through. All the major setbacks, all the missed opportunities, all those small little things that make things more complicated than they're supposed to be? I feel you, man.”

“Who are you?” I stuttered. “What are you, even?”

“To answer your second question, you said it yourself, I'm a sandman. And this leads me to answer your first question. I'm just another sandman where I come from. But you can call me Rocky.”

I thought for a minute about what Rocky said to me about my problems. But then, when my mind flashed on Denver, it just hit me.

“Are you the same kind of being as… as Fr…”

“I think I know you’re about to say. My cousin from way up north?”

I nodded my head.

“In a way. But he and I could have gotten nowhere close to each other. He practically belongs up north, anyway, whereas I belong down here, where it's continuously warm most of the time.”

“Well, that makes sense,” said Dylan.

“But that's beside the point. I also want to take this opportunity to thank you for putting me together like this. Thanks to your ingenuity, I feel like I could be myself again. I could roam free again, do whatever I have always wanted to do.”

“Like what?” I said hesitantly.

“Relax, hijo. You don't think I was going to pull off any criminal stunts, did you? No, I would never go that far. Take my word for it, I have seen enough skedaddling among society to know what people at their craziest are capable of. Me, I've known better. And I still do.”

“I want to take your word for it,” I said. But...”

“Why not?” asked Rocky. “It's one thing to be mindful of strangers, and I am proud of you for that. But why can't you trust me? You made me. I'm alive again. We are starting to get acquainted with each other. But you still don't trust me, huh?”

I could not have found the words to answer his question with. I didn't know what to say.

“You know what? Don't sweat it,” said Rocky. “The day is still young anyway. And you and Dylan are on your Christmas break anyway, are you not?”

He did have a point there. Dylan and I were on our second day of our Christmas break. So, we simply nodded.

“Well, in that case, the day – or should I say, your break? – is still young. There are still so much of Miami I am curious to check out anyway. Would you be up for having a little fun with me throughout the city?”

“Well,” I heard Dylan say, “there had been so much family drama on our end this Christmas alone. So, anything to help take our mind off it is fine with us.”

“I agree,” said I. “Tell us what you have in mind, and we’ll tell you what we have in mind.”

For the next few hours, we had practically run about the streets, gazing at all the people who have come by as they went about their usual business. Because we started on the boardwalk, anyway, the three of us agreed to just have at it and start our way north. And we've also taken the liberty at gazing at all the tourists who came by thinking that Miami was the place to be for Christmas time. Whether these people came from Denver or anywhere else in the world, I could not have told. But those who did come here from other countries, I was able to tell right away, especially the Cubans.

Every time we got off the boardwalk, we did some hide and seek throughout many corners of downtown Miami, where Dylan and I took turns awaiting Rocky's arrival until I felt a woody tap on my shoulder and he said, “you’re it!” before we all ran off and did some other fun stuff together.

Along the way, we did see some crazies out and about, and some people who looked a little suspicious. The three of us all had our eyes peeled when they were in sight, and Dylan and I felt a wooden touch as Rocky’s arms steered us away from those people.

We continued going up north, playing hide and seek, and exploring all the different people and places, until we started running out of ideas. We were a good ways up north on the boardwalk when that happened, and Dylan had the bright idea of the three of us relaxing…after we have a race to see who would have made it to the southernmost end of Miami.

“I’m getting a little exhausted,” I said.

“Me, too,” said Rocky.

“Me three, said Dylan. “Say, why don’t we relax? And I mean, after we have ourselves a little race to see who can make it to the south end first?”

“Oh-ho-ho, you’re one clever cookie!” Rocky said.

“Oh, you’re on!” I said. Whenever Dylan made an offer to race someplace, who was I to refuse his offer? No way could my little brother beat me! I was part of the track-and-field team back in school for a reason, you know.

So, the three of us all set off at our fastest. Rocky was a little slow, however, so Dylan and I tried to slow down a little so he could’ve caught up with us. But…

“Don’t stop for me! I’ll catch up.”

So, off Dylan and I went. I was personally amazed how we did so many fun things together, and it wasn’t even evening yet. No wonder we were having so much fun!

And once we saw the southern beaches ahead of me, Dylan and I became more compelled to rev up our running speed, no matter what our bodies told us, to make it to what we agreed was the best beach in town.

To our surprise, as we got closer, there was Rocky, running right beside us.

“Ha! I told you that I’d catch up!” he yelled out.

“Oh no you don’t!” was all I said as Dylan and I tried to catch up to him next. “Catch up if you can!” yelled Rocky.

         Frankly, I lost track of who was ahead of who. I just remembered that when we reached the southern end of the boardwalk and the beach, I was just ready to lay out in the sun. I swear I must have seen Dylan ahead of Rocky and me, just by a margin. Normally, I’d have been jealous of Dylan since he always creamed with whatever race he challenged me to. But what did that matter? What a way to relax after a nice, long run!

         So then, Dylan, and I sat and laid with the warm grains of sand against our backs as we peeked out into the vast ocean blue ahead of us and the traffic and hustle-bustle of the Miami crowds behind us. Rocky, of course, looked like he was about to sink in the sand.

         The three of us laid there for over an hour before I remembered just how close to evening it was finally about to be.

         “Rocky?” I said to him, who now looked like he was closer to the water than usual. “Dylan and I are going to head on home for the night. And I'm sorry if we cut this playdate short.”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Rocky said to me. “You did not ruin it for me at all. I could not have enjoyed myself more. However, you don't have to tell me what you know about your family's dilemmas. I know exactly what you are going through. And I just wonder, why don't you try talking to your family about it?”

“But my parents are always busy with something,” I told him. “No matter what, if I were to try it again, I would have had no such luck. My father would have been bummed. My mother would have been too busy.

“Rocky’s got a point, actually,” Dylan said. “I usually would have gone out with my buddies from school, that’s true, but I would’ve spoken to Mom and Dad every other time. I gues I need to work more on getting together more with them, too.”

“What possible chance would I have in getting through to any of them? Especially since Christmas is around the corner?”

“You and Dylan will always have a chance,” said Rocky. “What I'm telling you is, it takes just the right push to set things into motion and to have things go as you want to have gone. That much I can tell you, Taylor.”

Well, I guess he did have a point. And Dylan, too. What was stopping me from attempting to speak with my parents, anyway? So, as soon as I thought about it for a minute, I became sure of what I knew I had to do for that night.

“Thanks, Rocky, for everything today,” was all I could have said to him.

“My pleasure, señor,” said Rocky. But just as he said that, an incoming wave came blazing forth, and the biggest third of his body was mostly washed off.

Dylan and I ran towards him when we saw that.

“Rocky?” I screamed out to him. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine, believe me,” he said. As Rocky stood up, I noticed him walking on his stomach now.

“This is another thing I meant to tell you two, and not just because it’s getting cold for me anyway. I think I have the exact opposite weaknesses as my cousin. He’d always dread being out in the sun and likes to stay cold and even frozen if iced with water. Me? I can’t stand being cold. I usually look forward to sunny days so I can stay warm and radiant. And yes, I can’t stand high tides, either. As you just saw, water is to me what the sun is to him. But I’m getting off track here,” he continued, “you should get back home while it's still bright. And see what you can do, Taylor. If you guys ever need me, I will be out where you made me.”

“Thanks again, Rocky.”

“You're most welcome.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Dylan asked.

“Oh, I’ll manage. I will see you guys some other time.”

“I will see you some other time too, Rocky,” was all I could have mustered.

“Again, it was my pleasure,” said Rocky.

And the three of us went our separate ways as Dylan and I made a dart for home, and I slowly began to regain my senses.

Later that night, Dylan and I enjoyed a nice dinner with my parents, which in this case was turkey, potatoes, green beans, and gravy. It was weird to think that we were enjoying for dinner that night what other families would usually have saved for Christmas dinner. In our case, we usually went for scalloped potatoes and Christmas ham. We decided to give this a whirl, even though we were still several days away from Christmas Day. It came out as lovely and tasty as I hoped it would have been.

And there was just something about the turkey. It was Butterball turkeys we went with as opposed to the normal turkey we would have gone for that had the bones inside. And something about this turkey was just delicious, like it was some of the best I ever had. Even the gravy that came with it, well, I remember being more lenient towards the brown gravy over the turkey gravy, but something about the gravy that came with this turkey was also quite delicious and went well with everything else.

I was shocked by how won over I was by the dish. Maybe we'll have to consider this Maybe we'd have had to consider this for next Thanksgiving.

It was generally quiet over the dinner table, but to me, it was a bit of a relief considering how many nights in a row I remember it being loud or ‘chatty-cathy’, as my mother said, between the family, both with my parents and even with Dylan. This time, we were pretty much focused on our food, which was a nice change of pace.

But then I thought back to what Rocky suggested.

So, the first thing that came out of my mouth was…

“Don't you feel a little sad about not getting to meet up with my uncle and aunt in Denver?”

My father looked at me for a minute and he nodded his head, but he continued,

“I do, son. I do, Taylor. But I can assure you, that's one of those things where you really love what is special to you, and then the next thing you know, bam! Our holiday plans get derailed instead.”

“I guess that's true,” I said. “I keep forgetting about how dangerous snow can be during heavy blizzards.”

“He's got a point, honey,” my mother said to my father. “Besides, we know that after it has snowed quite a good deal, sometimes, if it stays cold long enough, the melted snow would have frozen into sheer ice, especially black ice. You do not want to be walking or even driving over those.”

“Indeed not,” my father said.

Dylan joined in and added, “And what's more, if you drive over the black ice, that could leave you spinning around until you end up in a car wreck.”

“Worst case scenario, that is likely to happen, yes,” my mother said. “But what's important is that we stay in our house for this holiday as your uncle and aunt will in their house. Believe me, I'm as bummed about not getting to meet up with them as you are. But considering how heavy the blizzards over there are, I think it's better to be safe rather than sorry.

“We'll still have each other, anyway,” said my father. “I mean, Taylor, you have me, your mother, and Dylan to spend the holidays with. And how about your friends from back in school? Aren't you still getting in touch with some of them?”

I hadn't thought of that. At least, until Dylan brought it up earlier. I was so looking forward to meeting up with my uncle and aunt in and with Denver that I had forgotten about getting in touch with some of my friends from school. Some of them I remembered being very close to, but the others I didn't think to spend enough time with. Who knows? Maybe I was missing out on more in life than I thought, and that maybe this whole flight cancellation might have been a blessing in disguise.

“That is true, Dad,” I told him. “I guess I really did not stop to think about what I was missing out on, what fun I could have had that would have meant something.”

That was an instinct moment. I did not anticipate saying something like this to my parents before.

“That is a very good way of looking at it, son.” said Father. “While we still have a few days ’til Christmas, maybe that would give you a chance to catch up with some old friends, do a little Christmas shopping, and who knows what else. In fact, that's probably something your mother and I need to do as well.

“Uh-huh. Uh-huh,” I heard my mother say. “I‘ll admit I'm tend to get stressed about getting the framework done, but I'm pretty confident that I will give myself another day or two to get this all done and then I will catch on with everything else.”

“You see, Taylor?” Father said. “There's always going to be some wiggle room, if only we can arrange it for ourselves. Whether it's for each other or for what else you have going on.”

The more I heard him talk to me about what mattered most in the holidays, the more relieved I began to feel. I could only imagine just how much worse our family holiday could have become outside of just a mere flight cancellation and having tons on your plate.

Later that night, I began feeling extra drowsy. So, after calling it a night and brushing my teeth, I plopped straight into my bed, more exhausted than I must have been in my life. Either the bruise on my head was beginning to swell, or the run on the boardwalk got to me, or maybe it was because of the turkey. I had forgotten how easily turkey can make you sleepy.

But either way, I recall being pretty much out like a light within the next couple hours. It was probably one of the best family dinners I remembered us ever having, not just because of the food, but because of what all we were finally able to say to each other, my family and I. It seemed like everything was starting to go onto the right track.

And the sandman? I don't know where he came from, what possessed this form, or how he came to be alive, how he came to be real, but it was one of the most serendipitous bouts of fun I recall ever having, at least that did not involve school. So, since he told me to meet him where I made him, I knew there was something else I was looking forward to outside of Christmas Day. So, as I was starting to near the state of sleep, I allowed all the fun moments I had with Rocky take over my brain as I rewound that day in my head until I drifted asleep.

Later the next morning, I remembered waking up and looking outside through the window on my left. The sun was starting to blaze through the window and down onto me. I was wincing my eyes from the bright glare. But as my eyes became fully awake and my body was starting to slowly be energized again for the day, I remembered just what a nice day such as this meant. It meant that I could have gone back out to the beach again and explored what went on in the Miami beaches. Best of all, I could have had a chance to go out and play with Rocky some more.

So, once I brushed my teeth, I lunged out of the house and ran through my usual go-to paths throughout the Miami streets and boardwalk until I’d make it where I made the sandman the day before on the beach.

Strangely, though, I did not remember seeing my parents anywhere back home when I was running out. I wonder if they were brought down by the turkey, too. Maybe Dylan as well?

But I would have worried about that later. I took a closer look at the goings-on in the Miami streets, found the proper time and place where I could have crossed safely, and I became more excited as I reached the familiar line of palm trees. Once those caught my eye, I felt myself running a little faster and farther than I had ever run before throughout Miami, even compared to our race on the boardwalk. Maybe it was by sheer luck that I managed to avoid all the crowds and traffic that were going in every which way. And as soon as I ran up to the sidewalk and passed between the palm trees, I looked out into the beach and I saw Rocky, just where I made him.

Only this time he looked like he was about to walk towards the boardwalk. I knew Dylan and I had been friends with him for just one day, but suddenly, I felt myself being over the moon over the idea of having a good friend to run back to. With that in mind, I ran even faster than I had as I was reaching the palm trees so I could have caught Rocky.

“Good morning, Rocky!” I yelled out to him.

Rocky turned his head around towards me and I saw his face lighten up a little as he recognized me.

“Good morning, Taylor,” Rocky said. “I'm so happy you were able to come and see me again. But the truth is, I did manage to eavesdrop into your house. I'm not gonna lie, I rested for the night by the beach near where your house was. And I was close enough to have gotten an earful of what you and your family spoke about last night. From the sounds of it, I'd say you and Dylan are starting things off on the right path.”

Somehow that made me a little uncomfortable.

“Would you have gone anywhere you chose if it meant getting really close to whatever friends you made?”

“Sometimes I do, yes,” Rocky said, “but I wouldn’t have spied on them. Believe me, I'm not that kind of guy. Since you made me, I could not resist checking up on you and see if things would have turned out for the better for you and your family.”

“Why are you so concerned about what happens to me and my family? I thought you were looking forward to the fun things that we did yesterday?”

“I did, believe me. But I also know that every time I come forth, I consider it a priority to check up on how my friends are doing. And see to it that they are as well as can be.”

That hit me somehow. It's not a lot like what my father told me over the dinner table last night. Rocky was right. What was I thinking to have been too preoccupied with other things besides just my own friends, my own family maybe?

“What about you, though? If you meant to check up on me, then why are you saying things like that to me like you’re about to go away?”

“Because I am,” Rocky said to me. “You can say my work here is done. I have the same calling as my cousin, you know? We are only a few days away from Christmas Day anyway, so if I were to spread some joy and cheer at this time of year, then never mind what fair weather may come about. What matters is that what you still have with your family, I intend to share with other kids and with their families, too.”

“Just like you with me,” I said.

“Exactly, hijo. Besides, I want to thank you and Dylan for the race throughout the boardwalk. It helped me get the energy I need to make my way beyond just Miami. So, with that said, you'll see me again someday.”

I felt a slight pain in my heart when I heard him say that. So, very carefully, I lifted my arms and with as delicate a wrap as possible, I felt myself hugging Rocky and I felt The wooden texture of his arms snuggle against my back.

“Take good care of yourself, Taylor,” said Rocky.

“Thank you so much for everything, Rocky,” was all I could have said to him. “And yes, I will.”

As we let each other go, Rocky said to me before he walked away, “Tell Dylan and your family that I said Feliz Navidad.”

With a smile creeping up on my face, tears in my eyes, and my hand in a waving motion, Rocky bid his goodbyes to me in return as he went back to walking into the tiles of the boardwalk, this time, to join up with the crowd and try to challenge any of them into a race.

“Where my cousin will go this Christmas, I will too,” I heard him say.

I turned my head to see Rocky one last time, but he was no longer there. All I saw of Rocky on the boardwalk was my straw hat. I slowly walked up to where it lied and put it back on my head.

The next thing I knew, there was a sudden force on my cheeks. All I did was put my hands, my hat on my head and suddenly I felt a slight force pounding against my face.

And that was when I came up with a start.

What I did not expect was to find myself back in my bed, all snug and as bright as it was this morning.

No, wait, it was morning. I looked to my left, where the sun was beaming out on me. When I looked down to the bedside table, my straw hat was laying there. My mother was standing right beside me.

“Good morning, sweetie? How are you today?” she said to me.

“Oh, now that you're here, just waking up a little,” I said with a yawn.

“Well, I have some good news for you, honey,” she continued. “I was up all night last night putting together the framing project and it turned out I was able to get it done faster than I anticipated. So now, that gives me all day today to do whatever. Didn't you tell me you wanted to do some Christmas shopping?”

“Yes, Mom. I do,” I responded. “In fact, I guess I had some ideas of what I wanted to give to my friends from school.”

“Well then,” she said to me, that's what I'm hoping we could do today. We could go out together and find some nice gifts for your father, for Dylan, and friends you it is that you speak of.”

I was beginning to feel excited by that idea. But it wasn’t just that. I flashed on the nice palm tree that was close to our house. We originally had some extra lights that we meant to pack with us for our trip to Denver, but since we never thought to get a regular Christmas tree to decorate this year, perhaps we ought to give that palm tree a whirl instead. That, and there were no weather reports of wind that I remembered reading. It’s nothing a good string of lights and tinsel wouldn’t have fixed.

“Thank you for bringing my hat back,” I told my mother.

“We didn’t, actually,” she said. “Someone else did.”

Huh. Who would have brought it back to me? But then, before I could’ve thought any more of it, I remembered something.

“One more thing, Mom. Before I do anything else…” I hesitated a little before I finally continued, “a friend of mine wanted me to tell you and the others that he said ‘Feliz Navidad.’”