Chapter 14
Selene
“Wait, hold up — let me get this straight,” Arya cuts me off through the phone, her voice bubbling with excitement. “You want to dress up as a Christmas elf to celebrate New Year's Eve with Alexia? Holy shit, I'm in!” she shrieks.
“You're in?”
“Yeah, we've got this fancy dinner and dance thing a block away, but this sounds way more fun. We could turn it into a surprise for the kids in pediatrics. I'll call some volunteers to bring special dinner and Christmas decorations. Leave the costumes to me,” she rattles off, words tumbling out in a rush.
“Well, technically, according to the hospital legend — which I'm sure you made up yourself — the Watson Memorial Christmas elves should've been here since the holidays started. We're just making them… visible now,” I tease.
“God, that's fucking perfect, you smartass,” Arya squeals. “The Ice Queen invites you on a New Year's Eve date at the hospital, and you want to turn pediatrics into Santa's village. Brilliant. Damn, why didn't I think of that? Already ordered the costumes while we were talking — green velvet with tons of bells,” she announces. “And pointy ears — the good kind, silicone, not those plastic ones that hurt after ten minutes.”
“Gotta go, Marco's calling — he's a friend who owns an Italian restaurant. I ordered a special dinner for Alexia on the rooftop garden.”
When I end the call, my phone explodes with messages. Looks like Arya spread the word, and half the Watson Memorial staff is eager to join in, even if just to bring some food, spare costumes, or decorations to make the night special for the youngest patients.
I'm not usually sentimental, but my eyes well up as I catch sight of the small penguin plushie sitting on my dresser. Emily would have loved this — transforming the cold hospital corridors into a magical realm, if only for one night. “A decorated room makes it easier to be brave,” she used to say.
This time, we’re decorating the whole damn pediatric wing.
***
“Thanks for all this,” I whisper in awe the next day, watching the decorations already taking shape.
“Hey, don't get all soft on me now, smart ass,” Arya jokes. “Save it for when your doctor shows up in a few hours.”
I look around at how the pediatric wing has transformed into something straight out of a Christmas movie. Decorations everywhere, multiple Christmas trees, windows covered in frost. The kids stare in wonder, and for once, their laughter drowns out the usual beeping of monitors.
“Are you one of those elves who come to the hospital at Christmas?” a little girl in a wheelchair asks, tugging at Arya's costume.
“Just a very festive doctor — the Christmas elves are much sneakier. They're in Safira's office right now, stealing all her office supplies so we can have a drawing contest.”
“I heard that, Dr. Kumari,” the administrator calls from the other end of the hall, probably on her way home.
“Where should I put the kids' food?” Miguel asks, sporting a blinking reindeer nose. “They brought so much it barely fits in the playroom.”
It's like half the hospital decided to show up with something — nurses, interns, even some doctors chose to stay tonight to help. Everyone's dressed up however they could — some just wearing Santa hats, others as elves or Santa Claus — and watching the amazement on the kids' and parents' faces is priceless.
“ Per la mia bella pilota e la sua dottoressa ,” Marco announces, arriving with several plates of fresh-made food.
While I wait for Alexia, this usually somber part of the hospital fills with joy. Parents who've spent months watching their children battle diseases no kid should face smile happily, if only for a few hours. The pediatric nurses who've held these families through their darkest days help the little ones hang garlands.
“You okay?” Arya asks as I wipe tears with my palm.
“Yeah, it's just… damn, it's perfect,” I sigh. “My sister Emily would have loved this.”
“She's here,” she whispers. “In every one of these kids' smiles. You brought the magic.”
“Dr. Winters, the elves came!” Holly shouts as Alexia appears, freezing in place, her mouth open as if words got stuck in her throat.
“Oh my God,” she finally breathes.
“Doctor, the Christmas elves came,” Holly insists. “The real ones. Well, and Selene and Dr. Kumari dressed up too. But the hospital elves set all this up,” she declares, pointing around while her mother keeps crying.
“You need to wear elf ears — new hospital protocol,” Arya states, handing Alexia a pair of ears that she stares at in confusion.
And there it is — at that moment, the final ice wall crumbles as she kneels before Holly's wheelchair and lets the little girl place the pointy ears on her head.
“Now you match Selene,” the little girl declares proudly.
“Wait, one more thing — someone take a picture,” Arya interrupts, pulling out mistletoe and stretching her arm to hold it above our heads.
I turn to Alexia, expecting her usual eye-roll at Dr. Kumari's antics, but instead, she grabs my costume lapels and kisses me in front of everyone, making my heart skip several beats.
The floor erupts in cheers and whistles — okay, mostly from Arya, but everyone else joins in.
“When I invited you to dinner for New Year's Eve, I just meant dinner, this is…”
She doesn't finish because tears escape my eyes. If Emily's watching me from somewhere, she's probably laughing at her big sister dressed as an elf. But I know she'd be proud, too. Proud that her final Christmas wish before dying — bringing joy to other kids trapped in some hospital — lives on.