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When he was three, they buried his mother on Christmas Eve.
The only thing Huck could remember about his mother were the blue eyes that they both shared, though he’s heard the townsfolk speak of the tragic life of Miss Finn. Born from poverty and raised into the same, she found her way into the arms of the St. Petersburg town drunk. The trauma of bearing his son took a toll on not only her mentality but her health as well. The woman was bedridden for years to come, being forced to lay and watch her husband beat her son with a fistful of cowhide and not be able to do anything about it. The only Christmas time Huck can remember with her, is when she closed her blue eyes for the last time.
A three-year-old wouldn’t understand, but seeing his father wail in his emotional agony, something had begun to wrap its fist around Huck’s heart like a vise. It never let go.
The funeral was short and disappointing, with only few of the townsfolk attending out of nothing but pity. Some of them tried to hug Huck and tell them that they were sorry, but Huck simply glared at them in response. He didn’t like most folks touching him, ever.
The Finn’s couldn’t even afford a proper burial in the town cemetery, so Huck’s father buried her out in the woods, with only a wooden cross to show where she lied. The time they buried her would be the last time Huck visited his mother’s grave.
“You did this to her,” Huck’s father spoke under his breath,” you killed her just by being born”.
The only thing Huck got for his first Christmas was a dead mother and his fathers hatred.
When he was six, he believed he would never truly have a real Christmas.
It was the first snow fall Huck had ever got the chance to see. The ground was covered in a blanket of white and every boy and girl in St. Petersburg could be outside playing in the cold. He wanted to go out and play with his new friend Tom Sawyer, orphan boy who had just moved to town to live with his aunt, but his father had come back to town. Just in time for the holidays.
Huck wasn’t good enough to play with the other boys and girls, his father said, he’ll never be good enough. He’ll never be better than his old man. Even when Huck tried to object, despite the fear growing in his belly, all he got in return was his father’s fist colliding with his face. He lost both his front teeth for Christmas, and any sort of love he had for the holiday.
When he was nine, Huck began to envy others and their love for the holidays.
With his father having abandoned him, Huck had absolutely no one. He was forced to watch every boy and girl in the whole damn town getting showered with gifts and kisses from their parents. No one bothered to give him presents. No one bothered to give him a kiss on the cheek or even a warm bed to sleep in at night. It was as if he wasn’t even good enough for a Christmas.
Oh, how he envied Tom Sawyer. While both boys were orphans, Tom still had a roof over his head, a warm belly full of food, and an aunt to wipe his face and remind him of her love. Huck knew he’d never have any of that, but that didn’t stop him from wishing.
Huck liked Tom (dare he say, loved Tom), but Tom was everything that he wanted to be: a boy with a family to spend Christmas with. Is it too much to ask for?
When he was twelve, Huck’s opinions on the holiday began to change.
Huck absolutely hated the cold. It made his nose run and his toes feel numb. The worst part of it, though, was that it was practically impossible to catch any catfish in the Mississippi. No fish would bite his line, and Huck was getting desperate for food. He thought about heading over to the church for some grub, but if he didn’t burst into flames when he stepped into the building, then the church goers would definitely kick him out. He contemplated rummaging through the rich folk’s trash cans, they always seem to throw out perfectly good pastries.
The boy was about to head out for his next meal when a familiar voice interrupted him.
“Hello, Huckleberry Finn!”
Tom Sawyer in all his glory could be seen running his way down the hill to meet his best friend. His warn brown eyes could barely be seen by the shaggy russet bangs that hung in his face, but Huck knew Tom Sawyer voice anywhere. Despite the cold winds and oncoming snow, Tom’s shoes were still no where to be found, nor his jacket.
“Hello yourself, and see how you like it,” Huck smirked jokingly as he accepted the oncoming embrace of Tom’s arms, letting himself be engulfed into a hug.
Despite being the same age as Huck and a tad taller, Tom gave off this boyish charm that even Huck couldn’t help but smile at. From his freckled skin to big crooked smile, nothing about him didn’t yell out puerile beauty.
“Ain’t no need for such attitude, Hucky,” Tom pretended to scowl at his friend,” today ain’t the day for any rude talk”.
“How so?”
“Hucky, your ignorance wounds me,” Tom sighed and pretended to be offended,” how you’ve hurt me, so!”
“Tom Sawyer, what’re you talkin’ about? I ain’t done nothing to offend you or your kin, quit acting all silly like,” Huck said as he crossed his arms across his chest.
“It happens to be the grandest time of the year!” Tom spun around and grabbed Huck’s shoulders for extra excitement,” it’s Christmas Eve, Huck! Tomorrow’s Christmas!”
Huck didn’t say anything except for a silent ‘oh’. For a moment, he was mad Tom even brought up the subject. Clearly Huck wouldn’t care for Christmas, it was so obvious that Tom should know.
“I don’t care about no holiday,” he said, a scowl plastered on his face,” ain’t no family to celebrate it, Tom, you know this”.
“You could celebrate it with me this year”.
“Aunt Polly won’t let you, and besides, you haven’t spent Christmas with me any other time”.
Tom shrugged his shoulders and didn’t meet Huck’s gaze anymore, as if he was entering his own mind; a famous habit that he had.
“I know that,” Tom softly said,” but I can make Christmas special for you this year”.
“What’s more, Huck,” he continued,” I’ll have a blue Christmas without you”.
Huck simply sighed and craned his neck, trying to look the other boy in the eyes. He could see how much Tom wanted this, but he couldn’t find the will to enjoy a holiday that slapped him across the face every single year.
Finally, Huck gave in and said,” I guess I’ll try, but I ain’t makin’ any promises”.
Tom’s face exploded into a huge grin as he hollered and cheered in excitement, grabbing Huck’s hands in the process and spun him around until the both fell on their rear ends. Huck couldn’t help but to find the other boy just absolutely adorable, with his contagious laugh and endearing smile.
“Golly, Hucky, I’m so excited right now I could kiss you under the mistletoe!” Tom grinned and winked at the other boy, causing Huck to have to hide his blushing face.
As Tom ran off back to town, he turned and hollered back at his best friend:
“I’ll see you tomorrow on Christmas, Huckleberry! I’ll make sure you have the grandest day ever! I promise!”
A thin layer of snow made the ground disappear when Huck awoke from his restless slumber. The boy did his regular morning routine, minus the bath in the freezing river, and headed into town. He didn’t realize his lips were turning blue from the cold until he saw his reflection in the general store window, but he was used to it at this point.
The town of St. Petersburg was decked out for the holidays, with every single door having a luscious Christmas wreath hung on it. Every post had big shiny bells and every fence had tinsel and red ribbons. What was usually a quant Missouri town had one day of the year to make itself look festive.
Huck guessed from the sun in the sky that most folks would be getting out of church by now. That was the one thing he never understood about the damn holiday. It’s supposed to be a time about giving and loved ones, why was everyone in something as awful as a church on the holiday?
The boy was really wishing he had some warmer clothes on when he said the residents of St. Petersburg begin to descend from the church grounds, followed by the children of the town eager to rip their neck ties and dresses off. Huck spotted Tom, cladded in a tight navy-blue suit and – oh glory, Huck thought – the most uncomfortable looking shoes he had ever seen in his whole life. Tom was followed by his band of friends (or robbers, as Tom sometimes called them), ones that Huck had seen around town. The only one he had ever spoken a full conversation to was the fellow named Joe Harper, who followed Tom along as all the children ran down the hill to meet Huck.
“Merry Christmas, Hucky!” Tom practically tackled Huck into a hug, the town of them falling to the ground in a mess of tangled limbs and laughter.
“Merry Christmas, Tom Sawyer,” Huck laughed and sat up, getting a good look at all of Tom’s group of school mates. He knew all the faces and all the names, but some of which he’d never heard the voices of. He knew Joe Harper, and he’s tagged along before with Tom. He recognized Becky Thatcher and her cousin Jeff, and he knew Amy Lawrence, though he can’t recall ever having a chat with her. Tom had told him about his friend Ben Rogers, and how he white washed a fence for him some time back. He knew them, but he didn’t know them enough to call them friends.
“Huck,” Joe spoke up and stepped forward,” Tom told us that you didn’t like Christmas, and that he wanted to make it special for you. So, he had us all band together to give you a good holiday time”.
“Whaddya mean, Joe?” Huck asked.
“We all got you a present, Huckleberry,” Becky Thatcher said in a sugar like voice, now standing by Joe with her cousin,” you don’t have a mama and papa to give you presents, so the least we could do was give you somethin’”.
Huck was at a complete loss for words. All of these kids, who usually stayed away from him by order of their parents, went out of their way to give him something on Christmas, and all at the request of Tom Sawyer. He looked at Tom, tears pricking his eyes and smiled, grabbing his best friends hand.
“I’ll give you my gift last,” Tom whispered and let his friends continue.
Everything Huck got was small but much appreciated, especially the food. Becky and Jeff had made him a loaf of pumpkin bread, similar to the bread he would steal from Aunt Polly’s kitchen window. Amy gave him an old pair of gloves that used to belong t her brother, but according to her should still keep him warm. Joe Harper had given him a can of worms that his mother wrapped up nicely, and Joe promised that these worms were the best ones for fishing on the whole east side of the Mississippi. Lastly, Ben Rogers gave a few apples that he stole from his father’s store, telling Huck to make sure that his father never ever found out.
“Merry Christmas, Huck!” Joe shouted out, waving his arm as he bounded towards his mother before he got in trouble.
“Merry Christmas!” all the other kids shouted in unison as they followed Joe’s actions and made their way towards their parents.
Tom chuckled and turned his attention to Huck, who was currently at a loss for words.
“What did you think?” Tom asked, excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet,” did I make your Christmas special?”
Without warning, Huck threw his arms around Tom’s neck and began to snivel with complete happiness, taking his friend aback. Nonetheless, Tom wrapped his arms around Huck’s waist and pulled him in closer.
“I didn’t mean to make you sad, Hucky, don’t cry…”
“I ain’t sad, Tom,” Huck pulled away and faced Tom directly, showing off the smile that he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to,” I ain’t been so damn happy in so long”.
“You mean, I made your Christmas a success?”
“That’s right, Tom”.
“WOOHOO!” Tom cheered and yelled out happily, causing nearby adults to give them funny looks and glares, though it didn’t seem Tom cared as he continued to do cartwheels and somersaults excitedly.
“Golly, Tom, it ain’t that big of a deal”, Huck said all embarrassed like and scratched the back of his neck.
“It is though, Hucky! All I wanted for Christmas was for you to have the bestest holiday ever, and it looks like I got my wish”.
“Oh! I almost near forgot,” Tom dug into his pocket and dug out his present to Huck,” Merry Christmas, Huckleberry Finn!”.
What adults would call trash, Huck and Tom would call treasure. It was the shiniest door knob Huck had ever had the luck to set his eyes on. Golden swirls decorated the rim as well a heart on the top. What caught Huck’s eyes, however, was the name ‘Hucky’ carved into the flat part on the golden sphere. It looked old, but Huck found it beautiful and special nonetheless. In one second, it became his most prized possession.
“That’s your name I carved in there,” Tom pointed to it,” it took me over an hour, but I think I did good. Whaddya think?”
“Tom,” Huck’s blue eyes met Tom’s brown ones,” this might be the best damn day of my whole life”.
“Aw shucks, Hucky”.
“Sorry I didn’t get you anything”.
“Trust me,” Tom swung an arm around Huck’s shoulder and brought him in close,” all I need for Christmas, is your friendship and for you to be here with me”.
“M’sorry, though,” he continued,” that I never did nothin’ with you on Christmas before. A fool, I was”.
“S’alright Tom, I forgive ya,” Huck returned the embrace and laced his own arm around Tom’s shoulder in return,” I think this day makes up for it”.
When he was twelve years old, Huckleberry Finn learned Christmas could be a light in his life, as long as Tom Sawyer was there.