O Christmas Tree
                                By: Dosman!
                            Dedicated to Angela

Angela stood in the corner of the living room. Her back was against the
wall, and she looked out into the room. It was a week before Christmas, and
just like the last 4 years, she was the Christmas Tree. It sounds pretty
unusual, but it was true. Since she had met Jack, 5 years ago, she had been
their house Christmas Tree. She figured she was probably the least stressed
out person in America over the holidays. On Thanksgiving Day, when most
families are putting up Christmas trees, she was becoming one. Obviously,
she wasn't becoming a tree in the biological sense. She just stood there
and was decorated like a tree would be. She started out with a green
spandex catsuit that covered her from neck to toe, hands included. With
that she wore a pair of brown leather shoes. To her, it felt like the tree
trunk. Her arms were down and away from her body, forming a triangle shape,
with her head at the top. Then she was wrapped around with garland and
lights. Then Jack went along and pinned random ornaments onto her clothing.
On her head she wore a headband with a lighted star on it, just like at the
top of a tree. She got such a kick out of it. She loved being decorated.
The feeling of all the Christmas spirit hooked to her body made her feel so
good.

She usually stayed in the corner of the room as a Christmas tree until
after New Years. That's how long they had always left the tree up in her
house as a kid. This year, because of Y2K she was going to stop the day
after Christmas. Of course she couldn't hold the tree pose for over a month
by herself. She had help. The first year she wore an intricate metal frame
around her body that helped her hold her pose, but still required lots of
effort on her part. But, the second year, her boyfriend came up with
something new. They called it the statue serum. When she was injected with
it her body came to a screeching halt. She didn't really understand it all.
All she knew was that after she was injected she could budge a muscle. She
could still see, and hear and smell, but even the slightest movement was
impossible. She still continues to breathe of course, she would die if she
didn't. It didn't really turn her into a statue. Her diet in the week
leading up to her becoming a tree is very regulated. She needed to make
sure that her system is empty while she is in character. She also takes a
large amount of vitamins right before she posed. The only other thing left
during the weeks was what you would have to do with any tree, and that is
to be watered. Her boyfriend, who was now her husband, gives her a half a
glass of water everyday through a straw. It's not the most pleasing thing
in the world. Because she can't really drink, he sprays it into her mouth,
and her gag reflexes end up pulling it down her throat. It was amazing that
they ever came up with it. It took some practice, and experiments, but now
she was a pro at being a Christmas tree.

Sometimes the time dragged by. Thirty days is a long time to do nothing but
think. It was almost impossible to sleep with her eyes open, but she didn't
need a lot of rest, since she didn't do much. So, she tended to just
daydream about all different things. The whole time, totally rigid, and
frozen in place, with her body decorated full of trinkets, sometimes
lighting up the very room that she was forced to watch.