The Uninvited Christmas Guest, by Libra

Chapter 2
Chapter Two: The Accident

Chapter Description: By Libra

Going back to the bathroom she climbed her way up and over the window’s edge. Her bag of stolen stuff was still inside and she pulled on it, facing the house. The pillow case snagged on something and she gave one last pull. The bag suddenly became loose and she lost her balance.

The ground rushed up toward her and then darkness. A rock hidden under the first snow had knocked her out and the flakes were coming down hard as she stayed there unmoving.

Mr. Samuel Bodhi came home to a mess. Thinking a wild animal got in he looked around carefully and noticed something was missing. In fact several things were missing.

Samuel sighed as he realized with a little shock he had been robbed. Wondering how they got in he searched every way in or out. The open bathroom window was letting in an awful cold draft.

Looking out the window he saw a ladder he didn’t know of, with something at the base of the ladder. An odd lump in the snow with familiar sides to it. He went outside and walked through his yard. The snow was still coming down, already starting to build.

The lump came into view and at once he recognized one of his pillow covers. The sack looked bulky and the feeling of hopefulness filled his mind. Maybe the thief dropped it in his haste to get away.

Picking up the sack he found a sight that made his heart jump with horror. A little girl almost turned blue from coldness had been under the sack and she had a very nasty bump on her head. A rock just by her head was the source of her injury.

Samuel remembered what his mother taught him - she was a former nurse - and reached out for a pulse.

Her body felt cold, but there was still a heartbeat. Lucky for her he thought the heavy sack landed right on top of the girl, keeping her warm.

Gently Samuel picked her up and her limp form felt very light in his arms. Carefully he carried her inside and put her into his bed. He checked for frostbite and found none. He knew he had to get her warmed up and fast. Stripping her out of her wet clothes and leaving just her panties on, he piled the clothes aside after quickly searching the pockets. The bottles came as a surprise, but he now knew what he had rescued from freezing to death.

Laying several blankets on top of her Samuel cranked up the heat and left the room with the clothes to dry for when she awoke.

The ladder, he thought, must belong to the guy next door and he laid it over on his neighbor’s side of the fence. The pillow case and stolen items were quickly returned inside, and the bathroom window secured with a padlock on the inside. Samuel double checked every way in or out then decided to prepare something to eat in the kitchen.

Crystal moaned a little and felt very warm. Her head ached something fierce and she felt a little stiff as if laying under something hard.

Slowly she opened her eyes and saw a dimmed room with nightfall outside.

Had she laid down and fallen asleep on the job, she wondered for a second. Then the memory came back of her climbing out. If the homeowner had found her, who know what he must had thought at first, Crystal reasoned.