The Forgotten Gift

The Forgotten Gift
 
The date was 24th December 2095. Captain Richard Merrymaker looked down at his little six-year-old daughter Nora and smiled at her glum face.
Nora said sullenly. ‘Why do you always have to miss Christmas?’
‘I will be back soon darling. I will not be gone for more than ten days.’ Richard winked at her. ‘Tomorrow Santa Claus will be bringing you gifts and as always you will find them by the side of your Christmas tree. You will enjoy your roast turkey and have a great time with Santa’s gifts.’
‘Oh wow, that would be wonderful. Isn’t it? Santa will bring me lots of gifts.’ Nora squealed cheering up.
Richard smiled at his little daughter’s innocence and remembered the times when he had also believed in Santa Claus. When he had been Nora’s age he too had ardently believed that Santa Claus really existed. It was only when he reached the age of ten, he realized Santa was just a tale.
Richard was about to set out on an interstellar expedition and it was indeed a pity that the date for take-off had been set for 24th December, just a day before Christmas. He would be missing Christmas yet again.
‘Promise me you will be there for my birthday,’ said Nora looking up at him again.
‘I promise.’ Richard said solemnly.
 
With that, he turned and hugged his wife Martha and after exchanging a few kisses he joined his crew. Take-off was set for 6.00 PM and the crew got into the spaceship. It was a smooth take-off, unlike the previous time when things had gone wrong. As the spaceship shifted into FTL (Faster Than Light) drive the earth disappeared with a swoosh within seconds of take-off. The spaceship cruised steadily for five hours past many galaxies.
 
At 11.00 PM Richard moved into his cabin and lay down on his bed after excusing himself from his crew. The past few days had been hectic, and the crew understood that the captain had worked the hardest of them all and needed a bit of rest. Richard lay down on his bed and drifted off into sleep. He woke up the next morning at 7.00 AM.
He stood up and opened the cupboard to get his toothpaste and brush and recoiled in disappointment at what he saw. He stared in dismay at a beautifully decorated package with a label on top. The label bore the legend, ‘To My Darling Daughter Nora, Wishing you a very happy and merry Christmas. Your loving Dad.’
With a start, Captain Merrymaker realized he had forgotten to place his gift to Nora by the side of the Christmas tree. Nora had asked for an inter-stellar doll house that he had obtained with great difficulty and now it was too late to give it to her. Nora would be so disappointed. Not only had he missed Christmas but he had also failed to give her a present.
He immediately rushed into the communications room and switched on the sonic boom computer directly wired to his house. He contacted his wife. Martha’s face appeared on the computer screen.
‘Hello Richard,’ came Martha’s voice booming across billions of light years.
‘Hi Martha, I had forgotten to leave my gift to Nora by the side of the Christmas tree. Can you just buy a dollhouse for her, wrap it up and give it to her? Also, say sorry from Daddy.’
‘But Richard, she found your gift by the Christmas tree. She is playing with the dollhouse right now!’
‘How can that be? The gift is still lying in my room in the spacecraft right now. I had left it there during training, the day before take-off. I had purchased it and meant to bring it home.’ Richard said.
 
‘Well, I tell you she is playing with it right now,’ repeated Martha. ‘Take a look yourself if you don’t believe me.’
In a second Martha shifted the focus of the computer and Nora appeared on the screen. Sure enough, he could see Nora delightedly playing with the dollhouse he had purchased for her.
Martha came back on focus in a few seconds, smiled and said, ‘Satisfied?’
‘Well, all right,’ said Richard puzzled and moved his hand forward to switch off the sonic boom computer.
But just before he could switch it off, Martha’s image disappeared, and he saw a man dressed like Santa Claus, riding a carriage full of gifts driven by reindeers appear on the screen. In the background was the starry horizon with numerous galaxies. The sound of a song sung in a melodious voice filled the communications room. The song continued
‘Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse sleigh
Some say I am real,
Some say I am a tale,
I am real for folks who have love in their heart,
And do not let their belief in me part,
I disappear when men and women grow old,
I am there only for young folk.
But I always do my job,
Of spreading my message of love,
And I make sure that when gifts are forgotten,
I am around to deliver them to the loved one.’
 
Captain Richard Merrymaker listened in stunned but happy silence.
 
Author’s Note: I am taking my Alexa rank to the next level with Blogchatter. Do read my posts and feel free to let me know what you think.
 
Tags – #JaiSWrites #MyFriendAlexa

Author’s Note: I am participating in the #SuperBloggerAcademy linky party by Healthwealthbridge Dr. Amrita and allaboutthewoman Dr. Bushra

99 thoughts on “The Forgotten Gift”

  1. You are making an indelible contribution to the blogging community by writing such amazing piece(s) Writing a story is a huge task for me but reading fiction inspires me to try my hand in it.

  2. The story tugged the strings of my heart. What comforted me was that Nora received her Christmas gift on time. I can imagine the relief Richard must have felt watching his little one play with the dollhouse. Such a heart warming story!

    #MyFriendAlexa #DibbiReads

  3. Such a sweet story. Isn't it true Jai, No matter how logically we think somewhere in a tiny corner of our mind, we do hope for miracles and God knows they happen… For real!!!
    #mannreads

  4. Gifts are such a wonderful aspects of our life. Who doesn't want gift. Little things matter and when we are small it does matter a lot. Our world revolves around our parent and what they bring for us make it special for us, and precisely what we see in the nature the way the parents of birds and animals nurture their little ones. They cannot speak, but the actions speaks louder than the words which they don't have. The theme of gift and the backdrop of Christmas celebration is always special.

    And Santa Claus has always been an amazing character that has kept us perennially in awe and wonder. It is fairy tale but there are so many occasions in our life that we experience bit of that surprises when we get gift from someone we were note expecting. There are so many good people around us and most of us think alike and love to share and exchange the goodies of life it it such that we don't have a context to meet and connect. Astronauts are like magicians for common people, how they can pack them in a spacecraft and are off to different world…the cosmos is fascination forever. The setting of technology and the emotion sets your story apart.

    The plot in the story has been beautifully crafted. Forgetting the gift and making the reader think in a different direction where you have brought surprising element, the role of Santa Claus…the heart of any good story is in the art of crafting the plot and you have done beautifully, a short and sweet story but with a strong plot makes it big. It is always easy to start a story but what matters in the end is how we are able to end the climax, and you have done so with elegance.

    #MyFriendAlexa, #MakeupReads

  5. What a wonderful Christmas this was for the family! Miracles do happen and they make our life so joyful.. a heart warming story narrated so well Jai. #AksReflects #MyFriendAlexa

  6. Lovely story and it makes you believe in small miracles in life. Enjoyed reading it. Good to know about you and your blog through #MyFriendAlexa,

  7. This is such a lovely, feel-good story, that exemplifies the spirit of Christmas. You have blended the present and the future so seamlessly. Kudos. #DeepTiesReads #MyFriendAlexa

  8. When the story started with 24th December 2095, I was bit confused then I remembered that you were talking about science fiction in the group. So I went ahead. I love fiction. The story has started with miracle but I think there is mystery behind it. Let's see what is in store ahead.

  9. Such a sweet little sci-fi story but with so much to learn. I was so glad to know that Nora found her gift on Xmas day. And I do hope that by 2095 businesses realise that their employees also need to have a family life and will plan important work projects on days other than big holidays. 😉

  10. Christmas has lovely tales woven around it. Santa exists if we believe in him or else it is just a tale. Do we really need to put a label on magic?

  11. Oh wow, never expected this end. I was actually thinking there will be a …to be continued written somewhere. I so wish miracles go hand in hand with science. Looking forward to read more…

  12. I thought The Captain was in his dreamland as he had to leave before Christmas. And that is making him think al that. But you swung the story beautifully. Science vs Miracle..awesome read.

    #MothersGurukulreads

  13. A sweet tale on Santa Claus. Its like Black magic affects those who believe in it. I guess similarly, Santa gifts those who pray to him. #MyFriendAlexa #Jokerophilia #ContemplationOfaJoker

  14. I loved the article.. a combination of science, technology and fantasy. Everyone believed in Santa Claus at some point of time in their life. A very good narration. The beginning part reminded me of the Interstellar movie.

    The Solitary Writer

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