*soundtrack for this story: .com/watch?v=PIQl6ygRqhw*
The snow was silently falling from the sky, designing silver embroideries on the windows of the hospital in the form of delicate peaks on the icy glass.
The silent road was covered by a soft candid snow cape, the gas lamps hardly illuminated the night.
The city was silent, everyone was waiting for Christmas Day.
A woman ran up the marble steps of a building and entered from the main door, shaking the snow from her shawl.
She walked along the silent hall, heading towards the porter's lodge. There she knocked on the glass, trying to attract the attention of the guard nurse, who finally raised his head from the newspaper and observed her.
She was wearing a dress with many holes, an old shawl and a pair of dirty shoes.
He was absolutely sure she would not have been able to pay even just for a look by one of the doctors working at the Hospital.
A complete visit was out of the question.
He rose from his warm place near the hot wood stove in order to ask her to leave.
The woman didn't say anything, but she moved her shawl, showing him a little child of approximately five years.
The poor thing was trembling in her mother's shawl, without a sound.
She was blonde, pale and fragile like her mother.
She would have been such a beautiful girl, but the cold and the hunger had marked her face.
"What do you want?". The man asked.
"Please, I beg you". the woman indicated towards the child, "I need a doctor, my daughter is ill".
The man nodded unsympathetically "You must go to the almshouse, not here".
The woman fixed her eyes into the man's "I'm begging you, I do not know what to do, they said they cannot cure her..please…". Her eyes where full of silvery tears.
"No. Go away". The man said as he raised a hand, pointing towards the exit door.
"Thank you". She said. "And Merry Christmas".
She said that without anger and for a moment the man's eyes were filled of astonishment.
She started walking back through the hall when she heard a beautiful voice from behind.
"Please, stop".
The woman turned and pressed a hand to her eyes, trying to hide the tears that were already coming down.
A man in a lab coat was coming down the stairs. He was beautiful, like an angel.
He approached the nurse who had been so rude.
"Thomas, why did you ask this lady to go away?".
"Doctor Cullen, they cannot stay here, you should know that..…".
The man didn't look in the doctor eyes.
"Please ma'am don't go away".
The woman raised her eyes to look at her intercessor and found two beautiful kind eyes, luminous and polite.
She lowered her gaze, scouring a foot on the beautiful mosaic.
"I have asked her to go to the almshouse". The nurse said "They surely will be able to help them".
The doctor pointed a finger to the floor of the hall and asked
"Thomas, do you know what that mosaic represents?
He had to be an important person, because he used a firm voice.
"Yes sir, a caduceus".
"And do you know what the oath of Hippocrates is?". The doctor asked smiling.
The man didn't answer. Then he quietly replied to the doctor "Yes sir…".
He took a deep breath.
"Oh… do what you want". He added.
Only God knows how many times they already had had this conversation.
"But I won't be called into the Director's office again for breaking policy. You will have to answer to him this time. Not me..". He mumbled.
Then he returned to his chair and scrutinized the night from the window.
"Please, follow me " The blonde angel told the woman, who was standing silently next to him.
He kindly touched her shoulder, guiding her through a glass door a little further down the hallway.
"Please, sit down" he said pointing to wooden chair in front of a big elegant desk made of black pine.
The woman glanced around, amazed. She had never seen furnishings so fine.
"Please… ". The doctor was smiling kindly. It was impossible to resist him.
The room was warm, one wood stove near the wall was emanating a pleasant warmth.
The woman rubbed her hands and the child whom she had in her arms started to cry weakly.
"Please, give her to me". He said approaching.
Then he looked at the woman.
"I beg your pardon " He said "I know it may sound strange to you".
"I am Doctor Cullen. And you are…"
"Norah Faith. ". The woman answered smiling.
She bore away the shawl and the man took the child in his arms.
He was moving delicate and firmly.
"Let me see what is happening. Please sit down, it won't take too much time". He said.
He gently placed the child on the exam table beside the desk and drew some instruments from the closet. He touched the forehead of the girl, then he checked her eyes, ears and mouth.
Then he started to check the girl's abdomen with a strange instrument.
The woman stared at it, uncertain between a feeling of curiosity and worry.
"This is not hurting her". He said turning towards the woman.
"It helps me to hear her heart and lungs". He explained.
Then he continued his examination.
Ten minutes later, he put down his instruments and approached the woman.
"The child has a pneumonia principle. You must give her these pills melted in a glass of water two times a day and keep her as warm and comfortable as possible".
The woman agreed, then her eyes filled up with tears.
She touched her tearfilled face. "You have to excuse me," she stopped speaking for a moment and then continued "You have been so kind".
She was so filled with emotion that she could not look him in the eyes.
"It seems I've done such a little thing". He said with a whisper.
"Doctor… I cannot pay for this visit... I have no more money to pay for the firewood…my husband…we can't…" said the woman lowering her eyes to the floor.
"Don't worry. Consider it as my Christmas present for…".
"Adèle. .her name is Adèle".
"Consider it as my Christmas present for Adèle".
"Thank you". She answered in barely a whisper.
"If there were more persons like you, the world would be better for sure".
Then, the woman went out and walked alone down the dark road, carrying her little child.
He remained at the window, watching the cold and dark streets.
The next morning Adèle woke up discovering that it was Christmas day.
Silver snowflakes were coming down from the sky.
Also Norah woke up and found a warm fireplace and a set up table, full of bread and meat.
A small tree had been adorned in the angle of the room and around it someone had put a lot of small presents. It was adorned with small golden balls and ribbons of shaved red.
Near the fireplace there was a supply of firewood.
The woman shook her head in disbelief.
"Who can have done all this?". She whispered
A card had been placed on the table, the words written on it were simple. "Merry Christmas".
The calligraphy was elegant and someone had written the name of a family that was looking for a domestic.
The woman looked outside the window and for a moment, only for a short moment, she crossed a pair of golden eyes. She smiled to the man.
"Merry Christmas". She whispered.
"Thank you". He answered.
Then her vision began being blurred and tears full of happiness filled her face.