The Game of Extra Shine — Beside the parlor hearth, while the logs cracked like knuckles and orange light wiggled across the rug, Kelso invented a game called Extra Shine. Read the full story →
Beside the parlor hearth, while the logs cracked like knuckles and orange light wiggled across the rug, Kelso invented a game called Extra Shine. The rule was simple and very hush-hush: hang one ornament where everyone could see it, then sneak its “echo” to a branch facing the quiet corner. He wanted the tree to glow for the stockings, the window clouds, even the sleepy bricks behind the mantel. The trouble was his twig fingers clicked too loudly, and every glass ball went clink-clink-clink.
“Don’t tell,” Kelso whispered to the wreath, which smelled of pine and ribbon dust. He lifted the last round ornament toward a low branch, and—here is the secret part—it caught the firelight, bounced it to a silver star, then to the window, then back through the whole tree. Suddenly both sides glittered at once, front and hidden back, as if the room had taken a happy breath too big to keep inside.
Ever since that night, Christmas trees wear ornaments all around, not just in front, because joy likes to peek from the quiet side too. If you study Kelso’s branch, can you spot the extra shine he was about to share?
