Rebecca Besser Read online

  Santa forced himself to his feet. The world spun around him and soon he was heaving and vomiting blood again. He knew he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t deliver the packages. He also knew he wouldn’t go home until he knew they were in the hands of someone that could deliver them.

  Suddenly, a single ray of light shot through his brain. He knew whom he could trust to take the Magic of Christmas to the foster children. Dragging himself into the sleigh, he gave orders to the reindeer and off they went.

  It didn’t take them long to get to the house. In fact, it took Santa longer to crawl out of the sleigh and drag the bag to the door of the house, than it did for them to get there.

  Weaving drunkenly, Santa knocked on the door and rang the door bell. As fast as he possibly could, he made his way back to the sleigh and was just taking off for home as Lyle Perez-Tinics opened the door.

  Lyle frowned and looked down at the dark-green velvet bag that sat at his door step. Leaning down he read the tag. With wide eyes he glanced up into the sky just in time to see Santa and the reindeer’s silhouette against the backdrop of the moon.

  “What is it, honey?” Lyle’s wife said with a yawn as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

  Lyle patted his wife’s hands where they were linked over his stomach. “Santa.”

  He felt her jerk. “What? Are you sleep walking?”

  “No,” Lyle said, pulling away to show her the bag of packages for Hugs. “I don’t know why, but he left this here.”

  Lyle’s wife frowned and then grinned. “I guess he does know who’s naughty and nice. He must know that you had it in your heart to help those children this year.”

  Lyle looked away with a crocked grin and shrugged. “I’ll have to make some calls and get people out of bed, so we can make sure these presents make it under some trees before morning.”

  Lyle’s wife laughed. “Let’s do that!”

  They made calls for the next hour, getting the address’ to all the children, and even got some volunteers to help.

  The first rays of the morning sun were just peeking over the horizon as Lyle and his wife walked arm in arm to their front door. All the packages had been delivered and they were extremely tired.

  Pausing, they smiled and let the first warming rays bathe their upturned faces.

  “This is gonna be a great Christmas,” Lyle said and kissed his wife’s forehead.

  Together they went inside and enjoyed their Christmas together, knowing that they had helped bring smiles to the faces of many children, who were at that very moment, opening their presents.

  ~

  Santa passed out on the way back to the North Pole. Luckily the reindeer knew their way home. They were still nervous and flew faster than normal. They needed the security and safety they knew they would feel when they got into their stalls.

  The smell of blood reached them, even in the air. The reindeer jerked so hard, and rocked the sleigh so violently, it woke Santa. He moaned and took the reins, guiding the reindeer down the best he could.

  He passed out again, just as they halted in the bright red snow.

  ~

  Hammond had seen the sleigh land and had come out to meet it. As he approached, he noticed how pale Santa was. Rushing to him, Hammond shuddered as he saw the festering wound on Santa’s neck and the blood that dotted his coat.

  For a moment Hammond just stood there, not knowing what to do. He wasn’t sure if he should waste his time by having Santa dragged inside, or if he should just slam something into Santa’s head now, before he turned.

  The choice was taken away as a young female elf saw Santa. She screeched with joy and tugged at her mother’s skirt, yelling that Santa was back.

  Soon the remaining elves were surrounding the sleigh. The adult’s eyes took in the situation and looked at Hammond with panic in their eyes.

  “Take the reindeer to the barn and see to them,” Hammond instructed a small group of elves. “The rest of us will get Santa inside. Janet, why don’t you take all the little ones to your house while we get him inside.”

  Janet nodded and took charge of all the small children.

  The remaining elves helped him get Santa inside. They removed Santa’s belt, boots, hat, and coat and put him in bed.

  Hammond stayed with Santa. He could hear the nervous chatter of the other elves in the hall. There was no hope for Santa. He was going to become a zombie, too.

  Hammond bowed his head to pray, and jumped when the door to Santa’s room flew open and an elf no more than five-years-old came dashing in giggling. Her blonde hair was coming free from her long braids, looking like woven gold in the candle light.

  “Santa!” she squealed and hopped up onto the bed.

  Hammond jumped up and tried to grab the child, but she was too fast.

  Santa’s eyes shot open, they were cloudy. He hissed and sat up, grabbing the girl as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He teeth were merely an inch away from her tender flesh, when she spoke.

  “Merry Christmas, Santa!”

  Zombie Santa froze, and a blinding flash of light flashed between him and the little girl.

  Hammond raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glare. Blinking rapidly, he waited for it to fade. It only took moments.

  When Hammond could see again, he looked at the girl and Santa. Santa was normal! He looked cheerful and healthy! The girl was sitting on his lap rattling off all the presents she had gotten, like nothing at all had happened.

  Speechless, Hammond turned and left the room. The Magic of Christmas had come through for them after all. Everything would be fine, and there would be more presents next year.

  THE POWER OF A GIFT

  by Rebecca Besser

  Kallalaya Tinics stood in the living room, peering expectantly at the front yard through the frost covered front window. Her father, Lyle, stood in the doorway watching her with two steaming cups of hot chocolate in his hands, admiring her innocent beauty and grinning at her excitement – Christmas was their favorite time of year, and this Christmas was going to be an extra special one.

  “We still have time, Kally,” he said, walking forward and sitting the mugs on the coffee table, beside a plate of festive Christmas cookies. “Santa said he would send the sleigh for us at ten o’clock – it’s barely nine. Sit down and have a snack with me while we wait for Mommy to get ready.”

  With a sigh, the young girl turned and frowned. “Why can’t Santa come early?”

  Lyle laughed. “I told you, sweetheart, he’s very busy.”

  She strolled slowly over to the couch and plopped down beside her dad; the shimmering dark green material of her dress puffed up at the sudden movement and she smoothed it down delicately. “The kids at school didn’t believe me when I told them I was going to the North Pole,” she said, still frowning. “They said I was a baby and that Santa isn’t real.”

  Taking a sip of his hot chocolate and chewing a mouthful of cookie, Lyle thought about his response before speaking. “Well, remember what I told you happened last year? That Santa had me help deliver Christmas presents to the HUGS children? Doesn’t that prove that Santa is real?”

  “Yes,” she muttered, picking up a cookie and taking a bite. “But why doesn’t everyone believe, if he’s real?”

  Lyle inwardly groaned, knowing it was incredibly hard to wrestle with a child’s logic and help them understand the world; he waited until he’d finished his cookie to reply.

  “Some people don’t want to believe. They think not believing in magical things makes them more grown up. I think it makes them boring!” He leaned over and tickled his daughter. “You don’t want to be boring, do you?”

  “No, Daddy!” she squealed.

  “Besides,” he said, leaning back and smiling down at Kallalaya, “you get to meet the big guy in person and everyone is jealous! You’ll know the truth when you’re flying through the air on Santa’s sleigh.”

  She grinned broadly and helped herself to another cook
ie. “Yup!”

  “Okay, I think I’m ready,” Mandy huffed as she came rushing downstairs. “How do I look?” She spun and showed off her festive sweater – sporting a snowman – and her dark red, long skirt. “Do I look like I’m ready for a stroll through the North Pole?” she asked and laughed.

  Lyle grinned. “You look beautiful.” He turned to his daughter and nudged her gently with his elbow to get her attention; she was staring out the front window again. “Doesn’t Mommy look pretty?”

  Kallalaya barely glanced at her mom and said, “You look really pretty, Mommy.”

  Mandy laughed. “Thanks.” She looked at the three small suitcases sitting by the front door and frowned. “Do you think we have everything we’ll need?”

  Laughing, Lyle rose from the couch, walked out into the hallway, and wrapped his arms around his wife, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. “We have everything we need. Calm down.”

  She sighed, nodded, and relaxed into his embrace. “What time is it?”

  Lyle glanced at his watch. “A quarter after nine. You have time to sit down with us and have a cookie before we go.”

  Smiling, Mandy pulled away and walked into the living room, sitting down beside their daughter; Lyle joined them.

  Together they ate, drank, talked, laughed, and waited for a magical sleigh to come and carry them away for their two-day trip to the North Pole.

  Soon, before they realized how much time had passed, a jingling of sleigh bells could be heard outside. Kallalaya jumped up and practically flew to the front window, pressing her face to the cold glass to look up into the sky.

  “It’s here! It’s here!” she screamed, squealing excitedly and clapping her hands. “We’re really, really going to meet Santa!”

  Lyle and Mandy laughed, watching their daughter.

  “Yes, the sleigh is here, so you’d better go put your boots on,” Mandy said, walking over and gently nudging Kallalaya from the window.

  “But I wanna see who’s driving!” Kally protested.

  Reluctantly her mother gave in with a sigh. “Okay, but then you need to get your boots on so we can go when it’s time.”

  “Daddy, who’s that?” she asked, pressing her finger to the window; humidity gathered around the appendage, making a foggy circle. “Is he an elf?”

  Lyle walked closer to the window and peered outside. “Yup, that’s an elf. Santa said in his letter he wouldn’t be able to come to get us himself, so he was sending his head elf. I can’t remember his name. . .”

  “It started with an ‘h’ didn’t it?” Mandy asked. “And it reminded me of food. . .something pork.”

  “Hammond,” Kallalaya chirped. “I ‘member now. He saved the North Pole while Santa was delivering presents – it was in the storybook that came with the letter.”

  “You’re right, sweetheart,” Lyle said, smiling. “I remember the story. It was Hammond.”

  They jumped as the doorbell rang, not having noticed Hammond advancing toward the house while they were discussing his name.

  Kally squealed and darted for the front door. Mandy and Lyle grinned at each other and followed at a slightly more reserved pace and arrived to see Hammond through the open doorway; snowflakes danced around him and shimmered in the foyer light, making him look magical.

  “Hi! I’m Kallalaya!” she screamed, grinning up at the elf.

  He smiled down at her. “Yes, I know, and I’m here to take you to the North Pole. You wouldn’t want to meet Santa, would you?”

  “Yes! Yes!” she screamed and bounced.

  Mandy laughed. “Get your boots on then, silly! We can’t go until you’re properly dressed.”

  Kally nodded and darted around the corner to put her boots on.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Hammond said, reaching his hand out to Lyle, who shook it. “Santa told me what you did for us last year and we’re all very grateful; Christmas was rough and every little bit helped.”

  Lyle nodded. “It was no problem at all. My wife, Mandy,” he paused and turned to her, pulling her forward, “and I enjoyed delivering the toys to the foster children.”

  She nodded in agreement, extending her hand in greeting as well; Hammond shook it warmly.

  “Thank you for your help as well, Mandy,” the elf said. He pulled back and motioned to the bags sitting by the door. “Is this everything?”

  Lyle nodded. “Yes.” Hammond bent down to get them and Lyle grabbed his coat off a hook by the door. “Let me help you with those.”

  “I’ll check on Kally’s progress and we’ll be out in a minute,” Mandy said, closing the door behind them and walking around the corner to find an empty bench. “Kally! Where are you?”

  Mandy spun in a circle looking for her daughter. Not seeing her anywhere, she went back out into the hall and that’s when she spotted her coming down the stairs, hugging her worn out teddy bear.

  “What are you doing, honey?”

  “I’m bringing Mr. Snuggles with me,” Kallalaya said with a slight huff and a pout. “He’ll be lonely here all by himself.”

  Mandy sighed, knowing they were going to have another episode about Mr. Snuggles. “Sweetie,” she said, kneeling down in from of Kally and the bear, who were now on the bottom step, “Mr. Snuggles is old and he’s falling apart. . . See?” Mandy reached forward and pulled the bear’s arm back; the stuffing showed through the seams. “If you take him with you, he might fall apart. He has to stay home.”

  Kally’s bottom lip started to quiver and her eyes filled with tears. “But I need my bear to sleep.”

  “Maybe Santa will have a special new one for you,” Mandy said. “Let’s leave Mr. Snuggles here to guard the house – tell him you’ll bring him a Mrs. Snuggles when you come home.”

  With tears spilling from her eyes, Kally nodded and reluctantly handed over her beloved bear to her mom.

  “What’s going on in here?” Lyle asked, coming though the door and looking around expectantly. “We’re all loaded up and ready to go.” He spotted Kally, who was still standing on the bottom step crying. “What’s wrong, baby?” he asked, rushing forward and catching the sight of Mandy setting Mr. Snuggles on the hall table; instantly he knew.

  “Mommy. . .” Kally started, but paused and sniffled. “Mommy said Mr. Snuggles can’t come with us.”

  Lyle nodded and picked his daughter up, rubbing her back gently as she laid her head on his shoulder, wrapping her little arms around his neck. “We already talked about this, and you know it’s best for him if he stays home.”

  Kally nodded and whimpered.

  “How about we go for a sleigh ride to the North Pole and see Santa?” Lyle said, forcing cheerfulness into his voice to try and excite Kally about the trip again. “Do you want to sit up front with Hammond? I bet he’ll let you hold the reins and everything!”

  Kally sniffled again, but giggled and nodded her head ‘yes’.

  Lyle eyes met Mandy’s as they turned toward the door; they both smiled.

  It didn’t take Kallalaya long to cheer up once they were in the air and flying briskly toward the North Pole, and sure enough, Hammond let her ‘drive’ the magic sleigh. Mr. Snuggles was soon forgotten.

  They arrived to a cheering crowd of young looking elves; only a few older ones were mixed in. Lyle frowned, knowing this was because of the zombie outbreak the previous year, which had actually wiped out most of the North Pole’s population. Most of the older ‘mature’ elves had been killed, leaving behind the younger elves to carry on the work needed to make toys for Christmas.

  His eyes scanned the crowd for the one person he was most anxious to meet, but he didn’t see Santa anywhere in the crowd.

  “Where’s Santa?” he heard Kally ask Hammond.

  Hammond laughed. “He’s busy getting ready for Christmas, it’s in a couple days you know and there’s a lot to do yet. See all those elves down there?” he asked, pointing below them. “That’s only half of the elves at the North Pole. The rest are b
usy making toys for good boys and girls. Have you been a good girl this year?”

  Kally nodded excitedly with a grin on her face. “You know what I want for Christmas?”

  “No,” Hammond said. “What do you want for Christmas?”

  As she spoke her reply, they descended and the roar of the crowd drowned out her answer, which Lyle strained to hear regardless; he wanted to get his wife and daughter the presents they really wanted, but didn’t have the slightest clue what either of them would like to get for Christmas. Sighing, he gave up when all he could hear were the cheering voices of the crowd.

  They were received like visiting dignitaries, with gifts, hugs, hand shakes, and kisses on the cheeks. You would have sworn war had broken out and they were the ones responsible for ending the carnage!

  Almost an hour after arriving, they were settled comfortably in their room with a snack. They’d been told they would be taken on a sleigh ride around the North Pole before supper, where they would meet Santa himself, and as soon as they were ready, they headed back downstairs, still dressed in their warm clothes.

  A young, female elf greeted them warmly as they came out of Santa’s house. “Welcome to the North Pole! I’m Solstice, and I’ll be taking you on your tour.”