Most Wonderful

"What?" Her voice sounded like a croak as she choked out the word, a look of shock on her face and tears already starting to fill her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Leah. But we have to let you go. There's just not enough work for us to keep you. Don't bother coming back in tomorrow and hand in your card before you leave tonight." Her boss reached out and touched her arm. "But we'll give you a week's extra pay since it's such short notice, and if it picks back up again then we'll let you know. You'll be fine, you're a smart girl."

Leah stared up her boss, Harold, a tall thin man with a stooped posture and the sallow complexion of someone who never got enough sunlight. "Okay, yeah... I'll manage." She held back her tears, blinking her eyes to clear them and running her hand through her shoulder length blonde hair just for something to do. How would she manage? It was five days until Christmas and she'd already spent a large portion of her last wage packet. Merry Christmas.

"Good girl, that's the spirit. Now go get yourself home and relax." With that, Harold turned and left her office, leaving the door open.

Leah collapsed into her chair, rolling backwards a few from her desk. She shuffled her feet forwards and dropped her arms onto her desk then her head into her arms. She stifled a sob. She's put her all into this job, working overtime and weekends whenever she was asked. She'd done everything possible to make herself indispensable. But it wasn't enough. It never was. This was the second time in the past year she had been let go, the not-enough-work excuse starting to sound like a broken record.

With a deep breath she sat up, swept her belongings off of her desk and into her bag. With a couple of clicks of her mouse and taps of her keyboard she forwarded all of her files and work to Harold. As she shut down her computer she pulled her coat on. One last deep breath and she left the office behind her, quickly making her way along the corridor towards the exit. She kept her head down and didn't look up until she'd buzzed herself out of the electric door and the cold December air rushed at her face. Only then did she let the tears fall.

Leah was curled up in bed, her laptop on her knees and a cup of tea sat on the bedside table. Her hands shook as she typed the words into the search engine. Immediate start, call centre, admin. She'd called seven employment agencies but they had all closed for Christmas, and her searches were drawing a blank. There were just no jobs out there at this time of year. She picked up her mug and took a drink, but immediately spat it back out into the mug. It was cold and bitter, left standing for too long in her cold room. She'd turned off the hot water and heating to try to save some money.

Tears filled her eyes and in the privacy of her room she let them fall. She cried silently, but could feel her nose starting to run and knew her face would be blotchy and her eyes swollen - she was not a pretty crier. She ripped a tissue from the box on her bedside table, knocking over the cold tea. And then she cried harder, great racking sobs. She cried until she fell asleep.

It was the light that woke her. Soft, like candle light, she thought. But she didn't even have a lamp in her room, nevermind candles. Her eyes shot open and she sat up quickly, her hand going to her head as she felt dizziness take over. She blinked hard then looked up accross her room toward the door.

Then she screamed, long and loud.

There was a man. Dressed all in black, short for a man, barely five foot six she'd guess, and overweight. Very overweight. He had shock of white curly hair and a long beard on his chin. He raised a chubby finger to his lips and her scream petered out. He stepped towards her an she held her breath. Her fear made her heart pound but still she couldn't seem to breathe. He cam towards her, then opened his arms wide and drew her to his chest.

All of a sudden, she could breathe again. Wrapped in his arms, she not longer felt afraid. A feeling of calm took over her and all of her worries seemed to disappear. She hugged him back and smiled. It was crazy, but somehow she knew that this man wasn't going to hurt her.

"Come with me." His voice made her think of all things happy and wondrous, of sparkling stars in clear skies and the delicate bubbles of champagne and the sweet, mouthwatering taste of hot chocolate. She remembered every childhood Christmas and birthday with food and presents and family time in front of the television. "Come and work for me. I know you're a hard worker, I've always kept an eye on you. You can help make Christmas wonderful for all."

She stood up, out of his arms, and took his hand. In a trance-like voice she replied: "Yes." She knew that everything would alright now.

Ten Years Later

Leah sighed as she tied yet another bow onto yet another present. It was five days until The Big Day and everyone in the workshop was working flat out. She couldn't remember when she'd first came to work for Claus Emporium but it felt like forever. Her hair hung to her waist, bound in a tight plait, and her hands were rough, calloused and scarred. Her arms were skinny, and the bones on her wrists stood out. Her face was gaunt and her eyes dull. When you were making toys and wrapping presents all day every day it eventually took its toll. Especially when you got one meal a day.

The North Pole was hell, nothing like the paradise she thought it would be when she first came. But, palming the long scissors used for cutting the paper and sliding them into her boots, she promised herself that one day she would escape.

Word count: 1054