Innocence

The Santa in Black

It was a frosty December night. The only things lighting up the streets were the Christmas lights put up in front of the houses and the decorations in the yards. Everybody was inside, probably getting ready to go to bed, except for one lone figure. The person walked swiftly, and looked around every once in a while, as if to make sure that nobody was watching outside. He stopped in front of the largest house in the area, a majestic mansion with a huge yard. 

He walked around the house, being careful in case anybody was looking outside. Wearing a black hoodie, dark jeans, and his black Converse, it would be easy to mistake him for a burglar. Except he was a burglar, sneaking into the house of one of the wealthiest men in the city.

He tried the windows. Locked. Of course they would be. This was the rich side of town, after all. He walked over to the patio door, and to his surprise, it opened. He stepped in, quietly closing the door behind him. The room he entered was tiny, with a small bed in the corner and a tiny dresser next to the door. Slipping off his shoes, he tiptoed to the door and opened it a crack. The lights in the hallway were on, but nobody was around. There was a clanging noise down the hall, and he quickly shut the door again.

"What are you doing here, mister?"

He turned around sharply. There was a little girl sitting up in the bed, rubbing her eyes slightly. He scowled, and pulled out a knife.

"Don't scream, or else I'll kill you," he growled, brandishing the knife in her direction.

She looked at him with bright eyes, cocking her head slightly. Then she said, "Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I don't want anything to eat," he said irritably. "Why are you asking me that, of all questions?" Then his stomach growled audibly in the room.

She giggled. "That's why," she said, and slipped out of the bed, putting on some slippers. "Come on, let's go."

He felt himself turning a little red and tried to hide his face, despite the fact that the room was too dark to see his face anyways. "But..." he stammered, as she took his hand and pulled him towards the door.

"Relax," she said, grinning. "Nobody's home, and can you please put that knife away? I don't want you to hurt yourself with it."

"Uh...sure..." he said, still a little confused and embarrassed, and put the knife back into his pocket.

They walked through the brightly-lit hallway, and entered the kitchen. The kitchen was pristine, with shiny pans hanging on the walls and a perfect bowl of fruit on the counter. The stove had six burners, and the oven and microwave were top-of-the-line. The living room was joined with the kitchen, and there was a giant fireplace on the wall. A plasma TV was opposite them, and a couch was in front of the TV, along with a coffee table littered with magazines. There was an old-fashioned grandfather clock as well, which made small noises as the pendulum swung.

She motioned to him to sit down on a stool, climbed onto a stool, and then pulled out a container of chocolate-chip cookies, a tray, two glasses, and a carton of milk. She put the cookies on a plate, poured the glasses of milk, then set them on the tray and pushed them over to him. She plopped down next to him and began to munch on a cookie.

He stared at her for a moment, then asked "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Hm?" she said, a cookie sticking out of her mouth. She swallowed. "Well...maybe it's because you remind me of someone I used to know..."

"Oh..." he said, looking down.

They were silent for a while, with the occasional hooting of an owl from outside. He started to say "You were-"

She quickly stuffed a cookie into his mouth, and he started coughing. When he had managed to drink some milk, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said "What was that for?!"

She was quiet for a while, then he realized she was crying. She looked up, her face stained with tears, and started bawling. 

"Uh...hey...stop crying...." he said, looking around awkwardly. He had no clue how he was supposed to help her.

He reached out, and started patting her on the head a bit. She stopped crying, and looked up with a surprised expression. Then she closed her eyes and made a contented noise, like a cat. He could almost imagine the ears and the tail.

"That feels nice..." she murmured, smiling a bit. 

He frowned a bit, and stopped. Looking slightly disappointed, she turned around and began putting the cookies away.

"So...where's your family?" he asked, looking around at the kitchen. There were no decorations in the kitchen or living room, and there were no valuables to be seen. He cursed inwardly. It would be harder than he expected.

"They're never home," she said sadly, and he could hear a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Daddy's always working, and Mommy ran away with a guy years ago...it's just me now..."

She turned around, and he was afraid that she might start crying again. She got down from the stool, and started walking towards him. Stopping in front of him, she asked him "Do you have anything you really want?"

"What?" he stammered, surprised by the question. "Well...I guess I want to become rich, so I can help my family. My dad has a gambling problem, and he's really deep into debt. My mom left him and took my little sister with her years ago. I just want us to all be together again like we used to..."

"And you?" he asked, wiping his eyes a little.

She smiled a little, and said "My wish has already been fulfilled."

The clock in the living room chimed 12, and they both jumped. She looked out the window, and grinned. Her silhouette was illuminated by the moonlight streaming in through the sliding door, and she raised her arms and said:

"Merry Christmas...Santa..."

She grinned, and there were tears in her eyes. "I always wanted to spend Christmas with someone, and you granted my greatest wish...Thank you."

He noticed that he was crying a bit now, and he hugged her. They remained like this for a few minutes, when he realized that she fell asleep. He gently picked her up, and brught her back to her room, where he tucked her in, and went back to the kitchen for a bit. He returned, turning off the lights, and put his shoes back on. He then left, locking the door behind him. He started walking down the snowy path again, his hands in his pockets and a small key in his pocket. He had definitely gotten something valuable today.

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Aw...I was totally going to give this a different ending, but god, that little girl is too cute D:

I pictured this being completely different, since my original idea was supposed to be done in manga style, but well...I had to improvise a bit. I was going to give this a spooky ending, but well...I'm really not sure anymore :P if you do want me to do the alternative ending though, just comment, and I might do it. Knowing me though, I probably will...

Well, anyways, I hope you enjoyed this part, and vote if you did! It might be a little jumbled, since I started going back and forth adding parts and all...and it's really late as I'm writing this...and...you know what? I need to shut up x_x