Christmas, 2389
Leah's green eyes flew wide open and a hand flew to her mouth as she tried to suppress a cry of surprise. She had slipped out of bed to get a drink of water and, as she passed the stairs, the sounds of murmuring from below had caused her to stop and peer quietly through the banisters. It was Christmas Eve, and she had been having trouble getting to sleep. Her mother had tucked her into bed several hours ago with a reminder that Santa wouldn't come if she didn't sleep. She had been lying still, with her eyes squeezed shut and hardly daring to breathe, when her father came to check on her an hour later. But the thought of all the presents and excitement tomorrow had kept her awake, and now she was thirsty.
Leah was intelligent for a five year old, and was beginning to have doubts about the whole Santa thing. She had inherited her mother's alert and inquisitive mind; the whole concept just seemed a little too - well, Leah wasn't certain, but she found to hard to believe that one man (even a magical man with flying reindeer) could visit every child in the world on one night.
What she couldn't deny, though, was the fact that Santa was standing at the bottom of her stairs. Right next to her mother, in fact. Even as she watched, pressed back out of sight as far as possible, Santa lent in and kissed her mother. She watched, outraged, wondering why this stranger (even if he was a magical man with flying reindeer) was kissing her mother in the way that only father did.
"Don't wake the children," she heard her mother say, and she saw Santa turning to come up the stairs. Terrified, Leah dashed quietly into her brother's bed, placing a hand over Duncan's mouth to prevent him from making a noise then hissing, "Wake up, wake up!" into his ear. Duncan stirred in his sleep, and she repeated the whisper, giving him a shake at the same time.
He finally opened his eyes, trying to talk. He was groggy, and not at all pleased to be woken in this manner. "Wassup?" he asked through his sister's hand, trying to shake her off.
"It's Santa! He's here! He was kissing mom!" she hissed.
"Don't be stupid," Duncan said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
"I'm not being stupid! I was out of bed and I saw them downstai-"
She broke off mid-sentence as the door to Duncan's room started opening. The two froze, scared stiff, eyes fixed on the door, and mouths perfect "o"'s, gripping each other as the door slo-o-o-w-ly creaked open.
A big man stood silhouetted in the door, and despite themselves, they screamed in terror.
"Hush, children," the man said. He put a large sack down on the floor. "There is no need for fright. It's only me, y-Santa!" He reached a hand up to pull his hat further down; it now covered his entire forehead. In the faint moonlight that streamed through the window, the children could see a snow-white beard. He moved over and sat on the end of Duncan's bed. "You do know you two are supposed to be asleep? I can only bring presents if you're asleep."
Leah swallowed nervously. "Please... Mr... erm.. Santa... it's my fault. I woke Duncan up. Please give him his presents."
Santa looked at Leah, and patted his lap, indicating that she should come and sit on it. Nervously, Leah did. "So, young lady, you admit it was your fault? Even though you won't get any presents now and your brother will?"
Leah nodded, and hung her head.
"Run along to bed, Leah," Santa said, ruffling her hair. "And you, Duncan, go back to sleep."
Leah ran off quickly, and Duncan buried himself back under the covers. Santa chuckled to himself then quietly filled Duncan's stocking before moving into Leah's room.
Leah wasn't asleep. Her eyes were scrunched shut tight. Santa came over and knelt by her bed. "Leah," he whispered. She didn't answer, scared that he was testing whether she was awake or not. "Leah, I'm leaving you presents because you had the courage to admit the truth," Santa said. He ruffled her hair again and kissed her cheek; Leah held her breath until she heard him leave the room. She listened to the clump of his boots down the stairs and heard her mother's laughter. Then she fell into a deep sleep, exhausted.
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