———   0003. d e c e m b e r  0 3.

run

"Feeling ill, taking a vacay far far away. Coming back day: middle of January. Or later. Idk" Lenna read the message once again. The time was just past midnight, it was already a whole new day. But… I faced the biggest problem of my entire existence. And I was not even being dramatic. At all.

Santa Claus, the Santa Claus, the icon and the cause of this whole celebration, is gone for Christmas? How is that possible? So I called in the Cavalry. I figured that I couldn't really tell many people. It would cause panic. But I had to tell someone or else I would burst on my emotions and my own panic. 

Maybe my best friends can help me fix this problem. They were by my side my whole life. I need them now, like crazy. 

"What's idk?" Lenna continued and she looked at the roof, thinking. 

"That means I don't know," Gaylia answered, waving at Lenna. We both looked back at her, surprised, not knowing what's going on. "What? It's slang! You guys know how much I stan Gen Z slang!"

"What does that have anything to do with Stan from Accounting?" I asked back confused. 

"Idk. But this is how the cool kids say on TikTok." Gaylia shrugged one of her shoulders innocently. She always liked to keep up with the ordinary world's trends. Whether it was wide-leg trousers from the ‘70s or the Beatles or flappers or… Gen Z shenanigans. I never cared. Neither did Lenna. She was pretty much disgusted by humankind and by their neglect. On the other hand… I was content with my life. I never needed any more enticement than what I got from the Toy Shop. 

"Oh, my Santa, Gaylia! Less internet, please!" Lenna smacked Gaylia on the arm, rolling her eyes. 

"We have to tell Mrs Claus! We just have to! That's what we should do!" my fingers trembled around the thin piece of parchment as I began pacing the room. I've felt my anxiety rise which only happened once a decade. That's why it was so easy for me to recognize it. 

"Maybe she knows about it! Maybe she is there with Him, wherever he is!" Gaylia said, calmly as she moved next to a puffy armchair and hopped inside of it. 

"No, I saw her when I walked in! She was at the reception, magnificent as ever!" I waved at her nervously, recalling the memory. 

"Then tell her! You're right, she must know and you're the perfect messenger!" Lenna answered. Well… in the stories I’ve heard, they usually throw snowballs at the messenger. I don’t know about the messenger who plans to tell about the absence of the Santa Claus to his own wife, twenty days before Christmas Eve. But I guess… nothing good could happen to that messenger either. 

Around twenty minutes later, I stood at the front of Mrs Claus’s chambers, feeling nauseous and forking afraid. Too afraid of knocking. But I had to get over with it. Rip the band-aid off, Ash! 

So I did. I knocked. The sound echoed in the empty hallway and also in my ears. I felt my heartbeats resonate with the knockings. 

Maybe she is asleep. It’s the middle of the night, no one is awake. 

“It’s open!” Forking North Pole! 

“Hello, Mrs Claus! Apologies for the late disturbance!” I greeted her with a husky voice, my arms crossed behind my back and I crumbled the tiny paper with my fingers anxiously.

“Oh, hello, Ash! Long time, no see! Is everything alright?” Mrs Claus was probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. With her dark, curly hair, wide, doe-like eyes that were somehow fire and ice at the same time, her mesmerizing, red, holiday gown with white, furry hood… and her signature red lipstick. She was the embodiment of perfection.

 I was choking on my own saliva. She remembered my name! My knees were getting too weak for my body. The heat flooded my whole being. Especially when she started the corner me more. The moon shone through the enormous windows and it glowed around her like the Moon would exist entirely for her. 

“Actually…” I coughed nervously. And then… I handed her the message. “I’ve found this in his office.”

She grabbed the parchment and then read the lines. Multiple times. She gasped. The sound made my tingle and jump. 

“He… left,” I said hesitantly. “And… so… did you know about this?”

“No. No. Of course, I didn’t. I would have stopped him. I would have… convinced him to... stall… whatever vacation he was planning! Christmas is right around the corner!” She shook her head like she wouldn’t believe this is real. 

“What can we do?” the question that hovered in my thoughts ever since I first read his letter just got out. With Santa gone, Mrs Claus was the leader here. She had to tell me… us… what to do. I was just… the soldier in the big game. A little piece, a pawn on the chess table. I couldn’t have a say in this. I just had to… obey. 

“We could… we could... “ she began thinking. And then… her eyes lit up… she had an idea. “We have to search for him! We have to find him and bring him home before Christmas!”

“Okay… That’s a… that’s a good idea. Where do you want to start?” I nodded, a little relieved that she has an idea and she knows what we should do. 

“Me? Oh, no, no! It can’t be me! With Nick gone, this place must have a Santa-like deity to lead, I have to stay here!” 

“But then… who?”

“You, of course!” and then… my heart has stopped beating. 

__________________________

That afternoon, I was home, packing a suitcase full of human clothes that we kept in storage in the basement. They were a little smelly and weird but Gaylia insisted that these were 21st-century fashion so I had to wear these. 

Gaylia and Lenna sat next to me as I packed. So did Mrs Claus. She came surprisingly. I was so shocked that I apologised for several minutes that my home was not vacuumed in a week. Mrs Clause explained why she must stay. And I understood. Truly. 

Santa Claus was not only the bringer of Christmas presents but also the protector of children. Some creatures would have taken advantage of the missing Santa. Creatures who meant nothing else than harm. They would have threatened children. Santa was important in all year, but especially December. These creatures were also the products of Christmas. But their home was in the darkness. Elves and children both needed a Santa-like deity at the Icelandic headquarters.

This is why I had to go and not Mrs Claus. 

“Can I have some cloaking spell?” I asked Mrs Claus. Elves had ancient magic. But we didn’t need them. I never used mine and the spells were secret. And forbidden. The spells caused the elves to be greedy and bad, hungry for power. Some tried it every once in a while. But I never did.

But a cloaking spell in the human world, where I was heading… I figured it can be handy. 

“Why on the North Pole would you need a cloaking spell? We don’t do that anymore” Mrs Claus shook her head. 

“Why? I’m an elf! I look like an elf!” I gestured towards my pointy ears like it wouldn’t be clear. 

“But this is the 21st century. I’m 99% sure that you won’t be the only person in the neighbourhood with elvish ears.” Gaylia added as she chuckled. 

“What?” I asked back, shocked. 

“Hardcore Lord of the Rings fans. Fandom culture.” I had no idea what that fandom word meant that Gaylia said. 

“Forking Tolkien. We regret the day we let that man see us. They made us like…” Lenna cursed as she rolled her eyes. 

“Elves?” I helped her find the best word.

“No! That’s horrible!”

And this is how I began my adventure the mortal realm. 

a/n: hello hello!!!

so... Santa is really gone, huh?

and mrs claus – if you ask me, ash totally gay panic-ed when she was talking to mrs claus – sent our little ash to the mortal world to search for him.

how will that turn out?

in the next chapter, we will finally meet our other protagonist. are you curious about her? 😍😍😍