Stories from outside your window (Christmas special)

It hadn't snowed in four days, but the amount of white flakes from previous days was enough to cover up the ground for a few centimeters in a white blanket.If it hadn't been snowing , the month would seem like it's lost its warm festivity family get-together atmosphere that was supposed to bring.But it wasn't like that for everyone. The nicely town centre with its thousand and one marvellous colours would not be seen by them. The dozens of people wearing Santa hats and smiling would not be them.They wouldn't be part of the shopping oppulence in shopping malls. The '' help your next'' Christmas spirit would not reach them. But who were they?

They couldn't remember for how long they'd lived at the outskirts of the city. This part of the neighborhood was the last remaining spot to be getting electricity, but they couldn't even enjoy that, hence not having money to pay the bills. Hot water would come and go as it pleased the mayor. They were both unemployed and the little amount of cash gotten from the State as a supposed help for families in need would scarcely suffice for buying minimal groceries. They had two kids, one of 6 and the other one four years old. It would be a year till the oldest's time to go to school, but the chances of it happening were less than becoming millionaires olaying the Lotto.

Most of the neighborhood looked ripped off of a Middle Ages village and put in modern days times, and its inhabitants were ''keen'' on ''preserving'' the looks of it all.
Infants were playing outside in the snow. Putting up together snowmen or just mere snow-fighting. At least that took hunger off their mind.''Give the kids a toy to play with and they'll forget about everything else, may it be pain, poverty, food or the fact that the clothes they had on would not be changed with anything new this year neither''. That was pretty much summoning the parents' thoughts as they were looking at their offsprings from the appartment.

Normally, when one thinks of Christmas, he\she gets the visuals of laughter\smiling, glasses being filled with good wine and plates with unlimited variety of food. In one word :plentyness. These people's kitchens looked dark, and not just because they lacked light, sad and heavy, as if the ceiling would fall in any minute, unnoticed. There was an old fridge, rusty and empty, and an old oven and a small cupboard containing the less expensive groceries products they could find. This year was bound to be Christmas-less, just like in the past. There was no way they could pull it off with a nice meal. Potatoes and rice, just the usual.
Even though the kids had never seen\met or been given presents from Santa, they were eagerly awaiting him.''You can never know when he'll pop up. Believe he'll arrive and he really will.'' Thta's what the parents were telling them over and over again, after they'd remain empty-handed waiting for their presents. Their clothes looked older than them, and indeed they were.

Evening came and they went into the house. Clothes were soaked up from the snow, their mom hung them above the weak oven fire to get them dry.They were sitting in the cramped bedroom-turned-livingroom watching a black & white tv when their mom shouted ''Dinner's ready!''. They could only imagine the colours and the lights and the joy of kids and grown-ups likewise breathing and living Christmas onto the screen.
The meal looked and tasted like any other meal they had before. It was no special surprise like their parents had promised. But how could they tell them the truth about not having money, about not getting helped by no one, about feeling left out by the rest of the world. They couldn't, the kids wouldn't understand. And maybe the parents hoped and thought themselves of a miracle, in a sense. But it wouldn't arrive. They were like a deserted island in the middle of a clear-blue, full of fish ocean.
The meal had ended. It was time for them to go to bed and say their prayer. They kneeled in front of the only bed they had, crossed their fingers and began : ''Dear Lord, keep us and our parents healthy, make us do good deeds and protect us from evil.''
''And tell Santa to pass by our home tonight.'' the little one added.
They jumped into bed, tucked under the heavy blankets by the parents and given a bretzel each. Those were like sweets for them. They started munching on them, eyes open, thinking about Santa. He hadn't arrived this year neither. He had forgotten about them again. They fell asleep with tears in their eyes.

On the other side of the city, family gathered, songs were sung, stomachs were filled, presents were given. happyness was in the air, and everybody thought ''Oh, it's so swell it's Christmas time and we're so generous to each other!''
But no one thought about anybody else outside their own family.

It had started snowing again, making everything shine in the city's outskirts darkness.There was no laughter to be heard here, no gifts unwrapping, no carols, no Christmas....
Santa Clause had been passing elsewhere, but he hadn't brought anything to them.....



Merry Christmas!!!!????????