Eve’s Christmas Eve

• Sohan Schuler, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2022

The reindeers landed onto the roof, the snow that lined the edges fell onto the ground below. A shudder was sent through the roof, gently rattling the house, then softly landing on the grass. The golden runners, gleaming in the moonlight, and the shiny red coat of the sleigh, reflected a perfect image of the moon through the window. A faint noise of jingling echoed through the corridors. Young Eve lay still in bed, listening to the wind blow outside. She heard a loud thud which sent dust from the ceiling crashing down. Eve crept out of her bed, and carefully tiptoed her way into the lounge. The sound of the clock chiming, Dong! Dong! Dong! Until it hit twelve o’clock. Eve heard the quiet sound of slurping, but she couldn’t quite tell so she crept closer.
“Hello” she called out. This startled the man and he dropped his glass, smashing it on the floor. He cleared his throat and spoke.
“Hello, young lady,” he replied in a welcoming tone.
Eve gave him a weak smile, because inside she felt extremely nervous.
“So you must be the lovely, young Eve” he said whilst gesturing with his hand to come closer. Nervously she approached, and placed her hand gently into his.
He led her over to a silky armchair, where he sat down. He propped Eve onto his lap and began soothing her nervousness by telling her a story.

The story was about a young girl, desperately lost in the woods who was found by one of his cheerful elves. Throughout the heartwarming story Eve kept giggling, laughing and smiling and all of her nervousness was washed away. Bubbling with excitement, she bounced off the couch in search of the reindeers. Father Christmas beamed with joy, as he got up to show her.
He led her into the garden, which was twinkling with all of the decorations set up. There right in front of her were pairs of reindeers going back several ranks. Eve raced around the garden, looking at every reindeer then smiling, it was a dream come true.
She noticed the gleaming sleigh and gasped. It was beautiful, from the golden runners to the embroidery on the sides. Father Christmas walked over to his sleigh and found Eve sitting in the front pretending to fly it. He chuckled to himself, having to clutch his stomach so he didn’t fall over.
“Can we go for a ride?” she pleaded, trying her best puppy dog eyes.
“If you’ve been good this year, I’ll consider it” he replied, holding her gaze.
“Yes, I promise I have,” Eve continued.
Santa nodded and said “get ready for an adventure of a lifetime”
Moments later, they were soaring through the sky, her hair was blowing wildly behind her. They flew across town, looking at all of the decorations as they passed. Together they disappeared into the night sky.