It was the day before New Years and nineteen year old Kristina was spending it in Hell. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked out of her bedroom window watching snowflakes fall in a chaotic flurry. She had to face yet another night of coldness and solitude. Living in an abandoned apartment building with her cat Maxim as company was not the best way to live but it kept her sane. Kris had been on her own for a long time getting by on people's kindness and shoveling. The young girl’s family had been long gone by now and she barely remembered them. The memories she did have were bittersweet, dark chocolate before it cools.

Kris, her mom and dad were in the kitchen baking cookies and laughing. The smell of chocolate and cinnamon was in the air and "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things" was playing in the background. Kris went to bed with a smile on her face that night because her family was together and happy. The next day she went to her parents’ room to find her mother in bed with a tired expression and her father nowhere to be seen. She climbed on the bed and asked what was wrong.

"Your daddy is gone and he took the car. He went and got high." Her mother's voice shook with the some emotion she was trying hard to conceal.

"How do you know?" She knew what her mother said was true but she still felt that she had to ask.

"Because the money from my purse is gone." Her mom turned to look at daughter, just starting at her for a long moment.

 “I’m sorry that you have to keep going through this. I'm sorry that you can't just have a normal happy holiday. “Kris sighed and sat on the bed. She was numb to the pain her father caused her. She thought that her dad had finally stopped hurting them. It had been six months since he'd gotten high. Kris had assumed that he'd gotten over the addiction but in the back of her mind she knew that wasn't true. While she hated to admit it Kris had stopped caring whether her father recovered.

That was ten years ago. From there everything had gotten worse in her life. The year after that her dad got fired from his job and her mother had to get another job to support her family. Her dad continued to take the money and use it for drugs and her mother would always fight him on it. The end result was her being in some kind of physical pain. After that they went into debt and the house was repossessed. They moved into a small two bedroom apartment with little to no appliances because her dad would sell them for drugs. Her mom eventually got sick. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and died a year later since she didn't have any money to get treated.

Her father lost control after that and left Kristina alone to fend for herself. Ever since then she had been on her own. Despite all of this the young girl still had a feeling of longing for what once was. She sighed and left the thoughts of longing for something more worthwhile. Kristian was an independent girl who would fight to survive and loved her life with a passion, always thankful for her life because she knew that there were others worse off. Sighing the young girl went to sit in the bed. She hugged her wool coat closer to stay warm.

"I still can't believe it's the year 2006 and people like me are still on the street. Well look on the bright side, at least you have a nice bed and blankets. There are people who are going to freeze tonight. Children." Kris occasionally talked to herself during the night to fill the silence that accompanied it. She reached to pet Maxim who was sleeping before proceeding to the window and climbing down the fire escape. The wind was blowing a little harder now in the suburban town of Wister, bringing with it the white snow of January. The few trees the still lined the sidewalks were fighting for dear life and the sound of straining metal could even be heard above the wind.

“I need to find some winter clothes before the weather gets even worse, but first let’s focus on getting some food.” Kris slid through the thick snow in her boots and made her way to the local grocery store. She smiled cheerfully at the people who passed and they smiled in return. For some reason they only seemed to smile at the people that looked well off, not poor people whose day could be brightened by a warm hello. She looked down at what she was wearing and smirked. Just because she was poor didn't mean she looked like it. Dressed in a pair of jeans, a sweater, a long wool coat, and boots went a long way as long as you kept it neat and clean. The mentality her mother had taught her of dressing well still stuck with her through the years. Since she had a minimum amount of money she resorted to going to the local shelter and Goodwill for clothing. The clothes there were surprisingly nice.

The girl ended her thoughts when she turned onto Main Street. She saw a little boy about the age of five or six walking down the street parallel to her. He appeared to be carrying a big bundle of something in his arms. She frowned at the sight. Looking around Kris saw that there were no parents next to him and he appeared to be in distress. His face was red and tense with concentration as sweat poured down his face. Whatever was in his hands was moving around. She looked around again and realized just how few people there were outside. The streets were really bare. She stopped and looked more closely at the boy. He was dressed in jeans and a jacket too thin to wear during winter. She got a sick feeling that the boy was alone by himself. That he was homeless.

Kristina started to walk across the street but stopped when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was a car, a red Honda Civic with its bright lights off.

They should have them on in this type of weather…. The car wasn't slowing down even though the light was red.

She looked across the street to find that the boy was walking across the street to her side. The boy didn't see the car and it appeared that the driver didn’t see him. Oblivious the little boy stopped right in the middle of the street and started to fumble with the thing in his hands, she tried yelling to him but her voice was lodged in her throat.

The car is too close to him. Before she could think about the consequences she ran into the street and pushed him out of the way. Her hands left the boy’s body just as the hot metal of the car slammed into her side with chilling force. Her head collided with the windshield and the sickening crack of her skull and neck could be heard. The force of the impact broke her left arm and cracked her rib. The car slid to a stop and she slid off the hood onto the slushy pavement. There was no pain in her body as she hit the ground, a steady ringing in her ears.

"What the hell! Why the hell did you run in the street like that?" A young man that looked to be in his twenties got out of the car and ran to her. He was pale and his brown eyes looked bleak. He paused when he saw how bad she was hurt.

"I...is the boy.... the boy.... is" she couldn't move her head and it was hard to breathe. This isn’t the time to ask questions about me. There’s a boy that might be hurt!

 "Is the...boy.... alright?" Breathing through her nose seemed to be a little bit easier.

"What...yeah he's fine, he's ok. Can you stay awake for me please? The ambulance is on its way.” The man looked like he was on the verge of crying.

”Please hold on!" He was frantic and didn't know what to do with his hands. One minute they were in his pockets and the next they were hovering over her like he was some kind of priest blessing his congregation. His eyes were shining brightly and his lower jaw kept tensing and relaxing. Kris would've laughed if she had the breath to do it. He finally settled on smoothing her hair back. His hands were surprisingly warm but they were also shaking. She closed her eyes. I think I might pass on going grocery shopping next time. Oh but then again I did save someone today….

“Keep your eyes open. I need you to stay conscious.” 

Kris opened her eyes and tried to concentrate on breathing but unconsciousness wasn’t something you could just will away with breathing, especially when there was no air to breathe.

Hmm it’s just like me to get into trouble during the holiday….I hope Maxim is ok. At least I’ll finally be with my mother in peace. The little boy had watched the whole scene and was unsure of what to do. Should he run or stay? He looked down at his baby sister and made his decision. They wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for this girl.

She cared enough to risk her life to save us. He walked over to the man and the woman. She was bleeding everywhere and barely breathing, She looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you for saving us." He tried not to cry.

Kris looked at him in confusion. Us?

 It was then that she saw that the bundle was moving. Her eyes widened and her heart started to beat even faster. Oh God! Her vision went black and her muscles started to tense. The last thing she heard was the gurgle of the baby in the boy's arms and the young man.

 “Don't give up yet! Please don’t do this! You can fight this." She felt something warm on her face. They were tears, the precious tears of someone in pain.

This my story. I am the girl you have just read about. I wrote this part in third person because this isn’t something I care to relive, no matter how heroic it seems. I’m only human and there’s only so much I can take. You’re wondering why I’m even writing this aren’t you? Is it because this is actually the end of the story or is it the end of the beginning of the story? Well reader that’s really up on you. I’ll leave you with this little message. The end of one life always marks the beginning of another.