This is a random story that I wrote for fun. Yay.
The child stood still. He was bundled in layers of sweaters and jackets, preventing the cold winter wind from freezing him. He even wore a hat, a pair of mittens and high quality snow boots, all tailor made from the unique design imprinted on them. However, it did little to stop the shiver that was sent down his spine.
Ever the timid one, the child jumped up and scurried to a tree, away from where he had been and looked back. Nothing. He cautiously walked back to where he had been, carefully looking around.
It was Christmas eve. It was close to midnight, and almost time for Santa to deliver the presents to all the good children. He was going to ride his magical sleigh of reindeer to the roofs of homes and sneak his way into the chimney and place the presents under the tree and into socks.
Yeah right.
The child never believed in Santa. Ever since he was little, he knew that Santa didn't exist. He knew because his house didn't have a chimney. But even so, at Christmas morning, his stocking was filled and under the Christmas tree, presents. He was always curious, but he was never able to check for Santa. Whenever he tried, he would get tired and would fall unconscious before the strike of midnight.
This night was different though.
The child was prepared this time, and made the right adjustments to make sure that he would be awake by taking a nap. So here he was, waiting for the evidence that Santa didn't exist. He was outside for some time, having the permission of his parents to wait for Santa.
The child slowly made it back to the snowy area where he was previously waiting. He took a deep breath and sat back down. The fear that went through him dissipated as he stared up sky again.
The air suddenly quickened and the child held his hand up to protect his face. The wind held for a second before slowing to a brisk pace. As the wind died down, the child started to hear whimpering coming from the darkness. The child peered out and, as his eyes adjusted, he found an injured fox, lying in a pool of blood.
The child was not scared. He found each form of life precious, and a fox was part of that. So the child rushed forward to check on it.
It's breathing was shallow and was bleeding heavily, but as the child got closer it tensed up and tried to get up. But sudden pain went through it's body and again collapsed. It trembled as the cold finally caught up to it. It was going to die. The fox knew that in his heart he was going to perish out in the cold christmas night.
But the child refused to believe that something in front of him would die. He gathered the fox in his arms and bunched his scarf against the fox's wound to stop the bleeding. "Don't worry, you'll be alright." The child said as he picked himself up. His eyes shone with the same determination that he had for proving that Santa didn't exist.
But as he ran towards the front door of his home, the child tripped. It sent him and the fox sprawling across the yard. As the child fell, his leg twisted and there was an audible crack. Face in the snow, the child started to cry. As with most people, the pain caused him to cry, but it was more to that. He failed to do such a simple task that could've saved the life of the wounded fox and injured himself in the process.
As the child cried there, frozen in pain and humiliation, a shadow fell upon his face. "You think yourself a failure, child?" Slowly, the child looked up. Standing above him was a tall blond man. He was dressed in white pants and a red coat. Behind him a cape fluttered lightly. The man's face was grim at first, but then changed to a kind one.
He bent down and touched the child's leg. Powerless, the child watched as strange blue wisps escaped the mans arm and went into his leg. Almost instantly, the pain vanished. Tears still running, the child tried to stand. But the man held him down. "Now is not the time." The man then stood up and went over to the fox.
The child followed him with his eyes as the man picked up the fox. He watched in amazement as the fox's wounds began knitting itself together in the man's arms.
The man turned back and placed the fox into the child's arms. The child looked down at the creature. The fox was breathing steadily now and was unconscious. Not a single sign of suffering was shown on it's body.
"Thank you…" The child said as he looked up at… nothing. The man had disappeared. In his place a note floated down. With his spare hand, the child caught it.
On the note it said: "Do not think that you did something wrong. In fact it is honorable that you tried to save the creature. You still have much to learn about this world, but you what was right. Perhaps one day you will be similar to me."
Rich laughter could be heard in the background, however the child didn't notice. Though the strange man had saved them, it was still cold and it wasn't safe to stay any longer as the fox was still in a fragile state.
So the child hurried back to the front door, careful not to trip again. As he entered the door, a voice could be heard around the entire neighborhood.
"Merry Christmas."