𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟 || 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘧𝘪𝘤

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

The reindeer had been brought down to the square, and the mass of elves shuffled to make a clear path to a center star-shaped platform. Silence had fallen so the sound of bronze horns could wash over them all, and as the reindeer began to prance down the pathway, the elves began to sing.

"It's the spirit of the season!" They called out. "You can feel it in the air!"

The elves holding the lead ropes were occasionally lifted into the air by the reindeer, but were mostly able to keep them under control. Agnes's breath was taken away by how beautiful they were. Amazing how something so big could still be so beautiful and majestic. They moved with grace and ease as they settled into their position on the star-shaped platform.

And then came the jingle bells. Sewn on to a length of red leather, they jingled softly as the elves walked into the path, marching to the beat of the song.

"Whoa," Ananya breathed; the train conductor as though he agreed with the sentiment.

The elves were still singing, but there was a break in the lyrics and the trumpets; the bell holding elves jumped up and down, causing the bells to ring loudly. Most times, such a loud noise would be overwhelming and obnoxious, but the bells were in sync and sounded like joy itself. It could be listened to on repeat and never get tiring.

There was a deafening roar of excitement as the elves cheered for the bells. The silver glittered under the moonlight as the bells were mounted onto the sides of the reindeer. They jingled once more as the reindeer kicked, anxious to start their flight.

There was a silence again, this one weighted, like they were waiting on something. As if on an invisible cue, the elves began to sing again.:

"You better watch out."

Agnes knew this song; she began to sing along, as did the other passengers.

"You better not cry!"

It's like the entire night had slowed just for this one moment. It was a dizzying effect.

"You better not pout, I'm telling you why!"

A chorus of SANTA rang out clear across the square before the song continued, "Is coming to town!"

The last of the singing trickled away and the door creaked open, heavy on their hinges, to reveal the silhouette of a big man in a hat (either a hat or a really pointy head). And then he stepped into the shining candle light.

He was a big, lumbering man. Incredibly tall, too, taller than even the train conductor who towered over Agnes and her friends. He wore the signature long red coat, with buttons of gold and white fur trim. He had a brown leather belt around his waist that matched his brown high shaft leather boots. his beard of white curls went down past the first top three or so buttons, and he seemed to glow a faint, warm light.

It took Agnes a minute to register that he was walking straight towards them. The elves parted easily and suddenly the man was standing just a few people down from her.

Santa was standing right in front of Johnny Kline. The Santa Claus.

The man looked down at him, a white eyebrow raised. "Well, young lad," the man had a deep voice, but it wasn't loud and headache inducing. It was the kind of voice that would be really nice to hear a story be read in. "Am I correct by saying you got what you want for Christmas this year?"

Johnny gasped; Santa had gotten his letter! All he wanted was a trip to the North Pole; he thought it had just been a coincidence, but no, Santa saw him and made his wish come true. He didn't have any words, so instead he eagerly nodded.