The clock struck twelve. It was now Christmas Day. For the passengers of the 783 northbound train, their hopes of being with family were hampered earlier by a snowfall which made further progress an impossibility, resulting in their grounding.
Still, for those in the train’s terminal who found themselves awake, wishes of a Merry Christmas started to circulate from person to person. And little by little, those who were asleep, woke to hugs and to the singing of Christmas carols. Even gifts were being exchanged. Yes, these people were making the best out of their unfortunate situation, choosing to spread Christmas cheer amongst each other - instead of wallowing in sorrows.
For one passenger, the merriment wasn’t enough to lighten his spirits. For Jacob, this would have been the first time in years that he would have returned home to celebrate Christmas with his parents and family. He planned to surprise them by having already been there, but now, he was likely to get home on the day after Christmas.
Leaving the joy and warmth from inside and stepping onto the cold outside, Jacob decided to give his parents a call, letting them know of his late arrival - no longer the big surprise he had planned.
As if things weren’t bad enough for him already, Jacob was unable to get a signal on his phone to make the call, making him irritable. Raising his phone upwards, he circled in place, hoping to get at least one bar, but nothing. No luck. This only infuriated Jacob more. He raised his phone again, this time, with the intention of chucking it into the snow in anger, but was stopped, when - right before him, something from the sky fell down, buying itself into the snow.
For a moment, Jacob stood still, stepping forward, seeing the red bow at the top of the object. He wanted to go back inside and ask if there was anyone missing a gift. It seemed unlikely that it would belong to anybody from inside as this one fell from above. High above.
He wasn’t drunk. He stepped outside just as the cider was beginning to be passed around. So this wasn’t just something he was imagining. This he knew for sure when he retrieved the box from its burrow.
It was a present. The red bow would have been enough to give that away initially - but the green wrapping paper was more than enough to facilitate the fact that it was indeed a present. Plus, there was a gift tag attached.
“To, Luis. From, Santa Claus,” the tag read in neat cursive - which told Jacob that what he held was a child’s gift - as it would only make sense to put Santa’s name on the card. There was also something else. On the reverse side of the card, Jacob found coordinates written in the same neat style that the names were written in. Setting aside the fact that this present suddenly fell and crashed without notice, the discovery of the coordinates now puzzled Jacob even more. The locale was nearby, he found when he worked out the site of the present’s intended destination, putting it upon himself to personally deliver the gift to the child whose name was on the tag.
Passing along block after block - the sounds of Christmas cheer echoed through the walls of houses and other establishments, out into the cold, empty streets. And it was the same situation for the houses that lined the way to the house that Jacob was headed to - only that house 443 was not in the same merry mood as their neighbors. There was only one light on in that house. No prancing silhouettes. No singing or chanting. It was a contrast from the lively ambiance of the other dwellings. Jacob wondered if the house’s somber vibe was due to one child not receiving a gift for Christmas.
When the door to the house was opened, Jacob was hazy in his greeting to the man who answered the knock, knowing very well that the reason for his visit would create room for a fair deal of confusion. Despite that, Jacob explained to the man who introduced himself as Augustine - that he had stumbled across the green gift and was just bringing it back, thinking Augustine may have dropped it earlier. Augustine shook his head, telling Jacob that he hadn’t been outside on account of the snow from earlier.
When Augustine’s wife came outside, she pointed out that only she and Augustine had presents underneath the Christmas tree.
As Augustine reached for the box, he looked down at the tag along with his wife, seeing their son’s name. Their lifting of the tag showed the back-end to Jacob where he saw that the coordinates had vanished from the card.
“Poppa! Santa came!”
From the back of the house, the joyful cries of an excited kid who woke to the sight of presents underneath the tree scrapped the awkwardness at the door.
“Here’s mom’s. And here’s yours, dad.”
“And here is yours, son,” Augustine turned and walked back inside to hand his boy the green wrapped gift with the red bow. Luis, eager to rip open his gift, nearly brought down his father when he snatched the gift from his hands.
“Is Santa at the door, mom?”
When Luis came down from his room, he saw his mom and dad at the door before Augustine turned the present over to him. Of course he thought that Santa Claus had come to the door to deliver his present.
“No. Just a generous fellow wishing the neighbors a Merry Christmas.”
Coming to the door, Luis met Jacob, seeing that he wasn’t Santa Claus.
“Merry Christmas, sir.” Luis said, extending his hand out to Jacob.
“Merry Christmas, Luis.”Jacob kneeled to Luis’ level, shaking the boy’s hand.
Augustine joined his wife and son at the door, handing a paper-wrapped bundle to Jacob.
“Some cookies my wife made. Please, take them.”
Jacob accepted the treats, but he could have done without them - the gratification of bringing this family joy was a gift in itself already. He had even forgotten his gloomy mood.
“Merry Christmas to you and your family, Jacob. Shouldn’t they be missing you about now?”
It hit him again - his longing to be at home with his family. Jacob managed to keep a straight face up until he said his goodbyes. He walked down the path that lead him out of the property, back onto the snow covered sidewalks to head back to the terminal. He was back to feeling down, his blissful episode being only short-lived. And he still had to make that call to his parents.
The weather started to pick up, a series of icy gusts pushed at Jacob’s back, lifting the snow in front of him, forming a swirl of powder that lifted higher and higher. From this swoosh of white, a figure magically appeared. Wide-eyed, Jacob stepped back, recognizing the figure of the man who rose out from the snow but not fully believing it.
“S...Santa?”
“Why, yes, Jacob. It’s me.”
He certainly looked the part. He had the red suit, the jolly frame, rosey cheeks. And the beard!
“But...but…”
“I’m not real? You stopped believing because you got older?
Jacob was at a loss for words. He could only nod.
“Nonsense! How do you explain the gift for Luis?
Jacob still didn’t want to believe it. But what else could explain it?
“Ah. I see you’re starting to get it. The gift must have flown off my sleigh. High speeds. It happens sometimes. I was here to retrieve it, but it seems as if you’ve done my job.”
“So you are real?”
“As real as you, my boy. Now, let’s see here.”
With a poof, a scroll appeared in Santa’s hands which he glanced through.
“Very impressive. You have been most good this year, Jacob. And with the favor you did for me...well, you’re beyond good. Quite an achievement. Tell me, Jacob, what do you want for Christmas?”
“Well, Santa… I really wanted to be at my parents’ this year. It’s been awhile since we’ve spent this day together. I was hoping for a perfect Christmas this year.”
“That’s what you want? To be with your parents?”
Jacob nodded, his gaze fixed downwards. Again, he saw the snow at his feet stir, finding himself inside a pocket of white - which was all he noticed before appearing in a totally different place soon after. To his left, was the sight which was the only thing he wanted to set his eyes upon.
“That’s my parents’ house.”
“It’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? Check your watch.”
It was 11:59 PM on December 24th. Santa had transported Jacob not just to his parents’ house, but also turned back the time to have him make it just at the nick of time, at the very moment when Christmas Day clocked in.
“You’ll be their first Christmas present. The clock will start once you get moving. Oh! I nearly forgot.”
A snap of Santa’s fingers and two of his elves carrying Jacob’s luggage magically appeared.
“There. Now you have everything you need.”
“Santa...this is...I don’t know what to say.”
“No need. Go on. Give your folks that big surprise. Merry Christmas, Jacob. And thank you.”
Jacob hugged Santa. His elation powering him to where he lifted the big man off the floor, to which Santa chuckled with his trademark “ho-ho-ho.”
Jacob collected his bags and rushed to the porch, taking one look back, seeing that Santa had already gone, a cluster of snow falling in the place where he stood. His hand frantically knocked on the door, checking his watch and seeing that the second hand had already started to move. Again, he knocked, hearing the voice of a woman wondering who could be at the door. He recognized the voice. It was his mom. Looking back at his watch, he saw that there were eight seconds until Christmas. The anticipation was too much for him, the seconds feeling like an eternity. He couldn’t wait any longer.
“Mom. Dad! It’s Jacob! I’ve come home for Christmas!”
END
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