Santa remained in his chair as the afternoon light shifted across his desk, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch toward him accusingly. He knew what he had to do. The elves deserved to hear this from him, not from corporate memos or workshop gossip. They deserved better than a Zoom call, the way he'd received it.
He straightened his red suit, smoothed his beard, and stood with the deliberate care of someone who'd just aged three hundred years in an afternoon. The walk from his office to the workshop floor felt longer than it should have, as if the North Pole itself was conspiring to delay the inevitable.
The workshop hummed with its usual energy as Santa descended the stairs. Conveyor belts carried half-finished toys, elves in their traditional green outfits moved with practiced efficiency, and the scent of pine and toy polish filled the air. Everything looked exactly as it always had. Nothing had changed, yet everything had.
He spotted Jingleberry first—his most loyal elf, the one who'd been at his side for nearly a century. Jingleberry was reviewing a clipboard near the train car assembly line, his pointed ears twitching slightly as he concentrated. When he looked up and saw Santa, his expression shifted from focused efficiency to immediate concern.
"Boss?" Jingleberry called out, setting down his clipboard. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you feeling okay? Should I get the medicinal cocoa?"
Santa managed a sad smile. "Gather the senior elves, Jingleberry. All of them. I need to tell everyone what's happened." He paused, watching confusion bloom across his loyal friend's face. "In my office. Give me twenty minutes."
As Jingleberry hurried off to spread the word, Santa climbed back up the stairs, each step feeling heavier than the last. He'd built this workshop, nurtured these elves, created a legacy of Christmas magic. Now he had to tell them it was over. That he was over.
The irony wasn't lost on him: he'd spent three centuries delivering joy to others, and now he had to deliver heartbreak to the people who mattered most.
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