Copyright reserved.  Forever Christmas by James G. Fabiano   Where was that damn music coming from? Jana lay in her bed desperately trying to get some sleep, after the last of her numerous holiday dinners had been completed. She thought for sure that the exhausting hours of preparation and entertaining would more than tire her out, so that she could get a deep and complete rest but, that was before the damned music. Jana's husband, Dick, was in the den watching, or at least, attempting to watch, boxing on TV. Jana knew he probably fell asleep minutes after he turned on the set. Dick enjoyed the serenity that being alone allowed him. She also knew that Dick really didn't enjoy boxing. He just liked being left alone. The music continued. Jana wasn't even positive that it was music. It had a very tinny sound almost as though it was produced from two loose pieces of metal rubbing on each other. She dismissed this thought because the sound had some lyrical qualities to it. She couldn't place any possible title to the music but it sounded vaguely familiar to her. Maybe it was her next door neighbor. Jana and Dick lived in a duplex, in the town of Kroy. They were only a block from Kroy Beach which is a beautiful stretch of sand and ocean on the southern coast of Maine. They both loved the beach and bought the duplex as a summer home, when both of them taught in Massachusetts. They knew that they would retire here and, when the time arrived, it did not take them long to pull up their ties to Massachusetts and head north to live out their lives. Jana knew that the neighbors were not home. She dismissed the possibility that they left a radio on, because her neighbors were out of town for the holiday: they hadn't been in their home for over two weeks. The notion that a radio was left on was impossible, because she would have heard it before now. If Jana only knew, she would have prayed that the music was coming from something as innocent as a radio! She stared up at her ceiling and focused on the sound. It seemed that the music might be coming from the upstairs attic but how was that possible? For the next couple of minutes Jana continued to stare into the manila white of the ceiling above her. She was now getting nervous and frustrated, by the reality that an unknown sound was keeping her from the rest she so desperately needed. At first, she thought of waking her husband and asking him to investigate the sounds of the attic. Jana knew that this would be foolish because her husband was well off, into his dreams, fueled by the glare of the television and the two to three scotches of the early part of the evening. In one quick response, Jana pushed off the bed covers and felt the floor for her slippers. At first she missed and put her foot down on the cold wooden floor beneath her. If nothing else that cold sensation sharpened her mind, so that she could more efficiently investigate her attic. She had a good image in her mind, as to what her attic looked like. This was obvious because she had just spent the greater part of the day loading up her Christmas decorations and storing them in the attic above. Before she pulled down the attic door she listened to see if her investigations were foolish, by trying to hear whether the sound came from the attic. At first she did not hear anything. This made Jana feel a bit foolish. Then the sound began again and it was obvious that it emanated from above. There was something about that sound that made her spend a few more minutes on the cold wooden floor staring up at the attic door. She did not know what it was, but the familiarity of the sound definitely slowed her down. "This is enough," Jana thought to herself, after she imagined what she must have looked like staring up at the attic door. She reached for the rope that allowed her to pull down the trapdoor that opened up the storage space above her home. As soon as she brought the door down, the music stopped. The opening also allowed the cold frigid air, of a January in Maine, to rush down and envelop her body. Jana did not know whether she shivered because of the cold, or shivered in the fact that the music stopped as soon as she dropped the attic door. She did not have time to answer this thought because the metal-like sound of the music above began as quickly as it stopped. Now Jana knew that the sound was emanating in the attic. She just couldn't imagine where and how, or even more frighteningly why? Jana started her slow ascent up the stairs. It was very obvious that the higher she climbed up the attic steps, the colder the air became around her. As soon as her head was above the attic floor, she felt a deadly cold air mass surround her head. It was so cold that she had to close her eyes, in fear that her lids would freeze open. Jana then continued her climb. The sound did not become louder as she made her final step into the attic: it only became clearer. She reached for the string that was connected to a light bulb that swung from a wooden rafter. In the dark she became a little scared because she was reaching into the dark not knowing what she would feel or possibly touch. Finally she wrapped her fingers around the cord and pulled down on it only to release a bright yellow incandescent glow from the 100-watt light bulb that was attached to the wire that was attached to the rafter. Once again, as with the pulling down of the attic door, the whining sound of the music stopped as soon as she turned on the light. The sudden end of the music slightly surprised Jana, in that she skipped a breath. As before the music started after a few seconds of silence that seemed to fill the room more than the music. The silence was so intense that she could clearly hear her heart beat. She then started her search for the source of the music. The attic looked like most attics should look after the inhabitants of the house lived there for over a decade. There were boxes spread throughout, containing old pictures, clothes, and bed-ware that had become obsolete over the years. One never discarded this stuff because to do so was like throwing out a piece of your past. Jana started to zero-in on the source of the music. She determined that the music was coming from a corner of the attic that stored the holiday decorations from the years past, and probably the years in the future. It was almost as if she were drawn to it, even though it had stopped as soon as she turned on the light. Everything was organized according to color. Jana had bought the plastic boxes from Bradlees Department Store so that she could place everything in its place. Halloween decorations were placed in the orange containers. Thanksgiving decorations were in the blue containers. Easter was designated as a yellow classification, with the 4th of July given the bright reds of fireworks gone by. In her mind's eye, Christmas was awarded the green color and because Christmas was her favorite season: there were more green boxes than any other color. Jana was convinced that the music was coming from the corner of the attic that housed the Christmas decorations. She walked closer to the boxes in hopes of finding the phantom sound. Jana again noticed that the closer she got to the boxes, the colder it appeared to be. At first she thought the attic might have developed a hole by the boxes of Christmas decorations. She decided to have Dick check this out before the winter became too wintry. It was not only becoming colder as she approached the boxes but the music started, almost daring her to finally know where it was. Jana also clearly understood that the closer she got to the Christmas boxes, the louder the music played. When she reached her destination, she did not know where to begin to look but, then it became obvious. The music was coming from an old wooden box that housed her mechanical Santa Claus: the one that moved mechanically, waving its Christmas light back and forth, as its white-bearded head nodded up and down. The mechanical doll was dressed in full Christmas finery and had been placed in a prominent location, over the past decade of Christmases. Many people commented about the decoration when they visited the Dryers. One of Jana's brothers-in-law was especially afraid of this harmless robotic toy. He called it possessed and tried to stay as far away from the decoration as possible. She was beginning to understand his fear, for she now felt the same. Continuation

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