A Trip to Canada (short story)

^{Image taken from Pixabay}

It was not that snowy, so Sean knew that his letter had been delivered. He thought. Probably. Emily had replied to the previous 21 in even worse circumstances. This one was not supposed to get an answer, but he expected her to be here, sitting opposite to him on the table. It was already 5 a.m. and he was at Whati Bed & Breakfast as he promised. He tapped on the table and his worried heart beat faster every second. He could feel the veins in his neck pulsating with his increasing uneasiness.

Finally, the door opened, but it was not her but a picturesque man who looked like a hunter. He frowned and walked out. What could have happened? Her house was three blocks away, but in which direction? She never told. Sean came down the stairs at the entrance and felt the snow crunch under his feet while he looked around. The street was not paved and got really muddy, and it was wide enough to fit five cars side by side. There was almost nowhere to hide but in the snow and in the low bushes to the side of the road.

He looked at the time. It was already two hours past their meeting. Had she gotten cold feet? Running away was not easy, especially for a girl with a silver spoon and a cute dog, but they loved each other, harder than anyone, she knew that, he knew that, and here he was under the streetlights looking around, wondering what could have happened. At last, he decided to walk away into the town, never losing the inn fromsight.

Block after block, Sean saw most lights turned off, some lights turned on and, in some houses, the clatter of plates and cutlery. He tightened his hood and walked slowly forward until he reached the third block toward the coast. Perhaps it was here, but there was no movement, it was the same except for the taste of bile in his mouth due to his increased anxiety.

When he started to walk back, he heard a sound like tiny bells chiming and the squeak of gum against gum. Looking around, he saw what seemed to be a ball trudging towards him. From the shadow, it had been almost black and blue, but when the figure reached the streetlight, he saw someone covered in the biggest jacket he had ever seen. The jacket carried tiny bells as he had heard and red and green ribbon decorations. Sean walked closer and smelled a strong stench of liquor. A grey beard came out from under the hood. It was covered with snow and a tar-like substance.

“Emily’s not coming, Sean”, a deep voice boomed from the man and Sean felt his heart rip open from the inside in fear. Emily had said that she had not told anyone of him.

“I came today to bring her the gift of not-you”, the fat man added.

His jacket was a carnival, in contrast with Sean’s dull-grey bubble snowsuit. A few seconds passed in thinking.

“Who are you?”, Sean finally said.

“I am Gloob, otherwise known as Santa Claus”, the man said and stood there, seemingly unaware of the time that was spent between each interaction.

Wouldn’t Santa Claus be in a hurry? Sean didn’t believe in Santa Claus in the first place. This must have been an old one of the meddling type, Sean thought as rage slowly seeped into his bones. He took a step closer and stood one step away from the man in a stance to challenge his position. But the old man did not move but instead stood in an intense stillness. Sean joined him in a who-is-the-best-stone duel, but cracked in the end. There was nothing he could do, no one he could talk to, for he was in the wrong and he knew it.

These three blocks seemed much shorter now than they had seemed before. Worry and thinking took a toll in his time perception. He opened the driver’s door to the car next to the inn and sat in before taking off the bulk of his winter clothes. Who was that guy anyway? He couldn’t know, but it could have been a thousand times worse. A piece of ice fell to his chin, but as he tried to fling it off with his hand, he noticed that it was a cold metallic object

“Don’t turn back”, boomed the same voice, now inside the coziness of Sean’s car. “I’m still not finished with Emily’s gift”