Christmas for Jessica

Santa magically transported himself down the chimney with the presents for little Billy and Jessica in the Smith house in a posh cul-de-sac in an affluent neighborhood. It was just one house out of millions he had visited so far this night.

And yet Santa didn't feel right about his delivery here.

For little Billy, it was business as usual. A PlayStation 5 with a couple of games, as well as a BB gun (hope he doesn't shoot his eye out, thought Santa with a nod to that famous Christmas movie). Nothing at all out of the ordinary. Billy had been involved in typical eleven year old mischief and a few things that could technically be considered "naughty", but his other behaviors and essentially kind heart made him eligible for his wished gifts without question. Santa had no concerns about little Billy's presents, and it made him happy to leave them for a very appreciative and happy little boy.

Jessica's presents, on the other hand, were the results of a lot of inquiries, soul searching, and difficult acquisitions for Mr. Claus and his company of hired help. Normally, such a request would be completely ignored and, depending on the "naughty" status of the child in question, would be substituted with a less problematic gift, or skipped completely. But Jessica was a special case, and thus required special attention and debate among the elves, Mrs. Claus, and Santa himself. In fact, an entire week was required to debate, process, and acquire the gift Jessica Smith had asked for.

This was because Jessica was the nicest child in the entire world.

This was no exaggeration, as it seemed to be. She was an absolutely perfect little child, with perfect grades in school, perfect attendance, perfect manners, always did as she was told, and never got into any sort of trouble with anyone. She gave of herself, volunteering after school to help the elderly and the homeless, helping her troubled brother with his homework and studying, and going above and beyond with housework, relieving her parents of any burden of doing housework. She even cooked the family meals most nights.

All at the tender age of nine.

Santa again pondered all of this as he reached in his sack for Jessica's presents. Billy's presents had already been placed under the tree (with care, as usual), but Jessica's still remained in Santa's sack. Second-guessing himself as he reached for the first of the two gifts, Santa hesitated. Is any child truly worthy of such a gift, he thought again, a thought that had been endlessly debated since Jessica's immaculately hand-written letter (a physical letter, while other children -- including Billy -- preferred e-mail) arrived at the North Pole.

No! Santa suddenly had fire in his eyes and rage in his heart. He would not allow this. He could not allow this. She was just a child, and regardless of how perfect she had been, she doesn't deserve this!

In the end, however, Santa sighed and resigned himself to doing his job. He had promised delivery, and he couldn't go back on it now. The immaculately wrapped presents with the "To: Jessica" tags hanging from them went under the tree. He walked towards the chimney, and with one final rueful look back, he placed his finger beside his nose and his magic transported him up to the rooftop, where his sleigh and mighty pack of reindeer waited impatiently.

"This was the house," Santa explained. The eyes of all of the reindeer widened momentarily, then nodded in silent acquiescence. Santa climbed into his sleigh and moved on to the next house, in fear of what he had unleashed.

The next morning, Jessica found her presents under the tree and squealed with delight, as many children do with any desired gift. While Billy marveled at his new BB gun and set up his Playstation, Jessica took her gifts in her arms and walked up to her room slowly.

All this planning. Pretending to be perfect. I can't believe it actually worked. It's finally time. Santa Claus, you fool.

With a wide smile, the nine year old girl closed her door and got to work.