"Well, I guess we'll have to be going," Mrs. Waitaweill stated, tacitly.
"Alright. We were about done for the day anyway," Santa stated with a smile.
"Can I get my toys now?" Morik asked.
"Toys?" Santa asked, inquisitively.
"Yes. I was told by everybody that after I helped out, Ssnta would give me some toys," Morik stated, confused.
"They did, did they?" Santa scowled, assuming Morik was referring to the Mall personell. "That's just like them. The rott...." Then he stopped in mid sentence, sensing how this appeared to Morik and the other children, and feeling bad for Morik especially.
"Don't worry. I'll take that up later with the mall employer. It's not your fault. We've never had so many visitors here until you came, in all the years I've been here! You've earned this!" Santa said with a big smile, taking something out of his pocket.
"That's because you've never had a real elf here before. Look at him. Everybody wants to see him. He even let me pull his ears. They're real. And his skin. It really is green. It's not just make up! He doesn't have a shirt under that jacket, so you can tell. When he bent down to pick up a flyer Ssnta dropped, you could even see he has green...."
"That's enough! The child's mother cut him off. "I don't wanna know."
"But mom!"
"Enough I said! You're worse than the paparazzi!"
"I don't see why mom makes such a big deal over a mole," the child could be heard, muttering under his breath to his sister.
"Well, I was saving this for someone special," Santa mused, thoughtfully, "but after what you've done, and the way the kids love you, I think special would be a pretty good description for you!"
"They love me?" Morik asked, surprised.
"Of course they do! More kids asked for their picture to be taken with you than with me, and I've never heard of kids asking to sit with Santa's elves before. The love you. I've never seen anything like it!" Morik started to get a warm feeling inside. Maybe he did belong on this planet after all. "Anyway," Santa was saying, bringing Morik out of his daydreaming, "this is a gift card for the toystore here at the mall. It should get you quite a few toys."
"Thanks!" Morik said, looking up with a big smile.
"Don't mention it! You helped set a record today I believe. You deverve it!"
"Now let's take him to use his gift certificate before he figures out Morik's not a store employee, and the tv stations really get a story," Mrs. Waitaweill muttered to Fabian, under her breath, though she couldn't quite surpress a smile.
The toystore was a dream come true for Morik. He bought himself some toy cars, with which he was fascinated, never having had a toy before, along, with a toy plane, and even a toy spaceship, but what especially fascinated him was a tiny toy helicopter with a remote control that really flew. Not wanting t leave his friends out, he bought a few gifts for Fabian and Martin, then took it all to the counter, sure he'd never have enough to pay for it, planning to return a few of his toys to make sure he could get something for his friends if he had to. To his surprise, he still had almost half of the gift card left. He was really going to be able to go on a shopping spree today, he thought.
It was then that he heard the little girl. "Can't we just see the toystore?" she asked with an undefinable accent.
"I guess we could but it's only going to make you feel worse. You know your Dad's out of work. There's not going to be any toys for Christmas. I'm sorry, but I don't want to get your hopes up just to destroy them tomorrow morning. You've been good, but there's nothing we can do."
"That's no fair! Dad has a doctorate. He studied for years and the only thing they'll let him do is sweep streets and clean bathrooms! Why won't they let him do what he knows how to do?"
"It's our alien status. He doesn't have a visa honey. Even if he could've gotten a visa without a sponsor, and he couldn't, that often takes a decade or even two. There's a war back home, and the educated people are the first ones they try to execute. They don't want people to think for themselves. If we come here they don't recognize his education. If we'd stayed there we wouldn't be alive to tell about it. I'm sorry I have to explain this to you when you're so young.
"Oh, there you are!" Morik said to the girl suddently, making everybody jump.
"Who are you?" the little girl asked, big eyed. "Aren't you the elf that was helping Santa a little while ago?"
"Why yes. Santa had a really hard time finding you after you left your country and everything. You didn't leave any forwarding address!"
"No, we didn't," she said, looking at the floor. "I miss my friends."
"Well, you've made some new ones! My name's Morik, and this are my friends, Fabian and Martin!"
"Hi!" said the little girl, suddenly shy.
"This is a gift certificate for the toystore. Santa would want you to have it!" Morik said with a smile.
"Morik, are you sure you want to.." Mrs. Waitaweill tried to get out.
"I'm very sure," Morik interrupted. "That's what Christmas is all about, isn't it?"
"Here. You'll be able to buy plenty of toys with this. Believe me! There's a lot left on it, and you need it more than me. You can use it for anything you want, but the doll section is over there," Morik stated.
"Mom, Santa's elf gave me a Christmas present!" the little girl shrieked, enthusiastically.
"I don't know if we can accept this," the little girl's mother said, worried.
"Oh course you can accept it!" Morik said, emphatically, with a smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way. That's what Christmas is all about. Doing things for the good of others, not just ourselves."
"I'll never be able to thank you enough. You have no idea how much this means to my little girl," the mother replied, trying to keep a dry eye."
"Yes I do. Christmas eleves don't always have as much as you think. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't even have this coat!" came Morik's response, signalling in Mrs. Waitaweill's direction, and the toys are from Santa. Some day, if you ever can, and you see another little girl like her, or a little boy, just remember how easy it is to make them happy too."
"See, I told you Santa wouldn't forget us!" the little girl told her mom, giving Morik a big hug, and a kiss on the cheek so quick he almost didn't know what happened, turning bright green. "And give one of those to your friends too!" she said, smiling from ear to ear. "You guys are wonderful!" she reiterated, as Morik, turned a brighter green still. "Well, see ya!" she could be heard to say, as she walked towards the doll aisle, looking happier than ever. "Mom, I think I've seen those other boys somewhere. I can't believe they know one of Santa's elves! I think Ricardo said Keith and the smaller boy are his friends or something......."
"That was a nice thing to do," Mrs. Waitaweill said, as the conversation no of the little girl and her mother faded. "Yeah. I was taught by my best friend's mother.
"Oh, who was that?" she asked, curious. "You! Can we go home now? We have a little helicopter to fly around the house!"
"To fly outside, young man," she corrected, sternly, but lovingly. "Ok, if you think the neighbors won't say anything about a green boy with pointy ears flying things around the yard."
"Ok, inside. You do look kinda like an elf next to Santa Claus, but I don't know if that'd be the case alone in our backyard. The TV station might not be so understanding then." Fabian gave Morik a high five, as Mrs. Waitaweill turned her back. "Way to go! Try not to hit the lighting fixture!"
"If they just understood Morik and the other aliens like Morik understands the little girl and her mother, we'd be fine!" Mrs. Waitaweill could just scarely be heard to say, muttering under her brfeath. "Remind me to get a fence, she could be heard muttering under her breath. Especially before summer."
(More illustrations should be added in the future.)
Copyright belongs to Eidan I. but copying is presently allowed for non-commercial purposes. Just make sure to give credit. You can print up a poster if you want to too. Go for it! (Exception: Yes, you can use it for your boyscout fundraiser, or to go to camp or something. I support giving such things.) If you want commercial access, feel free to contact me on the forum. That would be interesting.)
