“At least we have a tree,” the little girl said with a sad smile. Her mother’s heart broke. She barely made enough to keep the lights on. She tried to improve their lives by taking classes on the weekends. Books and tuition took up her savings. She hoped to make a little extra at work by doing some overtime. At least her daughter could stay with the daycare a little longer while she worked. Of course, this made the daycare bill higher. She tried her best to give her daughter a good Christmas. “Don’t worry Momma. There’s always next Christmas and the one after that.” The little girl smiled with tears in her eyes.
The little girl couldn’t sleep that night. Her mother put her to bed, but there was no reason to rest. “Momma didn’t have enough money to bribe Santa for presents. So, why sleep?” She sat by the electric heater in the living room. Years of use wore it down, so the only way get warm was to be near it. She watched the tree’s lights flicker. The light strings were old, so you could never tell which bulb was going to burn. The girl slowly dozed off. A soft noise awoke her. She opened her eyes to see the most beautiful being ever.
There was a tall, beautiful person with long flowing hair and long ears holding presents. “Oh no! You saw me!” A masculine voice whispered into the night. The little girl watched him nervously laugh and shift his eyes. He dashed to place gifts under the tree. “Who are you? What are you? Who are those presents for?” The little girl asked. He jumped as if lightning struck him. He shushed her and placed a finger on her lips. “Well, I am what some humans call an elf. I work for Lord Claus. The presents are for you and your mother. Why am I talking to you?” His head shook back and forth like a quick pendulum. “I should use some magic to make you forget this.” The girl pulled on his pants leg. “Please don’t! I want to remember you. Thank you and thank Santa for me.” Tears overflowed from her eyes. He looked out the apartment window and back to the little girl. The rug was worn but soft where he chose to sit. He pulled her into his lap. He rocked her and hummed to her until she calmed down. “What song is that?” He smiled. “It is the one my mother hummed to me as a child. It comes from my homeland." She looked into his eyes. "Where is your homeland?" He looked away. "Far away from here, and very close at the same time.” The girl blinked. “Then, why are you here?” The elf winced. “I work for Santa for the season to earn enough to support my mother and me.” She continued to stare at him. “So, you have a Momma, too?” He nodded. “When I grow up, I’m going to work to help my Momma, too." A gentle smile spread from his delicate features. Then, a soft chime rang through the air. "Well, I must leave before I lose my employment." The little girl held his leg. "Will I see you next year?" She asked with shining eyes. "I do not know. If I do not return I will not receive payment.” He disappeared in a wave of sparkles the moment she let him go.
He delivered gifts every Christmas. However, this was a very special Christmas. She turned 18 a few months before. "I am a woman now," she said looking up at him. He always had to lean when he came to her apartment. She thought he must be very tall. “Well, I can say you have grown into a beautiful woman." He smiled. "Humans are quick to age." His mouth let out a sad sighed before he knew it. "We look the same age now." They both giggled. She took the presents from him and stacked them in a chair. He winced at this. "There’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time." Curiosity swept over him. "What would that be?" She pulled him to her face and kissed his lips. Without realizing it, she was in his arms locked in a passionate embrace. Then, the chime rang through the air. "I must leave." He said out of breath. "Will I see you next year?" They blushed. "I promise you." He held her hand and kissed it.
Next year, he returned to her apartment as always. She grabbed the presents and placed them on the floor. They continued where they left off the year before. "I only have a few minutes. You are the first person I have ever kissed." She giggled. "Same here. You were my first and only kiss." He looked into her eyes. "It is sad that I do my job more to meet you than anything else." He took a deep breath. "If only we could see each other past Christmas Eve." Her head rested on his chest. She was lost in thought for a moment. "Maybe there is a way, but I don't have enough cash.” His fingers traced her face. “What do you mean?” “I'm in college right now. Maybe I can get a job to pay for our mothers and us." "You don’t make enough. Why do you say that?" She turned to look in eyes. "Human currency is almost worthless to me." "Why?" "We use actual gold as our coin. It takes too much human money to equal one of our gold coins." He looked away. "How much does Santa pay you?" She was intrigued by this idea. "Ten gold coins a day." The chime blared through the stillness of the night. He grabbed her for a quick kiss. "I'll see you next year." She watched him disappear in sparkles like every year
He placed the presents under the tree and she ran to kiss him. "Sorry I'm late. I had to study with some friends." He looked at her with hopeful eyes. "I can taste something on your breath." He pulled back from her for a moment. "I'm sorry. It’s alcohol." He nodded. "Oh, our drinks are much sweeter than yours. It does not bother me enough to stop me from kissing you." He wrapped arms his around her body and softly placed his lips on hers. They kissed passionately and ignored the chime. "What are you doing?!" A tall elf yelled. "I..." He hated to pull away from her lips. "He was giving me my Christmas present. I wished for him." She folded her arms. "What are you doing?" She shushed him. "Really." The tall elf said flatly. "Yes, I wished for him and a way for us to be together. Check with Santa. That was my true Christmas wish. I even wrote him." She stared at the tall elf. "I know he doesn’t get the letters. But he feels the wishes in our hearts, right? He was what I wanted." The tall elf groaned with his hand to his forehead. "I will look into this. Meanwhile, you have to come with me." She held onto his hand. "I love you." It was the first time she said it. "I love you, too." He gave her one last kiss. "I don't want to stop." She whispered to him. "I said come back now!" The tall elf yelled. She started to cry. He hummed her the song and held her. His the elf grabbed him by his shoulders and drug him away. She sat on her bed and cried that night.
"I have never had to deal with something like this before. You know your family needs the money. You told me you were in a poor town and could not afford to take care of you and your mother. You depend on this job to have food to eat. So, why did you do something like this?" They sped through the air on one of Santa’s spare sleighs. "I apologize, supervisor. I love her. I cannot think when I am around her. She has become everything. I wait every year to see her." His supervisor sighed. "How long was this been going on?" "Since my first week? She saw me, and we talked since then." His superior was shocked. "So you broke the rules on your first week! I would fire you, but you are a good worker. Let me think about this. You know we are busy here. You caused a delay of several presents. You will work your shift twice as fast as you usually do. Go."
"Oh, what am I to do. This was her Christmas wish. I thought it was strange. She wanted the man who visits her only on the holidays. She wanted a way for them to be together.” A large man with a long beard shook his head. “What should I do?" The top elf stood firm. "You can't grant her wish, Lord Claus. This would be impossible." "Please, Lord Claus. Let her wish come true! Do it for her…" He cried at Santa's feet. “And me!” Santa looked at him with pity. "I do have the power to do it. You may not like the outcome." He lifted his head. "What do you mean, Lord Claus?" His breath quickened. "You'll have to live in her world, or she will live in yours." Santa gestured for him to stand. "What about our income?" "She didn’t wish for that." He sighed. "Either she would have to care for my mother and me, or I have to care for her and her mother. If things stay as they are." His eyes looked to the plush carpet and breathed deeply. "Oh, and if you don't accept the changes, you'll never work her route again." He teared up. "Can I see her to talk it over?” He pleaded. “I’ll give you one night to make a decision."
He appeared in her living room. The tree was still lit that night. She wasn’t there. He heard a noise coming from her bedroom. He ran to the door. She was there with a man. He almost left in defeat. Instead, he decided to eavesdrop on the conversation. “I told you, I’m not interested. I’m saving myself for my boyfriend." The man stood abruptly. "I’ve never seen this boyfriend! Why don't you tell the truth? You're lying about a boyfriend cause you think the guys around here aren’t good enough, including me." She growled and stood. "For your information, I do have a boyfriend. I should have known better when you said you wanted to give me a gift! Forget your bracelet. I don’t want gifts with strings attached.” She threw the box at his feet. The elf feared something violent was about to happen. “She has a boyfriend!” She jumped at the sound of his voice. “You’re here on Christmas day? My wish came true!" She ran to him as he stood in a shadow. He didn’t want this other man to see him at first. “Who the hell are you?" The guy squinted to see him. “I’m her boyfriend.” “Bull…” He walked from out of the shadow and pulled her behind him. The elf was much taller than the human guy. “What kind of freak are you?” The guy roared. Then, his expression relaxed. “If you weren’t a guy. I’d date you myself. It's a shame you look like that.” The guy spat at the elf’s feet. “Fine. I'll leave you to your freak boyfriend!” He stormed out the door and slammed it.
"Are you hurt?" "No, and it doesn't matter. You're here! Did my wish come true." He held her away from him. "Wait. We have a decision to make." She looked at him confused. "What is it?” He took a deep breath. “We must choose where to live.” “Do you want me and my mom to live in your world?” She moved in to hold him tightly. “Do you want to live in my world with my mom?" He walked to her room and sat on her bed. "Would we have any more money?" An idea flashed in his head. "You could work in the marketplace. They always need more sellers.” He paused. “There are no humans in my city." "We don’t have any elves anywhere." She sat and leaned against his shoulder. "I’m getting money from my work-study program. I’m almost finished with my classes. I'll be able to get a good job and support us. Do they have a training program on your side?" He waved a hand in the air. "They do. I cannot afford to move to the capital. That is where all the universities are." She bit her lip for a moment. "Do they have scholarships or funding?" "No. You would need to work in the capital for that. My family lives in a small town far away from the capital. Would you be happy living in a place like that?" She smiled hopefully. "Maybe I could take care of you and your mom with a good job. Have you told your mother about me?" She looked into his eyes. "No, I have not told my mother either." She squeezed her hands. "Maybe I'll ask my mom." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Wait! We need to decide by tonight." "We have the whole night?" "Yes." She suddenly kissed him. "Let’s do something tonight." She blushed. "What do you mean?" He was genuinely confused. "Let’s go further than kissing." She grinned and kissed his neck. He stopped her. "You don’t want to?" He shook his head. "We should marry first. That keeps us from having children ahead of time." She gasped. "Your culture still has that kind of tradition?" He nodded. "Okay. Let's Just kiss and do a little more" She went back to kissing his neck. He looked up and squinted his eyes. “What little more do you mean?” She whispered in his ear. "We won’t get pregnant doing that.” He blushed and grinned.
"That was amazing. I want to do it again." He kissed her softly. "Same here. But we need to think now. You have an education to take care of me and my mother. What makes me stand out from humans?" She touched the tips of ears causing him to jump. "Your ears." He became determined. "Then, I will cut them down to human size! That solves everything.” She started to cry. “I love your ears.” She kissed them. “I’ll take any pain for you. That way you could take care of us. I can get a job. Then, I could go to university with you." She held him. "I don't want you in pain. I'd rather go to your home. I can work in the marketplace like you said. I have work experience and part of an education." He kissed her. "I do not think they will think highly of a human education. We train for 75 years to finish the local academy." He softly kissed her. "That is my whole lifetime. At least the rest of it." He gasped. "I forgot about that. I want to make a Christmas wish." His eyes widened. "It may not work after Christmas Eve." She kissed him firmly. "Let’s try. Give me your hand." She held his hand tightly. "I wish to be wealthy and take care of him." His supervisor appeared in the bedroom. "What the hell are you two doing?" He groaned. She jumped behind him and pulled her sheet up. "Put your clothes on, and come with us. You are going to see the man himself.” What?” she said with shock.
The elves dropped their drinks and snacks when she appeared. "Everyone in my department is poor and needs money. Lord Claus is a kind employer.” His supervisor let them to Santa. He looked exhausted. Santa stroked his beard. The elf bowed and gestured for her to do the same. "What am I to do with two of you? Fine. I’ll grant your wish. Where do you want to live?" They smiled. "I want to live in his world." The elf turned to her in shock. Santa lifted an eyebrow. "You're giving up your technology and your schooling." The elf looked worried. "I don't care! I don't want him to cut his ears." She sniffled. "Oh about that,” Santa leaned forward. “I can turn you human if you want. But you're going to die in a few years just like they do. You won’t be lonely when she dies because you’ll be close behind her.” The elf stared into her eyes. “On the other hand, if things stay as they are. You can have children that will live a long time with you." She held back her tears. "I don’t want him to be human. I love him as he is." He held her hand. "I can go through anything for you!” She stared into his eyes. “Do you know what you're saying you can take it back!” She clenched his hand. “You will lose your friends, your technology, and your education you worked hard to achieve." He kissed her hand. "We’ll be wealthy either way. So, I don’t care about my schooling. My friends aren't as important as you are." She looked up at Santa. "I have an idea. Santa can you make it so we can live in both worlds?" Santa sighed. "You two have a strong love.” He rubbed his beard. “If you weren’t willing to make sacrifices, I wouldn’t help you." Santa smiled. "To be honest, I’m tired.” He slumped forward. “I’ve worked for three days without rest. I was going to go on a long vacation with my wife.” Santa leaned on his armrest. “I’m late because I’m talking with you two." He sighed and smiled at them. "I’ll grant your wish.” Santa chuckled to himself. “How about this?” They both looked up. “I’ll give you transportation through both worlds with whomever you like.” Santa smiled. “Here’s a bonus gift. You can live a life as long as his.” They cried. “Is that good enough for you two?” The elf looked at Santa with tears still in his eyes. “Yes, Lord Claus. I thank you more than my words can express.” He kissed Santa’s boots. She held her head to them and mouthed “thank you.” She couldn’t talk through her happy tears.
After a few years passed, she still wanted him to complete his education. She finished hers long ago. They did not want to move. “How do we get to the capital?” He stared at her wide-eyed. “The leader of our town goes to a meeting every other week to speak to the prince.” She stood tall. “I’m going and so are you!” They arrived at the long wooden hall. “Not another human,” a member of the crowd groaned. The prince sat up straight with an elf beside him. “What is your concern?” They bowed. “Your royal highness, there are many citizens of your kingdom who want an education.” She gathered her courage. “They can’t afford to go to the capital. Please, give them universities throughout your vast kingdom. Please, provide them with finances to attend them.” The prince giggled and smiled broadly. He knocked back his pale hair. “I agree. What say you, Laurus?” The other elf groaned. “In my opinion your highness, as you asked for it, I believe this is a valid idea.” The prince laughed and sat up straight. “I shall speak with my father about this. Thank you for bringing your concern to me.” The crowd nodded. The elf and his wife left the meeting hall.
“Mommy! Daddy! Santa came!” The well-educated elf and his wife woke up from their slumber. They bought some of the presents and let Santa do the rest. She had a hard time moving. “I think this child is going to be huge.” He kissed her. “I shall love it and you regardless.” They could hear their child waking up his grandmothers down the hall. There was a gorgeous box among the presents for their family. “Congratulations on another year of wedded bliss!” It had a picture of Santa and his wife relaxing at a beach. They both giggled at that. There was a note below the photo. “You two don’t get to make any wishes for a long time."