Short Story Sequel: The Seasonal Passage

This is a sequel to “The Christmas Strike”. Here is a link to that one!

It was another Christmas season, the elves were assembling the final toys on the list before the Christmastime deadline. Each toy was made, inspected, wrapped, and loaded onto the sleigh for Santa to deliver to all the good boys and girls. Henry proudly oversaw the entire practice, looking at the joy each elf had in making presents for the children. As he basked in the delight of the workshop, someone gave him a heavy pat on the back.

“How goes this Christmas, Henry?” the jovial voice asked. Henry looked to his side and saw Santa Claus.

“Oh, well we are going to meet the deadline early this Christmas sir,” Henry reported, “I think we should have a Hot Cocoa night while watching a film from the projectors before everyone goes to sleep after a job well done.”. Santa smiled at the brief report, knowing the elves are content with their jobs.

“I’m glad things have smoothed over, especially with that gift system you developed.”, Santa responded.

“It was no problem Santa, I just looked at the existing toys and realized that it would feel different if a unique child’s name was the one that wanted the present. The elves simply felt like it was a monotonous task otherwise, but the changing names do give them a sense of working hard for someone.” Henry explained. There were billions of people, and billions of names we could come up with, Santa thought ponderously. The both of them stood side by side watching the magic of toy assembly until an alarm rang.

“Oh would you look at the time! I must get to the sleigh!”, Santa joyously said as he marched to the outside. As he opened the door he turned back to Henry and said, “Merry Christmas!”. The elf smiled softly and waved back, silently wishing safe travels for the jolly saint.

Delivering presents to where they need to be is an increasingly difficult task, the passage of time allowed nature to reclaim human settlements and collapse buildings. As Santa traveled around the planet for present delivery, he witnessed what the flow of time did to the barren human settlements. What was the United States saw Kudzu begin its unstopped invasion through several towns and cities. Other settlements in deserts were overtaken by the sands they were built on. Coastal Cities were eroded further and further as each year passed as the houses that once stood alongside their streets were being washed away into the ocean. Buildings designed in the 21st Century were no longer maintained and collapsed, taking the impact zones with them. Large Dams, once towering monuments of human ingenuity, broke with a deluge flooding the land it once flowed through in ancient history. Insects that consumed wood or burrowed in building materials further removed the presence of mankind in a methodical and unceasing advance. All that remained were structures built to last, but they were very few.

Despite the decay and reclamation by nature, Santa still delivered his presents the best he could. From ruins to flooded towns, each present found its home. All for the sake of keeping the memory of all the children he once gifted. The list was long gone, but it didn’t matter so long as his memory of each house remained. It became akin to muscle memory as he remembered each and every home despite any act of god destroying or decaying the remnants of civilization. Soon, it was the final stop: the Hospital. He solemnly approached the collapsed ruins of the building to deliver the final present of Christmas upon the collapsed floor the last child was on. He looked around at the desolate night, and looked above. Without light pollution, he bore witness to the stars and what is considered the Milky Way Galaxy. So many planets, he thought. What if, there are other species?. He paused in shock and realized what he must do. I can no longer give gifts to the children here, but what if there are other lands? He went into his sleigh and realized what must be done.

He traveled faster than he has ever done in the past few years after humanity became extinct. The North Pole was in sight and Santa landed nearby the workshop and barged inside. The Elves that were watching the end credits to an old film jerked their heads to Santa’s direction. Henry stood up from his chair.

“Hey Santa, I see you wanted to quickly finish Christmas in time for a movie huh? Don’t worry, we are about to put in another movie into the player.” Henry said, offering cookies and milk to Santa Claus.

“In a moment Henry, but I want to talk to you in private, it is very important.” Santa said with a smile. Confused, Henry obliged as they entered the sound proofed office.

“So, what did you want to talk about Santa?”, Henry inquired.

“I think I know what we can do now.”, Santa replied. Henry’s eyes narrowed.

“And what would that be?”, Henry asked.

“Do you know of the worlds beyond us Henry?”, Santa questioned.

“I know the stars in the sky imply that there are other planets.”, Henry responded to which Santa’s smile widened.

“Exactly, and do you know what that means? There is a chance that there may yet be another planet with its own people, its own children! We can finally do what we were created to do, spread Christmas cheer to new children!”, Santa jovially cheered.

“But Santa, how are we going to reach the stars? A Spaceship?”, Henry asked with concern.

“We can build our own ship! Every elf and reindeer will be the passengers as we find another planet teeming with life.”, Santa implored.

“What are we going to tell the elves in the workshop? They would be confused wouldn’t they?, Henry asked with concern to the plan. Santa put one hand on the elf’s shoulder and simply said.

“What we will say is that the children wrote letters asking us to follow them to the stars, and follow them we shall in our own ship. It is the greatest gift we can make for them.”, Santa explained. Henry pondered the plan and nodded with a smile, high-fiving the Saint.