'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
Which was exactly why the occupants had not noticed their intruder.
But Mai had.
True, she should not have been in their garden. But they had a nice little bench that would shield her from the weather. However, that was not the issue here.
The issue was that a tall, dark haired and definitely creepy looking man was trying to break in. He even had a sack!
Mai crept out from under her makeshift shelter. The sack looked lumpy. Perhaps this was not his first burglary tonight…
A wild thought flickered through Mai's mind. If she stopped this thief then maybe the family would be so grateful they would take her in…
Maybe even give her a home…
She shook her head to rid herself of the ridiculous notions.
She had an intruder to stop.
Mai scrambled to her feet and crept forwards. The man seemed unaware of her presence. Her breathing was so shallow that she could not even see it in the cold night air.
She staggered slightly, but did not fall.
"Stop!" She tried to shout, but her voice was weak. Gathering her limited strength, she launched herself as best as she could at the man. Mai managed to knock him to the ground. Beneath her frail body, he groaned.
"What are you doing?"
"That's… Keiko-chan's house," Mai mumbled from the floor. She was not entirely sure where the thought had come from, but it seemed right. "Keiko-chan brings me food. You can't hurt them."
Suddenly realising where she was, Mai scampered to her feet and backed away. Lights had come on in the house.
Lights meant danger.
So she ran.
Once Mai was out of sight, a plump figure walked out of the shadows and held a hand out to the man on the ground.
"Are you okay, Lin?"
"My ankle," Lin muttered. "We need to get out of here."
"Not again…" The teenage boy sighed.
He pulled Lin to his feet, careful not to get dirt on his red suit. Together, they disappeared into the night.
X~X~X
Mai did not know how far she ran. Nor did she recognise where she was as nothing was particularly distinguishable: every house and building looked the same in dim light. There was rocksalt on the road where the gritters had been, the grains stabbing through her worn shoes.
Tired eyes scanned around for somewhere to rest. Sleeping through the night always made it easier.
She spotted a small play park. Trying not to trip over her own numb feet, Mai walked over to it and slipped under one of the benches.
It was cosy under the bench. The ground felt warm. Mai pulled her jacket off and balled it up for use as a pillow.
Had anyone spotted the young girl, they would have likely been shocked by her pale complexion, her shallow breathing, and her lack of warm clothing. But no one walked past.
Most people were asleep on the night of Christmas Eve.
Most people would not miss a homeless child. Some parent would likely find her in a few days, forever asleep under the bench.
X~X~X
Yet Mai awoke.
She did not want to open her eyes. Whatever she was lying on was soft, warm and provided no reason to protest her body's prominent desire to fall back asleep.
"If I were you, I would eat this," a harsh voice said from somewhere above her head.
Frowning, Mai opened her eyes.
Red velvet consumed her vision. She had never seen something so luxurious and bright.
"Sit up." It was the harsh voice again.
Mai forced a hand onto the velvet surface and pushed herself upwards. A cool breeze ruffled her hair.
"Where am I?" she asked, her voice was so small it was almost blown away by the wind. She spotted a plate on the seat next to her. It contained a single, gigantic chocolate cookie.
"Eat it."
Mai looked around at the owner of the voice. In the seat in front of her was a stranger. From the voice, Mai guessed the rounded figure was male. Probably a boy, as his voice had a youthful quality about it.
She picked up the cookie and sniffed it. It smelt wonderful. Sweet and warm, like it had just been taken from the oven. Tentatively, Mai took a small bite.
It tasted better than she could have imagined.
Her next bite was bigger, and the one after that, bigger still. The cookie did not last long, but Mai did not regret it for a moment. She licked a stray crumb from her lips and savoured the flavour.
"I usually return the milk, so be grateful."
Mai looked momentarily at the boy, then noticed the glass of milk next to the plate. She picked it up and drank a bit.
Smiling at the idea of getting a milk moustache, Mai gulped the rest of the liquid down.
With a satisfied stomach, she now started to take in more of her surroundings. The thing she was sat on seemed to be some kind of cart, lined with red velvet. Behind her seat were several sacks. Curiosity burning within her, she reached over and tried to open one and found that there were a load of brightly wrapped boxes inside.
Frowning, she turned back to where the boy sat. She leant forwards, trying to get a better look at him.
He was wearing red too. It was the same shade as her seat. His hat was trimmed in white fur and had a white furry pom pom at the end of its tip. His suit also had white fur cuffs.
Mai shuffled she saw something much more the boy's hands were reigns, leading to several majestic reindeer.
Reindeer that were flying.
The thing that they were in was flying.
Mai peered over the side and was almost sick. She could see headlights from cars and adverts in the sprawling streets below.
"Oh my… Where the hell am I? Is this a dream?" she shrieked. She climbed over the divide between them and tapped the shoulder of the boy. "Who the hell are you?!"
He turned his head.
Mai took in his gorgeous blue eyes, dark hair poking out from under his hat and the oddly white beard growing from his face. Despite its bushiness, Mai could discern a smirk from under the beard.
"I'm Santa, obviously."
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