When Santa Disappeared from Earth.

Santa Claus loaded his bags stuffed with the myriad gifts on the reindeer cart. Humming the hosanna of God, he slithered his sledge on the snowy road to meet the children of the world. He is rapt in the memories of the children whom he had visited last year. Sometimes a small smile dances on his lips and sometimes a laud laughter pierces his citadel of stark white beard as a result of reminiscence from the prattle of children.

Last year one little girl of four asked Santa: “ Why do you paint your beard only in white? Next time colour it in blue. It is my favourite  colour.”

Such puerile and pure questions kept doing rounds in the mind of Santa.

After travelling for hours, he stopped at a spring to drink some water; he cupped water in his hands and took to his mouth. “Yuck,” saying this he spat out the water. “I have never drunk such saline water from a spring, brine water is nature of sea not rivers and springs,” He talked to his Reindeers.  

With his throat still thirsty, he moved on. After travelling for an hour he reached a place that had a bevy of coconut trees. The sight of coconut trees gave a glint of happiness in his eyes. Now he felt relieved that his thirst could be quenched. He plucked one coconut and gulped the liquid within it… but again he had to throw up whole liquid as again the coconut water was salty. Now he got totally bamboozled as to what was happening to him. He thought that he must have  done some mistake and that was why God was punishing him. He sat there and prayed to god to forgive him for any of his mistakes that he doesn’t remember committing.

Satisfied with his prayer, he moved ahead.

Now he decided to eat and drink only with the kids, so he didn’t stop anywhere in between. He wanted to reach quickly to the place where children had last time promised him to be.

After travelling for sometime he reached that place. But to his utter surprise there was no one present there. He decided to wait. One hour passed, two hours passed, three hours passed ,but no one appeared.

He was looking frazzled and hassled. Seeing him perturbed, one vulture asked him: “You feel tired and hassled, what is the problem?”

“Since the time I have started the journey today, very strange things are happening to me,” Replied Santa.

“Strange things… such as?” asked the Vulture.

“ Today,I tried drinking water from a spring but its water was brine, I tried drinking from a coconut frond but it was also salty.  And here I am waiting for the kids for so long and they are not there. Actually, they know that I come to this place at this time to give them gifts… but it is really strange that they are not here till now,” Explained Santa.

“ The mother earth who is carrying the dead bodies of her children in her  lap cannot engender the sweet water Santa.”

“ What! Can you come again… dead bodies of children?” asked a befuddled Santa.”

“Look ,I feed on dead bodies but despite that I will only condemn this act of humans.”

“For God's sake can you be a bit clear with your explanation,” Urged Santa.

“Look the grown up humans have taken to the new hobby and that is killing of their own children, all your children have been killed because the grown- ups were fighting to prove their superiority. They sprayed the tender bodies of children with cruel bullets. No one will come up today Santa because they have been made bereft of their right to live by the force of bullets.” The Vulture clarified.

“The place where you are standing is their grave yard,” Informed the Vulture.

“What are you talking dear, I had thought that under the auspices of the elders my children will be safe, but these grown- ups themselves devoured my kids. Now what is the purpose of my life,” Saying so Santa started crying frantically and started digging the soil.

After digging the soil for some time he came across the dead body of the girl who had told her to paint his beard in blue, he rippled her body to bring her back to life. But instead of life, the ripple put forth the fountain of blood from her mouth that made his beard drenched in red.

“The place where my children are not respected is not the place for me either; I will only be there where my children are.” And saying so, he also buried himself with his reindeer cart.

And thus the synonym of happiness for children disappeared from the earth forever.

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