A CHRISTMAS GIFT

*** Copyright reserved to the author, Apsia*** Narrator: “Hold it tight! It is heavy! Haha!!” the muscular man said, beaming with joy at his achievement. The girl dressed in dirty torn trousers and a shirt, held the net tight behind the man to pull the heavy fishnet. “Papa! Please don’t sell this one in the market. A fish this big will feed us for a week!” “That we can decide later Zoe, first help me pull it out of the water!” The man laughed at his daughter’s request and both of them struggled hard to pull the fish net out of the water. They waited with shining eager eyes as slowly the catch rose above the water! “Oh My God!! It…it is ….it is a body!” Zoe gasped alarmed and the net slipped out of her hand in fear. “Don’t leave the net Zoe. It is a girl. Let us pull her out!” The man and the girl pulled out the net with the body of a girl and also a lot of small fishes stuck in the net. -- Zoe was a young girl of age around 22. She had a dark complexion and black curly hair. She frowned and gasped looking at the body of a girl maybe of her age with a knife stuck on her throat. The blood has clotted and turned black where the knife was stuck and her body was as pale as white! Her face was bloody too with numerous scars and wounds! “Papa! Is she dead?” The man quickly freed the girl from the net and pressed his ears on the unknown girl’s chest, trying to hear a heartbeat. “May be Zoe! I don’t hear a heartbeat!” The man quickly dug his fingers on her wrist to see if there was a pulse while Zoe stood with wide eyes waiting for the outcome! “She…she has a faint pulse, I think. But I am not sure! Maybe if we take her to a doctor, we will be able to save her! Let us take her home, Zoe!” The man started rowing fast towards the shore and instructed his daughter, “Zoe! Can you please collect the fish from the net into the bucket? We won’t want to lose our catch!” “Yes Papa!” Zoe did as asked. -- “Mariana! Mariana!” The man shouts as he carries the body he found in the waters, assuming she might be alive. “Where the hell do you disappear when I need you, woman?” “What’s the fuss all about, mi amore?” A woman with deep brown complexion and curly hair like Zoe’s comes out into the parlor wiping her hands in a cloth and as her eyes fall on the unknown unconscious girl drenched in water, she gasps placing her hand on her chest, “Oh Jesus! Who is she? Is she dead?” “Clear the way and call Dr Fernandez right away! She was in our net and I think there is still a pulse!” The man said as he quickly took the girl inside one room and placed her on a cot. “What!! Call Dr Fernandez? I mean Jose, don’t you think, we should take her to the hospital?” Mariana frowned. “No time Mari, call the doctor!” Jose said and started pumping the girl’s stomach to pump out water from her body. Mariana reluctantly goes out to call the doctor while Zoe walks to her father. “Can I help Papa?” Zoe asked curiously, wanting to help the poor girl. “Yes, go get some dry clothes. You would need to change her!” Jose barked. “Yes. Right away Papa!” -- After many long hours— “Doctor? Do you think she will live?” Jose asks the old doctor who finishes wrapping the final layer of bandage. He closes his bag and looks at Jose with tensed eyes. He sighs, “We can only hope that she and her baby survives!” “Baby!” Jose and Mariana speak together. “Yes. She is carrying life inside her womb. I have taken out the knife and stitched the wound. But she needs a hospital! A good hospital for a necessary surgery of her vocal cord and it would cost a fortune! But even other than that, she has been too long in the water and has lost a lot of blood! It seems she might have hit her face against a rock and hence it is full of wounds and scars. I hope the saline and the blood will be enough! But everything depends only and only on her and God’s will!” The good doctor says. “Oh Jesus! I will go to the church and pray for her! Poor girl! I wonder what kind of a monster would try to kill such a beautiful girl?” Mariana frowns with tears spilling. “Mama! I will also come along. We will pray together.” Zoe says, giving a side hug to Mariana. “Jose! Won’t you want to report this to the station? I think someone clearly tried to kill the girl. And if anything happens to her, you could get into trouble!” the doctor says with empathy. “Umm..(sighs)…I..I don’t know! I mean, I don’t even know who she is! But I think you are right. After Mariana and Zoe return from the church, I will go to the station and report the incident. It is better safe than sorry!” Jose agrees with the doctor. The doctor presses his hand and nods with consolation. Then, getting up, he addressed Mariana and Zoe, “Well, if you wish to visit the church, I can drop you there on the way to my clinic.” “Oh Thank you doctor! I will be back in a moment.” Mariana thanks the doctor and hurries outside the room. “So, what next?” Jose asks. “Just change the saline and blood bags as I have shown and that’s all you can do for now. If she wakes up, I will give her medicine and diet. I will come again tomorrow to see her and call me anytime if you think you need me to come over.” The doctor says. “One more thing doctor, please keep this to yourself! You know it is a small town and people talk. I know after I report at the station, there is a high possibility that the town folks will come to know, but I don’t want them to know about this until then! Maybe the police will keep the incident to themselves?” Jose requested. Dr Fernandez nods and says, “I understand and be rest-assured, my lips are sealed.” “I am here doctor! If you would like to leave now, I am ready!” Mariana joined back. “Yes. Let us go!” the doctor says to Mariana and then turning back to Jose, he sighs, “Trust God Jose! There is nothing else you could do. But one thing, I have to warn you! If she doesn’t get better soon, you have to take her to the hospital. Be prepared.” -- “Oh Lord! Please bless the poor girl and heal her wounds! Please save your child and the life she is carrying in her womb! You are our saviour! Forgive her for her sins and bless her with life! Amen!” Mariana prays for the girl and so does Zoe. “Amen!” Zoe prays and then they both light candles. They exit the church and decide to walk home. It was afternoon and it would take less than an hour to reach home by walk. “Mama! What do you think? Will she be fine?” Zoe asks sadly. “Huh..” Mariana sighs and then pats her daughter’s shoulder, “It is upto God now Zoe, but I think God won’t let her die and maybe that is the reason he led us to her? So that we can save her? Just have faith!” “Hmm…” Zoe walks quietly with her mother for a while and then asks, “Mama! It is almost afternoon and we couldn’t cook lunch today! We couldn’t even go to the market to sell the fish!” “Don’t worry! There is some porridge from yesterday. We can manage with that! "Will we have some bread and can fry a fish we caught?” Mariana smiles at her daughter, who smiles back. “God will show us the right path as always!” “I wish I could go out and work somewhere Mama! Aunt has been sending letters, saying she could get me a job in the city! You should let me go Mama!” Zoe says, pouting. “Ahh…yes, but I am afraid to send you alone, Zoe! Not that you have a friend or family in the city! Don’t worry, whatever we earn by selling fish will be enough to get us bread every day!” Mariana says but then sighs, “But…..I don’t know how we will feed another life with our little earnings? Whatever we have saved will be gone if we need to feed the girl! And then she is carrying a baby!” “Don’t worry Mama! As you rightly said! God will show us a way!” Zoe hugged her mom and Mariana hugged her back.