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| Starry night. Christmas is here. Joy to the world (Illustration by A. Peter) |
We stared at the little head, peeping out of the basket. The rest of its body was swaddled in a red cloth with green trim and it’s head was partially covered with a small cap of green, the tip ending in a red pompom. Only its pointy large ears were visible.
Our little babe was fast asleep. A note was pinned to the cloth. We heard a little snore and opened the letter.
My Darling,
I can't say you've been good this year, but it’s been fun watching you.
Here’s a little gift for your tree on Christmas Eve. May your Christmas be joyous and full of love.
Donny wanted to be with a family this year. He’ll spend a few days with you and vamoose.
Love
C
“Who's C?” Norbert asked.
“Maybe Mr Claus, going by the little elf on our doorstep,” Genie said.
I goosed the little fellow and he turned over and continued to snore.
“Let's leave him on the sofa and he can wake up on his own,” Genie said, his hand covering my index finger and gently moving it away from the elf’s stomach.
“The note says there are gifts... where are they?” I asked. I was slowly beginning to believe in Santa... after looking at the elf. I’d never seen any semi-naked. It seemed this one was wearing only his cap. The lack of clothing had to be against some Santa's Elf protocol.
“Goodnight,” Genie told me firmly. Fish had already switched off the lights in their tank and were grumbling about the racket and the lights. Nobby was going to watch Genie sleep.
“Goodnight.”
******
This is a fictional series surrounding a group of Fish, Genie, a former thug turned manservant turned free bird, and Norbert, a rum-loving mosquito.
This Christmas they have a visitor and cannot make sense of his appearance.
Christmas dawns... with strange gifts, strange demands and complicated emotions.
I woke up in the middle of the night and peeped in on the elf.
Genie had tucked a little pillow under Elf’s head and replaced the thin cloth covering Elf with a thick woollen muffler. For a former thug, Genie had a very tender side. It often showed unexpectedly. Mogi Singh's loss was our gain.
Elf was awake and watching Nobby and Genie snore in the weak light of the night lamp.
I walked into the sitting room... and immediately began to back out. Elf had let out a short scream and dove under the muffler. I could feel my blush rage.
Our elf was almost naked. He’d just woken and hadn’t thought to dress himself. I turned and waited.
“Sorry, I slept on your gifts. They’re all intact. I checked,” I heard Donny say.
“You mean the basket?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you ring the bell?”
“Couldn’t reach it. And there was too much noise in your flat – I knocked and shouted. Then I got too tired. I ate some of the jam inside.”
“Oh, ok. Thank you for the gifts.”
“I didn’t get them for you.”
“But the note from Santa said there were gifts.”
“Who's Santa?”
I searched for the note. I thought I’d read it correctly. It was on the dining table. I scanned it and then lost some of my wim. This was a gift from a certain C. Just the single initial. So irritating.
“Where’s the gift? And who is C?” I asked the elf.
“Don't know his name. It's always been Mr C. He asked me what I wanted as a New Year’s bonus. I told him I wanted a holiday with sane people.”
Poor, poor Elf. He’d been gipped big time. I wanted to hug him. I rummaged through the basket and slowed.
Nestling next to the half-eaten jar of natural sugar-less French jam were two beautiful ornaments for my tree. A sequined white silk reindeer, the size of my palm, and a small silk bright green elephant. The anonymous gifts every year bordered on strange.
And there were melon seeds and Maltesers, M&Ms and four packets of liquor chocolates. This was new. Was it because of the company I was keeping this year?
I heard a throat clear. Genie was awake. I placed the red cloth on the floor and laid out the gifts. This year the basket was large... and I loved the madness of its contents.
“Elf doesn’t know who Mr C is – he says he just works for him,” I said.
“My name is Donny,” Elf said.
“Donny, are you hungry?”
“May I have your cake?”
I smiled. I went into the kitchen and looked for the fruit cake I’d made yesterday. I had averaged three 2 kg cakes everyday for several days – neighbours I hadn’t seen for the whole year had started talking to me and asking me about my Christmas preparations and sometimes turning up for tea. Children rang my door every now and then to ask if my cake was ready. My ex husband had told me my cooking had been my only skill. When I thought of it later, I had felt the sting.
I hefted Donny onto the kitchen platform and I cut the piece of cake to his specification.
“Homemade wine?” I asked.
“Yes, please.” I warmed the mulled wine – I’d asked an elderly aunty of mine for the recipe. She had married an Anglo Indian and her mother-in-law had liked her very much – enough to share her recipes.
After he had eaten, I set Donny on the sofa and watched him doze off. I laid him on his back gently and tucked the muffler around him. The sitting room was cold because the windows were open. I brought out a dupatta and covered Donny with it.
“Closed the bottle tight, right?” Genie asked.
“Yes.”
“Merry Christmas.” Genie was up on his feet and shaking my hand.
It was 4.54am on Christmas day. There was no point going back to sleep – mass would be at 6am and I needed to get breakfast in order and some part of lunch organised. I went into the bedroom and got out Genie's present. I knew it would fit him. I just hoped he’d like it.
“Merry Christmas, Genie.” I could feel his shock when I hugged him. I backed out of his space quickly. He stared at the gift. He always seemed surprised I wanted to give him a present. He opened it and held out the cream silk shirt I had bought for him from Kerala.
“Fish?” he croaked, folding the shirt back into its cover. I wasn't offended. I knew he'd wear it. Probably at lunch.
“The usual – toys and eats. And for Nobby a special batch of wine and some blood I organised from a lab. I’ll get it by noon — so it’ll be fresh.”
Genie was now standing in front of me and holding out a small silk pouch. It had been at the bottom of the tree and had my name on it. He settled on the divan and watched me unwrap it slowly.
I felt nervous. The packaging looked gauzy and expensive.
I couldn’t open the little box. It said Aspreys. That was the premium jeweller. And it looked new.
“Open it,” Genie insisted.
Two small star-shaped diamond earrings twinkled at me. They laughed and giggled and I involuntarily moved the velvet box this way and that, all the while disbelieving they were really mine.
“How...” I saw the now-awake Nobby shaking his head furiously and my eyes bounced back to Genie.
“Th-thank you, Genie. It’s the nicest present anyone's got me...” I heard the Fish clear their throats. “The nicest. I’m touched. You shouldn't have...”
“Try them on.”
I went to the hall mirror, put them on slowly and stared. They shone and sparkled even better than the ones my mother owned and we had to sell.
I heard Papa's voice, “Remember to embrace and acknowledge the good. It will keep you sane.” It was several months after my mother had passed and I was slowly beginning to realise how fickle human relations were. Something he’d known and I'd never wanted to accept.
I felt Genie, the elf and Nobby, sitting on his shoulders, and Fish watching me. I composed myself and saw the other gifts that had suddenly appeared at the bottom of the tree.
I sat near the tree and opened all the presents. I felt overwhelmed. There was a beautiful bottle green silk dress and some pretty trinkets to go with it. I finally thanked them and served them cake and wine.
“Too early for wine, no?” Genie teased.
“In keeping with the festive spirit and the feeling of bonhomie in which I am awash.”
Fish snickered and I felt Nobby on my ear and in my hair and on my neck. He was content. Happy with his friends and even happier with the wine.
“I just have a question for you guys,” I said.
“Yes,” Genie asked.
“Whose idea were the gifts?”
Fish looked at my ear, I could feel Nobby shift and fly off to sit on Genie's shoulder, Donny looked at everyone perplexed and Genie smiled. Everyone stayed silent.
I sighed and got up. I wasn't going to get an answer. Fish and Genie had the means and Nobby the ideas.
A note had appeared on the fridge door, tucked under a Kenya Safari magnet, two days ago. “Please make biryani for Christmas lunch. We'll clean up.” It was pieced together with letters cut out of a newspaper. I knew they were toying with me. Some people had too much time.
******
I wore the beautiful earrings and silk dress and trinkets for the church service and at lunch. We had the mulled wine. Genie wore his silk shirt and Fish had their new toys arranged the way they wanted. Donny got a stash of chocolates and Nobby gave me a kiss for the blood I arranged.
None of us were alone this Christmas. And they said my biryani was awesome.
And Mr C?
Donny said Mr C's a kindly employer and Donny earns slightly better than minimum wage. But, as he said, the perks make up for everything else.
******
