Silver Bells

A story a day until there’s a sleigh! This holiday season, I’m sharing a new flash fiction piece inspired by a holiday song every day of December until Christmas. Today’s story is inspired by Silver Bells.

The magnificence of the Magnificent Mile was that you never felt alone. There was the rush of shoppers in and out of Marshall Field’s. There was the roar of dinner conversations as restaurant doors swung open. There were the bell hops tipping their hats at you and then shouting, “Taxi! Taxi!” There was the hum of traffic punctured by horns honking. There was the clip clop of horses as they conveyed tourists by carriage. There were the panhandlers asking for change. There was the rush of the L train and the screech of its brakes. There was the blast of holiday music from stores. There was the man ringing a bell as he collected donations for the Salvation Army. There was the plink of the bucket as you dropped in your coins which prompted him to say, “Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!”