AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But good deeds are done by many. She has yet to give herself wholeheartedly.”
“What the fuck does wholeheartedly even mean?” I ask. “I’m not a saint. I’m just a man. Nothing I do is wholeheartedly. I love this woman wholeheartedly.”
“Yelling at me will not change anything.”
“Well my past experiences tell me that nothing will change anything. Once you have your mind set up, there’s no swaying it.”
“Very well. But you cannot take your own life. We will not allow it.”
Nathaniel disappears leaving me again in the dark.
“Watch me,” I say under my breath.
Marlena moves a little and then her crackly voice comes out.
“Mi amor,” she says. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” I say.
“Good. I just want to rest.”
“You go ahead. I’ll be here with you, don’t worry.”
The door to the office barges open and in steps my right-hand elf, Bradley. He’s holding a strange amulet or something in his hand. He rushes over to me, looking worried and hectic, and drops to his knees by my side.
“I’m so sorry, Sir,” he says. “I know this is a horrible time but I need your advice.”
“What is it, my friend?”
He’s my oldest friend. He’s the only elf given everlasting life. The rest have all grown old and died, replaced by either others from their dimension or their children. I can never get angry with him and I know if he’s entering my office like this, it must be serious.
“Okay, I know this probably won’t sound so important, but do you remember little Carey Long?”
I think about it but the name doesn’t really ring a bell. I have a list of who’s naughty or nice but to remember the name of every child on earth would be impossible.
“I’m sorry. I’m trying to remember but I can’t.”
“She’s got leukemia and she asked for a mood necklace. A special kind. Well, we got the necklace and I was about to load it into the sleigh, but look…”
He hands me the amulet and I don’t see anything wrong with it.
I tilt my head, trying to understand the problem.
“The chain is missing, Papi,” Marlena says over my shoulder.
She’s awake and smiling at Bradley.
“It’s a beautiful mood necklace,” she says.
“Thank you, Mrs. Claus.”
“So what’s the problem, Bradley? Just put another necklace on it.”
“It’s not that easy,” he says. “It wasn’t just a regular chain or rope. It was kind of like…twine I guess is the best way to describe it.”
“And you think little Carrie Long will know the difference?”
“Definitely,” Bradley says. “You don’t understand. She asked for this specific necklace.”
