He looked hard at the words then clenching his teeth, he tore the leaf leaving the perforation intact and a small piece hanging. He scrunches and rolled it tightly into a ball. After the demon of anger had passed through his body, he un-scrunched the page and read the line loudly and swore. "Pathetic! I am pathetic. I can't even string a small piece of persuasive writing to tell her how much I care for her."
He was a writer of bad repute; not in the sense that he wrote bad or his pieces didn't make sense but he was known more for turning a romantic piece into a botch up love gone wrong or you give love a bad name kind of narration. He still had followers who loved him for his fluid way of candid emotional expression and the way he could get them to emote on a very mundane day. Then he wrote this piece.
Meeting
Jude lamented taking up the job. He held his calm and tried, "ok here is the deal. I am not the real Santa - this job has been kind of sourced to me. So I back off and we can go our ways and celebrate Christmas." "You must be kidding me. Trust me if you do not put that bike under my bed tonight, I would be even madder", El just hit her tolerance threshold.
El remembered that moment vividly. The memories came flooding back to her and she let out a faint smile. Heavy footsteps with the noise growing louder broke her trance. She turned around and saw him there - a tall suave looking man in a suit just walked away from his chauffer driven Rolls Royal. "I was not sure if you would turn up today. You look the same." She was facing him with the sun on her back hurrying to get behind the hill. Her silhouette was slender and stood elegantly in the golden light. “You haven't changed much too my dear. Look at your tone and attitude,” he slowed down and stopped just at an armsdistance from her. "You helped me to be what I am today", he spoke softly. It had been fifty years since that christmas when she needed a bicycle.
The Gift
"Dear Santa, My name is El and I am 10 years old. I like my mom, dad and my barbie doll. My mom says if I had been a good girl this year I can ask you to get me gifts. I had been thinking about so many things but because you have to travel all the way from the north pole so I would only ask you for a bicycle just like Lil's. Get me one in bright pink. I would wait. Mom says we should also help people. I have an extra pair of boots and if you would like to give them to someone needy. Love. El."
El dropped this letter in the box under the Christmas tree placed outside the JIM Departmental Store. The next morning the manager opened the box and read the letters left by the kids; he filed them all and made notes. It was a tradition for the JIM Departmental Store to give gifts to the five lucky kids each Christmas; this year El was one of those kid. The manager sent out Jude with the gift for El on the Christmas eve. Jude was trying to make some extra bucks by working with JIM during Christmas holidays. He was in high school. On his way dressed as a proper Santa he pulled over for a quick bite and when he returned the bicycle was missing from the truck. He couldn't see a soul around.
Promise
He dropped his coke and fries. He ran around the truck like a mad man. The bicycle was gone and there was no one around. Everyone in the town was huddled inside their houses celebrating christmas except for a few like Jude; he had no one to celebrate it with. He feared turning back and reporting to the manager about the lost bicycle. He would probable loose his job and the holiday pay and the bonus too. "Job done boss", "Done", "Delievered", he practised saying these words to get out of this sticky situation. Lying was not in his nature, he dismissed the idea and decided to take it on the chin like a brave man.
He knocked on the door; El's mom answered. While Jude was explaining El showed up and seem to have overheard their conversation. El was upset, not a word was spoken. Mom ran back to attened to the guests. Jude and El were left alone to discuss the issue. Jude explained her what has happened and after making a sorry face started walking away. "You must be kidding me...". Jude turned around, "I lost it. Sorry. I don't have money, otherwise I would have bought you one". "I bet you would not have any even after fifty years if you carry on being a careless idiot", she was fuming. This chaffed Jude, "I would see you at the hill top fifty years from today and I would show you what I can become".
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