Price Of A Miracle

Tess was a precocious eight-year-old girl when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn’t have the money for the doctor’s bills and our house.

Only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking like there was no-one to loan them the money. She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered desperation, “Only a miracle can save him now.”

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall’s Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster.

No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it! “And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages, “he said without waiting for a reply to his question.”

“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really, really sick... and I want to buy a miracle.”

“I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist. “His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”

“We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,” the pharmacist said, softening a little. “Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.”

The pharmacist’s brother was a well-dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?” “I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up.

“I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”

“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago.

“One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely audibly. “And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.”

“Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven cents ― the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. “He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery. The operation was completed without charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

“That surgery,” her Mom whispered, “was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?” Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost... one dollar and eleven cents ... plus the faith of a little child.

聽爸爸媽媽談起小弟安德魯的事情時，苔絲已是一個早熟的8歲小女孩。她只知道弟弟病得很厲害，父母卻無錢給他醫治。下個月他們要搬到一個公寓房，因為爸爸已經無力支付醫藥費和我們的房款。

“現在唯一可以救他的辦法就是做手術，但手術費用非常昂貴，沒有人肯借錢給我們。”她聽到爸爸對滿含淚水的媽媽低聲而絕望地說：“現在只有奇跡可以救他了。”

苔絲回到房間，從壁櫥一個隱藏的地方拿出一個玻璃瓶子，把里面所有的零錢倒在地上并仔細數了3次，直到確定無誤。

她仔細地把硬幣放回瓶子并把蓋子擰好，悄悄地從后門溜出去，穿過六條街區，來到門上有紅色印地安語大標志的Rexall藥店。

她耐心地等待著藥劑師，可是藥劑師非常忙，并沒有注意她。苔絲扭動著她的腳弄出摩擦的聲音，沒有反映。她大聲地清清嗓子，還是沒反映。

最后，她從瓶子里拿出個2角5分的硬幣摔在玻璃柜臺上，弄出清脆的響聲。成功了!“你需要點什么?”藥劑師不耐煩地問，“我要去接我的弟弟，他從芝加哥來，我們很多年沒見了。”他沒等苔絲說話就接著說起來。

“我想跟你說下我弟弟的事情。”苔絲回答，“他真的病得很嚴重……我想為他買個奇跡。”

“你說什么?”藥劑師問到，“他叫安德魯，他病得很厲害，爸爸說現在只有奇跡能救他。所以，請問奇跡多少錢?”

“我們這里不賣奇跡，小女孩，很抱歉不能幫助你，”藥劑師稍帶溫和地說。

“聽著，我有很多錢，如果這里的不夠，我就回去取剩下的，請告訴我奇跡多少錢?”

這時候，藥劑師的弟弟來了，他是個穿著很得體的男人。他問小女孩“你弟弟需要什么樣的奇跡呢?”“我不知道，”苔絲的眼淚涌了上來。

“我只知道他病得非常厲害，媽媽說他需要做手術，但是爸爸支付不起手術費，所以我想用我自己的錢。”

“你有多少錢?”這個從芝加哥來的男人問。

“一美元十一美分，”苔絲用很勉強才能聽到的聲音回答。“這是我所有的錢，但是如果不夠的話我再想辦法。”

“剛剛好，”男人笑著說，“一美元十一美分 ―― 正好可以為你弟弟買個奇跡。”他一手拿著小女孩的錢一手緊緊握住她的手說“帶我去你住的地方，我想去看看你弟弟和你的父母，看看我是不是有你們需要的奇跡。”

這個穿著得體的男人就是卡爾頓?阿姆斯壯，著名的神經外科醫生。手術沒有支付任何費用，安德魯回家后不久就康復了。爸爸和媽媽高興地談論著這件事情。

“這個手術真的是個奇跡，奇跡到底需要多少錢呢?”母親低聲自語。苔絲笑了，她知道奇跡的真正價值：一美元十一美分，加上一個小女孩的信念。