Natalie’s parents worked far away, and all she wanted was to be with them for Christmas. She told Santa what she wanted, and with the help of a cashier, her wish came true.
Julian grew up in a simple home with parents who both worked as low-level government employees. He wanted to go to college, but his parents didn’t have enough money to pay for it.
So, he moved out of his parents’ house and got a job as a cashier at a grocery store to save as much money as he could for college. The fact that his parents couldn’t help him follow his dreams caused a rift between them.
Julian didn’t get that they really couldn’t afford it, and he didn’t like that they didn’t trust him. He had to go out on his own and figure things out for himself.
He missed his parents, but not seeing his younger sister, who he loved very much, broke his heart the most. He hadn’t been home in a few years, and as Christmas approached, he started to miss his family.
One day, he was at work when he saw Natalie, a young girl, struggling to carry a lot of groceries.
Natalie was about the same age as Julian’s sister, who was also 10.
Julian had seen her buy groceries by herself many times, but he never asked why a girl her age was always buying groceries.
As he watched the girl juggle the shopping bags, he felt compelled to help. He liked her and couldn’t forget how much she looked like his sister. He told his boss he needed a break, and then he ran out to help the girl.
“Hey! You need help?” He yelled and ran to where Natalie was.
Natalie said, “Thank you so much, sir!” in a polite way. Julian took the bags and walked with her to her house.
“I’ve seen you at the store a lot. “What are you called?” Julian asked.
“I see you too. She said, “My name is Natalie.”
“They work on a farm about 150 miles outside of the city. Since they don’t have a car, I’m usually by myself.”
“Oh, well. Natalie, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Julian. Julian said with a friendly smile, “I have a little sister about your age.”
“That’s great. She isn’t here. Natalie said, “Maybe we could play together.”
“That’d be great. “But she isn’t here because she lives with my parents,” Julian said after a long pause. Then, finally, he asked, “Natalie, where are your parents? I mean, it’s kind of strange for a little girl like you to be in charge of all this by yourself.”
“They’re not here. “But I see them sometimes,” Natalie said as she opened the door to her house. As soon as they walked in, Julian was surprised to see that the little girl seemed to be by herself.
“When you say they’re not there… What do you mean? What are they doing?” Julian asked as he worriedly watched Natalie take the groceries out of the car. It looked like a big mess. At least in the last few days, it was clear that there was no adult supervision in Natalie’s house.
“Well, I do. I think I’ll spend Christmas with my family. Julian, Christmas miracles really do happen! I asked Santa to let me spend Christmas with my parents, so I’m going to cook them a nice meal.”
“They work on a farm about 150 miles outside of the city. Natalie said in a sad voice, “They don’t have a car, so I’m alone most of the time.”
“Oh,” Julian said with a sigh. He felt bad for the girl.
“It’s okay. My neighbor often looks after me. This Christmas, though, he won’t be able to go because his family is coming. “I’ll be all by myself,” said a sad Natalie.
Julian said, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’m not! Do you think Christmas miracles can happen?” Natalie asked with a smile, but her mood changed quickly.
“Uhm… The truth is, Natalie. Julian said, “I don’t know if I do or not.”
“Well, I do. I think I’ll spend Christmas with my family. Julian, Christmas miracles really do happen! Natalie said with confidence, “I asked Santa to let me spend Christmas with my parents, so I’m going to make them a beautiful Christmas dinner.”
Julian was moved by what the little girl said.
Miracles don’t just happen, he had learned from life.
You have to figure out your own path. If they had, he’d already be in college.
Julian left Natalie’s house, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her all night. He really cared about the girl and wanted to help her, but didn’t know how.
The next day, after work, he went to Natalie’s house to see how she was doing. He asked her more about her family, and she told him where her parents worked. He knew where he was. Some of the suppliers from the area came from the same farm.
He thought he’d talk to his boss and try to figure out how to get in touch with Natalie’s parents. The next day, he asked his manager if he could use his truck to talk to Natalie.
Julian was able to convince his boss by saying he would bring back this week’s supply of vegetables and fruit, which would save money for the business. His boss agreed, and the next day he was on his way to the farm.
He was able to find Natalie’s parents after he talked to the store’s supplier and the farm owner. He told them he could get them back home for Christmas.
They told them that they couldn’t go, no matter how much they wanted to. They had to work on Christmas because their boss wouldn’t let them go home.
At this point, Julian’s hope started to fade. It was the night before Christmas, and this was his only chance. As he sat in the truck and got ready to drive home, he thought about Natalie and then about his sister. Then he realized he was too close to give up at this point.
This was the time to find out if Christmas miracles really did happen. He called his boss and asked to use the truck again the following week. His boss told him that his businesses wouldn’t be open during the holidays so that Julian could use that time.
Julian talked the owner of the farm into letting Natalie’s parents leave for Christmas. He made a deal with him that if Natalie’s parents could take Christmas Day off, he would make Natalie’s deliveries for free the following week.
When Natalie’s parents heard that they would all be together for Christmas, they were very happy. They quickly got their things together, said their goodbyes, and got on the road.
The next morning, when Natalie got up, she saw a Christmas tree with gifts under it. She didn’t know what was going on and started to open the gifts right away. “From Mom, Dad, and your secret Santa” was written on the note.
Her parents suddenly came out from behind the kitchen wall while singing Christmas songs. Natalie was so happy to see her mom and dad.
“You made it! “Thank you, Santa!” the little girl said as she ran up to hug them with tears in her eyes.
“We really missed you, little girl. You’re lucky that you have your own Santa who made this all possible. “And he’s coming to Christmas lunch with us today,” Natalie’s dad said, pointing to the door.
“Personal Santa?” Natalie asked, not knowing what to do. At that moment, Julian walked in wearing a Santa suit.
“Julian!” Natalie yelled and ran over to hug him.
On Christmas, they all got together. Julian found the moment so moving that by the end of the night, he had called his own family and made plans to see them in the coming weeks.