He toppled over the bin.

The December wind entered under his torn clothes and under his skin and penetrated his heart. He felt it moving slower and slower.

Jim closed eyes and saw himself lying on the ground, covered with garbage from the overturned bin and on that sprinkled with show that didn't stop for a moment to give him any chance to stand up and warm himself.

Jim felt as his another self looked with pity on himself lying there, then turned and went away. Not far from there, near the main street, he stopped near full-lighted house, from where Jim could hear music breaking out into the street and in which he saw children come to the Christmas tree and take their presents. Adults sitting on the sofa, smiling and winking to their children, sang songs and some even danced.

Jim's nose began to feel a hardly identified smell, that found a crack between the window and the wall and threaded outside. The smell of food, that he didn't remember that even existed.

Jim stood there and felt tears wetting his lips and going down into the beard, becoming little icicles there.

How much he wanted to be there, in the house and have the last holiday with people. Last, because he knew that his life went over the mountain a very long time ago and now was running down with ever quickening pace. He was very short distance from the end of his road. He felt it in the liver and in the heart, even tired legs cried for eternal peace each day more and more.

That's why, just one more holiday, to recollect the feeling of it, to recollect those old times when he celebrated holidays with his daughter and his grandchildren, just one more and he could peacefully go down from the stage.

The another Jim's self returned to one, laying on the ground and began to slap his cheeks.

-Stand up, you, looser! Stand up and try to change something!

But body looked at him without showing any comprehension. He shook it once more. Than more. Suddenly, lips parted, and breathing mist rose from the mouth. Jim stood up slowly and went to look for any place to sleep. Tomorrow's Christmas and maybe something will happen (he smiled cruelly to this funny thought) but today he has to find a place to sleep by himself.

.

Morning was windy and rainy. "Snow was better" Jim grumbled to himself and went to the market area. There he could most easily find something to eat. Though wet something isn't as delicious as dry one, it's still the only possible distinction between life and death he had now.

Near the market he saw many police cars. Jim stopped. He didn't like them, because it could mean problems for him. Why? Only because he didn't look decent enough. In clothes like his, nobody looked decent in Police's eyes.

Jim stopped, returned behind the corner and waited to hear sirens go away. In meanwhile he looked along the street.

All the shops were opened and crowds entered and exited them all the time. The road was busy, giving place to busses, taxis and just other cars to go without accident.

A taxi came speeding near him, and a moment later, Jim felt that he is totally wet from the water, the car squirted on him. The driver slowed the car, lowed the window and laughed out loudly. Jim shook his fist and then turned back.

There, in the middle of the road, between hundreds of rushing cars, motorcycles, buses and lorries, he saw a little girl running after a blue ball. Jim felt totally hipnotised for very long time. And all this time all the cars stopped to move. He saw just the girl and he felt his legs move by themselves. He ran as never anybody did. He was the quickest person in the world. And It was enough. Just. He felt the car pushing him and the girl in his hands far to the right towards the china shop.

.

Jim opened his eyes and saw a policeman looking on him severely.

-You! We'll beat you to the death for such atrocity! To kidnap on the Christmas Eve! You'll see what we'll do!

-Officer! Officer. I saw everything that happened.

-Yes? Tell us how did he do it?

-But you don't understand, officer. He saved the girl. She was going across the road between cars and he jumped and saved him.

-Are you sure?

-Yes. I saw it.

After six more witnesses agreed that that what happened, the policeman began reluctantly to believe.

But after the child's mother ran to them, almost dragging another even smaller child behind her, he said her everything he thought about those silly parents who don't know to look after their children and are a burden to the local police. After that he departed to leave the young scared mother to hug her "almost" daughter.

Some time later, crowds dispersed and the mother of the two little children made Jim come to celebrate the holiday with her family.

.

Even before she told everybody what Jim did, they greeted him politely and gave him slippers to wear instead wet shoes.

But after the young mother retold all the happenings of the earlier hours, total pandemonium broke.

.

When children went under the tree to take their presents, mother asked from Jim to be excused, as she had no time to find a gift for him.

-Oh, it's totally alright. I've already got the present I wanted.

.

Two days later he lay on the hospital bed, where the mother of two little children brought him. Jim could keep his pain in the leg after the accident only during the Christmas Eve. Later it became impossible.

And today he felt that his heart is going to stop. He knew it. Today he is going to remeet his wife who died just four years before. Though four sounds big number, for Jim it was just a number. Be it forty, he would feel the same emptiness after her departure.

Jim felt how he undresses from his body and how his mind quietens. He was very calm, and felt at last satisfaction about his life, especially after those last days.

He saw faces of his wife, daughter and grandchildren, all of them smiling and waiting for him to come.

The last question he asked before departing totally from the physical world, was:

"Though I stopped believing in him, he believed in me. But I didn't write any letter, so how did he know what present I want most?"

And then this became not important too.