Santa descended the spiral staircase from his office with deliberate slowness, each step echoing through the stone corridors of the North Pole. The boxes under his arm felt heavier than they should have, though he suspected the weight had nothing to do with cardboard and everything to do with finality.
The Workshop floor stretched before him in all its chaotic glory—a landscape he'd designed and redesigned across three centuries. Conveyor belts carried half-finished toys toward assembly stations where elves worked with the kind of focused intensity that only came from genuine belief in the mission. The great Christmas magic generator hummed in the corner, its crystalline core glowing with soft blue light that powered the entire operation.
Santa stood at the railing, observing it all with the detachment of a ghost. An elderly elf named Sparkplug looked up from a toy train engine, his weathered face breaking into a smile that froze when he recognized Santa's expression. The smile faded. Sparkplug nudged the elf next to him, who nudged another, until the entire section of the Workshop had gone quiet.
They knew. Somehow, they already knew.
Santa raised his hand in what he meant as a farewell gesture, but it felt more like surrender. He didn't have the words for this—couldn't summon the jolly warmth that had always come so easily. These elves had been his family. This Workshop had been his life. And now he was leaving it all behind like it had never mattered at all.
An elf with a slightly crooked hat approached hesitantly. "Sir, is it true? Are you really—"
"Yes," Santa interrupted gently, unable to bear the question unfinished. "I am. Keep the Christmas magic burning bright. You're capable of far more than you know."
The words sounded hollow even to his own ears, but he meant them. The elves could carry on. They would have to. That realization should have felt comforting. Instead, it felt like abandonment.
Santa continued his walk toward the exit, his red suit suddenly feeling like a costume that no longer fit.
Sign in to continue the story