The Christmas Space

“Mommy, daddy, wake up! It's time to go out!” Noah jumped up and down on the bed.

 

“Okay, okay, just give us a minute,” my husband, Clive, said.

“Mommy, let’s just leave daddy at home and go there by ourselves.”

“Oh, is that how it is?” Clive pulled Noah and tickled him.

I laughed and got out of bed. “You both better hurry up or I’ll go alone.”

Around an hour later, we arrived at the park. Noah leapt out of the car and ran across the ground littered with orange and red leaves. I had to yell at him to keep him from straying into the woods. The park was nearly deserted, with only a few families around. It was peaceful and quiet. The faint warmth of the sun stroked my face, whilst the soft, cool breeze enveloped me in its gentle embrace. Winter was closing in, with Christmas just a week away.

Noah was still adamant to explore every corner of the park, so we followed close behind. Soon, we were the only ones left in the park, and suddenly, there was the sound of a twig snapping nearby in the woods. Clive pulled Noah back and hid him behind us. He took a step forward, grabbing a fallen branch; but we found ourselves sighing in relief right after when we noticed what was approaching us: it was a reindeer.

It was a pleasant surprise since we were not accustomed to seeing reindeers where we lived. Noah wanted to pet it, but I held him back. The reindeer then did something strange. It walked back towards the woods, turned around to look at us again, and shook its head.

“Is it…asking us to follow it?” I asked.

“Should we?”

The three of us followed the creature, but still kept our distance. Soon, we found ourselves walking through an unusual sight, where the surroundings appeared normal yet felt otherworldly. Moments later, the three of us came across a vast open space coated with ice. It looked like a glacier. I could see the curiosity stir in Clive’s eyes as much as it did in my mind. Noah’s face lit up the moment he saw the frost.

“Just where are we?” I asked.

“I don’t know, hon.”

“You’ve entered the North Pole,” a voice rose from behind us.

We turned around only to find Santa Claus before us. Noah tried to run towards him, but I held him back.

“Is this some kind of joke?”

“No, it isn’t. It’s really me, Lara. I even have your letters with me from all those years ago.”

Santa handed over the letters to me—and they were really mine. Seeing the scribblings of a preschool and primary school me, brought back memories that I had forgotten for decades.

“You’re really Santa Claus?”

“Yes, and I’ll need your help to get my presents to the children this year.”

“Wait, how? Why?”

Santa showed us his sleigh; it was in ruins. He had crashed just before we arrived at the park. He asked us if he could use our car as a sleigh, to let his reindeers raise it to the skies. He even asked if we’d like to assist him in delivering the presents that very moment.

“Deliver them now? But Christmas is a week away.”

“It was in your space, but time flows differently for me over here.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s my magic. I can warp the flow of spacetime around me; that’s how I deliver the presents.”

We agreed to help Santa Claus and spent that entire day delivering the gifts to all the children around the world. Oddly enough, I did not feel the time pass at all. Santa placed a spell on each gift that allowed them to remain in the warped space until Christmas arrived. Noah was especially thrilled to see the entire process.

We finished the task by the following morning, but none of us were even tired. Santa thanked us for the help and said goodbye to us at our house. He gave us all three gifts and hugged Noah before leaving with his reindeers, waving at us one last time before disappearing into his space.