A Holiday Disaster

Orbs of glowing light circled and danced like miniature stars, twisting and turning with the brimming excitement of child wonder. Rows and rows of ordered cacophony all coming together to huddle in the middle.

There sat a man toiling away at the center of it all, pen tapping with some old familiar tune.

“Alright! Next one, we don’t have all day!” He motioned with his free hand for the next wish to come up, swirling it’s way around his arm with an excited whisper. Cackling in his ear about toys and grandiose gifts as he scribbled looping lines on

dotted paper.

With a stern eye he leaned back to look at his work, at the glowing words that practically begged to move. He took a deep breath and spoke.

“You can go.” With a bounce the orb swallowed the paper, changing and turning into something more, something purposeful, and flew out the door, out to the workshop.

It was routine by this point, every holiday season floods and floods of wishes came and it was Carran’s and his department’s job to sort them all, separating good from bad, naughty from nice, and whatever other distinction was needed for the big man across the hall to do his job.

But before he could start on another, a creak brought his eyes to the door as a young intern

stared sheepishly, mouth moving without a sound.

“Yes?” The young gnome startled, back shooting up to a rigid line as she buffered for a moment.

“Uh! Boss there might have been an- an incident with the saint and he wants to see you… please.” The girl squeaked out nervously.

“What has Nick done now…” Carran let out a sigh. “I’ll go check on him. You can get back to your work.”

“Yes boss! But what about your work? Should I talk to the department or-” The girl asked anxiously.

“No no, I’ll deal with it later. You’ve done enough.” He waved her away speeding towards the grand doors of saint Nicholias’ office.

Carran groaned, rubbed his eyes, and groaned again. In front of him sat a giant of a man, face apologetic, twiddling his thumbs as his leg is wrapped in gauze.

“Let me get this straight… You chased the reindeer and broke your leg.”

“Yeah…”

“Two weeks! Before the solstice.”

“Yeah… Are you mad?”

“I am not angry at you Nick.” He said angrily. “Just… frustrated. We need to find a replacement first and foremost, and we need someone to take over toy production, and the dinner party- oh jingles the dinner party,” Carran almost bounced where he stood, leg tapping and jittering as his clockwork mind ticked rapidly through scenarios and workarounds.

“You know I can still-” Santa tried interjecting, but was cut off immediately.

“Denied. The last time you tried brute force you couldn’t walk for two months afterwards.”

“Alright jeez- But you can't just elf on the shelf me! Is there anything I can do? I mean, if the rest of you are working to do my job I should help you with yours right?” Nick suggested, hand on Carran’s shoulder trying to still his jittering.

“You CAN do that but without a proper flight trained rider to actually deliver the presents it wouldn’t do anything. And it’s not like we have one of those on hand!” He gestured vaguely behind him into the dim room.

“I mean… didn’t you get your license in college? And you basically do everything I do right? Can’t you take the mantle?” Nick suggested slightly, and Carran looked confused for a moment.

“No but- There’s…” Carran trailed off, his train of thought running through anything that could contradict the idea but coming up empty.

“…It’s technically possible,” He admitted finally and Santa’s eyes twinkled with mirth.

“You would have to ask the rest of the departments, and notify the other holiday spirits but it’s possible, definitely possible.”

“Then it’s settled then! Starting tomorrow you are Santa, and I am everyone else.” He guffawed deep in his chest and smacked Carran encouragingly on the back and Carran could only sigh.

The next week they were sitting in his office again working late into the night.

“Best finish those letters beforehand, every year we tell people to write in advance and every year there are still folks who wait until the last minute,” Carran grumbled into his mug, more viscous caffeine than coffee at this point down the rabbit hole.

“Did you put fairy dust in that?” Nick asked, nose scrunched up at the smell of pure energy radiating from the cup.

“Desperate people do desperate things Nicholas, and I need a miracle to get things to work properly, the factory’s… working but that can’t be guaranteed considering our luck! The other spirits keep sending letters in the middle of rush hour! And the departments are way overdue for their bonuses!” Like a flip has been switched, Carran ranted with frustration to no one in particular.

“And the reindeer,” Nick added on.

“And the reindeer! Why are they like that?” Carran gestured out the window to the sight of the herd somehow on the roof.

“I ask the same thing sometimes,” Nick looked into the middle distance with resigned eyes for a moment.

“But still, try not to push yourself too hard, Carran,” He poured water into the mug trying to dilute the syrupy mass the best he could.

“You’re doing more than great, especially on such short notice. It’s okay to take a break, or nap, or anything at this point. No one’s expecting you to do everything perfectly.” He advised softly.

“Yeah I got it.” Carran says absent mindedly drinking his unnecessarily thick concoction.

Nick could only sigh.

Saint Nicholas stepped into what was formerly Carran’s office that now looks more like a nest of some paper hoarding dragon. He cracks his knuckles, straightens his back and tries, and fails, to lean casually on his crutch.

“What! I’m busy!” He snapped, because that’s the only thing he can say with his scattered brain. The only emotion he can express without the teetering balancing act falling apart.

“Carran we need to talk.” Nick started.

“Well if it’s not urgent can it wait, I’m kind of busy over here!” Carran grouched even as his hands shaked and his eyes drooped in exhaustion.

“That’s the thing you’re always busy! I don’t think I’ve even seen you outside casually in the past week!” Santa argued.

“Nick I don’t know if you noticed but the solstice is in two DAYS! If I don’t get this done now then-” Carran gestured wildly like a mad man stripped of his social filter.

“Then what? Because I’ve walked past your department this morning and they’ve been sitting around twiddling their thumbs just waiting for you to call. It won’t kill you to just give them the work and be a few days late.”

“Are you insane! They’re already doing too much over time as is, putting more onto them is crazy!” Carran griped like the idea was mad to him.

“And what you’re doing to yourself isn’t!?” Nick retorted.

“Oh what is this an intervention?”

“Yes!” He hissed with exasperation.

“Oh… Well I’m not just going to stop that easily!”

Nick roiled up his sleeves and lunged. Trying to scruff the man like he’s some misbehaving cat. Carran only backed away in retaliation. The atmosphere in the room dissolving into some nonsensical cat and mouse sitcom as they chased into the hallway.

It took remarkably long for their age to catch up to them.

Carran wheezed as he hunched over, hand wrapping around the walkway railing as Nick awkwardly patted his back from where he sat on the floor. The world was silent for a while before he spoke.

“Look at us a couple of old fools acting like children,” He laughed a dry laugh.

“That’s just what happens sometimes,” Nick replied into the stilling night.

“…You know why I joined the factory in the first place?” Carran asked quietly.

“I thought it was for college credits?”

“Ha. If only I was that kind of man, that would make things so much easier,” He slid down to sit, eyes still staring at the sight below them.

Wishes danced like miniature stars, mingling and playing with a childlike wonder, entrancing in its whimsical and oh so wonderful ways.

“I had a dream once you know, like every other kid in this place to bring wonder and joy and all that sentimental jabber, it’s still there sometimes I think,” In the quiet he talked, truly and wholly he spilled his heart.

“And I know it’s stupid, but I want to give that joy to everyone else in whatever way I can. Forcing people to neglect their own joy, to do more than what is comfortable, even if they are fully capable, when I could’ve done it myself if I just tried hard enough is almost impossible to think...”

Nick laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Then just try your best, it doesn’t matter if it’s asking someone else to make coffee or something small like that, whatever is better than doing it all alone. And if that doesn’t work we’ll figure something else out, I promise.” Carran looked forward to the empty workshop, to the packages all neat and ready to be sent out, to the monumental work they’ve all done, and sighed.

“I’ll try.”

The party was loud and chaotic the day after a successful solstice, the holiday spirits danced, and joked, and caused general mayhem in the factory. Santa chuckled as he turned away walking back into the employee break room.

“Excuse me, have you seen Carran anywhere?” He asked the young intern by the door.

“OH! Saint Nicholas! Uh- Boss is taking a nap and he asked us to take over for -uh a while.” The girl stuttered out and Nick smiled.

“It seems you got everything under control, keep up the good work!”

“UH thank you!” She yelped out a long moment later as he settled down next to the fire, and next to the man of the hour, conked out comfortably on the couch.