The World of Myth Magazine

It was a cold winter day even in heaven and Joe was restless. Neither this Christmas he would be with Timmy, his little boy. He had tried to get a job as the child’s guardian angel, but bureaucracy was pretty pesky up there too. This made him very angry. Even if such feelings weren’t allowed any longer, the idea of not being able to put a present under the boy’s tree upset him. If only that horrible car hadn’t hit him! The angel decided to take a walk along the cloudy paths in the hope of finding some relief.

Although, the mirthful spirit of Christmas could be perceived all around, intensified by the celestial caroling of his winged brothers, Joe couldn’t help feeling miserable. The memories of the past holidays with Timmy and beloved wife were still fresh. With eyes full of tears and shivers of sadness, he continued his walk.

The sky was so white and the cold so thick that Joe didn’t realize he was walking on ice among soft heaps of snow. He wondered if he had lost his way but considered it a possibility quite unlikely for an angel.

Suddenly, a little house appeared, its chimney smoking happily as the tunes of a merry working song filled the air. He quickly approached it and saw through a tiny window half covered with frost; a jolly fellow dressed in red with a fluffy white beard. The man was sitting on a big armchair and lots of little elves were running back and forth in a rather busy attitude.

“Oh, my goodness,” cried Joe, “that’s Santa Claus’s home!”

He knocked politely and an elf all dressed in green, opened and asked, “Are you the substitute, Sir?”

The angel gazed at him enquiringly as he was shown into the warm room. A merry array of candy canes, sugar plums, gingerbread men and all sorts of toys were there to greet him.

“Over here, over here, young man,” shouted Santa Claus from his chair, “Come, sit down and I’ll tell you exactly what to do.”

Joe noticed that his leg was broken.

“So, you are the fellow who’s going to take my place this year, huh? Thank goodness you have arrived. I’ve been praying so hard, someone up there must have heard me at last.”

He explained that his elves would put the sack full of toys on the sleigh and he could leave at once. The reindeer were ready.

“But Sir…” tried to utter Joe…

“Come on now,” interrupted Santa Claus, “don’t tell me you don’t know how to fly.”

“Oh no, that’s easy for me,” boasted the angel.

The old man was pleased and told him that he couldn’t deliver the presents for he had just broken his leg, while playing with the reindeer.

“You’ll call at every house, without skipping any rooftop. We don’t want our little boys and girls to be disappointed, do we?”

Joe shook his head and in a minute he was flying through the starry night. It was even easier than he thought. Certainly, the reindeer already knew what to do and where to go.

The unexpected assignment brought back to his memory the time when he played Santa Claus at Timmy’s school Christmas party. His son’s eyes gleamed with joy and a proud look was all over his face. The thought of putting presents under the child’s tree made Joe so happy that he started singing a merry Christmas song, just like a real Santa Claus… just as in the good old times.

The cold wind caressed his cheeks like a warm soft hand. He was thankful, very thankful. Someone had heard him too.

At last, the angel landed on his rooftop, slipped down the chimney and found himself in his own living room. On looking around, a nostalgic feeling pervaded him. The room seemed sad despite the upcoming holiday, the decorations were scarce and there was a big mess everywhere. How different from the past Christmases when he was still in the family. With a deep sigh, he started taking presents out of his big sack.

Suddenly, a little boy jumped up from behind the couch, pointed a toy gun at him and shouted, “You aren’t Santa Claus, you’re a fake!”

Joe shivered on recognizing his own child. He quickly recovered, however, and said, “Be reasonable, Timmy, how many fakes should be at work tonight?”

“Say, how do you know my name?” asked the boy.

“Santa Claus knows all the names of his little boys and girls,” he replied but Timmy went on shaking his head, distrustful.

He took the child on his lap and a deep feeling of tenderness and loss made him almost cry.

When his eyes met his son’s ones, the boy said, “You look like my daddy, Sir, I remember his face very well.”

The angel explained that all Santa’s were a bit daddies, for they, too, loved their children a lot and wanted to see them always happy.

“By the way, Timmy, why are you up so late? You’re supposed to be in bed by now, don’t you think so?”

The child frowned and replied that his mommy was out with her new husband, Fred, a nasty guy he didn’t like at all.

Furthermore, his stepfather kept addressing him as “the little pest” and this upset the child very much. Useless was the attempt to make him understand that it was right for his mom to have a new partner, being left a widow so young, so Joe changed subject and started telling him of the little house covered with snow, of the elves, of the wonderful toys and of his beautiful red sleigh flying through the night.

The boy’s eyes brightened and once again, he looked deep in his father’s ones. “Take me with you, Mr. Santa Claus.”

Timmy’s request was so unexpected that Joe did not know what to say.

“My house is too far away, up… up there… let’s say, sky high.”

“I don’t care,” replied the boy.

“Your mommy would certainly miss you…” he added, “She needs you here.”

“She’s not alone now,” Timmy said smiling, “Besides, we’ll both look down on her, won’t we?”

The child clung to him so tight that Joe felt his heart break.

“Please,” he begged, “don’t leave me… I want to be with you… forever.”

When the angel saw the big tears flowing down the little boy’s cheeks, he realized he couldn’t leave him behind.

With a jolly laughter he told him to jump on his back and started shouting, “Blixen, Donner, Cupid, we’re coming up!”

In a few seconds, father and son found themselves dashing through the stars as heavenly carols filled up the air. The spirit of Christmas was now glowing joyous in their hearts as well.

-