A boy named Ali had a large and harmonious family, happily living with his sisters, parents and grandmother. His grandmother loved everyone a lot and was respected by all family members. She was very old, but sometimes she would recall things from her past and share with them. Sometimes they would believe her but at other times they would think that Granny might be mixing up the facts due to her old age.

One day, when Ali was in school, suddenly while knitting (编织), Granny remembered something and she couldn’t contain her emotions so she got up to tell her son — Ali’s father. She walked as fast as she could to his room and said, “You always asked about my birth date, but do you know today is the day when I was born?”

She looked at her son with an excited expression, expecting an immediate response. However, her son wondered how she could remember her date of birth in this old age when she forgot so many other things, so he didn’t pay much attention to this. Disappointed at her son’s reaction, Granny then went to Ali’s mother and Ali’s sister, but like Ali’s father, nobody believed her.

Sadly, she went and sat in the terrace (庭院). When Ali returned from his school, he found his grandmother sitting alone with a sad expression. Ali asked his granny about the matter, but she said there was nothing to worry about. After a lot of persuasion she finally told him what was troubling her — nobody seemed to care that it was her birthday today!

After hearing what Granny said, Ali thought of a plan. Purely by chance, some of Ali’s friends were playing nearby so he shared his plan with them.

For years, putting up Christmas lights had been a family tradition for the Patrick’s household. It was an occasion when they would busily prepare for the celebration of Christmas.

Their Christmas light display was always a highlight of the neighborhood and brought much delight to the whole community. Typically, Anthony would invite the neighbors over as they decorated the Christmas tree in the front yard. Emily, who lived next door and had known Sara’s family for long, often came to admire their wonderland of Christmas lights.

In early December, Anthony would string colorful lights all around their roof until it looked dazzling. On the front lawn, he would blow up a large white Frosty the Snowman and a Rudolph with a glowing red nose. Sara always joined in, along with their warm-hearted neighbors, hanging gifts on the tree and playing “White Christmas” over and over to keep everyone in the spirit.

Yet the bad news came in the midst of the festive mood, before they could finish the Christmas decoration. Anthony fell desperately ill. The symptoms suggested acute heart failure and he was soon admitted to hospital. Sara spent days and nights in the ward, attending to Anthony and praying for his recovery, though the hope was slim. On Christmas Eve, Anthony passed away.

It came as a huge blow to Sara. In the following days, she had to manage the funeral while struggling to figure out a way to cover housing and household expenses, and tackling a seemingly endless list of difficult to-dos. Perhaps hardest of all, she had to persuade herself into accepting the loss of her father. It was too much to take.

When she pulled up to the house after a long day on the go, the only thing that could comfort her were the twinkling Christmas lights, which brought her a spark of hope-it felt as if the brightness of the lights could cancel out some of the darkness of the past days’ misfortune.

Wanting to help, Emily shared their story on a community website.

Touched by their kindness, Sara decided to fulfill the lighting decorations, though Christmas was gone.

I was surprised when I received a short message from my father wishing me a happy birth- day.

I had expected to hear from my mother, my grandmother and my older relatives but never from my father. When I lay in bed, memories of my father flooded back.

When I was a little boy, I regarded my father as a hero able to do anything. However, things slowly began to change. The more I learned, the more I doubted what he said. The gap between us grew and, at last, I didn’t even like communicating with him.

My father, in my mind, had no interest in talking with me. Dinner was the only time we were together. He had no time to watch TV with me. He would tell me to ask my mother if I needed something. He even refused to answer my calls when I phoned from school. I got used to the changes. I thought that perhaps my father no longer loved me, so I hardly communicated with him and even was unwilling to contact him.

As time passed by, however, I began to wonder whether my behavior was right. And I began to be more and more upset. I had no idea how to get along well with him. One day, my mother told me that each time I called, my father was always listening beside her. Suddenly, I hated myself for my cold behavior toward him.

I tried thousands of times to apologize to my father. In the end, however, I was always too embarrassed about what I had done.

But that Saturday,

Two days later, I decided to go home. As soon as I opened the door, a good smell of meal took hold of me. My mother swept me into her arms with her eyes wet. “I miss you terribly, dear!” she said. “Where’s my dad?” Sad and disappointed, I found only my mother at home. Suddenly a handsome face appeared. “Surprise!” my father said. “To me, you are the whole world!” I hugged him tightly, with tears in my eyes. Indeed, love should be made known to loved ones.