Gogoll Ruth Gogoll's Christmas Carol

1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-3-95609-177-3
Verlag: el!es-Verlag
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 162 Seiten

Ruth Gogoll's Christmas Carol is a new twist on an old classic. Christmas is coming and goodwill and merriment fill the town. It's not the best of times for everyone however ... Company president Michaela Wittling is all work and no play and Christmas is just another day. What's all the fuss about? The lights are a waste of electricity. They all expect time off and bonuses. Humbug! Faithful employee Ramona Benckhoff is all worry and no play. Will I keep my job? Will the boss find out I sometimes cut my hours short to go to the hospital? And, the most frightening question of them all ... Will my daughter live to see the New Year? Michaela thinks she has it all figured out. Ramona believes she has no hope and nothing figured out. One very strange night changes everything.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gogoll, Ruth

Weitere Mitwirkende

Swolinski, Susanne M.

Leseproben

“Bong, bong, bong, bong . . .”

This time Michaela woke up and knew it had rung twelve, without counting the tolls. She looked around. Nothing. No ghost.

Oh well, he had not mentioned a repeat visit. It must have been a one-time performance.

“And what about me?”

Michaela turned around quickly. She found herself face-to-face with a . . . face in the wall behind her bed, grinning cheekily at her.

“Don’t you remember what she said? Others. Not just one – several.”

“She? Uh . . . yes . . .” Michaela was overwhelmed. Was all this really necessary?

The face peeled itself out of the wall and was completed by a round body. Everything about this creature was round. While the first figure had had no identifiable form, this one’s was very distinct. It was about as wide as it was tall.

“The herald told you that you’ll have several visits. There are three ghosts to be precise.”

“Nobody told me about exactly what was coming,” Michaela replied, sulking. “I would have braced myself.”

“Well, now you know,” snapped the little man. Again, Michaela could not recognize if this creature had a gender. But she preferred to think of it as a little man. Women were not this silly.

“So, what do you want?” Michaela asked and crossed her arms in front of her body. “Do you also have a few horror stories in stock? I’m getting used to it, you know.”

“The Ghost of Christmas Past did mention that you were a hard nut,” the grinning little man said. His face was moon shaped but, strangely enough, it was green. “But, the past is past. You had your chance.”

“Yes, of course I did,” Michaela said mockingly. “It’s all my fault. I’ve been expecting something like this already.”

“This year’s Christmas is just a result of last year’s Christmas,” said the little man. “The present is based on the past.”

“So you’re the ghost of the present?” Michaela deduced from his remarks.

“The Ghost of Christmas Present,” the little man corrected. “Christmas is our only territory.”

“Thank god for that!” Michaela said. “I couldn’t stand having you around all year.”

“You’re a really bad little girl, you know that?” said the ghost.

“Hardly a girl anymore.” Michaela laughed without sound. “I’m a grown woman!”

“That depends . . .” the little man answered. “It doesn’t really matter. At least not to me. I’m just supposed to show you what this year’s Christmas holds for you.”

“What should it hold?” Michaela shrugged her shoulders. “The same as every Christmas for the past several years. It’s a day like any other.”

“If you believe that, you must be a very, very sad person,” said the little man. For the first time he was serious.

“Not sadder than anybody else,” Michaela said. “Life isn’t fun. Ask your predecessor. What he showed me only confirmed it.”

“Oh, it did?” said the little man. “Do you want more confirmation?”

Michaela shrugged again. “Do I have a choice?”

“Not really,” the little man said. “I just wanted to be polite.”

“Oh, how charming of you.” Michaela offered a mocking bow.

“We strive not to cause too much excitement,” the little man said.

“Not too much excitement?” Michaela laughed, this time a bit more sincere. “I haven’t had this much excitement in years!”

“That’s too bad,” the little man said, “but it’s nothing you can change now.”

“What do you mean by that?” Michaela frowned.

“That’s unimportant.” The little man grabbed her sleeve, and Michaela expected to start floating out the window, like last time. But nothing happened.

“Do you have to say abracadabra or something like that?” she asked, irritated.

“We also want to have fun,” said the little man. He snapped his fingers, and the room in which they had just been standing was replaced by a street scene.

They were on a wide entrance ramp, and when Michaela looked around, she spotted a sign. ‘General Hospital’ it said.

“Uh, no. I don’t want to go in there,” Michaela said, repulsed.

“You know what to expect, don’t you?” the little man asked.

“No, I don’t,” Michaela replied defiantly. “But a hospital – that can’t mean anything good.”

“Doesn’t it remind you of something?”

“I’ve never been in a hospital,” Michaela replied, as if the little man had asked her that.

“And yet it’s not the first time you’re here,” the little man said. Another snap of his fingers changed the ramp into one of the long hospital corridors with countless doors to the left and right.

Michaela felt vaguely reminded of her dream, but everything looked completely different here. It had to be just a coincidence.

A woman was walking around, far away, in the background. They moved towards her, like on tracks, until Michaela could identify the person. “Ms. Benckhoff,” she said, having paled.

Ramona walked up to one of the doors and opened it.

“No,” Michaela whispered. “I don’t want to see this.”

“Are you not interested in the lives of your employees?” the Ghost of Christmas Present asked.

“Her private life is none of my business,” Michaela said reluctantly.

“Then take a look at what’s none of your business,” said the ghost, and at once they were standing by the window inside the room Ramona had just entered.

Ramona was smiling and greeting the girl who was lying in a bed, attached to lots of tubes and machines. “How are you, sweetheart?” She leaned down and kissed the girl’s hot forehead. “The doctor said you’re doing a bit better.”

“Yes, mommy, because you’re here now.” The girl beamed, despite the evident exhaustion that had overcome her. “I’m always fine when you’re here.”

Michaela saw how Ramona swallowed hard and looked to the window, directly into Michaela’s eyes, which, of course, she could not see. When Ramona had composed herself, she turned back to her child. “I’m sorry I can’t be here all the time. I have to work.”

“I know, mommy.” The girl seemed very understanding for her five years.

“The child . . . is this old? But, the doctors had said –” Michaela trailed off. Ramona’s eyes still burned in hers. Such shiny, pretty eyes. Although, they were probably just shiny from unshed tears. She had never noticed Ramona’s eyes before, had hardly looked at the woman at all. They did not have to work a lot with each other.

“A mother’s love overcomes a lot,” the ghost said.

“Even death?” Michaela looked at the ghost, hopeful, almost begging. “Tell me the girl won’t die. If she managed to get this far . . .”

“I can only show you what’s today,” said the ghost. “My successor is responsible for tomorrow.”

“Your successor?” Michaela frowned. “Oh right, you did say three.”

“That’s the way it is.” The ghost fell silent.

A nurse entered the room. “Ms. Benckhoff, you should rest a while.”

Ramona shook her head. “I can rest later,” she said, “when everything’s –” Again she turned her face to the window, and this time the glimmer in her eyes went through Michaela like lightning. Those eyes were so full of feeling, full of pain and suffering and so clearly without any hope.

Michaela had never seen such eyes, never before in her life. There was something in those eyes that she had always sought in the eyes of the women she met. But she had given up finding it. She had decided that what she was looking for did not exist, in any woman. And now –

“Even if you could get to a U.S. hospital, believe me, it wouldn’t be of any use,” the nurse said calmly. “It’s too late.”

“That’s what I’ve been hearing since the first day!” Ramona jumped up agitated. “If only I could find the money somewhere . . .” She wrung her hands desperately.

“I’ll get you something to eat,” the nurse said. “You probably came here straight from the office.”

Ramona looked at her. “Where else would I go?” she said with a weak voice. “My life is here.”

The nurse nodded. “I’ll get you a sandwich from the cafeteria. You need to eat something.”

After a short while, the nurse returned. “This isn’t necessarily what I would call a Christmas dinner,” she apologized, “but our cafeteria is already closed. Everybody went home. The only thing left is sandwiches from the vending machine.”

“That’s fine,” Ramona said. “It’s nice that there are people who can just go home and celebrate Christmas. I’m happy for them. I wish I could, too. With Leonie.” She glanced at the girl who had fallen asleep, but under the blanket they could see the labored breathing.

“I wish I could do more for you,” the nurse said.

Ramona smiled. “You are doing more than your job requires. Everybody here is so nice to Leonie. I appreciate it very much.”

The nurse sighed. She gently touched Ramona’s shoulder, then left her alone with Leonie. She did not know about the other visitors.

“I can’t believe there’s nothing they can do for that child!” Michaela shouted indignantly. “That’s not possible!...