With Hope for Christmas - short story.

Stay...

HOPE'S POV

I couldn't believe my eyes. Now, after all this time, this boy, or rather man, was standing before me, looking at me so deeply, it felt like he wanted to look through my soul. I just stood there frozen and I couldn't move my eyes to look anywhere else than him. What was surprising, was the fact that he seemed as much frozen as I was. Studying my facial expression and then he smiled.

"I see, you keep wearing the necklace" - he said and I was confused yet again. How did he know about the necklace? Then he started saying other things to me but at that point, I couldn't register anything else that was coming out of his mouth. It took me about 10 minutes to finally get myself together and when I was about to say something, he asked.

"Would you like to grab a hot chocolate with me?

"Yeah, sure". I don't know why I said yes. I didn't know this man and yet he seemed safe... He started walking in the direction of my house which put me on guard but then he stopped next to the most beautiful car I've ever seen in my life, a gorgeous red Camaro. He opened the passenger door and hold it for me and waited until I sat down. Then he closed the door and came around to sit down himself. After that, we went to the nearest coffee shop and while we sat down he ordered two hot chocolates with some peppermint sprinkle and marshmallows. He was the first guy ever that ordered such a girly drink in front of me. He didn't seem to care though. And that was kinda cool. Judging from his behavior, he was nervous. Fidgeting with the napkin under the table, he couldn't look me straight in the eyes. He was very handsome. Icy blue eyes, pretty long facial hair, and the most perfect white hair. I was curious about them because he looked a maximum of 25 and yet the hair just took me off guard. Couldn't be real, right? They had to be dyed. I started getting impatient. Didn't exactly know what to think. He was an absolute enigma to me. But at that point, I wanted to know more. I was getting my courage up to say a word when he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous, I guess, the last time I saw you we were both kids".

This statement of his was surprising, to say the least because as far as I know I never actually met him before. I only saw him a few times in my head. But that was just meaningless visions or so I thought. I looked at him confused and he continued.

"I don't know how to say this"

"Maybe, you should start from the beginning, because I'm confused about how we possibly know each other as I don't remember you, I'm sorry".

"We haven't really met Hope, but I've known of you for a while but someone made me forget, until a year ago when I saw you again, this time though, in my dream".

Is he for real now? Is this a sick joke? A dream? Who am I kidding? As soon as he finds out how I was seeing him in mine he would probably think I'm stupid. Or, perhaps, not? Too many questions were roaming in my head and at that point, I started to get tired and a bit nauseated to be honest. I excused myself and ran outside, thinking that fresh air might do me good. I ran out so quickly, I wasn't paying attention to anything that was going on and it happened so fast I did not, in a million years, saw these two bright flickering lights. But then it was already too late. All I saw next, was darkness.

PETER'S POV

When I bumped into Hope at the park, my world stopped, and yet, my head didn't stop spinning. My mount went dry and I stood there frozen, she was absolutely beautiful from up close. She wore purple contacts, I think it was to match her hair, she had lavender-colored hair, long and shiny. Her tiny nose was covered with a few adorable freckles and her lips, full and inviting. I should snap out of it and say something. When I was about to, she whispered "It's You..." and at that point, I had no idea what to do next, because it seemed like she, somehow knew me as well. So I just suggested that we would go for some hot chocolate and then perhaps, I had hoped at least, that we will talk. But sitting across from her was torture because all I could think of was that I was sitting in front of a woman I wanted for such a long time and all I could mumble out was that I'm nervous. As soon as I told her that I saw her in my dreams last year, something happened, she started having trouble breathing and she looked pale. Out of nowhere, I saw her standing up from the table and she just ran out of the Café. What happened next was like the worst nightmare I could experience. She ran blindly and that car that turned out of nowhere was the last thing I saw before I found myself kneeling on the ground and holding Hope's lifeless body in my arms and my world collapsed.

***

NOAH'S POV

The day was pretty chilled since the morning. When Peter left with uncle Nick, all of us spent the rest of the night playing board games. Then, the kids went to sleep and we adults stayed a bit longer. We opened some wine and just sat in the living room and talked up until the last one of us passed out. I got a text from Peter early in the morning that he arrived in New York and that he's on his way to Hope's address. I let Joy know right away. She was excited for her sister. I was too. Hope was like a sister to me, my female best friend. There were many times when I thought that she and Peter would be a perfect match, but never would I think that they will be destined for each other. At around 10 am uncle Nick came back and he hasn't even left the garage when the alarm went on and the whole building started to shake. Joy woke up abruptly and ran to Faith and Noel who were already in the workshop with everyone else. I started to run to them as fast as I could have. When everyone was freaking out, I got a text that made me lose focus and it immediately caused a panic attack. Joy rushed to my side, asking me where did I put my inhaler. You see, I had asthma so if I would be too long without my inhaler, I could suffocate. Simon and Thomas started to calm me down when my fiance rushed home and just a few minutes later she put the inhaler in my hand and I took a few deep breaths. As soon as I was able to breathe again, uncle Nick's concerned voice rang in my head.

"What happened just now, Noah?"

"We have to go back home, uncle. Me and Joy" - I answered and looked in Joy's direction, grabbing her hand automatically. She looked at me and took the phone out of my hand when she read the message, she stopped in her tracks and started crying uncontrollably. And as soon as she whispered Hope's name, everyone practically knew that something isn't right.

"Hope's dying" I continued, and as soon as I said it, I was faced with shock and sadness. I explained that the text was from Peter, that Hope was in a car accident and she's fighting for her life now. The problem was that her body was very weak after all the surgeries she went through since she was a little kid. You see, Hope didn't get many chances to even survive the pregnancy. But her family were God's believers and all the prayers and hope were what kept them in check. When their second baby girl was born, the name Hope was fitting and that's how also her hospital journey started. Hours, days, sometimes even weeks spent on different surgeries and other appointments. At one point they even suspected cancer, which unfortunately became to be true and she needed a lung transplant. Thankfully it was successful and she was ok. But her body went through so much, not only pain but all these meds, making her weaker than a normal person would be. So her chances now. I don't even want to think about it. In the end, not only me and Joy but also Noel, Simon, and Andrew went to NYC with us. We needed support and they wanted to be there for us. We're coming, Hope...

PETER'S POV

I wasn't paying any attention to my surrounding. The only person that mattered to me at that moment was Hope. I couldn't feel any pulse and she was becoming cold in my arms. And I thought to myself, that our story can't possibly end this way. I just found her again. We were supposed to have the talk that I was planning in my head all this time, even before dad told me the truth. Even if he wouldn't I still had planned to come here, look for her. I wanted to create good memories. Be there for her. And now? I might never have enough time. And I was fuming. I haven't even realized that someone from people that started forming a circle around us, called an ambulance. When it came, they wanted to push me off her and then wanted to take her away but I jumped into the car at the last moment. They weren't happy about it. But I wouldn't just let her go on her own. The ride to the hospital seemed to be too long and I was honestly scared that we will lose her before then. But thankfully the medics were able to resuscitate her for long enough to transfer her to one of the hospital rooms and then they asked me who I was to her. I saw things like that in movies before. I knew that if I say that we're technically strangers I will not know anything. So I lied. I told the doctor that I was her cousin. They wouldn't question me, at least for now and that would give me time to figure something else later. After a few minutes the doctors left Hope's room and informed me that she's stable but incredibly weak and that because due to the hit she had internal bleeding and because of her history, which at that point I knew nothing about so I was just nodding my head in understanding, he said that they had to put her in the coma. That, if she will fight, she will find the strength to live and wake up within a few days. That was a relief at first but then the thoughts of her possibly being too weak to fight for her life made me instantly sad and powerless at that. I went into the room and when I saw her, my heart ached for her. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, still beautiful, visibly exhausted, pale. I sat down on the edge of the bed and decided to hold her hand. It didn't feel weird, on the contrary, it felt right. Her hand was surprisingly warm and I swear, for a moment it felt like she squeezed it back. It was most likely only in my head, but I couldn't care less. I had to find a way to make her fight. It's been a few hours just sitting there. I didn't know what to do. And when I was lost in my thoughts, I heard the door opening, and Joy rushed in, and then Noah right behind her. As soon as they saw me, tears started streaming down my face. From the corner of my eye, I saw Noel rushing to my side and she started hugging me. My crying was becoming too much.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything, it happened too quickly" I shouted, and then the machine that she was connected to started beeping. The nurses rushed in and began checking for Hope's vitals. Noah was hugging Joy removing her out of the doctor's way. She was crying already too. And then the machine that just a few seconds ago was showing us her heart beating irregularly, showed nothing, the line was becoming straight. I was losing her. I was losing my snowflake. I dropped to my knees and I felt this terrible pain in my chest almost like someone would rip it apart or stab it over and over again. And I gave out the saddest and cry scream. And I passed out.

***

I opened my eyes and I wasn't in the hospital anymore. Instead, it was a house. A beautiful one. Kinda in an old style. It had arches and columns. A bit rustic but also modern. I walked more and more inside and out of nowhere I smelled freshly baked cookies. When I stepped into the kitchen there was this girl, ginger hair, she wore an apron and she was singing or rather whispering "I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need..." and when I walked around to look into her eyes I stood there, my mouth agape.

"Honey, you're finally home. I made your favorite cookies" she said to me but I wasn't able to register anything except the fact that she had Hope's face, it was her, right there before me. I felt my head start to spin so I sat down and the woman was by my side in a matter of seconds.

"Breath baby, I'm here, everything will be alright"

"No, this isn't right!" I shouted pushing her away. At that moment the room around started fading away, something inside me was breaking. And then I thought about our destiny, maybe I can feel it's fading because the girl that supposes to be my one and only is dying. There was no time I had to do something or this would be the worst Christmas ever.

"This isn't real Hope, you're dying, I can't lose you" I screamed at her, making her all confused. But then I wanted to grab her hand and I couldn't anymore. She was slipping away. "Hope fight please, this can't be the end, don't leave me" I begged her. It took everything in me, all my strength and all the magic I had within me at that moment to try to touch her, and with only that I gave her the glimpse of my memories about her, hoping that they will keep her in this world for a while longer. And then I woke up in the hospital room again and when I fully opened my eyes and looked to my right, Hope was lying there, and the doctors were trying to bring her back. I heard Noel crying and she was also saying that I was clinically dead for 2 minutes. So, everything that I saw was indeed just a dream, only this time it felt so real. And it made me hopeful, but now it honestly felt like part of me wasn't there anymore and I had no idea what to do.

HOPE'S POV

I heard everything that was going on around me, since the moment I was hit by a car and being brought to the hospital. I couldn't respond but I heard and felt everything. My thoughts immediately went to Joy and Noah. They were family, both of them. I knew that Noah took her to meet his close friends somewhere. And I was happy, my sister was happy. But she would be devasted now when she loses me. And that couldn't just happen. At that moment I felt someone holding my hand and I felt the squeeze and it took me so much to squeeze it back, just wanted to show that I'm here, fighting. Even though I was so, so tired. I felt being connected to the life support machine and judging by the faint voices of the nurses I was put under a coma. Nothing changed. I was still able to recognize the voices of people coming in. They were weaker, or maybe that was just me. There was this one voice that I didn't quite recognize. I think it was that guy that I met, he said to everyone that was asking that he's my cousin, a clever boy. They wouldn't say anything to him if he would be a stranger, which technically he was but I could understand his reasons especially since I was unable to call anyone from my family. It was a few hours already when I hear a commotion in my room. Too many voices at once and two of them of the people that I couldn't believe were there. I heard Joy crying and Noah sobbing. They both squeezed my hand but at that point, I was too weak to squeeze it back. And then I heard the guy, I think they called him Peter. He said that he couldn't do anything, that it all happened too quickly and then my machine started to beep loudly and I didn't hear the voices anymore. All I could see was a white, very bright light. Very inviting, I started to follow it and out of nowhere I found myself in a big house. The house itself was amazing, beautiful, one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. It had a bright opened kitchen with light oak furniture, a kitchen counter 'island' style that I always wanted to have, the table was already set, with way too many plates. Everything was set up in a Christmas spirit. When I moved a bit further into the house I stepped into the living room, where one of the biggest trees was situated in the middle of the room. It was themed decorated with only three colors: white, red, and gold and it was magical. Under the tree were presents, nicely wrapped and there were just so many of them. When I started thinking about why so many I heard the voices coming from the kitchen. I turned around and started walking in thy direction and I saw an older couple there. The man was in Santa's outfit. It looked very real. He even had a long white beard and these original glasses. The woman was also wearing red and white clothes, she emanated this pure happiness out of her smile. And around them, there were other people, men and women, and kids, so many kids. I closed my eyes just for a moment because all this was too much, these people seemed like they weren't there like I would imagine things. When I opened my eyes again the kitchen was empty, it was just me there, but this time I was dressed differently. I was wearing a dress, a checkered one, red and white. My hair was done, I had this mess-up bun and my hair was tied with a headband. When I looked at myself in the window glass, I even had makeup on. And then I heard a voice, distant at first. And when it came closer I saw this Peter guy he was confused about what's happening. And before my eyes, he began having trouble breathing. I felt myself rushing to his side and then these words left my mouth.

"Honey, you're finally home. I made your favorite cookies", I felt a smile forming on my face, I didn't understand what was happening, it almost felt like being controlled by some higher power or like it would be a fantasy. Then, he started clutching on his chest and another sentence left my lips "Breath baby, I'm here, everything will be alright". What is going on?! This body that I was in reached Peter but he pushed me away. And then I heard him screaming "This isn't real Hope, you're dying, I can't lose you!" which confused me even more. I haven't had enough time to process this because the room around us began to fade away, I started panicking inside, yet this body that I was in didn't move an inch. And Peter, he was fading too, he was leaving me her I noticed that he tried to touch my hand which didn't work. It was like wanting to touch a ghost-like you could see in some movies. Was that it? Was that the end? Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing, I would see my parents again. It was a long time since I saw them. While I was contemplating about it Peter reached out to me again, at the last moment, because then he just disappeared. But before when he managed to touch me, I felt it and it felt like being shot with an electric bolt. He projected images to my head. It was too quick, he wanted to do it all at once.

***

I saw myself in a hospital room with joy and my parents being in a coma. And it was also the first night I wrote this letter to Santa all by myself. And then each year I wrote another. I saw a moment in a park with this Samoyed dog when I got my necklace. As soon as I touched it I saw the image of a boy forming in my head, but then instead of that I saw everything from his perspective and everything became clear. Who he was? And what were our purpose, the destiny thing, and the fact that everything that happened was some magic story? That all the people I knew, somehow came from them. I wasn't angry, just overwhelmed. I found myself in the hospital room again. People were crying. I heard Joy's voice screaming "Don't leave me Hope!" but I felt myself giving up. And when I practically decided that it might be my time I heard his voice whispering to my ear... He said that he needs more time to show me everything, to make me fall in love with him, that he wants us to discover the world and be together. Not gonna lie, that wouldn't be such a bad idea. I always wanted to fall in love. And having someone like Peter, thinking about everything that happened. That we were destined to meet. I tried to wake up, I wanted to have that chance to be with him. It took everything in me, all the strength that I had left, I formed the words in my head and I just said them, not knowing if anyone would be able to hear them.

"I want to Stay..."

And then I managed to open my eyes.