The Christmas Bell

In a town held together by one old bell, Christmas has always been measured in sound.

For generations, the bell in the white-steepled church has marked everything that mattered: births and funerals, mill shifts and homecomings, twelve slow strokes each Christmas Eve to say, "You made it through another year." When a deep crack is discovered in its frame, the town is told the truth nobody wants to hear. If they ring it this Christmas, the bell could fall. If they sell it for scrap, a stranger...