Nick of Time

Nothing moved in the darkness, almost nothing. Nicholas crouched low to avoid being seen by anyone who might be out late, rather, early... His eyes quickly moved among the houses choosing the order in which he had to move... he had only a few hours left before dawn, and thankfully his work was almost done.. but only almost, because each house brought with it, its own set of problems and demands, and he could only hope that his preparations were adequate..but this was his night, and was determined to get the job done..

all the houses turned to be easy jobs, and he didnt have to exert much of an effort.. he finally reached the last house, and quickly scaled the fence, hoping there was no dog..that would spoil his plans..he tried the door.. he didnt expect folks to leave it open, but no harm in trying, that would make his job easy... but it was not to be. he tried all the windows and doors around the house, but with no luck... the roof, that was his only chance.. he climbed up with some difficulty and saw the thing he was hoping for - a chimney. he hoisted himself on to its top and slowly tried to get in.. in a few minutes he came to the painful realisation, again, that he was getting too old for this.. and too bulky..

he finally reached the end of his journey, most of his dress covered in soot.. he realised he had no time to waste.. he scanned the house and found what he was looking for, in the main hall.. this was what made the job worth it.. he set about his task and was almost finished when a door at the end of the hall opened, and a small boy emerged.. he had nowhere to hide.. thankfully the boy was only half awake, and on seeing him, frozen in amazement, giving him just enough time to make his exit, thankfully not the same as his entry...

it would be sometime before the boy would even remotely succeed in convincing his parents, and he could bank on their cynicism to ensure that he remained just a myth.. after all, who believed insanta claus?

until next time, merry xmas