CHRISTMAS NIGHT

CHRISTMAS NIGHT – Episode 1 (The Mansion)

December 6, 1865 in the small quiet town of Fearville.
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The big black carriage carrying Nate and Marie, rolled to a halt as the hooves of the black horses broke the innate silence on the cobbles. Nate and Marie were a southern couple with just a 5yr old daughter, Emily.
They were new in Fearville and just moved into town from the city of Pensworth. They arrived by evening on that day and began unpacking their stuffs into the new mansion they had won in a lottery.
The old stone mansion had a castle-like appeal, with an eerie feeling surrounding it as it stood in the grotesque of the full moon which streamed it’s light around it’s contours.
Though Marie was happy for her new home (of course she was owing, to the fact that she and her husband had never dreamt of living in such a mansion. They were just struggling to make ends meet), yet something seemed strange as she stood before the carriage, staring around the vicinity.
The town of Fearville seemed too quiet and creepy for her liking. The life within the little town of Fearville on that silvery night, can be said to be still, for the creaking of crickets and hooting of the night owls which scared the bats fluttering up in in he sky in their numbers.
Silhouetted by the moon, Marie watched her daughter stare steadily at the hideous shadows of the bats swarming below on the cobble stones. Not too far from where they stood they could hear the whistling sounds of the night breeze whooshing through the dark narrow streets.
No one seemed to be on the lonely streets, nor the neighborhood. The only human signs they saw were those of window curtains (in different buildings) sliding open as unfriendly faces peeped at them from their lantern illuminated rooms.
The moment Marie tried to make out the unfriendly faces, the curtains were thrown close instantly. What a strange little town, she wondered. Well, atleast the change in environment would help cement the cracking relationship between she and Nate, since she couldn’t afford to be a single parent.
“Come help me get this goddãmn boxes Marie!” Nate blew hot “Are you gonna stand there forever?”
“Sorry Nate, I’m coming” she pleaded, strutting towards the boxes as her dress billowed around her ankles.
Truth be told, Marie was a good wife with her traditional southern upbringing from her days in Palo Alto, Texas. While Nate her husband was a typical redneck of Polish descent, and a drunken bum who wouldn’t miss the slightest opportunity of striking her at the flimsiest mistake.
Despite Nate was in his late 50s, and Marie in her mid 30s, she had always loved and respected her husband just as it was expected of her. But what hurt her most was the fact that she wasn’t getting back the love from Nate. Back when she was a girl she would dream of having a man who would adore and respect her for the woman she was. But for some selfish reasons her parents had bundled her off to old Nate and now here she was seeking succour in a man who never cared or flinched at the sight of her immeasurable beauty.
Her body needed to be explored…..to be touched, and Nate wasn’t ready to grant her that privilege. All romance ended when she conceived Emily, after which her husband took to excessive drinking and gambling.
The leather boxes had now been taken up the stairs and the carriage man paid off.
So Marie and Emily decided to explore the house in that short moment (carrying a lantern) and discovered that the mansion was a big one. It housed 6 rooms and a spacious Sitting Room which had a large fireplace. Bedside the fireplace was a human size antic mirror which looked quite strange as it had gargoyles for frames and on the wall was the great painting of a 15th century lady looking so alive in such still portrait. Marie was fascinated by the still drawing and she stepped closer to have a look, bringing the oily lantern forward and staring into the face of the lady in the portrait. For a second she could feel the eyes of the lady piercing into her as she thought she had noticed the eye balls move. At that instant, there was a loud shriek form below her, startling her and she dropped the lantern as a white fluffy cat pranced the wooden floor and came cuddling Emily’s legs. Marie watched her daughter step backwards in brief awe.
“Mum it’s a cat” Emily whined
“Yeah…I can see that”, Marie heaved in relief. Picking the bobbing lantern from the floor, she came to squat where the estranged cat sat. ”Guess it’s a stray cat”, she said. ”Or probably belonged to the former owners of this mansion”. She extended her hand to cuddle it.
“Mum…can I keep him?”, Emily asked.
“Err….well…”
Marie hadn’t made her statement when the large fluffy cat growled and scratched her, as she withdrew her hand instantly wincing in pains.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea Emily” she said.”Ouch!”
“Please mum, I’ve never had a cat before” Emily chided. ”Besides he’s homeless”
Marie was still squatted nursing her bleeding finger while Emily kept persisting on keeping the cat as the cat went again to cuddle at Emily’s feet.
Marie was not used to refusing her daughter anything. And she noticed the cat was warming up to her daughter lovingly. Well, a cat into the house was not a bad idea. Moreover it would come in handy in eradicating the rats which would be living in the house owing to the lack of human presence in a long while.
“Fine, you can keep him if you want” Marie said standing on her feet and picking up the lantern one more time.
“I’m gonna call him Winter, mum” Emily purred.
“Yerr…call him whatever you like” replied Marie. “Come Emily, let’s go find you a place to sleep for the night. The whole place is dusty and I’m gonna clean up tommorow”.
Having said that, Emily scooped the purring cat into her arms and followed her mother behind. But they didn’t hear the strange chilly whisper that hushed within the sitting room they had just left.
It had now begun to rain and Emily was already tucked in bed. Marie came into the shifted bedroom (the main bedroom was still dusty) to find her husband Nate, already asleep. He reeked of alcohol as she came to lay on the left side of the bed, beside him. Nate lay facing the other way, snoring loudly and chuckling in his sleep.
What a waste of a man, Marie wondered. She tried to sleep, stirring and shuffling in bed but the cold was getting much, robbing her of the sleep in her eyes.
She wanted to be cuddled….to be romanced…to be made to feel like a woman. Her body desperately yearned for a man’s touch. Too bad her husband was a drunken bum to notice her body language.
Turning to face the opposite side, Marie watched the cascading rain slither down the large glass window with tears dripping from her eyes. And soon sleep came calling as she drifted into an emotion laden slumber…..
To be continued.

EPISODE TWO

The rains were now pouring hard with lightening ripping the dark sky and casting hideous shadows within the mansion. Marie was now deep in slumber and falling into an abyss of nightmare….
“Emily…. Emily….” the chilly voice in her dreams whispered her daughters name down the stairs.
The dream looked so real and it was also raining like in real life as she could feel the goose bumps coat her pink skin.
In that dream she was all alone at home, and she got out of bed (still in the dream) and followed the voice down the stairs. The stairway was pitch dark, but she kept walking ahead, trailing the voice as if she was under a spell.
Back in Emily’s room
Just like in her mother’s dream, Emily could hear the voice too; but this time in real life. She heard the first call of the creepy voice at the same time her mother fell into the nightmare. Emily stirred in bed and turned to face the door.
“Mummy?” she called “Is that you?”
There was no answer as the voice kept calling and the door slowly creaked open on it’s own. Emily in her childish innocence had hoped it was her mum and stepped out of bed. She turned around to look for the cat but he was no where to be found. Gently walking through the door, she headed into the lonely dark corridor of the mansion.
Meanwhile, Marie’s nightmare continues
She was now down the first flight of stairs as the voice kept drawing backwards. It was as if each step she took, the owner of the voice would step backwards too. She could hardly see her way through while she walked, but the continuous flash of lightening created a luminescence that kept her going.
It was certain that a part of her was unconscious of her actions, while the other part really wanted to know the source of the silent whispers. And as she came down to the ground floor, there was another flash of lightening and in that brief moment she thought she saw the hem of someone’s white night gown, as the person swiftly walked into a room at the end of the corridor.
Marie wanted to see who it was, so she quickly strutted forward and came before the door to the room. Gradually she opened it (the room was also pitch dark) and saw the figure of a little girl standing in the shadows with her back to her.
With the aid of the lightening, Marie noticed the little girl stood like Emily, but had a longer and darker hair than that of Emily. And that got Marie confused if it was really her daughter, so she stepped forward into the room….She was bound to find out.
“Emily… is that you?” Marie asked, but the figure remained motionless with her backside still facing the door.
Marie now extended her hands carefully towards the figure, and immediately her hand fell on the shoulder of the little figure, there was a bright flash of another lightening and the figure suddenly turned to face Marie as she noticed the white popping eyes and bloodied face of the hideous being which made a loud deafening scream……and Marie woke up swiftly from sleep, panting and sweating.
“What a nightmare”, she muttered.
She turned sideways to see her husband still snoring loudly, that was when she remembered her daughter Emily. Quickly she jumped out of bed and headed into Emily’s room but she was not there. Then the memory of the recent dream flashed in her mind and she feared that her daughter could be in danger.
“Oh my God! Emily!” she gasped clutching her b—–s and ran downstairs, almost skidding off the staircase as she came rushing into the sitting room.
Though the sitting room was also dark, she could make out the white nightgown of her daughter as she sat (crossed legged) on the floor facing the large 15th century painting on the wall.
“Emily, what’re you doing here?” she asked her daughter who turned to face her immediately.
“Mummy I heard my name downstairs” Emily said getting up and walking to hug her mum.”Was it you?”
“No baby” she pecked her daughter “You were probably dreaming”.
Something was definitely wrong Marie was beginning to notice. She had purposely told Emily it was all a dream so as not to get her scared. That was when she (Marie) made up her mind to move the giant painting down to the basement the next day while dusting the house.
“Come let’s go back to bed”, she said to Emily and they both climbed up the stairs without noticing a dark figure zoom past the window outside……
To be continued.

Episode 3

She was now walking down the lonely corridor, barefooted and quite sleepy. Something had woken Marie from her slumber in the middle of the night, but she couldn’t really tell what it was as she walked. Suddenly she stopped walking and heard it……the eerie giggles came once again down the corridor leading to the bathroom. It sounded like the giggles of children in play mood. Of course it can’t be her daughter Emily, she had just tucked Emily back in bed an hour ago.
She could feel her heart thumping in her chest as the giggles kept sounding and accompanied by strange whispers. Marie looked down the corridor and thought she saw a shadow lurking in darkness as the chilly wind blew her blonde hair in billows. Summoning courage, she took a slow step forward.
She was now few metres away from the bathroom door and SWOOSH!!…she felt something zoom passed behind her. And she instinctively turned back but saw nothing. Her heart thumped louder….her spine felt chilly and her blood flowed rapidly through her veins. Now there was no going back for her. Whatever it was, was now right at her back. She could clearly hear the giggles coming from the bathroom, but the whispers were no more.. Carefully she stretched her hand towards the door, and on reaching it, she wound the knob as the door gently creaked open.
Marie stepped on the bathroom floor and felt water under her feet. That was when she heard the trickling sound of water which kept dropping slowly and continuously Plop! Plop!! Plop!!..breaking the eerie silence within. She had also noticed that the bathroom floor was all flooded with water as she took the bobbing lantern hanging on the wall.
Who could have turned on the faucet? she wondered as she walked towards the bath tub which was already full and gradually over flowing with the trickles of water still dropping from the nuzzle of the faucet. It was now clear that someone had filled up the tub and turned off the faucet. Something strange was happening. Suddenly the bathroom door slammed close BAM! (startling her) and the whistling wind blew through the open window, flickering the flames of the lantern.
For a second she saw something move within the water in the tub and she bent over the tub bringing the lantern closer but saw only her reflection (on the water surface) which was distorted owing to the ripples. She was about standing erect when there was a loud shriek and suddenly her reflection stretched its hand, pulling her down into the water as she she struggled and gasped for air………Alas! she jerked awake from sleep….her heart beating within her ears, her forehead sweating. It had all been a nightmare.
Marie looked outside the window to see the twilight leaking into the room. It was already morning and here she was having a nightmare. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and clasped her face within her palms, puffing out air. How could she have two strange dreams all in one night, she wondered. This was the first time she was experiencing this and something told her it won’t be the last. Then she roamed her eyes all around the room. Could it be there was something strange going on within the mansion? She turned sideways to look at her husband and for the first time that morning she noticed that Nate was no longer in bed. So she called on him.
“Nate?” she called getting out of bed as the sweat dripped down her torso to her thighs. “Nate?” she called again, but there was no response.
Giddily she walked out of the room and met Emily playing with her new cat Winter on the floor at the corridor.
“Goodmorning mum” Emily greeted in her tender voice.
“Hey pumpkin, you’re awake so early” Marie said squatting to peck her daughter in the forehead. “Have you seen your dad?”
“Yes mummy. Dad brought a carriage man….said he was going to get some logs for the fireplace”
“Oh yeah that’s true. The snow is almost here” Marie nodded. “We need that fireplace you know. Dad is a good man”
“But why does he hit you mummy?” Emily asked stroking her cat.
“Erm…I think I have to go clean up the house now” Marie replied as she tried to avert her daughter’s question.
Marie didn’t want to give her daughter the impression that things were not going well between she and her father. She couldn’t deny the fact that Emily has noticed Nate’s aggressive nature of recent, but some things were best kept away from kids.
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Nate came came back home by noon, and before you knew it, the fireplace was already up and burning. They were very fortunate he had gone for the woods because the first snow for that year came flaking down from the grey winter skies not too long after he had left. It had been a delayed winter actually, but it was finally here and bringing the real feeling of Christmas alongside it. By the time Marie was through with cleaning the whole house, Nate was already mounting the Christmas tree which he had bought from an elm farm.
Just as she had decided earlier, Marie moved the 15th century painting down the stuffy basement.
She had wanted to move the giant gargoyle mirror too, but had a second thought of leaving it in place. There were other old wares and artifacts she had recovered from the shelve and dinning while cleaning. To her, those stuffs made the sitting room crowdy and ancient, so she decided to pawn some of the artifacts. At least they were in dire need of money for the Christmas and pawning the items sounded like a good idea.
Sliding on her winter coat, Marie gathered the items into a leather bag and left the house on her way to the nearest pawn shop…….
To be continued.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT – Episode 4 (An Urgent Message)
Marie arrived the pawn shop and was surprised to see a long queue in wait. Probably they were all peeps like her who were in real need of money for the Christmas, so she had to stand in line and wait her turn. The queue finally got to her turn and as she brought out her wares for weighing, that was when she noticed the handsome lad standing behind the barricaded receiving counter. He was quite young to be a pawn broker and Marie was sure the lad was in his mid twenties and looked quite rugged with a hard cheekbone which accentuated the contours of his face. He was definitely of Spanish decent, she could guess from his facial looks and accent. He raised his head to look at her and oh!….those cute blue eyes of his pierced into her soul. He seemed to notice his effect on Marie and smiled broadly revealing his set of pure white dentition and Marie could feel her palms sweat in the winter as she also admired his broad and hairy chest which had been exposed by his open cotton shirt. Dãmn it! He was hot.
“Can I have your wares ma’am?” he said extended his hand through the pigeon hole and Marie gave him the leather bag. “Thank you”, he said with a sense of professionalism before turning to weigh the items. The chime of the weigh startled Marie (who was lost in fantasy land) back to reality and the lad withdrew some few dollars from an adjoining counter and handed it over to her. She extended her hand almost immediately and more by accident, the lad’s hand brushed hers and she jerked, feeling a shiver down her spine. Though she couldn’t really explain how she felt, it was a good feeling as she noticed herself smiling at the lad.
“The name is Lance” he said.
“Oh, Lance. I’m Marie” she replied pocketing the money. “Take care” and she turned and left the pawn shop. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was the fact that Lance had just flirted with her and she had loved every bit of it without feeling any guilt in respect to her husband.
*** 2 Week Later (December 20) ***
It was past 12 midnight when the muffled chiming began. It kept going on and on and on till little Emily heard it and got out of bed. It sounded like a toy carousel and she had always longed for one, but couldn’t have it because her mum was too broke to get one for her. Probably Santa was here to grant her wish with her most cherished toy. Putting on her slippers, she stepped out of her room.
The whole house was silent and dark except for the carousel which kept chiming and the little flame of the candle, at the end of the corridor, which kept dancing in the mild wind. Suddenly she saw a shadow, which was cast by the candle flame, run down the stairs and accompanied by eerie giggles and thumping footsteps. The childish giggles kept echoing down the stairway as she inquisitively followed behind.
For a moment she felt a chilly sensation run down her spine as her heart raced in fear. But the sweet music of the carousel kept drawing her closer, and she picked up the candle and found her way downstairs.
She was now at the sitting room and she could hear the footsteps and the giggles heading farther towards the basement and the chiming carousel seemed to be coming from there as well. Holding the candle forward, she headed towards the sound that had woken her that night.
The basement panel was already open when she got there, and the chiming music had suddenly stopped. But the eerie sounds kept coming from inside. Emily climbed down the basement stairs quietly and carefully, as she knocked off cobwebs shrouding the stairway. On stepping on the dusty floor, she began to sneeze as dust filled the stuffy air.
The basement reeked of age and a spooky feeling indescribable by man. And for an unknown reason, Emily’s childish mind sensed she was not the only one there. So she raised her candle above her head as her eyes hovered around the over crowded space and she saw the tiny carousel, looking all dusty and lying on a paper box. In that moment, glee filled her eyes and she walked towards the box to pick up the toy when she noticed someone sitting by the dark corner of the basement wall. Her heart skipped beats instantly.
The figure looked like a little girl, barely older than Emily with dark hair like hers and she wore a white nightie. She sat with her back to the wall, her legs drawn up to her chest, and hands cuddled up as her head rested on her knees. She was motionless and strange looking.
“Hello….who are you?” Emily asked in a shaky voice. The figure didn’t reply nor move as Emily dropped the carousel in her hands.
“My name is Emily. What’s your name??….”
Emily was now drawing closer, her hands shaky and trembling as she came to stand few inches away from the sitting figure to notice her muddy feet, her wet hair and dripping-wet gown. In concern for her state Emily forgot all her fears and squatted before the figure, casting her candle light as the figure now rocked her head from side to side humming an old western mourning song.
“What happened to you?” Emily asked. “Do you live…..”
Suddenly the figure swiftly raised her head, revealing her bloodied scarred face and popping white eyes, Emily gasped in shock. All she could hear was a howling whisper:
“Run Emily! Run! Run!”
In that brief moment of fright, Emily gave a loud shrill and passed out……..
To be continued.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT – Episode 5 (A Second Warning)
The lantern stood on the bed shelve in the dimly lit room as the doctor paced up and down the floor. While Marie sat close to her daughter and Nate leaned by the doorway snorting. It had been over 6 hours Emily had been unconscious after being found in the basement. She lay still, her face pale like death and her fist clasped within each other like she was trying to hold on to something.
“She suffered a severe shock”, the doctor said packing up his wares into his brief case. “But nevertheless, she’ll be fine”.
“I wonder what she was up to in the basement” Marie sobbed. “Please come back baby, mummy loves you”.
As if to answer her prayers, Emily sneezed and called out ,”Mummy” and her mom leaned forward to cuddle her in bed.
“Thought you were gone” Marie said. “So tell me baby, what happened?”.
That was when the previous events began to unfold in Emily’s head, piece by piece as she tried to recollect all that had happened. The memory alone was so overwhelming to her, and she gasped in exasperation, passing out once more.
By the time she finally woke up it was already dusk and Marie was about leaving her room. She turned turned back the moment she noticed her daughter stir. And walked to sit by her side. Gradually Emily’s eyes flickered open as it tried to adjust to the surroundings. She panicked the moment she thought she was alone and her mother held her hand firmly.
“Hey pumpkin I’m here”, Marie said, looking into the frightful eyes of her daughter.
She was certain Emily had seen something down the basement. Her daughter wasn’t a sleep walker, neither was she a truant at bed time. This was a full confirmation that something was in the house. She had that feeling right from the very first moments their carriage broke the cobble stones in front of the mansion. She was still lost in thoughts when Winter (Emily’s cat) mewed, climbing the bed in it’s feline agility and blinking puckishly. She had to tell Nate about everything, she decided, hoping it won’t result to a fight between them.
The Next Day – December 21
The skies were real grey that day and looked heavy with snow showing every possibility of an impending snow storm. It had snowed profusely the previous night and the streets were all covered in white ice as Marie hurried back home. She had gone to get some grocery down the next town from some of the money she had made from the pawning. Then her mind drifted to the hunky pawn shop guy she had met the other day. She wouldn’t mind being in those strong arms of his to be cuddled and stroked. He was every inch the man Nate was not and will never be. Too bad she was much older than him, so there was no point daydreaming on what may not be possible, she thought shaking the thought of her head and smiling. She was still smiling when she felt a hand tap her from behind and she jumped, turning to see the pawn guy smiling down at her. She gasped in surprise and faint guilt.
“Hi Lance” she said.
“Hello Marie” he winked offering her his hand which she shook hesitantly. “What are you doing walking under the snow?”
It took only Lance’s question to let Marie know that she had been absent mindedly trekking under the snow without noticing it.
“Oh…it’s begun to snow” she said.
“You mean you didn’t notice?” Lance asked. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
How could he be asking her that question when he was the one responsible for how she felt at the moment, she thought.
“Ofcourse I’m fine dear” she replied in her husky southern accent.
“From the south I guess?” Lance said.
“Yes, Texas precisely”
“Oh cool. I’m from New Mexico” Lance replied.
“I already guessed that from your Spanish accent” Marie added. “I think I have to be on my way now, my husband would’ve been back with my daughter”.
“So you have a daughter”.
“Yeah…I do”
“I guess she’ll be pretty as you are” Lance said. For a second, Marie was taken aback by the statement before she recovered to say “Thanks for the compliments”. With that, Marie turned and began to walk away and Lance called her back.
“I think a snow storm it’s on it’s way” he informed her. “Why not follow me to my place, It’s close by. And when the storm is over I’ll harness a horse to a carriage for you.
“Nahh…thanks” Marie replied, “I’ll find my way”.
Beyond her expectation, a strong wind blew immediately, sending flakes of snow swirling in the air and she stopped abruptly in her tracks. There was definitely going to be a snow storm and she wouldn’t be home before it came down. There was no other place to take shed and the only option she had at avoiding the storm was Lance’s offer. So she turned to see Lance already walking down in the opposite direction and she called:
“Hey! Lance!”, And he turned back.”Can I still join you home?” she asked.
“Of course ma’am” he replied.
Strutting down to where she stood, Lance collected the grocery pack in her hands and led the way, “Shall we?” he said.
“Where do you stay Lance?” Marie asked as they hastened.
“The Next turn”, Lance replied. “Not far from the church yard”……..
To be continued.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT – Episode 6 (A Second Warning)
The mention of the words ‘church yard’ brought the goose bumps on Marie’s skin immediately. How could one live by a church yard…A grave yard precisely, she thought. Though she wasn’t comfortable with it, she tried to make Lance unaware of her paranoia as they walked ahead.
It was only in a matter of minutes and they arrived the church yard, passing by hedges of Hawthornes which creeped round the ancient grave stones as the eerie silence cast a strange demeanour.
She could now see a little cottage not far from the end of the church yard and Lance broke the innate silence.
“That’s my home”, he said pointing to the cottage.
Within minutes, they were before the door step and Lance inserted the old key into the rusty lock and the fragile door creaked open for them to walk in.
The snow storm was now coming down in full strength and Lance ignited the fireplace before moving to get the steaming kettle on the fire. He made Marie a cup of hot coffee and poured himself a cup too as they sat silently sipping the black drink. Marie decided to break the silence.
“I guess you stay here alone?”, she asked.
Lance only nodded as he continued sipping his coffee.
“And what about the church that owns the graveyard we just passed” she enquired. Lance cleared his throat:
“The church of St. Nicholas was burnt down by the Satan worshippers 12 years ago.” he growled. “They claimed that there was only one Nicholas and that was the devil himself who was nicknamed Old Nick in the years back”
Marie choked on her coffee spilling some on the floor, Lance turned to stare at her and she apologized, “Sorry”, she said and Lance nodded. “You mean you have Satan worshippers in this place?” she asked in disbelief.
“Almost the whole town is into Satan worship” he revealed. “They are actually called Necrogues, and that’s because they make use of the souls of the dead. Necromancy you can call it” he sipped his drink again.
Marie was petrified by her shocking discovery. She had always known something was not right within the small town.
“So how about you?” she asked Lance.
Lance laughed aloud almost puking his coffee. “For Christ sake Marie, I was the vicar’s son before the church was burnt down. Actually I lost my dad, the vicar on that night” he whined. “Ever since then I’ve been alone in our little cottage which we had been managing before mum passed away”
Marie felt sudden pity for the young lad. He was only a poor orphan trying to make ends meet. No wonder he worked at the pawn shop. She could now see the tears in his eyes and her heart melted with grief.
“C’mon Lance, don’t cry”, she said. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have been asking too much questions”.
“Nahh, it’s okay”, Lance sniffed.
Marie felt guilty for rekindling the lad’s sorrows so she drew close and held him by the arm and Lance turned to face her as she spoke: “I don’t want you to be sad”, she said.
In that moment they both stared into each other’s eyes and Marie could feel her heart melting once again. Not by sorrow this time, but by the flames of passion for the handsome lad before her.
Lance moved his hand to caress her outer thighs fondly, and that was all it took to make her skin succumb to his touch and he leaned forward and kissed her deeply as she slowly fell back to the chair and they consumated their passion…….
To be continued.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT – Episode 7 (Privy)
It was later in the evening that Lance dropped Marie off at the back of the mansion and helped her carry her grocery pack up the first stairs. Marie was already feeling some form of guilt for going to the extent of sleeping with the young lad and she turned back (as they climbed the stairs) to dissuade him.
“That’s okay”, she said. “You don’t have to come all the way”.
“I don’t mind Marie”, replied Lance as Marie collected the pack from him.
“My husband is already at home; and he could kill you if he finds you here. I bet you won’t like to find out first hand.”
Lance laughed out loud and for a moment Marie heard something sinister in his laughter. Her expression changed immediately and Lance noticed it, asking. “What’s that?”
“Nothing….just that I thought I heard something awkward”.
“Awkward? How?”
“Never mind”, Marie replied and began to climb up the stairs.
“Okay then. Goodnight”, Lance said.
“Yeah…Goodnight Lance”, replied Marie and she stopped to watch the hunky lad strut to his worn out carriage. She was really sure she had heard something within the boys laughter. It sounded so unnatural and well……never mind, she thought. It could be her guilt acting up within her. Then she looked upwards towards the remaining flight of stairs leading towards the rooms. She just hoped Nate wouldn’t detect she had just been unfaithful some minutes ago. She wasn’t a good liar though, but she would try as much as possible to hide the guilt beclouding her expressions. Shrugging indifferently, she stepped up the stairs.
Nate was already snoring loudly, sprawled in a chair with a bottle of rum hanging from his left hand when Marie stepped into the sitting room. Emily was no where to be found within as she roamed her eyes around, not failing to notîce the floating lantern placed on a cabinet. She walked quietly to adjust it and it’s handle jammed, startling Nate who stirred awake in his seat.
“Who’s there”? he asked in a slurpy voice as he tried to fit back his old hat on his head.
“Hi Nate”, Marie responded.
Nate raised his head gently to see his wife standing some few feets away from him and he staggered to his feet, belching and wobbling. He took few drunken steps towards her and ended up falling to his knees before struggling erect once more.
“What yer been doing?” he asked in a warped accent.
“Had to stay back because of the snow storm Nate” Marie replied.
“Stayed back with a boyfriend ehh?” he lurched forward and slapped her, sending her spinning and falling on the wooden floor. “I been seeing yer spending a lot this days”. Nate growled. “Boyfriend seems to be paying for good services” and he kicked Marie (as she tried to get up) in her stomach, making her curl up in pains.
“It’s the money from the pawning Nate” Marie cried with trickles of blood in her mouth. But her explanation wasn’t worth listening for Nate who stomped his foot on her waist and she screamed.
“You’ll kill me you drunk” she sobbed.
“Then die you bloody whõre!”? Nate kicked her once more in her stomach and staggered away, leaving her in the dimly lit place to writh on the floor. All that could be heard from afar was the wailings of a woman in pains.
December 24 – Christmas Eve
Despite the Christmas season in the air, the little town of Fearville seemed not to be agog with preparations and festivities, and that got Marie really worried. She had woken on that chilly snowy day to notice that there were no Christmas trees on the streets neither were there any last minute Christmas shopping by people. What a strange little town, she wondered. It was when she had gone to visit Lance in the pawn shop earlier that day, that he told her some gruesome secrets surrounding the little town.
Lance told her that Christmas was more of an effaced culture in Fearville, owing to the fact that the Satanists had inculcated some of their beliefs into Christmas. And as such, those who were ardent faithfuls of the old traditions kept Christmas celebration at low key and at times not even celebrate it at all.
“So what beliefs did the Satan worshippers blend in?” Marie asked as they sat outside the patio of the pawn shop.
Lance replied by telling her that there were myths going around that the Satanists release the evil side of Santa called Krampus into the streets on Christmas day. This was their way of mocking the birth of the Christ. Actually Krampus was an evil spirit culled from Scandinavian history and was seen as the chastising spirit of Santa Claus. He wrecked havoc on homes and people on Christmas eve thereby dousing the festive mood in them.
“There was no Christmas eve that went by without the town hearing of the gruesome attack of Krampus on a particular family”. Lance added. “It’s something everyone is now used to”.
“That’s so weird and scary”. Marie said.
“Yeah…..it is”.
Back home that night, Marie had an argument with Nate. She had told him she wasn’t comfortable with the mansion anymore nor the town but Nate flared up calling her a kill joy. How she wished Nate would see reasons with her.
Yes they didn’t have the money to buy such a house back in Pensworth, but she had her priceless peace of mind and enjoyed the love and cooperation of the friendly lively town. How much she missed Mrs. Medley who would bring cup cakes to her doorstep on Christmas eve, and the Harold boys choir who sang carols from street to street while impressed neighbours filled their bags with cents. Fearville was a total far cry from Pensworth and the worst place she had ever been. She was still lost in thoughts when she heard a strange clogging sound outside….Clog! Clog!! Clog!!
The shuffling and clogging sound drew nearer on that 22nd hour of the day (10:00pm) and Marie peeped outside the blurry window to see what it was. To her surprise, she caught a glimpse of Santa walking down the street (atleast something like christmas, she thought) and she rushed outside to find a shocker.
It was a limping Santa with a wooden left leg walking down the lonely and dimly lit road, singing a strange weird song. His left leg had been amputated and he looked huge and frail, dragging an old dirty brown bag behind him. Though he looked so creepy, Marie felt it was better having a one legged Santa than having none in a whole town of weird looking people. So she decided to call on Santa.
“Hey! Santa!” she called. “Got nothing for me?”.
The grimy old Santa stopped singing abruptly, stopping in his tracks and turned back to stare at his caller as she noticed his right eye was pale with cataract and and popping out of its socket. His face looked scarred and the Santa cast her a cold smile revealing a set of brown scanty teeth….Creepy!
“What yer want from old Santa” he growled shuffling and limping towards her. He reached where she stood and hoisted his dirty brown bag in front and looked directly into Marie’s eyes. Those eyes possessed an eerie look and Marie looked away instantly and brought her face down to the bag before her.
“Pick something er”, Santa said and she dipped her hand into the bag, rummaging till her hand came in contact with something which felt like a book as the Santa kept smiling sinisterly. She pulled it out and yes…it was indeed a book, but a strange looking one. Turning the front cover, it was titled ‘Necronomicon’. She flipped through the pages in the faint light and saw hideous paintings and strange writings in it. That alone sparked her interest and she clutched the book to her chest.
“Is that what yer want?”, Santa asked.
“I think I’ll go with this”, she replied.
Then the Santa paused for a while, before leaning forward to stare into her face. “Be careful what you wish for child”, he rasped, clattering his teeth as his foul breath hit her nostrils. Suddenly he turned and hoisted his bag on his weak shoulders. “Merry Christmas”, he whispered as he walked away from sight. Little did Marie hear him say: “You just got to hell dear” as he kept limping down the road. And she took a final look at him and walked back into the house without noticing the slitted eyes staring at her from the shadows in the distance.
To be continued.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT – Episode 8 (Necronomicon)
** That same night **
Marie sat by the fire place purring over the strange book in her hands. The oil lantern was already out and the house was only lit by the scarlet embers of the flames from the charring fireplace. The night was already far spent and it had stopped snowing, with the moon at its fullest as it’s silvery light leaked through the frosty windows, accompanied by momentary caws of distant birds. Marie sat on the wooden floor with legs folded as she ignorantly began to read through with her lips moving inaudibly. She flipped open the first page and read out a Latin inscription : “XIII Portas Inferni” (which meant The 13 gates of hell) after which she continued mumbling the strange words she saw. Everything she read was in Latin.
“Et aperuerit tibi portas inferni” (Oh open the gates of hades), she continued mumbling the dark words, and for half an hour she was still face down to the book when the flames in the fire place exploded and the she startled, noticing the sudden violent wind which swept through the house and outside as it made rustling noises and eerie whistles and causing the doors to bang noisily. For a moment she paused her reading and looked around the house. Though she knew winds could be violent, but not in this form, she thought. Slowly she returned her head down to the book and continued.
The rustlings continued as the dead leaves under the trees swirled in the night air and a dodgey footstep began to approach the mansion. The bearer of the footsteps blinked its slitted yellow eyes as it stepped cautiously before coming to stand behind a tree (in front of the mansion) and watched Marie through the window as she bent over the Necronomicon. The figure smiled in an evil grin, blinking its slit of eyes once more.
More by intuition, Marie felt she was being watched and swiftly turned back to look outside the window but saw no one. Closing the big old book, she got up and walked to the window, drawing the curtains and her eyes fell on a shadowy movement behind the tree outside. She peered directly and saw nothing before drawing the curtains closed finally. It was time to go to bed, she yawned sleepily. Nate was assumed to be snoring in bed as usual, while Emily had been properly tucked in with her new cat in bed. Dousing the fire place to a minimum, Marie climbed up the stairs sluggishly as she couldn’t wait to rest her aching back.
** 20 Minutes Later **
Marie stirred awake and looked around the faintly lit room. Nate was snoring so loud, but she was sure it wasn’t what had woken her up. She listened intently and then she heard it……… “Marie” the hushed voice whispered her name. She tried to cover her ears but it was as if the voice had moved into her head. It kept calling on and on and on as she wrapped her head with the pillow till she couldn’t take it anymore. It was driving her crazy. Pushing the pillow aside she sat up and came down from the bed she was bound to find out what it was.
She was now walking down the dark stairway and she could hear the voice calling louder now as a strong wind was already blowing outside. It now sounded more like a child’s voice and she came stepping into the sitting room. The strong wind which kept blowing, whooshed into the sitting room, and the pages of the big book (on the dining) flipped open in a rattling sound which startled her. She held her gaze steadily toward the dining (to her left) till the corner of her eyes caught a figure standing by her right….she gasped, turning to see a little figure clad in a white nightie standing in front of the gargoyle frame mirror. She knew that wasn’t Emily because her daughter was fast asleep. This was certainly the strange little figure she saw in her previous dream. Then the figure turned its hideous face to her, and her eyes widened as she tried to scream, but her voice was gone and she only kept gasping instead of screaming. Her heart was now racing fast, her head ached in a high blood pressure as the figure peered into her eyes. The face of the figure was too hideous to behold, with tears running down it’s eyes; and in that moment she thought she would pass out and she grabbed her head which seemed to be swelling in shock. Suddenly the figure became luminescent and Marie could make out the muddy feet, wet cloth and hair, and the lacerated body. Then the figure opened its mouth (blood oozed out) and it whispered into Marie’s head, “Marie…..follow me” as it took a step forward and stunningly walked into the mirror like a spirit. That was when Marie concluded that the being was a ghost and it definitely looked troubled, owing to the tears running down it’s white cheeks. It was the ghost of a child in distress and Marie was scared of following it but had second thoughts. If the ghost was really harmful, it would have harmed her earlier, but something told her it was trying to pass a warning.
So taking those bold steps forward, Marie came to stand in front of the mirror and instantly a pale feeble hand shot out of the mirror, grabbing and pulling her into the revolving darkness.
Marie felt her self swirling in a lightening filled tornado till she landed on a wooden floor, feeling dizzy and light headed. Then her surrounding began to fall in place and she found out that she was standing in the middle of her sitting room, but this time the whole place looked different and well arranged with gas lamps standing at every corner of the house. A look at the calendar told her that she had been taken to the past (8 years back) and by this time, the house was occupied by it’s previous owners. She took a step forward and saw a little girl reading on the dining. The girl wore the same night gown the little ghost figure had worn and there was a striking resemblance to her. The girl continued mumbling the same words she (Marie) had mumbled while reading the Necroñomicon and Marie came to stand beside her hoping the girl would see her but the child kept sipping her cup of tea and reading. Marie tried to talk to her but she couldn’t hear too as she (Marie) began to understand that her surroundings wasn’t real, and she was only featuring in the memories of the ghost girl who probably had something to show her. The girl was still reading when an elderly female voice called her from up stairs.
“Samantha!” the voice called and the kid got out of her seat.
“Yes mum”, she hollered back closing the book and ran in Marie’s direction. But before Marie would move out of the way, the kid ran through her body, climbing up the stairs. This was definitely not the real world, only a memory, Marie thought looking at the Necronomicon the way the girl had left it. At that instant her surroundings began to blur and distort before her eyes (she felt everywhere twisting) as it gradually faded away like a dust…..
To be continued.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT – Episode 9 (Blood Bath)
Just as the former surroundings faded away, a new surrounding began to unfold around Marie. And this time, she was caught in the middle of a fiasco. She was now standing outside, beside the familiar tree and there was a heavy down pour despite the winter. Suddenly, she heard a scream from inside the house as the top window shattered and a woman toppled and fell to the muddy ground, breaking her neck as her brains popped out of her ears and nose. Marie looked upwards (towards the top window) and a strange figure came into view. It had an elvish face and height and had yellow slitted eyes. The creature looked down at the mangled corpse of the blonde woman in the mud and cackled eerily. It had actually pushed the woman through the high window. Suddenly it disappeared as the screams of a little girl rented the air.
Marie stood transfixed observing the whole scenario like a movie. She was still enshrouded in awe when the front door opened and the little girl Samantha, rushed out screaming “Mummy!!” and came to kneel down before her mother’s body. She was humped over the corpse crying bitterly as the rains kept coming down heavy upon her with her legs all muddy. Marie felt pity for her and moved to touch her but her hand passed through the girl like a hologram, reminding her that she was only in a memory which wasn’t real. Suddenly she heard a strange growl behind her and she turned back (the same time with Samantha) to see a beasty creature standing behind the elf-like man. The beasty creature had the form of a werewolf but was quite different with an aura of a demon from the darkest part of hell. Marie shivered in goosebumps (while Samantha stood up staring face to face with the demon) and the elvish man muttered something in Latin and the demon growled, before rushing towards Samantha. With a swipe of its clawed paws, the little girl feel backwards to the sticky mud and managed to stand on her feet, only for Marie to notice her bloodied and lacerated face and arms. Now it was clear to Marie how the ghost girl she had been seeing had sustained all the strange marks on her body. The ghost girl was truly Samantha and she (Samantha) had brought Marie into her past to show her the secrets of the evil book, the Necronomicon. That was why she had been making apparitions within the mansion to pass a warning. Marie was now convinced that the mere muttering those words from the book had the capacity of releasing mayhem and demons just as Samantha had ignorantly read them the way she had done. Then the events began to fall into place. The sudden whooshing of air and eerie occurrence when she (Marie) was reading the Necronomicon was a sign of the appearance of demons in her house. The same house Samantha and her mother once lived. That was when she became paranoid….’Oh Emily was in danger’, she thought. Instantly the demon picked Samantha in both hands and ripped her apart (blood splattered in the mud) as Marie screamed in fright. And suddenly she felt a strong wind lift her off her feet, going backwards and pulling her into a dark hole as she came bursting out of the mirror in her sitting room. She felt giddy and weak; and all she could do was mutter “Emily” before she passed out.
*** Few Hours Later ***
Marie gradually opened her eyes as she saw the worried faces peering down at her. She could make out the faces the doctor, Emily and Nate as they sat around her. It was already morning and she looked outside the window. Suddenly the previous event flushed into her mind and she jerked erect, grabbing Nate by the arms.
“This mansion is haunted Nate” she ranted with craze in her eyes.
Nate tried to hold her down, but she kept struggling and muttering like she was possessed, ”We have to leave this place”, she rasped. “The words of the Necronomicon have been spoken. The gates of hell will be unlocked” and Nate pushed her away from him.
“Get a grip off yer self ya crazed bítch”, he spat. “You’re scaring your daughter”. And Marie tried to get out of bed. That was when the doctor held her down and with the help of her husband, she was injected with a sedative and gradually, she began to fade into sleep, still muttering slowly, “They’re already here…..they’re already here……” till she passed out……
To be continued.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT – Episode 10 (Christmas Night)
It was already 12 noon by the time Marie awoke. She could hear the chirping of the birds and and the chiming of wagons across the street. No one was in the room when she woke up and she wiped her face off the sweat and got up to stand by the window. She peered at the people walking up and the down the busy lane and the shops which were already open. Suddenly her eyes fell on a familiar figure standing across the road and looking directly at her window. She noticed the short height of the being and immediately remembered seeing it in Samantha’s memory when she had entered the mirror.
That creature must certainly be Krampus, the evil spirit of Santa Claus, she reasoned as the elf-like being grinned and disappeared. Quickly she turned and bolted out of the room calling her daughter.
“Emily! Emily!!” she called.
And tiny footsteps could now be heard up the stairs as Emily came into view.
“Come here sweetheart”, Marie kissed Emily on the forehead.”We’re leaving this place”.
“To where mum?” Emily asked. “It’s Christmas already, and…..”
“No one is leaving this place”, Nate growled drunkenly, staggering to where they stood. “You wanna run off to yer boyfriend’s err?? Probably spend the Christmas with him huh??”
“No Nate, you have to understand me. We have to leave this place as soon as possible, so……” THWACK!!
Nate gave her a dirty slap which left her sprawling on the floor, with a trickle of blood in her mouth. Then Nate dragged her by the hair pulling her down the stairs as she cried out.
“You have to listen to me Nate!” she yelled. But her husband was dead adamant and he pulled her down to the basement, locking her behind.
Marie banged on the basement door sporadically, pleading and calling on her drunken husband who kept yelling back and raining curse on her. “You can’t go see that boyfriend of yours now” he cackled. When Marie had tried in futility to get the door opened, she slid down the wall sobbing till her eye became heavy and she drafted off.
*** The hour ***
The clock chimed 8 o’clock startling Marie awake and she scrambled to her feet knocking over some artefacts in the stuffy basement. Her eyes fell on the 15th century painting which kept on staring at her and she strutted in fright, limping to the door when it swung open and Nate stood by the door way holding a plate in his hand.
“Brought you food err” he sneered sliding the plate of food to his disheveled wife who was now crouched in a corner.
“I’m not hungry Nate!” Marie yelled. “I just wanna go”.
Her words seemed to infuriate Nate and he kicked away the plate of porridge and went berserk, kicking and stomping on anything his legs could reach.
“You mean yer ner happy with me err?” he yelled.
“That’s not what I mean Nate” Marie yelled back. “The mansion is haunted”.
“Shut the f**ck up”, Nate kicked the 15the century painting and tore his shirt. He was going crazy and he lurched towards Marie, grabbing her by the neck as he strangled the breath out off her.
Marie fought back, kicking and scratching, but Nate was too strong for her and she could feel her heart slowing down (as he gripped her throat tight) and her breath ceasing, when suddenly Nate gurgled with his eyes wide open as blood oozed out of his mouth and his grip over her neck weakened and he toppled and fell aside, looking lifeless with a dagger stuck into his back. Then Marie looked up to see Emily standing before her shaking and she suddenly fell to her knees as a luminescent force emanated from her body and the ghost of Samantha came out her daughter who fell back sprawled to the dusty floor. Samantha’s ghost had come to save her from Nate by possessing Emily to stab her father to death. Marie crawled up to her daughter who was now looking pale as the ghost vanished from sight. Marie quickly scooped her unconscious daughter into her arms and came out of the basement. That was when she saw the slitted eyes standing few feet away from her and it whispered.
“It’s time my dear”
.
.
Marie scurried down the staircase with her daughter in her arms, she heading to the front door which she jerked frantically but it wouldn’t open. Then the the demon, Krampus laughed sinisterly as Marie headed towards the back door. The moment she turned the knob, the door creaked open, but she felt a growl coming from outside and she stepped back as the werewolf-like demon she had seen in the mirror, stepped in to the house with a leer on its face. “The master Lucifer needs your blood”, it rasped. Before Marie could turn to flee, the creature pounced on her, causing her to drop her daughter in a thud on the wooden floor. The demon sunk it’s claws in Marie’s neck and whispered into her ear:
“This is to remind you that it’s Satan’s Claws, and not Santa Clause. The old master has been able to deceive the world by changing the name from Satan to Santa”. And the demon growled aloud, pulling Marie back to the sitting room.
When they had got to the sitting room, the other demon Krampus, muttered gibberish and a great red light illuminated the room as a pentagram (a satanic star) appeared on the ground with four poles which arose from four points of the satanic star. Then Marie was tied arms and legs to the poles (few metres above the floor) as she felt a dizzy sensation overtake her. The last thing she felt was when the Krampus ripped her nightie apart with it’s claws, thereby exposing her nãkedness in the occultic red light.
It was now raining heavily, and the Krampus was now making an enchantment in Latin; and deep within Marie’s sub-consciousness, she knew it was a ritual.
To be continued.

CHRISTMAS NIGHT – Episode 11 Finale (Christmas Night)
Suddenly she felt a hand nuzzle between her legs as a giant worm-like creature (like the size of a pēnis) was inserted into her private part and the worm wriggled up into her womb as she panted and sweated like a lamb for the slaughter. The krampus kept mumbling the incantations as all Marie could make out from his words were Diabolo! Diabolo! (which was the Latin name for the devil) and making Marie know the demon was calling on the devil himself. Gradually like a dark smoke, a hideous figure began to form out of the shadows as its long horns became visible, with it’s face which breathed out fire from it’s nostrils. Marie managed to raise her head to look at the emanating creature and felt the evil surrounding it. That was the devil himself being conjured before her. Instantly it dawned on her that it was a Mating Ritual that was about to take place. She had heard and read about satanic mating rituals before. But never did she know that the devil himself could be conjured to mate with the woman one on one. She gasped weakly and out of breath as she noticed the large sized phãllus between the legs of Lucifer (and the giant worm was still wriggling in her womb) when her lips began to move unintentionally as she muttered weakly:
“Be merciful unto me oh God, be merciful unto me…..for my soul trusteth in thee…… yea in the shadows of thy wings will I make my refuge, until this calamities be over past…….”
She was muttering the Psalm 57 which she was taught by her mother. She kept saying the Psalmic words, panting and gasping sweatily (while the figure of Lucifer kept taking it’s complete form as the Krampus continued enchanting) till she got to verse 5 and she cried out: “Be thou exalted oh God above the heavens and let thy glory subdue the earth!” At those words, the shadow of Lucifer screamed and vanished with a blight as the Krampus and the werewolf demon fell backwards to the ground.
“Stop her from speaking!” the Krampus cried out and the werewolf demon plunged it’s claws into her ribs, and she screamed in pains, but not ceasing the words of the Psalms from her lips. And she cried out “Awake up oh my glory, oh awake…….” and at that moment, the demons couldn’t take it anymore and they vanished with an unearthly growl as her bonds cut free, and she crashed to the floor. Weakly she scampered to her feet and felt the big worm fall out between her thighs (wriggling on the floor) and she staggered to pick up her ripped dress, when the front door suddenly went open. It was Lance standing by the doorway. Giddily she strutted towards him and collapsed in his arms. “Oh Lance, help me” she managed to mutter. Lance held her in his arms and looked down at her.
“Was the ritual completed?” he asked desperately. “Was it?”
For a second, all Marie could think of was survival, then it occurred to her that she had never said anything concerning the ritual to Lance. That was when she mustered an ounce of energy and wriggled free off Lance’s grasp.
“How did you know about the ritual?” she asked (Lance stuttered), And of what importance is it to you?”
That was when Lance pushed her to the floor and instantly his eyes transformed into emerald green. Marie crawled backwards in fresh fright and Lance cackled devilishly.
“Too bad you never saw it coming” Lance said. “Remember when thou asked me about the satanists?……Too bad you were talking with their leader. I’m the chief Necrogue of this strange town” he continued. “I actually engineered the burning down of the church and killing of the vicar my father. How much i hated those morning sermons concerning Christ. The Christ is a lie, and only Lucifer is Lord!” Lance yelled bitterly. “Now the time of the usual Christmas ritual was here and you spoilt everything. The s-x we had was a part of the ritual and I’m here to complete what my master Lucifer couldn’t complete”, and he pounced on Marie, growling like a beast and fuming sulfur from his nose as he struggled with the weak woman.
More by divine providence, a glass vase fell from the table above, crashing to the ground. And Marie picked a shattered pieces and sunk it into the neck of Lance who growled in pains (clutching his neck, rolling off her body) as she scrambled to her feet and headed to were her daughter was.
Emily was still unconscious when Marie got to her, and she scooped her once more into her arms and ran back into the sitting room. But to her utter amazement, Lance was no where to be found. So she hurriedly strapped on her torn night gown and dashed out of the front door (still carrying Emily) under the rains. She strutted weakly to the centre of the roads when she saw a carriage coming down the road. She waved down the carriage and it stopped. Though she couldn’t see the face of the rider, she hoped into the compartment, placing her daughter on her laps as she breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t believe she had escaped all that happened and was free at last.
She was still revelling in the aftermath of her survival when the carriage suddenly came to a halt and she sat up wondering what was wrong. Then the front compartment slid open and the strange old Santa poked in his head..
“Merry Christmas!” he sneered.
** The End **