Chapter 18
Salzburg, Austria, December 2000 (apx. 1077 years later)
The years rolled by for Krampus and his minions, but it did not feel like that over 1000 years had passed. Krampus had witnessed the many changes in the world; the village where Ishild once resided now became a city, snuggle deep in the Alps.
Krampus had witnessed some bad changes as well as some good ones. Every since he took Gerlach and Gerhard, Krampus became widely known and many believed him to be the evil counterpart of Saint Nicholas, which he was. However, many people appreciated Krampus and would have celebrations dedicating to the Shadow of Saint Nicholas.
Over the years, Krampus and his minions would carry out punishments on the naughty children and even the adults who lost their faith or did not fully appreciate the festivities of December.
As for the bad changes, they were horrific for Krampus to understand. The country, now known as Austria experienced a civil war in the 1930's and afterward, the country fell under the Nazi regime. Despite the strong belief of Krampus, the top leaders of the Nazi regime banned the celebration of the goat-like creature, calling him "pure evil".
It was not until after the fall of the Third Reich, the festivities for Krampus and Saint Nicholas were fully restored.
On this day December 5, the Krampusnacht or Krampus Night was in full swing. Salzburg, as well as many Austrian cities, towns, and villages, including those in Germany had their own celebrations for Krampus.
"Mom, I can't see them!" a young girl cries out as she struggles to get through the crowd. A parade was in full swing; young men were dressed as the goat-creature, terrifying the children with their costumes. Many of the children and adults admired the hard-work these young men had done for their costumes.
"Let us through please!" a woman begs the crowd as she pushes a wheelchair. The crowd looks at the occupant in the wheelchair, a young teenage girl cuddled in a heavy coat.
Kristen Sonnen was a sixteen year old sick with cancer. She and her family had came from their home of Minneapolis to visit their Austrian grandparents for the holidays.
"Why are we here?" Kristen's cousin, Hannah asks her parents.
"Your grandparents want to spend time with Kristen, you know she is sick," Hannah's mom replies. Kristen hated the cancer and she also hated the treatment she had to take for it. What was worse that the chemotherapy was expensive and the family's insurance had run out, causing Kristen's parents to ask other family members to pitch in financially.
It was possible that this would be Kristen's last Christmas as her illness had advanced and her family could not get any more money. Kristen once had blonde hair, but she had to shave it for her chemotherapy. She had dazzling blue eyes, much like her grandmother's.
The crowd parted ways for the family and they watch as the multiple Krampuses paraded through the street. Many were different, but they were hairy with demonic faces. Many of them had chains with different size bells and they rattle with every step. Others carried torches or birch branches, which Krampus was said to use to punish the naughty children.
Kristen had been told stories about the creature and she was fascinated with the legend. She wanted to see the Krampus parade before she passes and her wish was granted tonight.
The multiple Krampuses march through the street, some coming up to the crowd to terrify them. One Krampus went up to Kristen and he stares at her. Kristen was not sure what to do, but she raises her hands up and tries her best to put on a scary face.
The Krampus scurries away, as if terrified of her, but then speaks in German. "He said he will remember this night because of you," her grandmother translates. The family watches the parade and it ends.
The Sonnen family returns to the grandparents' house, where they proceed with the festivities of the night. "Do you think Krampus exists?" Kristen's young sister Ashley asks.
"Oh he does," their grandmother replies.
Kristen goes to her bedroom with slow steps, she was tired, and the Krampus parade had lifted her spirits. Before she could open the door to her room, she hears some noises coming from the room next to her, which was her cousins' room.
Rowan and her twin brother Travis shared the room and Kristen was curious as to what was going on. "I hate it here," Travis said, "Why can't Kristen just die?"
Kristen's stomach drops when she heard Travis say that. "Will you be quiet, Kristen will die, and no one will suspect where we got the money," Rowan said. Weeks before, the two promised to hold a fundraiser for Kristen's chemotherapy, but they said it proved fruitless as they got only one-hundred dollars.
"Did you count the money?" Travis asks and Kristen listens.
"Yeah, we're filthy rich! I stopped counting at twenty-two thousand!" Rowan replies and Kristen was shocked. Her cousins had actually lied about the amount of money they received from the fundraiser.
"All in cash! Man, I can buy a car with that money!" Travis said.
"We just have to play along until Kristen passes, then we're free to spend it!" Rowan replies and they started to laugh.
Kristen goes into her room and collapses on the bed and starts to cry. Her cousins did not care about her, they just wanted her to die. Kristen wanted them to be punished for their greed and that's when it hits her.
She sits up in a prayer position and speaks aloud, "Krampus, my cousins have lied, they stole the money that I need for my chemotherapy. Please, punish them."
Somewhere in the forest outside of the city, Krampus had heard the young girl's prayer. He summons his minions and they knew that they were going to punish some naughty children. They prepared themselves and they head out towards Salzburg, where a blizzard fell upon the city.
Kristen realized that the power went out and it was dreadfully cold inside the house. She coughs and her mom comes in. "Honey, we're gathered downstairs," she said and takes her daughter by the arm.
"Mom, I have to tell you something," Kristen said and her mom listens. "I heard Rowan and Travis talking and they said they really have twenty-thousand dollars from the fundraiser," she explains.
"Really?" her mom asks, "Well, we'll see about that."
The two walk down the steps and they went into the living room where the family was gathered by the fire. Kristen sits down on the sofa and her mom looks at Rowan and Travis.
"Is there something you want to share with us?" she asks the two.
"What are you talking about?" Rowan asks in return.
"Kelly, what's going on?" their mom asks.
"Kristen said she heard these two saying that they lied about the fundraiser. They said they have twenty-thousand dollars," Kelly replies and the twins' faces showed horror.
"Is it true?" the twins' father asks.
"No, we only made one-hundred," Travis lies and Rowan nods.
"Don't lie to us! Where is the rest of the money?" Kelly snaps at them.
The twins' refuse to answer and they look at Kristen with anger in their eyes. "Krampus will be coming to punish you," the grandmother said to them.
"Oh for crying out loud! Krampus does not exist!" Travis shouts at them, "We earned that money fair and square!"
"You mean you stole it!" Kristen's father yells at them.
"Travis and Rowan! I am surprised at you two!" their father shouts at them, "You give Kristen the money right now!"
"No way!" Rowan shouts, "Why can't she just die?!"
"Rowan, how dare you say that to your cousin!" their mother shouts, "Apologize to her!" The twins refused and turn their heads away. "You two are grounded forever!" their mother informs them.
The evening went on, the twins refused to apologize to Kristen, and they refused to hand over the missing cash. Kristen had never seen so much hate in them. The family falls asleep in the living room, trying to keep warm.
Krampus arrives at the house and his minions open the unlocked door. They quietly storm into the house, looking for the twins, and they discover them in the living room.
In a flash, Krampus takes the two and puts them in the sack. The twins awoke with a start and begin to cry out, but the family was not aroused, except for Kristen. She sees the creatures leave the house.
Kristen hurries after them and keeps close behind them. They left the city and enter the forest. Kristen struggles to keep up, but they stop and Kristen sees a burning pit.
"Wait!" she cries out and the creatures turn to face her. "What are you going to do to them?" she asks Krampus. The creature looks at her and puts down his sack and walks up to Kristen.
Kristen remains still, but she coughs and falls to her knees. Krampus' heart began to ache, he knew that this girl was dying, and his mind flashes with the images of Ishild dying in his arms.
"They need to be punished as you told me to," he said in a deep voice.
"Are you sending them to Hell?" Kristen asks and he nods. Then, Kristen's coughing got worse and Krampus edges closer to her.
"You shouldn't be out here," he said and holds out a claw. She takes it and Krampus helps her up, but she collapses, again. "Your time is nearing its end," he adds and Kristen nods.
"Let us out!" Travis shouts in the sack and the minions open it. The twins jump out, but the dwarfs bound them tight. They tried to scream at Krampus, but they couldn't find their voices.
"You two still have a chance to apologize," Krampus said to them.
"You got to be kidding, we were just messing with her!" Travis replies, pointing to Kristen. "We didn't do anything wrong!" he adds. Kristen's heart breaks into pieces and Krampus walks up to them.
They edged closer to the pit and Krampus roars at the twins and they fell in. The pit closes up, sending the twins to Hell. Kristen collapses and Krampus comes to her side.
"It's all right, you see I am not afraid of dying anymore," Kristen said weakly.
"Oh, Kristen," he whispers and takes pity on Kristen. "Saint Nicholas, please, give this girl more time. She deserves to be with her family for one final Christmas before she passes," Krampus speaks up to the sky.
Then, he hears the sounds of sleigh bells and he sees the silhouettes of the reindeer and Saint Nicholas' sleigh passing by the moon. Krampus returns Kristen to her grandparents' place and lies her down on her bed.
Before he leaves, he places the bauble on the bedside table. "Merry Christmas Kristen," he whispers to the sick girl and leaves the house.
Morning came and Kristen awakes to see the bauble on the table. "So he does exist," she said to herself and she gets up to go down to the living room. To her surprise, she sees her family gathered around and they see her.
"Sweetheart, your aunt and uncle has raised twenty-thousand dollars for your chemotherapy!" her mom said to her.
"Everyone, I have an announcement to make," Kristen replies and they listen, "I am not doing the chemotherapy anymore. I am not afraid to die," she explains and they gasp.
"Sweetheart, we want you to have a normal life," her dad said.
"My life was never normal," Kristen replies, "I don't want anymore treatments, I just want to live until my dying breath."
Elsewhere, Krampus listens to Kristen's words and tears flow down his cheeks. It was the first time in along time that he met someone who was just as brave as Ishild.
"Meinrad," a voice said from behind him. He turns to see Saint Nicholas and he appeared to be happy. "You have done well this year," he said, "And as a reward, I will summon Ishild's spirit to visit you for the rest of this month."
Meinrad' heart stops beating for a minute, he could not believe his ears. "Sir, are you serious?" he asks and Saint Nicholas chuckles. He raises his staff and a bright light appears before them.
Something emerges out of the light, it was Ishild! "Ishild!" Meinrad cries out and the two share an embrace. They look into each other's eyes and they kissed.
"Spend you time wisely with her," Saint Nicholas said and Meinrad smiles at him.
"Thank you," he and Ishild reply and the saint disappears before them. The two lovers embrace, again, and the dwarfs cheer and gather around the two. There was time for them to have their own celebration.
"Ishild, I love you," Meinrad said to her.
"I know, and I love you," Ishild replies and they kiss once more.
From the author: Happy Holidays to my fellow readers!