Christmas miracle.
It was freezing cold. She dressed in many layers of thermic undergarments to protect herself from the winter. She chose to wear a very feminine pink cashmere sweater and thick cloth pants, brushed her beautiful hair, and put makeup on to highlight her eyes and smile. She wanted to look very pretty because she had an extremely special date with destiny.
She looked in the mirror and liked what she saw, smeared two drops of her favorite perfume, one behind each ear, and put on her Italian coat and some leather boots bought in London, the ones that did not have high heels because to get where she was going, she wanted to be comfortable since she had to walk through many streets in a fast pace.
She arrived at the bus stop and made the signal of the cross. She stepped up into a crowded bus and after a ten-minute trip, she took the Forest Hills subway. When she arrived at Penn Station in Manhattan, she got off the metro, marched down a long hallway full of people walking in a rush while she was praying in silence. She climbed the escalators and passed through the mob as her heartbeat accelerated. It is strange to see how hundreds of people in a metropolis walk so rapidly in every direction without crashing into each other.
When she got outside the station, the cold gave her energy and calmed her down. There was a smell of roasted chestnuts on the corners and the ringing of the bells was heard on every block. Many Africans chased her with merchandise to sell and the Salvation Army volunteers asked her money for the poor. She overcame the human obstacles and finally stopped at 34th Street, opened the heavy glass door to the Macy’s building, and entered inside New York’s largest and most magical store.
She was nervous and her hands were sweating, but without hesitation she took the elevator up to the floor where a bunch of kids with their parents were lining up to ask Santa for a gift and take a picture with him. She also made the endless queue and when her turn came, unashamedly walked towards the red-clad, bearded, white-haired man sitting in a green velvet chair with gold embellishments and sat beside him. Santa Klaus both stunned and amused adjusted the microphone and in front of all the gawking people asked her: “What gift do you want for Christmas?” “I wish you to bring me a good man who will love me,” she said decidedly. “Be it,” Santa replied in a very festive tone.
The hearts of the adults in the room were suddenly filled with Christmas magic and while remembering their own love stories, they clapped enthusiastically as the photographer took the picture of Margarita. Everyone looked at her with admiration as she walked out, and she felt happy for her childish bravery and full of faith put the photo inside her purse. As she stepped on the street, in the wind of night, she looked up at the stars and felt the sky was smiling at her, and the universe was wrapping her gift somewhere.
