Please hold me

It was Christmas during World War II. Jimmy was far away from his family in Portsmouth, as he was stationed in London. He remembered how every Christmas day he would go to church with his family, and occasionally on other Sundays when he happened to be home. He was drafted before the war started and had already seen quite a few horrible scenes as a  result of the bombardment. On Christmas Eve he decided to go towards Trafalgar Square with 4 of his colleagues. As they were walking, they came across a grey building with a big sign ‘Orphanage.’ Jimmy and his friends decided to knock on the door to see if they can be of any assistance. A nun opened the door and let them in, as the children were waking up around 8 AM. As they mingled among the children, they noticed that there was no Christmas tree, no lights, no decorations whatsoever. They saw no gifts anywhere, so they emptied their pockets and gave the children whatever they had, some coins, bubble gum, a crayon and colored pencils, tissues, some candy. At one moment Jimmy noticed a young girl all by herself in a corner, with a sad look on her face. He approached her gently and asked her ‘do you want something for Christmas?’ And the girl’s eyes lit up and said to Jimmy ‘Yes, please hold me in your arms!’