literature

Season of Giving

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It was quite the frantic sight. On the side of a highway, in the middle of the night, in the driving snow, three EMTs were desperately digging away snow from around their ambulance’s tires. It was Christmas Eve, and they had been on their way to the nearby hospital to deliver three very precious gifts. Gifts so fragile they wouldn’t last long if they couldn’t get the ambulance out soon. No one was more aware of that than the EMT furiously digging out the back tires.

“Mike, take it easy”, the EMT digging towards the front said, “You’re gonna wear yourself out if you keep going like that”.

“I can’t stop now, Luke!”, Mike exclaimed to the EMT up front, “We’ve already been here an hour. If we don’t get back on the road soon, that little girl is done for!”

“You think I don’t know that?”, Luke asked in reply, “We’re not gonna do her any favors if we wind up hurting ourselves.”

“I wouldn’t bother with him”, the third EMT clearing a path to the road called back, “He’s been like this since we left St.John’s.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed”, Luke remarked, “Come to think of it, he’s been that way since we got this assignment”.

Without looking up, Mike replied, “That’s because I volunteered us for it”.

“You did what?!”, the third EMT yelled out from the edge of the road, “So I’m out here freezing my tail off and missing Christmas with my kids because of you?!”

“Easy, Marco”, Luke replied calmly, “Someone still had to do this, even if it wasn’t us. Though uh… it would be nice to know why it had to be us”. He turned his attention back to Mike, waiting for an answer as both men kept digging.

Mike looked up, and stared between the other two for a moment before replying, “Look, it was important. Someone had to do it, so why not us?”

“How about the fact that all our families are probably worried sick about us right now?”, Marco replied frankly, “You think any of them would be happy if we froze to death out here trying to help some sick kid?”

“She’s not just some sick kid!”, Mike yelled at Marco, “I just… I had to do this, alright?”

“Come on, Mike…”, Luke said, “Just tell us straight: Why us? Why you?”

As Mike kept looking back and forth between the two, a look of guilt came over his face. With a heavy sigh, he sat back in the snow, staring out onto the darkened road ahead of them. After a moment, he finally replied, “Look guys… this girl, she’s not just anyone. She’s the daughter of an old friend of mine. One who… passed away some time ago…”

Luke and Marco looked distraught as Mike continued, “Her mother and I… we were best friends in college. We did everything together. We would study, party, get in trouble, then run off to this little pub to laugh about all of it. I used to tell her everything, even stuff I couldn’t share with my other friends or family. And I thought she told me everything too… until the day she ran out with my sister’s husband…” He shook his head, “We had a huge falling out after that. She didn’t talk to me for years. Then one day, I found out she had gotten sick and died, and no one told me about it for months!” He let out another sigh, “I was so mad for so long, I didn’t even try to reach out to her… It might be too late to make amends with her, but I thought... maybe I can make it up to her daughter… I know it sounds like I’m beating myself up over nothing, but I’ll never be able to forgive myself if I don’t try.”

Mike then sat up, looking towards the others before adding, “I’m sorry I dragged you guys into this, but I can’t do this alone. Will you help me save her little girl?”

Luke and Marco looked to each other for a moment. Then with a nod, they looked back to Mike, both giving him a reassuring smile.

“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”, Marco asked.

“Saving lives is what we do, right?”, asked Luke.

Fighting back tears, Mike simply nodded and smiled in reply, as they all got back to work.

They worked through the night, finally digging enough to get the ambulance back on the road. They arrived at the hospital just at the break of dawn Christmas morning. They rushed up to the girl’s room, carrying three gifts for her: Marco brought in medications and anesthesia; Luke brought in emergency blood for transfusion; and Mike was bearing the most important gift of all: a new heart that the girl desperately needed. Despite their delay, they arrived just in time. And as her doctor’s rushed her off to surgery, Mike and the girl’s father made their way to the waiting room to have a long overdue talk.
I've been meaning to throw this up for a while now, but here it is. It's the story of three EMTs whose ambulance gets caught in snow while delivering life-saving supplies to a sick little girl on Christmas Eve night. But for one of these EMTs, it's about more than just saving a little girl's life...

Written for a holiday short story contest. If you like this story, check out my gallery for more! And whatever time of year it is for you, Happy Holidays!
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