Patreon site.<\/a><\/p>\nPlease enjoy.<\/p>\n
~~~~~<\/p>\n
Bobby lights a candle, pours himself some hot chocolate, and sits in the living room to wait. The Christmas tree lights twinkle like stars and eventually lull him to sleep. It\u2019s Christmas Eve. He always falls asleep.<\/p>\n
The alarms wake him when the trap is sprung.<\/p>\n
Santa is tangled in the nets.<\/p>\n
Bobby lights a new candle and brings over the plate of cookies. He smiles and says to Santa, \u201cI have some questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you now?\u201d Santa asks. \u201cYou know this will likely put you on the naughty list for life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll have to make the most of it, then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo what you will,\u201d Santa says. \u201cYou can\u2019t make me reveal any secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughs at Santa. \u201cWhat secrets do you think I want to know? How you squeeze through the chimneys? How you move from house to house to every house across the world in a single night?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, it\u2019s not a single night,\u201d Santa says, \u201cand it\u2019s not every house. Plenty of people celebrate other holidays and don\u2019t want or need my visit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSee, you\u2019re telling me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve told you nothing,\u201d Santa says. \u201cWhat is it you really want to know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bobby hesitates, but there\u2019s no point to it. \u201cWhy did I stop believing in you after fifth grade when you\u2019re so obviously real?\u201d<\/p>\n
Santa grins. \u201cPerhaps you needed to start believing in your parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t sound right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santa takes the cookie from the plate. \u201cBecause Santa is an ideal and an idea, not an actual jolly elf flying down from the North Pole. For a few years of everyone\u2019s life, I\u2019m merely the ghost of an idea. Just like this year for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure I understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might not,\u201d Santa says. \u201cAs a child, you need to believe magic is real. Later, you need to know who hides behind the curtains to make that magic happen. And now, I know there\u2019s been dark times, Bobby, and you\u2019ve had a rough year. Now, you need to believe in magic again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santa, suddenly insubstantial as a ghost, slips through the nets and tweaks Bobby\u2019s nose. Together, they disappear from the living room to move from house to house to every house across the world in a single night.
\nEND<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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