Here's a short story I wrote for Christmas. The pictures aren't that great - but I hope you'll forgive me that.
Gabriel's MissionA tiny apartment in London, England
December 24
22:54 PM
BANG.
The bed collapsed under the impossible weight of one man, and one insanely huge cat. Aforementioned cat was sitting on top of the mess, not looking at all displeased with the destruction.
“Oops,” said Gabriel.
“Oops,” echoed the cat. “If I were you, I’d be getting out of that bed pronto.” Gabriel blinked twice, got up into a half-sitting position and grabbed the alarm clock from the low table. The tiny red numbers told him it was nearly eleven o’clock. Gabriel rolled out of newly crashed bed. The cat remained in the same position, staring intently at Gabriel with his reflecting green eyes.
Gabriel went through the mess that was his room, desperately trying to locate a pair of shoes. In the end he managed to find some, slid his feet into them and took a black backpack from his desk. He let his eyes go over the room one last time. The cat was sitting peacefully on the bed, still looking at Gabriel. He could’ve sworn the animal was actually grinning at him. Then he raced through the door and away from the room, downstairs and outside. The night was bitterly cold, but at the moment the temperature was the least of his worries. He slid his hand into his pocket, ready to take out the list.
Except there was no list. Gabriel searched his pockets nervously, beginning to panic. Still there was no sign of the paper. He closed his eyes and forced himself to recall where he might have lost it.
“Gabriel!” a deep voice brutally interrupted his thoughts. His eyes flew open and he immediately spun around to face the source of the sound. There, standing in his garden, was Santa Claus. And the man was obviously not pleased.
“Y-yes, Santa Claus?” he stuttered. Santa took him in, shook his head and muttered something underneath his breath.
“Good, Gabriel,” he then continued. “I need your help. There’s an enormous amount of presents to be handed out – and I’m short of people to do the job.”
“But sir,” Gabriel interfered. “God kind of, um, gave me other things to do.” Santa frowned angrily. Gabriel made a mental note not to piss him off on the next Heaven bingo night.
“Do I look like I care?” the old man grunted. He pushed a second list into Gabriel’s hands. “The names and addresses of the kids you’ll be delivering presents to, and...” Santa flicked his fingers and Gabriel’s backpack suddenly weighed a ton more. “... the presents themselves.”
“Clever trick,” Gabriel remarked. Santa gave him one of his trademark angry glares.
“Very well. Beware of the dogs, and don’t lose the list, will you?”
“No, sir,” he attempted to look serious. Santa frowned once more, then left the garden through the backdoor. Gabriel couldn’t resist and peeked through the door. Santa was long gone. Then he shifted his attention to the piece of paper he was holding.
Madeline Verdun, it read in curly letters on top of the list. Following the name was an address in the neighbourhood. Gabriel shrugged, decided to risk God’s wrath over that of Santa Claus, and set out for Madeline’s house. He fought his way through the crowds of elated people and finally managed to make it to the suburbs, there were Madeline lived. By then he was panting and regretting his promise to the old man. Unwilling to give up just yet though, he observed the house and quickly spotted Madeline’s room, handily indicated by the coloured letters stuck onto the window that spelled M-A-D-L-I-N-E. The first E had mysteriously disappeared. He gripped the edge of the low roof, and climbed onto it. Painfully slow he made his way towards Madeline’s window, twice almost falling off. He had almost reached the window when an alarming growl sounded behind him. Gabriel closed his eyes, said a prayer and then turned to face the thing that had just growled at him. On the ground, half sinking away in the snow, stood a humongous dog.
“Cute doggy,” Gabriel whispered. The dog barked and jumped against the wall. Gabriel rapidly moved into a more stable position, and took his backpack. He hastily searched the thing, hoping Santa Claus had been forward enough to provide him with some weapons. There weren’t any weapons in the backpack, and no other things to distract the dog either. Gabriel sighed dramatically, pulled his left shoe off and threw it at the dog. The shoe hit the animal between the eyes, and he staggered, then fell onto the snowy ground.
“Not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess it’ll do,” he grunted. He stared up at the window, finding it opened slightly. Finally, a bit of luck on his side. He managed to squeeze two fingers through the opening, and opened the window some further until the opening was wide enough for him to pass through. He did so moments later, after having restored the backpack to its original position. With only the softest of sounds he landed on Madeline’s wooden floor. He silently congratulated himself before taking the present with Madeline’s name on it from his backpack. It was square and wrapped in pink paper. He had a careful look through the room, spotting the girl herself on a bed to his left, deeply asleep. He wondered briefly where he should put the present – weren’t presents supposed to be left beneath the christmas tree, after all? – then noticed the tiny pink tree near the door and breathed a sigh of relief. He placed the present beneath the tree, relocating some Barbies in order to make room. He took a step back and approvingly observed the fruits of his hard work. One down, a dozen more to go. And at this rate it was going to take all night. Gabriel glanced at his watch, cursed softly and made his way towards the window.
He didn’t get very far. A sharp pain shot through his bare left ankle, and when he looked down to see what caused it, he saw a tiny lapdog munching on his foot. Dammit, what was up with these dogs? He shook his foot fervently, hoping to get rid of the animal. The dog clung to his ankle desperately, not willing to let go. What was worse, it was starting to growl too. He glanced at Madeline’s bed worriedly. The girl was still asleep, but it was only a matter of time. The dog sunk his teeth a bit further into his leg.
“Oh no doggy, not happening.” He bent down and pulled at the dog with all his might – until the animal finally let go. They both flew aside, the dog taking a piece of his jeans with them as he did so. The hyperactive little beast was up quicker than Gabriel could’ve imagined him to be able to, and looked as though he was about to go all wild on him. The dog opened his mouth to bark, but Gabriel interrupted him.
“Quiet. Go back to sleep.” There was something about his voice that wouldn’t allow any protests. The dog made a tiny sound, then went back to his place on the rug next to Madeline’s bed. Gabriel left the house the same way he came in, slipping through the window and closing it behind him again. He jumped off the roof at the lowest point, and had a soft landing in the thick snow. The larger dog was still knock-out, and Gabriel used the situation to his advantage so he could escape unnoticed.
Only when he was out of the street and away from Madeline’s house did he allow himself to stop running and catch his breath. He took the list from his pocket, crossed out the first name with a grey pencil, and set out for his next victim. He continued delivering presents all night, getting better and better at it as he went along. Once more he was disturbed by a dog, but he managed to escape without sacrificing his other shoe. Finally, when the first light was starting to appear and the sky coloured a dark orange-purple, he was finished. His left foot was sore and scratched, and he felt exhausted, but nonetheless very accomplished. He fought his way through the heavy snow back to his apartment in the center of town, dumped his coat and backpack near the front door, and opened the door to his bedroom. The curtains were still closed and so the room was a peaceful oasis of darkness. The only things Gabriel could make out in the dark were the red digits of his alarm clock and the eyes of the cat. He ungraciously let himself fall onto the broken bed and rubbed his eyes.
“Well, am I glad to be home again,” he told the cat.
“Are you now?” a female voice inquired, a hint of evilness to the simple words. Gabriel shot up and flicked the light switch, knocking the alarm clock off the low table as he did. She was sitting on the chair near his desk, brown eyes coolly observing Gabriel. She was wearing a simple black dress and there was a pair of black trainers on her feet. Her dark brown hair was tied back into a ponytail. The big black cat was sitting on her lap, looking quite content.
“Pandora...” He quickly got up from the wrecked bed. “Such a nice surprise to see you here.” He attempted a nervous smile. Pandora wasn’t fooled.
“Keep your lies to yourself, Gabriel.” She shoved the cat off her lap and got up. “You’re not happy in the least to see me here.”
“So, what brings you here?” he quickly changed the subject. Pandora raised one dark eyebrow.
“Why, Gabriel. Good of you to ask.” Her thin lips curled into a smile that meant nothing good. “God is displeased. Very much so. It seems you failed to obey his direct orders.”
“Ah well,” he quickly interfered. “You see, I was asked to help someone out, and you know what they say about refusing help. You see, I was about to –”
“I am not interested in the how or why, Gabriel.” She licked her lips. “I am simply here to take you back to Heaven where you shall receive your punishment.”
“Alright then, I shall come with you. Just give me a moment to pack my things.” Pandora looked slightly alarmed by his sudden eagerness to come along, but before she was able to remark on it Gabriel had pulled open the curtains and hopped out of the window.
*****
Santa Claus’ dwelling, the North Pole
December 25
14:02 PM
“See, Gabriel, the North Pole isn’t half bad,” Santa remarked in his low voice. They were sitting at a low wooden table in Santa’s kitchen, sipping hot chocolate.
“Compared to Pandora everything is fantastic,” he replied dryly. “Which doesn’t take away the fact my toes are freezing and my head hurts like there is no tomorrow.”
“You’ll get used to those frozen toes,” said the old man cheerily. “Try and be a bit more positive. It’s Christmas, after all.” Gabriel sighed, and almost choked on his hot chocolate.
*****
London, England
December 25
14:03 PM
Nestled comfortably in front of the warm fire in a tiny appartment in London, was a huge black cat. His eyes were closed and if you hadn’t known better, one could’ve said there was a smirk on his face.
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