The New Year was knocking at her door...

 

“New... What is new, really?”

Her body was getting older and older. The same was true of her house, her shoes, her cell phone, and everything she owned.

The same for her relatives, neighbors, and everyone she knew.

Because everything and everyone felt old, new things no longer touched her heart or her mind. Not even the New Year... just something people fabricated.

For the past ten years, it had been the same - some kind of rejection. She had even thought of covering all the mirrors in her apartment so she would not have to see her ugly, old face. Of course, there were no calendars in the house either...

One day, as she was preparing herself to do a few tasks, the doorbell rang. Strange... for some time now, she had not received a visitor who hadn’t called beforehand.

“Who is there?”

No response.

Well, the easy solution was to avoid it, so she simply didn’t open the door.

As the New Year drew closer, she noticed that the knocking at her door was becoming more persistent, more frequent. She thought of calling the police - but what for?

Right at midnight... almost midnight... on the last day of the year, the knocking on the door came again - this time very forcefully. It sounded as if it were about to break down the door.

Scared, but determined not to lose her door, she went and opened it.

And there it was: a little girl, smiling sweetly at her.

“Hello!”

Well, after so much “drama,” a simple “hello” wouldn’t do.

“You have been knocking at my door all these days! What do you want, young lady?”

“Well, I had to, don’t you see? I am the New Year...”

A crazy girl...

“Come with me.” She extended her small, gentle hands toward the old lady. “Come to the New Year.”

She was really scared now.

“I know you are scared, and that is not my intention. But if anyone in the world refuses to enter the New Year, then it is my job to come and take them. That is why I am here.”

She moved her hand closer to the old lady...

“Listen, it will be beautiful - I know that... and terrifying too!” She giggled a little. “However, it is already like that for you, right? So the New Year will be just a change of a number. By accepting it in your heart, at least it will be accompanied by some hope.”

This time, the old woman listened more attentively. She saw that it was useless to resist, and at last she gave her hand to the little girl.

It felt like a whirlpool, and for a few moments she felt elated - so happy, like never before.

And then it was over.

The door was in its original position. There was no sign of the little girl.

After some time, she sat down and decided to celebrate quietly.

The New Year.

The end of the old year.

The beginning of hope.