Alex was up late on a day that most children would prefer to be in bed early for. He was never a fan of Christmas. It just seemed cheap that a pagan holiday was made Christian in an attempt to gain converts. Alex was awake and, rather than sitting in his room on his phone as he usually did, he decided to go out into the kitchen and grab a snack and watch some television. While not the most spiritual activity, it gave Alex great comfort that he could turn the TV on at any time and watch any show he felt like, no matter the season and how others around you feel about what you should be doing. Teachers always said that television rots the mind, but there are many shows that do just the opposite. Video games were also said to rot the mind until later they realized that they promote problem-solving, teamwork, and a competitive nature, all valuable skills to have in a modern world. Regardless, Alex sat and numbed his mind on a television show that does not help to educate the masses and ate the sandwich he made himself.
Nearly an hour later, Alex felt something wrong. It started with him feeling misplaced, then he noticed the world stuttering. It was not the television having internet problems, and he knew, because the show he was watching was not all that stuttered. He felt cold all of a sudden, and he saw. . . Something. Alex wasn't sure what it was, but it felt like. . . Reality. Veins of power carrying reality throughout the world, and Alex could see them, and, if he tried hard enough, he could feel them.
Alex reached out to one of the veins that appeared to be acting strangely, twisting into complex symbols, then breaking apart and trying to reform itself. As he stared into the symbols, he could almost make out a meaning to them, but then his vision went dark and he couldn't see the flow of the lights anymore. This was clearly a sign to Alex that the time to go to bed had passed long before, and he decided to go to bed, before he started hallucinating something much worse. As he moved to go to bed he heard a loud crashing and the world didn't stutter, but slowed nearly to a pause.
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"Ugh, son of a bitch, that takes more energy every time." Alex snapped his head behind him, where a man had walked through a bright green portal. He wore a bright red set of fleece lined robes and a hat with warm looking leather gloves. He popped his back and turned his body as if moving to complete some sort of task when he spotted Alex, still moving to ask a question, or scream, and he froze in place. "Oh, sh-"
"What the hell just happened!" Alex screamed.
"Look kid, just-"
"Who the-" the man waved his hands, and the sound was taken somewhere else as it left Alex's mouth.
"Alright, you gotta stop interrupting me, kiddo. Okay, let's get this out of the way, you likely know me as Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas, but my real name is Lanetli." said the strange man that had appeared in Alex's living room. "I will promise to unseal your mouth if you promise not to annoy me anymore." he paused, waiting for a response. Alex nodded and he waved his hand again.
"So, Santa is real?" Alex asked more calmly this time.
"Yes, but not how you know the story. Or how really anyone knows the story. I don't run on belief, or Christmas cheer, I don't have gnomish elves, and I don't care what you did during the year, though I can watch if I feel like it. What I really run on is a curse of balanced morality, keeping me trapped until I can offset the crimes I have committed in the past. If you promise not to tell anyone else, I will tell you my story. I warn you, though, I will not hold back anything. If you want the story, you get all of it." said Lanetli.