“Hope”
By Emily Zheng, sophomore
A few days before Christmas, nine-year-old Grace ruminated about her lifelong goal to find Santa Claus and expose him as a fake. Though, deep inside, she wanted to believe in magic. To hear reindeer hooves on the roof and Santa sliding down the chimney. So, she went to her mom for advice.
Not wanting to crush Grace’s dreams, her mom drew a quick fake map with ambiguous symbols and no building markers pointing wherever because ‘My kid is watching and I feel pressure but I can’t look like I don’t know what I’m doing’ and her hands shook and perspired in their deceit as she picked up a crayon and drew the crappy map onto the page.
With the map, Grace would find Santa’s workshop. She wore her heaviest jacket and put on a sparkly blue cape.
Skipping outside into the snow, she looked at the map, rotating it to sight her directions. She noticed the first arrow. Turning right, she walked down her street, Sugartown Road, which led to a dead end. The next arrow pointed to North Avenue, which forked into a right and left situation. ‘One arrow points to both streets. Is Mom okay? She always did have a weird sense of direction.’
In the distance, she saw the cemetery but paid no attention to it because she enjoyed the hunt. Grace sighted the library at the corner of Bell Street. She looked at the sign. ‘I know this place. I walk to church this way. Oh, another right turn.’ Grace giggled, noticing repeating rights on the map. ‘I’m going in circles!’
Her excitement grew. ‘I’m gonna meet the real-life Santa Claus!’ A few turns later, she walked past the school and found herself in front of the cemetery that she had passed. Her eyes widened as she stared at the “All Saints Cemetery” sign overhead the gate.
“S…Santa?” Her voice shook. “NOOOOO!” she sobbed and fell to her knees. Santa’s dead? This can’t be happening! It can’t be!
Her head stared at the ground. She noticed dead tufts of grass through the snow. She stood, knees weak. Her lifeless arms hung by her side, gloved hands clutching the map as she trudged home, not giving the cemetery a second glance through her tear-soaked eyes.
“MOMMM!”
