Trapped in Christmas Town
Chapter 15
“The door is LOCKED!?!” Emma cried.
“There’s no handle and there’s a lock instead.” I explained. “I saw the dark spirit from the smoke coming from the door. I think it did it.”
“So we’re stuck here!?!”
“I hope not. But that door was our only way in and out of Christmas Town.”
“Uhh!!!” Emma pounded her fist against the wall.
“Hey!” I rushed to stop her before she did it again.
“I can’t be stuck here! My friends are out there! They could be in trouble!”
“How do you think I feel? My fiancée is in Halloween Town. I am due to marry her tomorrow. Our marriage maybe cancelled again, and this time it may be cancelled for a long time.”
Emma looked at me, thinking about what I said.
She relaxed her fist and arm.
“I’m sorry, Jack. I keep forgetting that I’m not the only one with problems.” Emma sighed. “But what do we do?”
“I suggest that we wait for Sandy Claws to arrive back and ask his advice. There might be another way back to Halloween Town.”
As we both waited for Sandy Claws to arrive back from delivering the presents I began to worry about Sally.
I knew that she must be worrying too. I was due to marry her tomorrow, no, today in fact. It’s now morning, that’s means it’s Christmas. This was supposed to be the day of our wedding.
I was eager to ask Sandy’s advice as soon as I saw his sleigh in the sky.
“Sandy Claws!” I called out.
“SANTA Clause!” Emma corrected me.
Mr Claws landed the sleigh and pulled up outside the garage.
“Well,” Sandy began. “That’s it for another year.”
Both me and Emma ran to the sleigh.
“Jack? You’re still here?” Sandy puzzled.
“Sandy, there’s trouble.” I said.
“Yeah, the Halloween door is locked.” Emma briefly explained.
“What? How can this be?”
“I don’t know. There’s a keyhole where the handle should be.” I explained.
“Is there anything you might be able to do?”
“Well, just let me rest after my long journey and I’ll have a look at it. There might be something I can do.”
“I hope so. I’m supposed to be getting married to Sally today. She’ll be so worried.”
“Well then, I’ll go inside and rest. I’ll met you by the door later this afternoon.”
So, we left Sandy Claws to get some rest.
Emma had to tell Sarmoo, Mathew and Benjamin that the door was locked. They were as shocked as Emma was when I told her.
Later on, about five hours later on in fact, Sandy Claws met us all at the holiday door.
“Hmm.” He inspected it. “Yes, this is a problem. Without a doubt, this is the work or the spirit. An attempt to prevent you from proceeding on your journey, I would guess.”
“Is there a way to open to door without the handle?” Emma suggested. “Maybe we should try a crowbar or something. You know, force it open.”
“That will not do any good, Emma Donnahue. There is no physical force that can over power a spiritual force. I’m afraid that that door is locked tight, only the spirit can unlock it.”
“Uhh!” Emma dropped to her knees with her hands gripping her hair. “No, no, no, no…” She kept repeating herself.
“Oh, Sally.” I whispered to myself. “I’m so sorry.”
“No more Hawoween?” Benjamin began to sound like he was starting to sob.
“It doesn’t look like it.” Said Sarmoo.
Benjamin began to cry.
“Please don’t despair, little one.” Said Sandy Claws. “The same for all of you. There is hope yet.”
I looked back up from my moment of sorrow.
Benjamin stopped sobbing and Emma looked up.
“You mean that there’s still a way to Halloween Town?” I asked.
“The holiday doors of Halloween Town aren’t the only way to get from one world and into and other.” Sandy Claws began to explain. “Every holiday world has it’s own way of transportation to the other holiday worlds. Even Christmas Town has it’s own unique mode of transportation to the other six holiday worlds.”
Emma shot to her feet.
“Then what is it?” She urgently asked. “Where is this transportation that’s supposed to take us outa here?”
“Well, they’re old, but they should still work…” Said Sandy.
“What? What?” Emma interrupted.
“The holiday trains.”
I was intrigued.
“The holiday trains?” I asked. “Where are they?”
“They use to be over there.” Sandy Claws pointed over to the hills of snow. “But they’ve never been used. And over time the snow fall has buried them. They are under each of the snow hills in this town.”
But Emma saw a little problem.
“But it could take days to dig them out.” She said. “And then it could be weeks before we find the train for Halloween Town.”
“Well, Emma, might I suggest something that could have and added advantage?”
Emma shoved her shoulders and nodded.
“Why don’t you take the first train you uncover and use it to that holiday world. You can look for the holiday transportation to Halloween Town when you arrive there. And also,” Sandy began to explain the advantage. “You could look for your friends while you are there.”
Emma started to ponder about this.
“I think this all sounds a great idea.” Said Sarmoo.
“It all gobbledygook to me.” Said Benjamin.
“If Emma decides to go ahead with this plan, it means were going to dig up a train from the snow.” Sarmoo explained.
“A twain?” Benjamin puzzled. “Twains don’t bewong in the snow, they bewong in the twain station.”
“Well, these ones going to be underground…”
“Alright.” I interrupted. “Let’s not waste time. This is our only way back to Halloween Town. Let’s get started.”
“Hey, I thought I was the leader of these kids?” Said Emma.
“There’s no other choice, Emma.” I said. “Besides, I must get back to Sally as soon as I can.”
Emma sighed. “Alright.”
“Come then, fellas!” I cried. “Let’s go!”
I raced down the hill with Sarmoo, Mathew and Benjamin following.
Emma stayed put.
I guess she was even more depressed now that the door was locked and I seemed to be taking charge of her friends.
“Don’t be blue, Emma.” Sandy Claws placed his hand on Emma’s shoulder. “The journey you are about to take may lead you to the rest of your friends. And it may also lead you to find a way to bring back Anastasia and Nadallia.”
Emma sighed.
“Why is it that no matter how hard I try to be a good leader, something always gets in my way. Everything was going fine until all that happened to Anastasia. And then, everything was starting to recover until this happened.”
Emma was still down.
“I really don’t believe I can do this, Santa.”
“You can. You are the only one who can.” Sandy tried to get her spirits up. “And in the meantime this might cheer you up.”
Sandy Claws reached into his little bag and presented a present to Emma.
Emma turned round properly.
“Merry Christmas, Emma Donnahue.”
“Gee, thanks.” Emma took the present from Sandy Claws.
She gently unwrapped the ribbon and began peeling off the paper.
She then opened the box inside the paper.
Emma looked inside.
“Oh…” She was stunned.
Emma put her hand inside the box and pulled out a loop of chain with a charm in the middle.
“This…this is the necklace my mother gave to me.” Emma gasped. “Where did you get this?”
Sandy tapped the side of his nose.
“I’m Santa Clause.”
The charm of the necklace was two letters, E and M. (I presume it was suppose to spell Emma)
“Shame you couldn’t give it to me fixed.” Said Emma.
“Well, at least you can now take with you a memory of your world. And perhaps a motivation for you to soon return there.”
Emma unclipped the fastening and loop the chain round her neck and refastened it.
She brought the charm up to her face.
“Thanks. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see it again.”
“You welcome, Emma Donnahue.”
…
Emma wasn’t the only one who got a present, (It was Christmas after all.)
I can tell you what Sandy Claws got for us too.
For Benjamin; Well, you know Benjamin’s very special talent with remembering numbers and that calculator the doctor once gave him that he always use to type on. Well, Sandy get Benjamin his own calculator. It was a special children’s learning one. And it talked to him every time he answered correctly.
‘Well done’ it would say.
For Mathew; Sandy Claws knew that Mathew was deaf and that he had a lot of trouble communicating. So, he gave Mathew something that would really help him talk to all those he couldn’t talk to before. He gave Mathew a special toy that spoke the words you typed in! This way, Mathew could talk to anyone, even if they didn’t know sign language.
For Sarmoo; Sarmoo loved Christmas Town so much. The gift Sandy gave Sarmoo reflected his happiness in Christmas Town. He gave him a special snow globe. But not just any snow globe, it was also a music box! There was a little key on the side that could be used to wind it up. It would play winter wonderland in a blissful, joyful tune.
Now, that made me a little jealous, I must admit. Because surely no-one loves Christmas Town more that me.
But the present Sandy Claws gave me…it brought joy I never thought I could feel again.
He gave me one last chance to ride his sleigh. To soar into the sky over the houses of all the little boys and girls, just as it if was the real Sandy Claws. Just like the night before the nightmare before Christmas. (Ho, ho, ho…hee, hee!)
Well, I’m afraid that’s it for now.
Sorry to leave, but this is the end of Part 3.
Our next job will be to dig up a train and get back to Halloween Town. Or…to where ever the train will take us.
Come back soon and see if were finished digging. It’s going to take a lot of back breaking work. But I know we’ll do it!
Farewell for now, fellow readers!
[Coming soon… Part Four: “Return of the Darkness”]
The Children of Light:
Emma Donnahue: Found
Anastasia Rose: Lost
Benjamin O’Brien: Found
Sarmoo Okoro: Found
Mathew Cartwright: Found
Alex Scarr: Not Found
Devashree Kapur: Not Found
Dasharath Kapur: Not Found
Nadallia Chime: Lost
Ramona Lorenzo: Not Found
