A Christmas Miracle

• Heidi Hoffman, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2018

The wind howls tirelessly as I take in the almost perfect landscape before me. Children shriek in delight as they run around with a battered kite, that looks as though it's on its last leg. Bells ring and families sing joyfully, praising the Lord. Shivers run down my spine as I feel the flowing warmth of this perfect Christmas morning. This town may be poor, but every person is kind and good. Shivering in my thin, cotton dress I head out into the crowd of merry people. I take in a deep breath and close my eyes, searching through the souls which quickly clog my mind.

A middle-aged man, to my right, received a single daisy from his youngest daughter. He is playing with it now, threading it through her golden hair. Although money is tight, there is no doubt of the happiness which shines ferociously from within him.

A cheerful woman is carrying a large cake displaying a delicate china doll, which balances precariously on the very top. Her faded red and yellow dress is tattered at the seams and her thin, bony face is hollow from exhaustion. I see her fear and worries accompanied by her obvious deteriorating health, but I also see how kind this lonely woman is. Her eyes twinkle and she lets out a hearty chuckle as all the children in the square run to her, begging for desert.

A small boy, only seven or eight, finally catches my eye. He is sitting on the sodden grass, an abandoned toy train lays by his hip. His brows crease tother in concentration and a flash of determination takes hold of his piercing blue eyes. His soul is easy to slip into; to search it's depths. Marvellous images fill my head and his light shines so pure- purer than any other. The boy's memories are quite normal, but his future is so bright, it cannot be ignored. I relax my face into a giddy smile. I feel as though I could stay in his head forever!
This is the young boy the world is searching for. For he will do great things!

All of a sudden, a look of panic fills his clear blue eyes and his body shudders in pain. His scream is long and inhuman and seems to carry in the howling wind. People crowd around him, trying to help. His mother is in tears, holding his convulsing body to her chest. A tight knot snaps in my stomach as I step forward into the panicking crowd. As I reach towards the boy, I put my hands on his chest. No-one stops me. I pour my whole life into him, which drains that life from me. I knew this was my destiny, to save the boy who would change this Earth. I close my eyes and my body finally fails, but the little boys doesn't. His heart keeps beating on.
The crowds murmur in awe, 'It's a Christmas miracle!'