The Magical Christmas

‘Why won’t he come? ’groaned Lily Thomson, as she sat with her friend, Meg Murray, behind the broom closet with a camera, hoping to catch Father Christmas in the act of putting the presents. They had been pulling an all-nighter and both were tired. ‘Chill, Lily, we have to be patient, remember, we need this for our YouTube Channel,’ said determined Meg. ‘I really hope he can make it this time. I am doubtful because of Covid-19; he may not be able to enter,’ said Lily worriedly. 

The two 6 year-olds lived in the small town of ‘Mayfair’ in England. Both of them were true believers in Santa, who were eager to meet Father Christmas. The past six months had been really worrisome, Coronavirus had been spreading like wildfire and the two friends had been looking forward to spending some time together, and had decided to make a new video for their YouTube channel. 

It was a very cold and wintery night, and in each and every house, there was a fire with crackling flames, a Christmas feast, and a sock with Santa’s favourite treats. People sang Christmas carols in their houses merrily, But somewhere high up, beads of sweat trickled down someone’s forehead, as he sat in his big chair. 

 ‘Come on elves, what is taking so long for the report to come?’ asked Santa, huffily to his elves. It was already 1 am. ‘Santa, you must be patient, these things take time. In my own defence, I did tell you to give the test a few days prior,’ said furry, the chief elf. ‘No, Covid-19 has completely ruined everything, I must get going if I am to deliver the presents tonight,’ he said irritably. ‘What is the point of paying you when you can’t even handle my reports?!’ ‘patience, sir. The lab report has been hit by a snowstorm and the report has been delayed. Besides, the night guards need the report or they will not let the reindeer out of the docking station,’ said Furry. The night guards were an elite trio of magical guards who controlled the administration of the North Pole and were determined to protect the humans from its dangers. ‘Look, the spirit of Christmas has already plunged,’ said Santa, pointing to his ‘spirit map’. ‘No, we have to try our best.’ 

They made their way to the edge of town, where the night guards stood. ‘Oh, hello, Mr Claus, have you got your report yet?’ asked the night guard. ‘Well, no, not really, but you see it is just a matter of a few hours, I will be back home by morning,’ said Santa. ‘Still, no report, no reindeer, and no presents,’ said the guard firmly. ‘Come on, there has to be something I can do,’ he asked. ‘You could wear a mask,’ said the guard with a sly smile. ‘What?! I can’t cover my beard, it is what makes me me,’ ‘Oh, it is not like anybody looks at you,’ said the guard. ‘Oh, all right,’ he agreed. 

So, off they went, with Santa huffing irritably underneath his mask. On coming to Lily’s house, he saw the camera. ‘Ah, I see someone was trying to catch me red-handed,’ he said with a smile. 

The next day, Meg was the first to wake up. ‘Wake up sleepy head, look there are presents under the tree, but the tape has gone missing,’ she said. ‘Well, I told you, it must be Santa, but we can't prove it now can we,’ cried lily. ‘Well, at least now we know he actually exists. And I think some things are best when kept a secret,’ said Meg with a smile.