𝙀𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 || 𝚂𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚘

Enlightened . .

Walking through a dark city that's supposed to be buzzing with life and laughter with my stick on a cold christmas eve is something I'll do forever and will never get bored off.

Snow caressed my face with such a soothing pace I could only look up and face the flakes with a smile on my face. It was freezing outside, honestly. But moments like this felt like a warm blanket, pure happiness protecting me in a way nothing ever could.

My job was my happiness. My soul carried along with the flicker of the lights. The light flickering into a flame once my stick pulled the chord. Flames dancing in the streetlights, warming those who need it.

While I walked through the city, I managed to greet some of the inhabitants. Some of them were playing with the snow, others were simply looking at the view. I waved at a young lady that held the hand of her daughter as they walked past. They greeted me with a smile. Christmas Eve was truly the purest day of the year.

I came to halt when I reached my first streetlight of the night. The first streetlight that would be enlightened. The light that gave people a lead through the dark streets. The light that made people feel like the city was never sleeping, because this city would always be alive. These streetlights symbolized life. For me, they gave hope. Hope that society would never feel alone anymore. Hope that people wouldn't get lost on the streets.

That was the most important thing of Christmas Eve, making people feel less alone.

When I reached out for the chord, I heard someone coughing at the other side of the street. When I glanced over, I saw a little girl, sitting outside at her own, nobody near her. She held something in her trembling hand. She seemed to be freezing out here. I couldn't do anything but watch as I tried to do my job.

She held something that looked like matchsticks. Trying to sell them to inhabitants that passed by. The girl looked like she hadn't eaten in days. Skinny till the bone. Desperate for any penny that would come on her path. Sitting underneath an unlightened streetlight.

Despite the fact that everyone needed light on Christmas Eve, she sat in the dark. Nobody surrounding her. People looked at her as if she was the trash of the city. I've never seen her here before. Perhaps she'd tried to find herself a new place to stay, somewhere safe.

This city wasn't. It was full of wealthy inhabitants that kept every penny to theirselves. Ruthless people, too selfish to ever spare a glance to charity. Christmas Eve was supposed to be a good thing, a night full of good deeds and spend time with family. This girl, seemed to be all alone.

While I sank into my thoughts, the girl pulled one of the matchsticks out of it's box and lightened it upwards to the sky. She closed her eyes, wishing for something she would never receive.

A home.

I swallowed. The truth was hard. Cruel to some of us. Humans were similar in many things, but money was the only thing splitting us apart. People would do anything for money, even if it meant to burn the world into flickering flames just for the metal pennies.

Money could buy a lot, but it couldn't buy happiness. This girl was the living proof.

Looking at the matchstick she'd lightened, I realized she didn't wish for something. The only thing she wished for, was to be heatened by it's warmth. Her freezing body wasn't absorbing snow anymore. Instead, the snowflakes kept its composure because the girl's body was the same degree.

She lit another one, keeping it close to herself in a way to keep herself warm, but with no success. The flame disappeared the same way it came to life a couple seconds ago.

The box was now empty. The lightened matchsticks were displayed infront of her, turned into ashes on the freezing cobblestone path.

The girl had taken all my attention and sorrow, which made me completely forget about my job. The streets were still dark, the moon was the only light source. I pulled my stick out again and pulled the chord of the nearest streetlight.

The flame flickered, the glass around it lightened up and the street got enlightened.

Snow remained to pour down as I did my job, lightening streetlights throughout the entire street.

After a solid thirty minutes, there was only one light left. The light the girl with the matchsticks sat by.

The light I'd tried to avoid the entire night.

I walked through the streets, my hands cold as ice. I couldn't imagine how her hands must've felt after sitting in the cold the entire day.

When I arrived at the light, the girl laid underneath it. The first thing that caught my attention was that her body wasn't shivering anymore. A sigh of relief escaped my throat as I came up next to her.

"Merry Christmas." I said while I rose my stick. Only to get no response.

I looked down at the girl, but she didn't hear me. Only then I noticed I'd been talking to someone who would never listen again. The girl that wouldn't have to suffer anymore, because she'd been taken by someone above. Someone who would take more care of her than humanity ever could.

The girl with the matchsticks was dead.

My parents always used to tell me people's souls would be transformed into stars, and each star crossing the atmosphere like a falling star is representing another soul going upwards to heaven. A place where everything is better. A place without sorrow. A place where you would never be alone.

A place without cold.

A lump formed in my throat as I glanced over at her body once more before reaching my stick out to the chord. I pulled it, revealing another flickering flame, enlightening the last part of the street.

That's when a star passed the dark sky.

Author's Note: 

Sorry in advance for breaking y'alls heart. I broke mine too while writing this </3. This story is short (not even 1.000 wordcount, woops). But I really wanted to drop it only because I wanna show you guys how important it is to care about eachother. In this story, you can see the enlightener is scared to help the girl with the matchsticks, or he's either afraid to talk to her because she's a homeless girl. In this specific time range people that were homeless were considered weird and freaks. Telling this story again and earning recognition for it is so important. I think it's really important to take care of eachother and to emphasize the importance of caring. Take care of eachother loves.

Lots of love, 

Jaloe.