The Red Scarf: A Tale of Christmas Magic

By Scott William Carter

A touching Christmas tale about a Minnesota widower who has a magical encounter with an enchanted snow man -- and gets a last glimpse of the love of his life. Originally appeared in Cicada Magazine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Flying Raven Press
• Release date: Oct 15, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452342986

Scott William Carter

Scott William Carter is the author of Wooden Bones and The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, which was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “touching and impressive debut.” His short stories have appeared in dozens of popular magazines and anthologies, including Analog, Ellery Queen, Realms of Fantasy, and Weird Tales. He lives in Oregon with his wife and two children. Visit him at ScottWilliamCarter.com.

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The Red Scarf

A Tale of Christmas Magic

Scott William Carter

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THE RED SCARF. Electronic edition published by Flying Raven Press, October 2010.

Copyright © 2013 by Scott William Carter. Smashwords Edition.

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction, in whole or in part in any form. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

For more about Flying Raven Press, please visit our web site at http://www.flyingravenpress.com.

The Red Scarf

A Tale of Christmas Magic

During the fifty-two years he and Judith lived together on the rural Minnesota farm, Del Morgan never had occasion to enter the closet of her sewing room. It had been an unspoken understanding between them that this was her private space, where she stored Christmas presents, old letters, and other personal mementos. To enter it would have been a violation of her trust.

After she passed away that balmy Tuesday back in June, for six months he didn't stray inside. To even pass the sewing room door brought an unbearable tightening in his chest. But one winter afternoon, when he sat at the dining room table watching wind swirl snow against his paned window, he suddenly thought of that closet and wondered what might be inside. What memories it might hold.

Leaving the Minneapolis Star Tribune crossword and his barely-consumed coffee, he climbed the creaking steps. The oak floorboards felt like ice even through his cotton socks. The floor in the sewing room was even colder than out in the hall, as the heat from the wood stove did not circulate well in rooms that were always shut.

He opened the closet door, flicking on the hanging light bulb. On the rod were the blue silk dress from their high school prom, the wedding dress that had been handed down to her from her great grandmother, and the first nurse's uniform she had worn. There were other outfits, too, ones he couldn't remember. This saddened him. Without Judith around, there were lots of things he couldn't remember.

Down on the floor were stacks of cardboard boxes. He got down on his knees, wincing at pain in his back. With badly