A Christmas Miracle
There was nothing. Nothing at all. The ground was bedded with snow. Five year old Chloe Adler looked as the snow fell onto the ground, already full of snow.
“Ahhh! So pwetty!” Chloe whispered as she gazed at the snow.
It is eleven-thirty on Christmas Eve. Chloe was supposed to be fast asleep under her thick, pink, and fluffy blanket, laying her head on her light blue but instead, the little girl was gazing out her window. Chloe lay back in her bed, and her eyes slowly fluttered of to sleep…
“Darling, wake up. Chloe dear, it’s Christmas!” Chloe’s mom, Lauren, gently shook her daughter’s arm.
“Mama…” Chloe murmured and opened her eyes a bit. She closed her eyes for a moment then opened her eyes again. She slowly sat up and glanced out the window.
“Mommy! Look! It snowing!” Chloe said excitedly.
“Yes! Yes Chloe! It is snowing! Come! Let us go down and have our special Christmas breakfast.” Lauren said and carried Chloe down the winding staircase to the kitchen where Xavier, Chloe’s dad, was preparing eggs and bacon. Next to him, Kyle, Chloe’s brother, age eleven, was helping his father. But there was someone else, actually, a few someone else's in the room.
“Uncle Sam! Auntie Charlotte! Cwousin Isabelle!” Chloe yelled. She ran into the open arms of Auntie Charlotte who embraced her niece.
“Hello Chloe!” Isabelle, who just turned twelve, said cheerily.
“Hwi!” Chloe replied.
“Merry Christmas, darling!” Charlotte said while she put her niece down.
“Mewwy Cwistmas Daddy, Auntie Charlotte, Uncle Sam, and Cwousin Isabelle.” Chloe exclaimed. Isabelle reached down to lift Chloe up into her chair and sat down beside her. They started a game of ‘Spot It!’ And Isabelle let Chloe win three times.
“Time for breakfast!” Kyle declared for his father.
“Breakfast!” Chloe and Isabelle yelled in unison and started to giggle.
“Why thank you, Chef Kyle!” Lauren joked and took her place on the island table next to her daughter.
“Hey! What about me? I did most of the work!” Xavier protested.
“And you, Chef Xavier!” Lauren slid off her chair and curtsied to him.
“Why thank you!” Xavier said and bowed.
After breakfast and a couple games,
Chloe tugger her mother’s red blouse.
“Yes honey?” Lauren looked down at Chloe and Isabelle.
“Mommy? Can we go outside?” Chloe asked.
Lauren smiled with doughy hands and said, “Of course. Ask daddy and Uncle Sam to take you out.” Then she added, “Oh and, do not forget to wear mittens and a thick jacket. It is cold out.”
Chloe and Isabelle’s eyes twinkled with happiness and delight as they ran to their dads.
In the living room, the two dads were sitting one comfy armchairs with potato chips, talking about politics.
“Uncle Xavier, dad,” Isabelle began.
“Can you take us out to play?” Chloe continued.
“Is mommy busy?” Asked Xavier and Chloe nodded.
“Ok, come on.” Xavier and Sam sat up from their seats and took the girls outside.
***
“Hey! Who did that?” Xavier yelled as he ran away from what he called the “…very naughty girls…”. Isabelle and Chloe started to laugh and continued to throw snowballs at the dads. In front of the cheeky girls, there was a wall of snowballs with tiny gaps in between so that the girls could spy on their “enemies”.
A strong wind came rushing through the air, howling. THUD
“Xavier?” Sam called out. No answer. A car stopped as a figure dropped onto the floor.
“Brr! Daddy I’m cold!” Chloe yelled over the howling wind. Her legs were quivering as she stood there and wrapped her hands around herself.
“Daddy?” Chloe called for her dad. He didn’t answer.
“ISABELLE! CALL THE AMBULANCE!” Sam yelled.
“DADDY!” She shrieked as she ran to her father who was unconscious, on the ground. Her tiny lungs were tired from yelling.
“AH!” The wind forced her to the ground. “DADDY!” She wailed. Tears slowly started welling up in her eyes as she fell onto the ground, next to her mom,
“MOMMY!” Chloe cried. She was sobbing and cold. The dreadful winds rushed around. “CHLOE! ISABELLE! SAM! XAVIER! COME IN! A BLIZZARD IS HEADED OUR WAY!” Lauren yelled for them to come in. The wind was picking up. Isabelle shivered as she made her way to the door and opened it. Behind her, Uncle Sam was slowly guiding her. Snow was all over the place.
“Is everybody in?” Lauren asked as they came in.
“No! Chloe is still out there. And uncle Xavier- he-” Isabelle was cut of by the sound of an ambulance.
“No! No!” Lauren cried as she grabbed her jacket. Lauren’s face had only one expression: worry. She zipped up her boots and pulled on her gloves before heading out.
“CHLOE?” Lauren yelled.
“M-m- mommy?” Chloe cried from the streets.
“Chloe!” Lauren ran to the voice of her daughter.
“Mommy!” Chloe wailed as she embraced her mother.
“Chloe!”
“M- mommy! D- daddy! A car hit him!” Chloe stuttered as she slowly got up.
“Xavier? Daddy, he- Let’s go in first, honey.” Lauren picked her daughter up and brought her in.
SLAM! The harsh winds slammed the door shut.
“Quick, Isabelle, go get a pail of hot water.” Lauren took off Chloe’s coat and hung it in the cupboard.
“M- mommy I’m c- c- cold!”
“I know, dear. I know. Come on, let’s take you for a warm bath. Isabelle, would you like to join her?” Isabelle nodded with delight and rushed to bring her little cousin for a shower.
“Sam, where is Xavier?” Lauren asked, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“H- he got knocked down by a car. He is in the hospital.” Sam informed her.
“Charlotte, do you mind taking care of Chloe? When she is done showering, you can take her to the hospital.”
Charlotte nodded and said, “Of course. Drive safe, Sam.”
“As always.” Sam said as he gave a kiss on her cheek and headed out the door.
After the car drove away into the distance, Charlotte walked up the stair case to check on the girls.
“Auntie Charlotte!” Chloe exclaimed. “We were going to make hot chocolate. Do you want some?” Charlotte smiled and said, “Yes, thank you.” She pretended to sip on the ‘hot chocolate’.
“Aunt Charlotte?” Kyle asked.
“Yes, Kyle?”
“Where is mom? And dad?” Kyle started to panic.
“Y- your dad was h- hit by a c- c- car. Your mom went to the hospital.” Aunt Charlotte said.
“WHAT?!?!?!” Kyle ran out of the room and dialled his mom.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“Sorry, but the dialler you have dialled is not available. Please try again later.” The woman on the phone said.
“No! I don’t believe it! He didn’t get hit by a car! I’m sure he didn’t!” Kyle cried.
“I know this is hard for you, but it's ok. I will bring you over to the hospital later with Chloe and Isabelle.” A voice behind him said. Aunt Charlotte was making some hot chocolate for them.
“Auntie Charlotte? Is the hot chocolate weady?” Chloe asked.
“Yes, dear.” Charlotte giggled.
Slurp!
“Yummy!” Chloe exclaimed.
Charlotte glanced at the clock.
“Honey, we should go to the hospital. You mom is expecting us.”
“Ok.” Chloe slid off her chair and said.
At the hospital,
“Mommy!” Chloe’s eyes lit up when she saw her mother.
“Chloe!” Lauren exclaimed. Chloe looked troubled. “Where is daddy?”
“He is in his room. The doctor will inform us when he is conscious.”
“Ok mommy.” She nodded.
“Lauren Adler?” A doctor asked. The doctor was wearing those white jackets. She had beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes. Lauren immediately stood up and said, “Yes.”
“I am Doctor Rodriguez. Your husband is Xavier Adler, am I right?” Lauren nodded. “He is conscious. I expect that you want to see him, so I will take you there myself.”
“O- of course. Come on, children. Charlotte? Isabelle? Sam? Would you like to come?”
“Of course.” Charlotte answered for them. Doctor Rodriguez lead them to the room.
“Daddy?” Chloe whispered.
“Chloe?” He murmured.
“Daddy!” Chloe whispered excitedly.
“Xavier!” Lauren walked forward to give him a hug before sitting down in the chair beside him.
“Mrs Adler, your husband is fine, except for a minor concussion.” The doctor said. Lauren nodded and gave a sigh of relief. “He should be able to be discharged soon.” She added. A nurse entered the room and whispered something into the doctor’s ear.
“Yes? Oh… Ok. Tell him- of course.” Doctor Rodriguez said.
“Mrs Adler, your husband may be discharged tomorrow.” Lauren Adler’s heart leaped with joy as she replied calmly, “Of course. Thank you!” Lauren checked her rose gold watch. Seven o’clock.
“Chloe, Kyle. Time to go home. Shall we?”
“Ok mommy.” Little Chloe said as she took her mother’s hand and walked out the door.
“Bye, dad.” Kyle whispered as he fingered the white bed sheet and walked out of the room.
The drive back home was quiet. Not a word was spoken as they parked their car in the drive way. Later that night, Lauren tucked Chloe into bed.
“Mommy, what does discharge mean?” Chloe asked.
“When daddy is discharged, it means that he can come home tomorrow.” Lauren answered.
“Go to sleep now.” She added as she closed the door behind her. Chloe sat up in bed, just like the night before. This time, whispering, “It’s a Christmas Miracle.”
The End.