The Little Match Girl

Little Kids

And once again, the glorious vision illuminated by her match sticks vanished, like they did the previous time, taking away with it the baked goose which was dancing. She started to feel the cold get insurmountable and re-considered heading home with empty hands as her father's biffs stung on her jaw and chest. She looked down to her feet, which were tucked into her long, yet worn out dress, as she recalled her memory back to a couple hours ago, when the little boy, probably a couple years older than him,ran away with her slippers. She let him get away because he claimed to use it to cradle his babies in it. And the poor little girl wasn't smart enough to realise that it wasn't a very practical thing to do. She pulled out another match stick, and with her shivering hands, she feebly struck another match. Anticipation filled her eyes as she stared at the flame. And at that moment, a huge Christmas appeared before her. It was grandly decorated with ornaments, string and fairy lights. She stared at it with awe, for she had never seen a Christmas tree this big and so beautiful.

"Hey?" a male voice called out from somewhere close to her. His voice seemed familiar, like she had just heard it not too long ago. She looked around to find no one but endless fields of snow and the tree in front of her. "Are you alright?" the voice asked again. She blinked rapidly in confusion as the bright light from her match stick slowly faded, nudging her back into reality. She opened her eyes into the real world to the sight of a boy looking at her with concern. "Are you alright little girl?" he asked, seating himself opposite of her. She took a deep breath, and with everything left in her, she nodded her head and said "Yes, I am, thank you for asking"

Both of them sat in silence for a couple of minutes, until the boy looked up at her and said "I came here to apologies and give this back to you."

He stretched out his arm and on the palm of his hands, were her mother's slippers, with his fingers wrapped around them. He was the boy who ran away with her mother's slippers to cradle his baby in it. "I was a total jerk. I'm sorry, you can have them back"

The little girl's shaking hands emerged from out of her little pocket she created by pulling her legs up to her stomach. She mumbled an almost inaudible thank you, and reached for another match, from her collection strewn beside her.

"Are these yours?" he asked, pointing towards the scattered pile.

"Yes, I was supposed to sell it so that I can feed my family today" She replied, playing back the memories of my father's stern look as I left home in mother's big slippers.
"How many have you sold so far?"
"None"
"Oh no, why don't you go home? You're parents won't be mad at you"
She couldn't help but smile. She couldn't help but wish what he said was true.

"It doesn't work that way" she said, burying her head into her legs, hoping he would not remind her of her father. But he didn't. He scooted over and sat next to her.

"Then how else does it?"

"You don't need to know" She was thrown back by her own words. It came out meaner than she intended it to.

But he didn't take it to heart. By this point, he got used to harsh words. His siblings are the cause for it. They made him realise that in this world, you either walk on others, or you get walked on by others. But when he stole the little girl's slippers, he realised that he was wrong. He ran away as he watched the little girl stand there helplessly in the cold. He didn't need those slippers anyway, so he tried to track her down, and found her between the two houses. He turned towards the opening of the narrow path and walked towards the main road as the little girl tried to light another match. Part of her wanted him to stay, but she didn't want to tell him that. Part of him wanted to stay, but he didn't want to cross a line, so he left.

As he walked down the street, a glimmering and shiny object from the ground caught his eye. It was a silver coin. He picked it up and examined it. Usually, he'd buy food for himself, but even though he was hungry, he decided to buy food for the little match girl.

With a grocery bag filled with food in it, the boy hurried towards the narrow alley, hoping the girl hadn't left. When he arrived, he found the little match girl lying on the cold hard ground, with half her matches burnt. Although she had a smile on her face, she was freezing to death as she struggled taking in breaths of air. He dropped his bag at the sight of that and ran towards her. He didn't want her to leave. Not yet. He knelt beside her and hugged her trying to give her some body warmth. She kept murmuring "Grandma" as he lifted her in his arms and started to sprint towards the nearest hospital as fast as he could.

He entered a nearby hospital, to find the doctors and nurses laughing and getting ready for midnight. He didn't want to ruin their night, but he had no other choice. A precious life was at stake here. The second they saw the little girl in his arms, they dropped everything they were doing and ran to her. Nurses worked quickly by pulling in a stretcher and checking her pulse, as the boy was pushed back and made to sit, as they took her into a different room.