25/12/2025
⭐ “The Christmas Visitor”
Written for and read today at the Circular Head community Christmas lunch
The hall was warm, filled with the soft hum of voices and the smell of roast lunch. Outside, the Christmas morning wind carried the sound of magpies. Inside, people laughed, chatted, and settled in at decorated tables.
At one corner table sat Arthur, an older man with silver hair and a neatly pressed shirt. He came every year — not because he expected anything, but because it felt good to sit in a room full of people, even if he arrived alone.
He looked around at the families, the volunteers bustling with trays, the children waving paper angels they had made.
Arthur smiled, but a little ache rested quietly in his chest.
His wife Margaret had loved Christmas. This was his third one without her.
As he adjusted his glasses and reached for a cup of tea, a small voice broke through his thoughts.
“Is this seat taken?”
Arthur looked up.
A young woman stood there, balancing a plate and giving him a warm, hopeful smile.
“No, no — please, sit,” he said, motioning to the chair.
“I’m Ella,” she said, settling in. “My kids are over helping decorate the Gratitude Tree. They found the glitter.”
Arthur chuckled. “I can see that — they’re sparkling like Christmas ornaments.”
Ella smiled. “I didn’t want to sit on my own. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Arthur replied. “Company is the best gift.”
For a moment they simply enjoyed the music drifting through the hall.
Then Ella spoke softly.
“My mum used to bring us here every Christmas. She passed away last year… I almost didn’t come today.”
Arthur nodded slowly. “I know the feeling. My Margaret loved this place.”
They sat comfortably, not in sadness, but in the kind of understanding that needed no explanation.
Soon, Ella’s children returned, eager to show Arthur the tags they had hung on the Gratitude Tree.
One said: “For people who sit alone — may they always have someone to sit with.”
Arthur felt a warmth in his chest that didn’t come from the tea.
The lunch continued — jokes, carols, friendly chatter. Ella’s children insisted Arthur pull a cracker with them. He lost every round, but it didn’t matter.
As the event wound down, Ella stood and touched Arthur’s shoulder lightly.
“I’m really glad we met today,” she said.
Arthur smiled, eyes gentle. “Christmas has a way of bringing the right people together.”
And as he walked toward the door, coat in hand, he realised something:
For the first time in years, the hall didn’t feel like a place he visited alone.
It felt like home — filled with people who were strangers only until they weren’t.
Sometimes, the smallest moments become the greatest gifts.
And sometimes, the best part of Christmas is the seat that isn’t empty anymore.
