WINTER WARMTH

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A story written by my  beloved Daughter Suraiya Noor, on the eve of Christmas Evening..... Please give your honest views, suggestions etc.

Winter Warmth

24^th December 2012

Today is one of the busiest days in the North Pole. Everyone is working hard, wanting more time, no rest, wrapping up the gifts, getting ready, before the clock ticks to the 25^th…

Stress is covering the whole workshop… 3 hours before the clock ticks to its destination… stress is building up… But one person is just watching… waiting for their turn to come…that one person… who is going to deliver these gifts… “Santa Claus”

“Hey! Do some help around here! Just cause’ Santa told you will be doing his work for today doesn’t mean you get to chill!” an elf calls out to me; I know they are quite cold to me but I just got to hear from one ear and release from the other. “Don’t be mean to her now… she is volunteering to be my substitute for today, that itself is a big help, hohoho” A fat yet very kind man comes up to me and pats my head. “So my child” he looks down on me ready to say something, “what do you think? Don’t you think we are giving gifts to kids all around the world?” actually… how I turned into his substitute is kind of simple… I was on an expedition with my classmates and I happened to run into him, He wasn’t in a good state, coughing out blood isn’t a good sign… he is already quite old… his death is near…

I helped him into this workshop, and the elves started treating him, then I got a doubt on whether or not all of the gifts being is really being gifted to ‘all’ the children in the world… and so I challenged him…

And that’s how it turned out into this situation, “No, you’re giving toys, toys aren’t that helpful to big kids, you’re spoiling them” His eyes widened and then he chuckled “what must we do then? Hmm?” I spoke again “and this is only about 40% or 50% of the toys that can get gifted to the kids, where is the other 60% or 50%?” I think I said that loud enough for the whole workshop to hear me “you--” someone cut him off from his sentence… and that someone is the elf that was cold to me just a few minutes ago “who wants to know about your opinions?! And besides, the other kids are rich ones; they will get theirs from their families!” He is getting me ticked off badly… “Excuse me, but I’m not talking to YOU, I’m talking to SANTA, and haven’t you learned your manners? Don’t ever interrupt a conversation without a good reason” I smiled at him, I may have made him get ticked off but that’s what he gets, “So Santa, where is the other 60%?” “…But I thought this was all… Actually this was more than enough… I never knew that there were more…” His face saddened… I knew it, negligence and ignorance, but none of it was his fault, it’s the elf. He didn’t want to get caught, he was the one who will go around the world as a human to see how many more humans need the gifts of warmth… but he didn’t want to count the poor ones... why? Let’s ask him…

I pointed at that elf “He is the source of this negligence and ignorance” He started panicking, and tried to run without a word. I chased him only until a small distance, 6 meters, and caught him. “Don’t try to run away! Tell us the answer and we will let you go! We won’t hurt you!” “No you will!” “We won’t!!” “No you will! You will!! You will!! You will!! You wi--” “….slap!!” I gave him a tight slap, wanting him to calm down… “Have you calmed down now..?” he turned to me, and smiled a bit “yea… thanks for calming me down” “now why didn’t you want to tell us about the rest of the 60% of kids that have yet to get these gifts?” he started to cry a bit “because… If I was late, then I might get hit, I might get punished, I didn’t want that, and it will take a lot of time, I didn’t want that…” “But you have to sacrifice for someone else sometimes, you get kindness and happiness as a gift back so don’t you think it’s worth it?” I smiled at him, a gentle one, not wanting to hurt him… “I’m sorry…. I’m so sorry…” “Say that to the kids on this world instead of me” I chuckled and Santa smiled, “That’s right! Hohoho, she’s a clever girl ain’t she? Hohoho” he smiled “yea… thank you, I’ll give them a proper apology… so please take me with you this time…” I looked at Santa telling him to say yes… “Hohoho, yes we will!”

“Santa!! We only have 1 hour left!! How are we going to make the other 60%??” an elf shouted out, we really had a problem on our hands… I stood up and said “come on everyone!! We can do this!! Noting is impossible for us!! 1 hour is more than enough!!” everyone was getting pumped up now, looks like that cheering did just the trick! And that guy, he just chuckled and Santa with his ‘hohoho’

We started wrapping up all the presents and making the rest 60%, 50% of the elves were helping out with the transport, the sleigh and the reindeers were getting ready by them. I started putting all the gifts in the boxes, towels, food, clothes, sweaters, blankets, water supply, etc, that will benefit the kids that really need them.

30 minutes to 25^th…

Everything was ready now… we just needed to get on the sleigh and fly to the parts that were densely populated with kids first, then to the other parts. I was getting on the sleigh when Santa said… “You go, it’s better to let you go, I’m already growing old… it’s just about ti--” I interrupted him “you will go with us, the kids would want you to gift them the gifts instead of us” I smiled at him and pulled him in to the sleigh, he just smiled with a little chuckle and hopped on the sleigh.

1 minute left…

“Here we are!!” we reached the poor and needy kids first, the elf was making notes saying ‘I’m sorry’ he seemed like a desperate kitten! I interrupted him by asking “hey… I’m sorry since it’s a bit late to ask but… what’s your name…?” I scratched the back of my head while asking him that, but he answered with a smile on his face “My name is Zack, and you?” “Suraiya, the name’s Suraiya” I smiled and he smiled, then Santa suddenly pated our backs which actually gave us a shock “hohoho, come on now! Time to gift them their gifts!” me and Zack turned to him and joined Santa with his laughter “hohoho!!”

Me and Zack delivered each of the gifts to the kids with Santa to the other kids in the area, with laughter, happiness and joy on this trip of ours. It was just so fun.

We ended our trip of touring the whole world while gifting the gifts and returned to the North Pole, with the welcome back party awaiting us. “Welcome back and great job!” we shared drinks, it was just great. “I wonder how the poor and needy kids will be feeling now…” Zack said while drinking his hot Chocó “They will be feeling warm” He looked at me with confusion “but isn’t it winter?” “That’s right, and warmth in the winter is a very nice feeling isn’t it?” He then came to realization “Oh… you mean you wanted them to have the same feeling…? You wanted to share your happiness…” I chuckled “Sharing is caring” He smiled “and it’s very warm too! Heh!”

After the party, it was time for me to go home… back to my family… “Looks like I’ll be leaving soon” I gazed at the night sky while saying that to myself… “You’re… leaving…?” I turned back in shock to find Zack in his human form behind me “what… what are you doing there? You scared me!” He had a sad smile on… “I’m sorry, but I heard that you’re leaving…” Santa came from behind Zack and smiled “It’s true, she needs to leave now…” all the elves were staring at me as if they didn’t want to let go of me… ‘And here I thought they hated me…’ “But before you go… here is a small something from all of us here” He put a small necklace around my neck; it was a really pretty one… “You can ask for 6 wishes and it will grant you those wishes…” I looked at the necklace then to Santa “I think I know what wishes to wish already”

 I smiled “Oh and what is that?” Santa smiled while chuckling “First, I wish that my parents live a long and healthy life” everyone smiled, “I’m not done, Second, I wish to see all of you again and again and you will always be healthy living a long life” everyone suddenly wanted to cry, “whoa! Wait! I have 4 more left! The third, I wish for all the poor and needy kids be someone great in the future and hope they have a great life” Santa smiled and said “okay my dear, its time n--” I interrupted him, “I’m not done~ Fourth, I want Santa to live a healthy life forever and ever!” Santa smiled and was about to cry, “what about yourself?” an elf said that, “Oh, and I forgot to say that the last wish will have the most biggest effect so be sure to choose wisely” Santa smiled as he said that, “Oh yes I did, Fifth, I want to have magical powers!!” Everyone laughed at my fifth wish, as I laughed along with them… “And my sixth wish is… my most important wish… I wish to see my friend Zack once again, and I hope he stays my friend forever more…” Zack was about to cry… But that’s the power of friendship…

It’s time to leave now… “Let’s test my powers!” I snapped my fingers saying in my mind to fly and I did, before I flew away, I turned back and… “Oi! Zack! I want a hug from my BFF!” he smiled and gave me a hug; I hugged the rest of the elves and Santa and made my return back…

Its 7:30 am, I’m walking to school with my friends and I found one of the kids that are poor and needy on the streets with the gifts that we gave. I went over to them and asked, “Who gave you these?” they smiled and said “Santa!!” I chuckled and bowed at the mother before leaving, “Mama! She looks like she is Santa!” one of the kids said, “No she isn’t! She isn’t that fat!” she told to her kids, “No! I meant she has that kind of aura!” the mother smiled “that’s true… if she was Santa… I thank her a lot…”

I walked towards the gate when I saw a boy with the school uniform who looks quite familiar… as I walked towards the gate, he turned around, smiling… before I knew it, It was my best friend from the North pole… I gasped as he was gesturing me to come and give a friendly hug, I ran towards him and gave him a huge hug as my friends gasped, “Suraiya… you…” “It’s not what you think!!” I shouted, he is really just my friend. “Haha, I’m a distant relative of hers” he smiled, “you are?” my friends said in a chorus, “Yea he is! Wait, you are?” that was awkward… “I can’t believe you don’t remember your own blood related brother!” he hit me softly on the head, “come on let’s go!” one of my friends shouted as we head towards our class, just before that, one of the kids on the street said… “Mama!! I’m so happy!! I wanna thank Santa!! Because he gave us warmth in the winter!! We love him!!” as the mother smiled… “Yea… winter warmth ain’t it?” I said to Zack whose name later became Waseem, “yup!”

That winter… even the poor and needy got the winter warmth that they always have wanted… 2 people who never knew each other became the best of friends… and the North Pole had another friend that joined the pack… and warmth was spread worldwide… There was Warmth… In Winter… for the first time… “Winter Warmth”