Chapter 27
922 years later
Many more years passed for Meinrad and the entire world. So much had changed, but the hate was twice as strong as before. Meinrad never felt so much hate among the mortals. It was as if God gave up on the human race and let them run rampant like there was no top leader to tell them to stop.
Meinrad spent the following 922 years with his family in the afterlife, but he had to leave during the Christmas holiday. 800 years later, Ishild became pregnant again and had given birth to a baby boy in the summer, whom Meinrad named him Ásbjörn which means "god bear". It became clear shortly afterward that Ásbjörn was just as mischievous as the dwarfs.
Leofflæd was kind and was much like her mother. It was then that both Meinrad and Ishild realized that their children represented the children of the world, with Leofflæd as the spirit of goodness and Ásbjörn was the symbol of the terrible children.
Both Ásbjörn and Leofflæd did not age like normal children. Instead, they aged when they turned 100 years old. After 900 years, Leofflæd looked much like a nine-year old girl, while her brother was just a one-year old toddler.
The Christmas holiday had also changed dramatically. People had lost their faith and grew greedy and selfish, especially the children.
Meinrad, as Krampus had his work cut out for him. Instead of sending a few naughty children to Hell, he was sending over a thousand for their disobedience or their disloyalty for the holiday.
Through the years, his heart grew heavy with the grief and whenever he was in the mortal world, he felt like he was dying, bit by bit. It became clear that the people had lost their belief in Krampus and he had no choice, but to let them go without receiving any punishment. It was the Alpine community that remained loyal to the Christmas demon, or the Shadow of Saint Nicholas.
Whenever he came home, he felt like crying as he was sad for the mortals. "They had forgotten the meaning of Christmas," he said to Ishild one day. Ishild felt the same way and she did feel sorry for the mortals, too.
On this day, Christmas Eve in the year 2915, Meinrad and the dwarfs realized that the 2000 year servitude was going to expire at midnight. "2000 years, it certainly felt like 2000 years," Helmold said and he coughs a little. The dwarfs had grown old and their features had aged during the 2000 years.
Many of the dwarfs had fallen ill at this time and so did Meinrad. They did wonder why they were sick as they never fallen ill before. They did what they could to carry out the punishments to the naughty children, but they became weak and tired.
At first, they blamed the climate change as Austria no longer had snow during the winter time and the ice caps had melted completely, therefore much of the coasts had flooded. New York was one of the many coastal cities that fell victim to the flooding. Meinrad knew that it was not that. "The world is dying," he said to the dwarfs.
There were many wars that followed, many were failures and pointless battles. Meinrad and his family also witnessed a few revolutions that changed the fragile balance of the global economy.
It was nearing midnight and Meinrad and the dwarfs had overheard news that a sudden deep freeze was coming. It was the new ice age that threatened the world and it was going to be more deadly than the last.
Meinrad and the dwarfs had to reach their homestead in the Austrian forest as it was their wish to die in the cave. Just as they reached the edge of the forest, all of the demonic goats that served the sleigh had suddenly died.
Somewhere, a clock was chiming the coming hour of midnight and Meinrad and the dwarfs hurried towards their cave. One by one, the dwarfs fell and died, but many of the others carried their fallen comrades before they too expired.
Meinrad's mind was filled with memories of this forest as it was the place where he and Ishild first met. He catches sight of the cave and he and the remaining dwarfs ran as fast as they could.
"Oh my son!" Runa cries out. Meinrad looks to see that his adoptive mother and father had fallen. He carries them toward the cave.
"Look!" Helmold shouts and points to some trees. Meinrad saw what looked like a fog bank and the green grass and the trees froze in less than a second. It was the deep freeze, it had arrived. Snow began to fall in big chunks and a powerful wind hits Meinrad, it was dreadfully cold and his limbs felt like freezing.
He and the surviving dwarfs made it to the cave as the fog bank floods into it and the midnight toll chimes. Meinrad's heart beats fast and the world around him was shrouded in total cold darkness.
He watches the remaining die in front of him, including Runa and Hartwig. Meinrad then lies down and shuts his eyes. His heart beats for several seconds and then it stops.
()()()()()()()()()()()
Meinrad wakes up in complete darkness, but it puzzled him. He thought he was going to Heaven, but this place felt unwelcoming. He listens carefully, he could hear voices, but they were not of the dwarfs.
There was moaning and screaming and Meinrad takes a few steps forward. Then, the world around him was illuminated by fire and Meinrad looks around. This place was not Heaven, it smelled of brimstone and fire burned everywhere.
"No, no, no! This can't be right!" Meinrad exclaims in horror. This place was Hell and he heard the laughter of Lucifer.
"You thought you were going to Heaven? After all those years?" the Devil asks him and appears in front of Meinrad. Lucifer laughs a cold laugh and says, "As Saint Nicholas told you, your soul is bound to Hell and you will stay here forever!"
"No! Saint Nicholas said-" "Saint Nicholas said he cannot break the curse! And by the way, he tricked you! You don't get your soul back because it belongs to me! You can't trust anyone, not even a saint!" Lucifer replies and Meinrad roars in frustration.
"Meinrad!" he heard Ishild's voice and he turns to see his family. "Lucifer is lying! He is holding you here because you-" "Silence!" Lucifer shouts and his voice echoes all through Hell.
Then, out of nowhere, shadowy figures appear and they moaned. Meinrad looks at them and recognizes them as his victims he sent to Hell during Christmas, including Gerhard and Gerlach, Ishild's father and brother. He then notices a woman and a man that look oddly familiar.
It was Linza and Theomat, his mother and father. Linza did look beautiful, but her face showed no love or pity. The figures lurch forward, grabbing Meinrad and tearing at his coat and hair.
"Let go! Let go!" Leofflæd screams at them. The shadows did not listen and they continue their carnage. Meinrad's heart becomes heavier with grief, Lucifer had won after all.
"Enough!" Linza speaks to the shadows and they stop. She stares at Meinrad and he asks her, "Why are you doing this?"
Linza stares at him with coldness in her eyes and she begins to talk, "Once upon a time, there lived a girl who did everything to please her family. She had a lovely sister who had compassion in her heart. She was the talk of the village, while I, the older one was scuffed at for not being like her.
"One day, when our parents died, Chief Randulf took notice of me and asked to marry him. I was amazed and I believed that my sister would be out of my life forever. If only the chief did not notice my sister, then I would have been his wife, but instead Randulf broke off the engagement and married Hildegard.
"I was thrown out of the village, but Theomat took pity upon me and we married, but I hated him for not being rich and he lacked manliness. Then, one day, I discovered I was pregnant. Oh, I did not want children, so I said to God one night, 'I rather have the Devil's child' and it came true. Oh, such hideousness you had. How would the village think if they knew I had the Devil's child?
"I told Theomat to kill you, but he was foolish. He did not kill you, instead, he ran away like a fool, and Oda, that crazy old woman found you. I knew she was lying when she told the chief that the child I bore was dead," Linza said to everyone.
"Why?!" Ishild shouts at her, "Why do you hate your son?! What has he ever done to you?!"
Linza looks at her and answers, "After many years of hard work, trying to please my family, and what do I get in return? Banishment!"
The shadows grab at Meinrad and began to pull him toward an open pit of lava. Leofflæd screams, "Please, let him go!" They ignore her and they continue to pull Meinrad towards the pit.
Lucifer looks on, his face showed victory and he watches the shadows pull Meinrad towards the pit. Meinrad sees the pit, he knew that he was going to stay in Hell and suffer for eternity, like his victims.
There was one thing he had to do, before he was locked up. He looks at the faces of his victims and says, "I forgive you." Then, they stop dead in their tracks and let him go.
"What did you say?" Gerhard asks him and they stare at him.
"I forgive you for sending me to Hell. I made your life miserable for sending you here," Meinrad repeats and looks at Linza, his mother, "I forgive you for what you did to me."
"What is this nonsense?!" Lucifer shouts at him.
"It is not nonsense. You see, I may have grown hatred towards humanity when I was mortal, but with the dwarfs and Ishild, I grew to understand love and humility. That's what it is meant to be human, you forgive each other," Meinrad replies and the shadows step away from him. Some began to cry, but Meinrad's words fell on Lucifer's deaf ears.
"Humans are arrogant! They never understand the value of love and humility! All they care about is greed!" Lucifer shouts and turns to the shadows, "Don't just stand there! Kill him!"
However, the shadows look up to face Lucifer and in a flash, they grab him. "Stop it! Get off of me!" he shouts and tries to open his bat-like wings, but then, the shadows tare them to pieces.
Lucifer squeals in agony as the shadows push him towards the pit and then, all of them fell in. Meinrad and his family look down to the pit to see Lucifer, screaming in agony as the fire consumed him and the souls of Meinrad's victims.
The souls, however, did what they could to keep Lucifer in the pit and then, the Devil's body transformed into stone and it crumples and the wind blows away the dust.
Then, Meinrad passes out and falls onto his back. "Meinrad!" Ishild cries and their children cry out for him to wake up.
Meinrad finds himself in a white space, it was completely empty and he wondered where he was. He walks around, it was warm and bright, nothing like Hell.
"Meinrad," he hears a familiar voice and he notices Saint Nicholas. Meinrad does not move and the saint walks up to him. "You did it, you passed the test!" Saint Nicholas said.
"The test?" Meinrad asks.
"Oh, forgive me Meinrad, but you see, the real test was testing your humility. You forgave the souls of your victims and your parents for the evil they have done and for that, you have earned your place in Heaven with your family," Saint Nicholas said to him.
Meinrad lets the tears roll down his face, "So, the 2000 years of servitude is over for us?" he asks and Saint Nicholas nods. "Thank you, thank you for everything," Meinrad adds, "But what has happened to the mortal world?" he asks.
"It is in a new ice age, the surviving humans must learn from their mistakes, and I am afraid there will not be any more Krampus' nights or Christmases until the world has healed, which I believe it will be a long time," Saint Nicholas answers.
"I believe the humans will learn humility again, even if it takes many years," Meinrad said and the saint nods. "But, what of Lucifer?" he asks.
"Lucifer will no longer taunt humanity as he has ceased to exist, but the real test has began for the humans. Will they restore their humility and believe in me and you, again? Only God knows," Saint Nicholas answers.
"And what of Linza and Theomat? And the victims I sent to Hell?" Meinrad asks, again.
"They have found peace, but I am afraid they can't go to Heaven just yet, they still have much to learn after what you did for them. You best go and gather your family, the gates of Heaven are now open for you," he replies and he sends Meinrad back to his family.
"Papa!" Leofflæd cries out for her father and Ásbjörn cried too.
Just then, Meinrad wakes up and stands and his family jump on him. "Easy!" he demands and they back off.
He looks to see that he was back in the cave and the bodies of the dwarfs lay around him. The cave's opening had been frozen shut. Meinrad gathers his family in his arms and tells them what Saint Nicholas told him.
"So, it's over? For good?" Ásbjörn asks in his little boy voice.
"It is for now I believe, but now, we are being called to Heaven now. There's one thing I must tell all of you, I love you so much," Meinrad said to them and his children hug him, while Ishild shares a kiss with him.
They cuddle themselves beside Meinrad and they doze off before succumbing to death.
From the author: And now my fellow readers, get ready for the tear-jerking epilogue!