Suggestion

     “It will soon be three years since our dear mother left us,” the man said sadly.
     “Daddy, shall we put daisies on her grave again this year?” asked his nine-year-old daughter.
     “Yes. Of all the flowers, she liked those the most,” the father replied sadly.
     His eyes grew moist at the memory.
     “Dad, can I tell you something?”
     “Go ahead… I’m listening.”
     “You know, Mom came to visit me that Christmas?”
     “Oh, sweetheart! What are you saying!”
     “Really… I swear,” the girl insisted.
     “But Sandra, you were in the hospital then. They took you there at the end of November. You had a bad case of tonsillitis and a high fever. You were delirious all the time… Mom was taken to a completely different hospital about a week after you. Her illness was very serious. She died exactly on the fourteenth of December. You know that very well. So you couldn’t possibly have seen her. Do you understand?”
     “And yet I saw her. I saw her, I really did! Mr. Kowalský was there with Mom too! You can ask him!”
     “Of course, darling,” the father said, “but now you really must go to sleep. It’s late.”
     The father tucked his daughter into bed, turned off the lamp, and went to sleep himself.
     He forgot all about the episode. He put it out of his mind. About a week later, his daughter asked:
     “Did you talk to Mr. Kowalský yet?”
     “About what, sweetheart?”
     “Well, about that Christmas story with Mom.”
     “You mean that story… I haven’t talked to him yet. But I’ll definitely ask him tomorrow. I promise.”
     Sandra looked at him disappointedly.
     On his way home from work, he remembered what Sandra had asked him to do. Fortunately, the Kowalskýs lived nearby. He turned off the main road to the left and found himself at a small family house. He rang the bell. A middle-aged woman came to the door.
     “Good afternoon, Mrs. Kowalská.”
     “…afternoon.”
     “My name is Weber. Martin Weber, maybe you know me.”
     “A little. Just by sight… You must be here for my husband, right?”
     “Yes. I need to discuss something with him. I won’t keep him long.”
     “I’ll call him right away… But come in, please.”
     “I don’t want to bother you… Really…”
     “Oh, it’s no bother… Sit on the terrace for now. I’ll get him… We have such beautiful weather today, don’t we?”
     “A real Indian summer. We haven’t had one like this in a long time!”
     The woman disappeared into the house.
     After a while, a sturdy, white-haired man appeared.
     “Welcome. How long has it been since we last saw each other?”
     “Almost three years… Since that event…”
     “Three years?… It still hurts, doesn’t it?”
     The man nodded.
     “Time heals all wounds, believe me…” the old man said sympathetically.
     “I don’t want to keep you, Father. Your time is precious. So, why did I come?… I’ll get right to the point. I don’t know how to start… It’s a rather… strange, tangled thing…”
     “Don’t hesitate,” the priest encouraged him.
     “Well… I actually came at my daughter’s urging. You surely remember that my wife died three years ago. She had a weak heart. Heart failure. It was a congenital defect.”
     “I know. A regrettable event,” the priest said sympathetically.
     “About a week before that, they took my daughter to the hospital. It was very serious. The doctors gave her no hope of survival. That’s when I called you to give her the last rites. As they say, Death was already at the door.”
     The priest turned pale as the memory returned vividly.
     “Yes… Yes… I remember her. Her name was Sandra, I think. Such a clever, lively girl.”
     “That’s right.”
     The man paused briefly and then said:
     “Death took my wife then, and wanted to take my little daughter too. But a miracle happened. Sandra gradually recovered.”
     The priest listened attentively.
     “Why did I come to see you? Imagine, my daughter keeps insisting that she saw her mother that Christmas. I don’t know why she remembered it just now. Such nonsense! And imagine, she claims you were there too. I had to promise her I’d come see you. So here I am. What do you make of all this?”
     The priest lowered his eyes and said, “She really did see her!”
     “That’s not possible! You’re not telling me you believe it’s true? You don’t believe in ghosts, do you?”
     “I must reveal a secret to you, Mr. Weber. Once you hear me out, you’ll understand my actions. Please, don’t judge me for it.”
     The man became attentive.
     “I must go back to my childhood for a moment. It’s absolutely essential to understand the story. When I was a little boy, my father took me everywhere with him. He was a general practitioner. He was widowed early, so he had to take care of me himself. I don’t remember my mother anymore. It was so long ago! As I said, I used to go with him to visit not only the sick, but also the injured and dying. I remember my father always gave those in pain some injection. Probably morphine. For those whose lives were ending, he always had a kind word. They left this world with a peaceful soul. Maybe that’s why I developed those qualities.”
     “What qualities?” the man interrupted.
     “I should rather say abilities. Namely, to identify with the thinking of sick people. Gradually, I found I could hypnotize people and implant my thoughts in them. That’s how it was with your daughter. When I sat by her bed, I didn’t believe she would recover either. As a Protestant priest, I shouldn’t talk like this. But based on years of experience, I can get into the psyche of the suffering. I wanted at least to ease the child’s suffering and her dying. So I suggested to her that she saw her mother. I sensed she longed for her deeply.”
     The priest paused. Then he took a breath and continued.
     “I remember it as if it were today. She kept calling: ‘Mommy! Mommy, where are you?’ My heart clenched at that moment. I realized I might be able to help her. The presence of a loved one could have a positive effect. I mustered all my strength and suggested to her what she so desired. I don’t know how, but her health began to improve more and more. Now you know everything.”
     The priest looked at the man apologetically. Tears rolled down the man’s cheeks.
     “Thank you very much, Mr. Kowalský. Not only for myself, but also for my late wife. She would surely have agreed with what you did… Certainly… For now, I’ll let Sandra believe she really saw her mother. And when she’s older, I’ll explain everything to her!”
     “That will be for the best,” the priest said conciliatorily.
     “Well, I’ll be going. I won’t keep you any longer.”
     “It was no trouble at all. If you’re ever in the area, stop by. I’d love to see you. And bring Sandra with you. She must be quite the young lady by now.”
     “We’ll both come for sure.”
     The men shook hands and said goodbye.
     Mr. Weber stepped out into the busy street…
 
 
Translated into English by artificial intelligence.