THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.
It was Christmas Eve, and Charlie was walking down the street. Charlie lost his parents at the age of two and ever since then, he has moved from foster home to foster home. Charlie is a very adventurous child and that has got him in trouble many times. Currently, he has been living with foster parents with just as many problems as he has. They are both unemployed and to make things worse, they love to drink. They are always drunk and because of that, Charlie despises them. Charlie believes in hard work which is totally the opposite of what his foster parents are.

This year has been very difficult for Charlie. He was always teased by kids at school because he has been thrown out by more than ten families. And no matter how hard he works in class, he never gets a grade better than a D. Because of that, Charlie has no interest in studies whatsoever. He is always trying out new things at school that get him in trouble. But Charlie is a smart and technical guy. He loves to solve his problems rather than run away from them. He loves to think things through.
Last week, school broke off for the Christmas holiday. Christmas is a very fun holiday in Charlie’s neighborhood. Every house is decorated. All shops have different Christmas promotions, and every child is excited about what Santa will give them for Christmas. All the streets are filled with joy. Sounds of Christmas carols fill the air. But Charlie is not excited. Not even Christmas can light up his world. He doesn’t even get why people love Christmas. Charlie is not like other nine year olds. He doesn’t believe in Santa or any other stories that kids of his age believe in. He has a mature brain. For him, Christmas is just another holiday that gets people excited.
That year wasn’t any different from the others. Charlie was just walking around to find something to do. As he walked, he looked into stores through the glass doors and he could see all them decorated for Christmas. “Am I the only one in the town that actually thinks?” he thought. As he was thinking about that, he saw many guys dressed as Santa that offered him candy and Christmas cards. He accepted it not because he believed in Christmas, but because he was starving. Charlie was lost in his thoughts and he lost track of the time and where exactly he was. He walked further than he had ever imagined. He only came to his senses when it was past nine o’clock. Charlie had no idea where he was. He decided to seek refuge in an open store. In the store, he met a man that welcomed him and asked him about how he had got there. Charlie talked to this man for an hour. As they talked, Charlie learnt that this man strongly believed in Christmas. And so did everyone in that town. Even though Charlie did not agree fully with that man, he was somehow convinced that Christmas existed and was not just a waste of time. But at that time, he was not concerned much about Christmas but about where he was going to spend the night. Most shops were closing and everyone was going into the comfort of their warm house. Charlie was stranded, though not for the first time. He found a corridor between two stores and he decided to spend the night there. It was cold, smelly and scary. But Charlie was not bothered that much. He had learnt to survive no matter what. As he settled into his “room” for the night, he heard voices from two strange men. They were planning to rob Santa’s workshop before midnight and ruin Christmas for millions of kids around the world. Charlie overheard them discuss their evil plans. Just because he did not believe in Christmas, didn’t mean he was going to let some guys ruin it for those that believed. Charlie decided to save Christmas for two reasons: He cared about other kids and didn’t want them to get disappointed on Christmas morning and he saw opportunity for adventure. Plus, he didn’t feel like sleeping in a corridor that stunk so badly. He followed the bad guys at a safe distance, increasing speed when they did and reducing it when they did. They moved a very long distance. Every time Charlie thought they were almost there because they were slowing down, they suddenly increased to a very fast speed. At eleven o’clock, Charlie was just about to give up, when these bandits boarded a sleigh with a masked rider. Then it took off at a terrific speed. Charlie did not know what to do. He could as well just give up and go home. But he didn’t for two reasons: He had been through a lot to get there and he didn’t even know where to go at that point. There were a lot of things running through his mind. But like a miracle, he saw a sleigh with a rider just parked there. Charlie didn’t waste any time thinking about where the sleigh had come from. He just asked the rider follow the bad guys. The rider was also a very kind and obedient guy. He didn’t ask Charlie why he wanted to follow the bandits so bad. They sped off after the Christmas thieves. Charlie didn’t believe that sleighs would fly. He was surprised to find himself in mid air on a sleigh. There was more to the trip than just the flying sleigh. There were very beautiful stars. The clouds had different shapes that fascinated Charlie. The cool air was also very luxurious. But there was one problem; there were no bandits in sight. It was approaching mid night and Charlie didn’t know what to think. Had the bandits already robbed Santa’s workshop? Had Santa used his magic to stop them? Were they in some magical jail by now? Or had Charlie misunderstood their plans? Charlie didn’t know what to do or say or even think. But like another Christmas miracle, Charlie could see the bandits at a distance. He was excited. For the first time in years, his spirits rose. He felt like a hero. The rider increased the speed and they caught up with the bad guys. Charlie had been watching some action movies where the good guys jumped onto the bad guys and pinned them to the ground. He had not believed that but he somehow jumped off the sleigh and tackled the criminals. But it was a two against one fight. Charlie struggled to keep the bandits down but he lost. And they got away. But like another Christmas miracle, it was mid night. It was time for Santa to pick the good kids’ gifts. “Stop right there!” boomed a voice. Charlie had never heard this voice before, but he knew it wasn’t just any voice. And he was right! It was Santa! Santa stopped the criminals from escaping and locked them up in a magical jail, never to ruin another Christmas.

As for Charlie, he could not believe that he was standing face to face with Santa. Many kids would do anything to be there with Santa. The real Santa! And now Charlie was there right next to Santa. He didn’t know what to say. He felt bad for not believing in Santa’s existence. Santa sensed Charlie’s feeling of guilt and he asked him not to be guilty. Santa told Charlie that he was not the only child that didn’t believe that Santa exists. But that he was the only one that had got to know Santa personally. Santa gave Charlie a gift and then asked him to make a wish. Charlie didn’t know what to wish for and it was getting late and Santa had gifts to deliver. Charlie wished for better parents. Immediately he made his wish, Santa disappeared but Charlie knew that his wish had been granted and that his life would never be the same. The rider that had brought Charlie to Santa turned out to be Santa’s son. His name is Claus jr. He happened to have no friends and all he did was sit at the sleigh park all day. He took Charlie home. And that was the last time he ever met Charlie. The next morning, Charlie found himself in a nice bed in a beautiful room. He walked out of his room and met his new family. Mr. and Mrs. Oakes, for that was who they were. Those became Charlie’s new parents.
And they lived happily ever after.

As for Charlie’s former parents, they celebrated Christmas like they always did; they got DRANK.

THE END.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

(Word count: 1471)