The night before Christmas

It was the night before Christmas in London, the orange street lights gave the snow on the streets an orange hue. Joe was at the reception of a hospital in the city's center when an old lady slowly dragged herself through the front door. She looked lost and the amount of snow on her shoulders made Joe guess that she was out in the snow for a while.

Joe put his clipboard down and approached the old confused lady and asked her if she needed assistance, she said that she did, and when he asked about how she reached here, she said that she rook a taxi that had to drop her a few blocks away from the hospital since some of the roads were closed due to the snow.

Joe put one hand on the old lady's hunched back, and held her hand with the other, she was slow, but he was patient. He took her black beret off and removed the snow from it before putting it back on her head. She smiled, then looked at her feet, as if in defeat, and walked with him without saying a word.

-"Mary...my name is Mary," the old lady said while slowly taking her red scarf off.
-"Ok, Mary, can you tell me how can I help you today?" said Joe.
-"Can I have a glass of water?" Asked Mary.
-"Of course...aaah, here you go." Said Joe, then he waited for her to finish the glass
-"I...I am sick." Whined Mary
-"Tell me more..." Replied Joe.

Mary never said what was wrong with her. She asked for a bed for the night, the doctors explained that they can't get her a bed if she doesn't tell them what was wrong, after being pressed to give an answer, Mary said that she had some stomach ache and a headache.

Joe took Mary by the hand, and felt the wrinkles of her old age again in his palm, "She must be at least 80" he thought, and walked her into the bed. Although Joe works with old people every day, they always scare him a little. Their weak and fragile bodies, cracking joints, and conversations about death and illness are something he can never get used to. Joe fears death...but he fears illness even more.

"Mary is not sick," Joe told the nurse while looking at mary from behind the glass. "What do you mean?" said the young nurse in confusion, "go wish her a merry Christmas, be kind, then come back here."

The nurse came back and before she could say anything, Joe said while still looking at Mary through the glass: "look...you see, she's not sick" The nurse looked and found Mary crying. "What?! Why is she crying? did I do something wrong?" whispered the nurse with a sound full of fear, "No...you did everything right. Come with me."

Joe explained the situation to the nurse as they walked down the hallway. It was a classic case of an elderly person checking themselves to the hospital on holidays, explained Joe. Mary is likely an old lady that has no one to wish her a merry Christmas or to tell her that they love her or that she is like the fireplace that keeps the house and the family warm. Mary chose to come to the hospital although she is not sick because she might find someone to talk to and perhaps wish them a merry Christmas... "Mary is broken heated," said Joe "and she is breaking my heart too."

"Mary is sad and alone," said Joe, "and 'the most wonderful time of the year' is just one very lonely and sad time of the year. She is not dreaming of a white Christmas, she is probably dreaming of her son that left one day without any notice  and her husband that died a few years back."