Day 18: How to be Santa Claus
Mord grumbled, getting up from his seat in the mall's Santa's Village. His red suit was starting to chafe at him, and his eyes were starting to go blurry from too much staring. He waved goodbye to Ryuu and Lefiya, who were his village elves, and went to change. As he wandered over to the bathroom, taking the opportunity to scratch his itchy ass, he considered what to do with himself the rest of the night. Mord started pulling off the hat and stripping off his fake white beard. Usually, he had no interest in a job like this. The problem was, though, that he needed the extra cash. Heating was more expensive in Winter, which meant that his position with the garbage company wouldn't cut it. Especially if he wanted to find a way to celebrate Christmas with any sort of style. Which was how he found out and started his job at the silly mall as Santa.
Mord had no interest in kids, but he would put up with them for the money he was getting. It wasn't much, but it was honest work. And he was tired of doing work that didn't have some kind of decent reward. It was why he was working at the dump now. At least there, he played a part in keeping the city clean. Better than just working at one of those stupid fulfillment centres. Or even worse, letting himself fall deeper into the bottle, that was not a path he wanted to gown on.
Mord finally found the bathroom and walked over to one of the urinals. As he unzipped his bright red trousers, he heard someone else come in. Mord wasn't paying attention, though; he had only one goal on his mind.
That was when things started to go downhill.
"Ahhh!"
Mord turned his head, careful to keep aiming his lower region, trying to find the source of the noise. Finally, he found it. It was some dopey kid standing there and pointing at him. Not only were they screaming, but they were starting to cry too. So, the big man in the Santa suit did his best to finish up his business. When that was done, he ran over to the kid, careful not to touch him.
"Hey, there, little guy! Why don't we all take a breather!" said Mord.
The kid just turned and ran, then. Mord watched the boy go and slapped his cheeks. He then remembered that he hadn't washed his hands yet. So, he made sure to do that quickly before pursuing the kid outside.
Internally, Mord was screaming at himself for running after the kid. None of this was his business, after all. He could just go on his way and be home in time for supper with the guys. But the soft part of Mord knew that it would be wrong. Mord was Santa goddammit! And Santa took care of all the little children! Even the ones that screamed and ran away from him.
It got harder and harder for Mord to find the kid, so he asked around. Unfortunately, no one had seen anything. So, Mord continued searching on his own. He started ducking into stores, causing quite the commotion in his partial Santa outfit. When the third kid started screaming at him, Mord realized that problem. He quickly put back on the godforsaken itchy beard and the lice-infested hat that was probably infecting him.
Mord just smiled through the pain and discomfort.
"Ho ho ho! Well, how are you, boys and girls!" said Mord.
Things continued like this for a while. Sure, he wasn't on the clock at the moment, which meant no pay, but the kids seemed happy. That was all that really mattered in the end, right?
As Mord dealt with the kids, he also made sure to ask parents If they had seen a lost child or if they had lost a child themselves. Unfortunately, his search was fruitless. There was no sign of the damn kid. Mord also had to make sure that each of the kids he found got a treat in response. Which meant spending his own money to buy candy canes, chocolate, and other assorted various treats. He also had to make sure that each child's individual allergies were catered to. The day just continued to drag on and on, and Mord got more exhausted as the hours ticked by.
A couple of times, he was about to call it quits and give up. That was when a child would smile just so, and Mord's heart would continue melting. He would sigh and continue with his work. One of the kids he ran into was deaf, so Mord had to try and pantomime what he was trying to do. The kid didn't seem to understand, but they did laugh at him. Which was a win in the end.
Finally, though, the sun dropped beneath the horizon. The mall was officially closed, and Mord was kicked out. He walked out of the mall, threw his Santa hat on the ground, and just about pulled his hair out in frustration. He wanted to cry out for injustice. Couldn't he just fix one mistake once in his life? He just wanted to tell the kid that Santa was out there and that the kid could still believe. After all, hopes and dreams were significant, and Mord should know since he didn't have any.
"Ho ho ho, well done, Mord," said a voice. "I can't believe you really wasted a whole day in that mall. Letting yourself get sidetracked and distracted by all those kids."
"Well, what was I supposed to do?" replied Mord, whirling to find his accuser. "Just let them see Santa acting like some angry prick?"
Mord stopped his tirade when he saw who he was looking at. It was a man with a large beard and red clothing. Behind him was a sleigh with reindeer prancing around. The kid Mord had been searching for was sitting in the seat. And he had pointy little ears.
"You're absolutely right, Mord!" said Santa Claus, patting his belly. "And that kind of dedication should be rewarded, shouldn't it?"
Mord stood there, dumbstruck at the spectacle before him.
"Now, I can't exactly give you my job, but I can say that I need help!" Santa held up a gloved finger. "After all, an operation like mine requires lots of backups and helpers." Santa stopped to rub his chin. "Hmmm, I guess the best way to say it would be to call you a regional manager? How does that sound?"
The sentences took a second to register. Eventually, Mord pointed at himself.
"You want me to be a Santa Clause? As in…a real Santa?" asked Mord. "Me, Mord Latro, the most pathetic man in the city?"
Santa nodded. The big man gave a smile.
"Mord, we all have a destiny, and we all have a chance to be a hero. Here's yours; please don't throw it away."
Mord smiled.
Later, Mord's friends and roommates would get a strange letter. It told them that Mord would be moving out but that he had left a gift to help settle the rent and other living costs for the next year or so. It also apologized for the suddenness of his departure but made sure that they understood that Mord was doing something important now. They never saw him again, but once a year, they swore that they could hear his laughter over the city. He always sounded like he was having the time of his life.
The End
Hestia nodded as she placed the square of a large man in a Santa suit down. The edges were frayed, and the colours were a little mismatched, but it looked happy. And it made Hestia feel all warm and fuzzy inside when she did it. She laid it down carefully with the others, making sure not to disturb anything. After all, even if the story seemed stupid, it was important to her.
