It’s Christmas in the ER. Mother’s got infected wounds.

The hospital has beautiful wreaths, staff members’ wearing reindeer headbands for cheer. Next door, a woman’s crying-laughing. When I exit, I hear, “She’s coming off heroin.”

The woman looks up, sees my blonde hair, and whispers, “Oh, you’re my Christmas Angel.”

Angela Carlton lives outside Atlanta with her husband and two daughters. Her fiction has been published in EWR, Every Day Fiction, Pedestal Magazine, Long Story Short, 6S, High Noon and Friday Flash Fiction among others. Her story “Swallowed,” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2023.