I walk up the stairs to my cold plain bed. To the room I have walked into numerous times before. As I walk in I see the two straight rows of beds with ten beds on each side. Each bed is covered with the simple gray sheets that do not provide the children much warmth and a rock hard pillow. Some of us have been here longer than the others. I have been here the longest of all. Now I am eleven and nobody wants the older kids, they all want a baby. The caretaker comes in to make sure we are all safely in our beds for the night.
She reads us a story. It is always the same one but  I love it so much. It is about this man who goes on these amazing adventures and he sees the world. It is exciting and thrilling the story  always grabs your attention. I will leave someday I promise you just like the man in the stories she tells. After the story she leaves us to sleep and goes downstairs. I sit on my bed and lay there staring up at the dark ceiling.
I grab a small fragile package from under my pillow and unwrap it from the old cloth it is in. It is a Christmas ornament of an angel with a wire wings and a halo. I remember when I was little my mom and I would always hang up this ornament together every Christmas. Tomorrow is Christmas and I know she won’t be here with me. It has been so many years since my last Christmas with a family. I have not received a present in a couple years. Not everyone is given a gift. Only about half of us get a present. I would never complain I do not need the gifts. I still hope that I will get a gift. Maybe this year I will. As I look out onto the city I see the bright stars outside and long to escape this place. Then I  count. One, two, three, four, five, six, until I forget everything and fall asleep.
I was jerked awake by roaring of kids voices. I pop up out of bed and run downstairs to the main room where the lit up Christmas tree is. Some of the little children in the orphanage is ripping open the wrapped presents they received from kind strangers. I look if there are any presents for me and there aren’t. I am sad but I would never be disappointed. I did not expect to get anything for Christmas it just would have been  nice.
I make my way back up to the sad upstairs bedrooms. I grab my old coat and  and head for the window. I unlock it and slide it open. I climb over the edge onto the fire escape. I climb down the rusty ladder onto the cobblestone streets of London. The wind whistles as I run out of the alley onto the busy streets. There are automobiles going up and down the street. I have only been in a car a few times. They are just starting to be common. I run up to the nearest toy store window and I peer inside at all the beautiful shiny gifts. There are little tin soldiers for every boy and china dolls for every girl. I open the store door and hear the jingle of the bell on the door. I walk up to the man at the front counter and ask,”Do you happen to know if Santa is here?”
The man responded,” It is Christmas already what more can Santa do?” and then he continued,”But if you really wish to speak to him he is in the back of the store.”
I walked to the back of the store to the big man in the red suit. I walked up to him and said,”I know you are not the real santa but all I really want for Christmas is just one gift for a change and maybe some parents.”
I hopped out his lap and ran out of the toy store hearing the jingle from the door as I left. I went across the  busy street  and back to the fire escape ladder. I climbed up the old rickety ladder and slide back open the window to get back into the house.When I got back into the house I went down the stairs and to my surprise a little boy came right up to me. He handed me a present he said that it had just arrived and had my name written on it.
I carefully took off the red bow  and then ripped of the silver dazzling wrapping paper. I took the lid off of the brown box and there inside lay a picture. It was of me with my family. It was the last christmas before I came to the orphanage. I was seven years old. I stared at the crumpled picture. The gift was perfect and wouldn’t change it for anything.