Daily story, December 23, 2024

The Santa train derailed, and as my false beard detached I saw the hope in the children’s eyes turn to fear. Santa will save us, they had been thinking. His reindeer will haul the train into the sky to safety. Now they saw both truths at once: that Santa wasn’t real, and that we were all going to die. I grabbed at the beard, as though it would help, and just as it came away entirely I heard the jingling of bells. The carriage steadied, and flew up into the stars.