Rudolph
Snow blanketed the ground, shimmering under the bright northern lights. The only sounds breaking the serene silence were the crunch of Santa’s boots against the crisp snow and faint music carried by the wind.
“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer... Had a very shiny nose…”
The tune was slightly off-key, warped from age, but still warm and familiar. It drifted from a large wooden cabin that stood majestically in this vast, white, sparkly field. Santa smiled to himself as he trudged through the drifts. “The elves must’ve left the phonograph running again.” He shook his head and shifted the weight of the sack of fish hanging over his shoulder. “Perhaps I should put a reminder up, somewhere…”
“Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say...”
Santa chuckled under his breath. “Ah… It’s fine. All’s jolly and well.”
But when he reached the cabin, there was not a single elf to be found. Not a single peep of their busy work, chatter, or bells. Just the low whirring of machines and the clatter of unmanned goods building up in some corner.
He pressed the large red button that ceased the operation of all machines. And the world went silent, except for the sound of the old record, still spinning, the same song. Santa furrowed his brows as dread filled his heart. Where was that damn phonograph again? No, forget that, where were the elves? How about the reindeer?
Santa dropped the sack of fish and retrieved his lantern with hurried steps, despite his measured breaths.
The stable beyond the cabin was dark. Its double doors wide open. There was a knot in his stomach. On his way there, he had already caught a whiff of something metallic beneath the sweetness of pine.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
His footsteps were suddenly far too loud for his liking.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
His lantern lit up a bloodied figure on the ground. His breaths that were already shallow, hitched. Dasher.
Santa willed himself to keep moving and came upon another still body. Dancer.
Please, let this be all.
Yet, there were more. Prancer. Vixen. Comet...
Santa froze. He refused to keep counting, not wanting to believe the horror before him. Why? How?
“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer... Had a very shiny nose…” The distant record scratched and looped again. That was right. That bright red nose that once brought him hope. Why hasn’t he seen it in this darkness yet?
“Rudolph?” Santa called, voice cracking. “My boy? Where are you?”
A soft clop of hooves answered him. From the far end of the stable, a small red dot appeared, bobbing along with each slow step.
“Rudolph!” The weak light of the lantern barely highlighted Rudolph’s form in the dark. “What happened?”
Rudolph tilted his head.
“All of the other reindeer..." The music continued, somehow more distorted than it already was, as if the cheer was bleeding out of it.
“They laughed and called me names.” Rudolph finally answered. “They didn’t let me join their games.”
Santa’s throat tightened. “I know. I remember. But that was long ago. What-”
“Long ago? For you, maybe.” Rudolph’s voice was calm. Too calm. “Everyone sings about it every year. You turned my pain into a carol.”
“Then one foggy Christmas Eve...” The melody seemed to slow.“Santa came to say...”
Santa whispered, “You saved Christmas once. Now, my boy, you can be a hero again. Tell me, what happened?”
“No.” The red glow flared more fiercely, lighting up Rudolph’s blood-smeared face. “I was no hero. I was just a tool. A freak who happened to be useful. Before that? I was just your joke.”
“Then all the reindeer loved him...” The song’s pitch kept sinking lower, along with Santa’s heart.
“You sang about forgiveness,” Rudolph approached him step by step, “but I don’t remember anyone asking for it. I don’t remember giving it either.”
Santa stepped back, his skin cold and clammy with sweat. “Rudolph? What’s wrong? You’re not like this.” The red glow now appeared a lot more sinister.
“That’s not true. I always wanted them to be quiet. And now, they finally are.”
Santa has never seen a smile so unsettling before. “Please, my boy... I- I tried-”
“You call your sorry reminders trying? I cried to you. I begged for a change. But there you were, always smiling, dismissing my pain with a pretty lie that I’m just different, special, that I should be stronger than them.” Rudolph stopped right before Santa. The blood and gore covering Rudolph were now clearly visible. Santa’s knees gave way; His rear hit the ground with a thud.
“Rudolph, please-”
Rudolph’s voice lowered, like a whisper cutting through the wind. “You don’t get to plead now. You had centuries to listen.”
Santa closed his eyes. His hot tears quickly froze on his cheeks. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“I know,” said Rudolph. “But that doesn’t make anything okay.”
The flickering light of the lantern went out. The red glow cut through the darkness like a blade, and pain wrecked Santa’s body. Then, nothing. Cold, nothing.
By the time the elves returned from their search for Santa, Rudolph was nowhere to be found. They were too late.
“You’ll go down in history...”
The record kept up with its cruel repetitions. Its sound no longer a song but a warning.
