Moonlit Reflections

It is dark outside; not dark like midnight is dark, but the shady liquid blackness of a day just ended, and a world sighing as it nestles down into its blanket of cool sleep. There is a small star pulsating just above the tip of a fir tree that is there but invisible in the blackness, and an opalescent moon, slowly waning as the days wear on. Inside, the fire is sparking to life under the hand of the expert hearth-tender, Mama, and little red-gold sprites are dancing about inside the stove, their laughter popping and crackling among the seasoned logs. The light plays across Christmas paper garlands that are draped across the kitchen and family room windows, and the white snowflakes hanging from them are tossing shadow and glow to each other as the fire-sprites leap to and fro...