[Contest Entry] I Am My Own Santa

I Am My Own Santa

Kwagrrrr….spshh…

Steam rolls out of a coffee pot lid and rises to a white kitchen ceiling. Dim light ebbs into the brightly lit kitchen from a quaint, small living room having been forgotten to be turned off by a careless person. A square room is attached to the living room and the kitchen, making a rectangular shape from above. Within this square room lies a bed, a dresser and mirror, a small and rectangular bathroom, and almost pitch black darkness trapped by a closed door and a dimly lit alarm clock displaying 11:59 AM in digital format.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm clock screams.

Dong! Dong! Dong! A rustic grandfather clock woos for attention.

“Mnnn be quiet” I mumble, throwing the pillow I was hugging over my head to shut out the noise. Rolling over, my body begins to feel numb and then tingles. Having come to my senses, it seems I had fallen off the bed.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm clock becomes deafening.

“All right already!” I yell, reaching out for the alarm clock on the bedside table where it resides. My hand scoops the alarm clock off the table, managing to hit the TURN OFF button after falling onto its top. My arms push me off the ground, and my feet manage to kick off towards my door loathingly as I grab a bath robe from somewhere in the darkness and put it on. The pillow I was still holding was thrown who knows where toward the direction of my bed in the blinding darkness. After managing to reach the door, I turn the door knob and walk into the living room. Dim light pierces the once nearly pitch black bedroom as I walk toward the brightest part of my apartment only to find the bittersweet smell of freshly brewed coffee beans. While in the kitchen, my shaking, cold hands reached out for a FAKKU mug in a cupboard above where the coffee pot laid on the counter, and poured steaming hot coffee that was as dark as the bedroom I was sleeping in.

***

I walked over toward a desk that was up against a wall in the living room, sat in a comfortable office chair that stood in front of it, and clicked a mouse that was attached to a whirring computer multiple times. A sudden bright light made my pupils smaller, and the dimly lit living room slightly brighter. FAKKU was displayed in the web browser that was opened a few hours ago along with five or so tabs that were related to streaming anime and hentai. As I took another sip of my bitter cup of Joe, I realized why I had gotten up so late at night. Tonight was Christmas, and the day before was Christmas Eve. Although many people thought that believing in Santa Claus was childish for a man in his twenties, I still believed in him anyways. Since Santa Claus came to houses at midnight, I wanted to meet him. My eyes gazed at the computer’s clock after closing the internet browser and clicking SHUT DOWN in the task bar. The clock read 12:15 AM.

“Hmm, that’s strange. I thought Santa is supposed to come around 12:00 sharp.” I said to myself, scratching the back of my head. “I guess I should take around the park outside and come back to see if he’s here. After all, Santa has to go to all of the people’s houses in the world in one night”.

So I set off out the door in my bathrobe, leaving my coffee behind on the desk. My apartment suite was on the top floor so I had to take an elevator down to the bottom. After walking out of the automated doors of the elevator and the tall sky scraper that was brightly illuminated with lights from other suites, I made it to the park. Smoke filled the air as well as a rotten stench. A house in a nearby neighborhood was set alight, glowing like the star on top of my Christmas tree that sat near the window in my living room. Not wanting to get caught up in the commotion late at night, I ignored it and continued to walk to the park. After reaching the park, lights filled the bottom of a fountain that spurted water fifteen feet high and lamps illuminated stone pathways and towering pine trees. In front of the fountain was a woman, looking no older than eighteen or twenty crying sparkling tears. She had large breasts and long hair, a great figure, and a face that would look beautiful if she were smiling. Walking over to her, she looked up at me with streams of tears flowing and shaking arms wrapped around her torso. The clothes she wore were slightly charred. “What’s the matter?” I said calmly and concerned. No response. I walked over to her slowly and sat down next to her on the bench.

***

“Were you involved in that fire over yonder?” I asked. Her head shook. “Well, come with me back to my apartment. You must be freezing out here.” I suggested, standing up from the bench. Snowflakes fell from the sky as I stood next to her waiting for a reply. The woman got up and I walked back to my apartment with her following my silhouette . Once inside, presents were set under my tree that said “Merry Christmas, from Jacob & Santa”. The woman who followed me back to my apartment took a shower in the shower that was located in my bedroom. Afterward, I allowed her to sleep on my bed while I took the couch. As I drifted off to sleep on the not so comfortable couch, the last words that came from my mouth were “Merry Christmas.”

Ever since that Christmas day I did not believe in Santa Claus as I had become Santa myself.