Christmas Surprise

As my husband and I were ready to leave on our camping trip, his phone began to ring.

I reached for it, but my husband waved at me not to answer it.

“What’s wrong, Cam?”

“It’s from a client, Abby, and a peculiar one at that.”

Their conversation had only just begun, but Cam looked like he was already drained. He left for the office a few minutes later, saying he’ll be back in two or three hours. And so, I waited, not three but four hours. I called him and he said that he was stuck with work.

Cam was the one who really loved camping, yet he was the one who kept on putting it off. This was the third time we had to cancel our plans that month. Since I had bought new boots for our trip, I decided to go hiking on my own. The warmth of the sun was gentle upon my skin, and the cool breeze even gentler. Hiking through the woods, under a cascading mixture of show and light, and surrounded by the soft rustling of the trees, I felt more energised than I had been in months.

After a while, I noticed some lights flashing in the distance. They seemed like Christmas lights.

“Christmas is still three months away. What’s going on?”

I soon came across a Christmas tree. The tree itself wasn’t odd, but the lights were: they weren’t plugged in anywhere, even though they were working. The sight seemed familiar, although I did not know why. I looked around to see if anyone was nearby, but it seemed like I was the only person there. I turned around to head back to the Christmas tree, but when I got there, the tree was gone. I walked over to the spot where it had been standing, but I soon found myself falling through the ground. The next thing I remembered was waking up covered in snow. As I opened my eyes, I was greeted by someone unexpected. It was an elf.

“Where am I? Who are you?”

“Come with me, he’s waiting.”

“Who’s waiting?”

“This is the North Pole. We’ve been expecting you.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes; I was escorted to Santa Claus’ workshop. Was I still asleep? I pinched myself and confirmed that I wasn’t. It was not long before I was passing what seemed like a thousand elves hard at work at the workshop. Soon, I was face to face with Santa Claus himself. The moment I saw him, a lost memory from when I was seven rushed back to my mind: I saw Santa Claus standing next to that same Christmas tree in a park, but he vanished along with the tree before I could call my parents.

“Why did you disappear that day?”

“Because they weren't supposed to see me.”

“Why?”

“Only a future Santa Claus can see me.”

“Wait, you can’t be serious.”

“I am. Why else would you be here? I’m old Abby, it’s high time I retire.”

It was the biggest surprise of my life. I accepted his offer.