Grace, at Christmas

EDITOR'S NOTE: In a special celebration of Christmas, the Courier News is presenting this work of fiction by staff writer Chris Pinkard.

"Who's next? Ho! Ho! Ho!" Santa Claus called out as he looked through the long line of children, all eagerly waiting to tell Santa what they want for Christmas. As the children made their wake up to Santa Claus, sitting in his giant chair, rosie cheeks, a long white beard and an elf on each side, they practically burst with excitement as one by one, they began to tell him what they're hoping for this year.

"A remote control car!" said the boy in the red coat.

"A new dollhouse!" whistled the girl with pigtails and two missing front teeth.

"A pony and a kitten and a puppy!" shouted the small boy in an oversized cowboy hat.

Finally the line dwindled down to just one little girl remaining. With her glowing red hair and round, dimpled cheeks, she climbed onto Santa's lap.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! What's your name little girl?"

"My name is Grace, and I've been waiting all day to see you Santa! I've been a very good girl this year and I know exactly what I want for Christmas," she said with joy in her voice.

"Well Grace, what would you like this year? A pony? A new soccer ball? Oh, how about a doctor's bag?"

"No, thank you, Santa, I want something else ..." Grace paused, not quite sure how to phrase her request. "I want to know how you became Santa Claus."

Santa looked at Grace for a moment. He'd never been asked this question before. It was a thoughtful question, far from the typical dolly or baseball glove he is used to hearing for so many years. As he considered the earnestness of her request Santa couldn't help but give Grace the one thing she'd asked for this Christmas.

"Well now, Grace, that story begins a long time ago, more than 150 years ago in fact, when all of the magic beings in the world gathered at the North Pole to see who would be the next Santa Claus," he said.

"Being Santa Claus is a very special job. It takes something special -- someone special -- and for centuries the new Santa has been chosen the same way. On New Year's Eve, when all of the magic beings come together, those who feel they have the most Christmas spirit gather at the norther-most point of the North Pole and one by one they reach into Santa's magic bag to see if they can pull out a toy for Baby New Year. Only the one with the most Christmas spirit will reach in and be able to pull out a toy, and that being is the new Santa Claus."

"I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. I was so young, and a so nervous. I'd heard the legend of Santa Claus for so many years and it had been my dream to one day reach into the large red bag and give the baby New Year his first gift. I knew that I had been born with magic in me and I knew that I loved Christmas, but as I stood there, looking at all those who also loved Christmas and were born with magic in them, I wondered if it would be enough," Santa paused as he noticed the little girl's once shining face had suddenly gone dim. For the first time since Grace climbed into his lap she stared at the floor instead of his rosie cheeks.

"What's the matter?" Santa asked, as he tilted her head back up.

"I'm not magic, Santa. There's nothing special about me," Grace answered back.

"Oh Grace, you are very special. Everyday children come to see me. They are full of joy and can hardly wait to give me their list, and I love to talk to them, and hear what it is they would like for Christmas. But you, my sweet girl, are the first person to ever ask how I became Santa Claus. That's pretty special if you ask me," he said as the smile returned to her face. "Soon the time will come for a new Santa Claus and I will move on, but as long as I live I will never forget meeting you today."

Grace, content with the story she had been told, gave Santa a hug and hopped down from his lap. She turned back to him as she walked away, smiling as wide as she could, and asked, "Santa, do you think that one day I could be Santa Claus?"

Santa chuckled softly and leaned in close, "I believe you can be anything you want to be, as long as you believe in yourself."