It was December 24th. Little Mary, holding her dad’s index finger, was waiting eagerly at the railway station to receive her mom. She waited and waited and waited but to her dismay, the train did not turn up.

She saw a man running from the opposite direction in such a great hurry. Gasping for breath he asked, “Are you waiting for train E5?”

“Yes”, replied Mary’s dad. 

The man said, “The train got stuck in the middle of a track due to some engine  problem . It might take a day or two to fix it.”

Mary was in tears. Her dad consoled her and took her home. She headed straight to the Christmas Tree and wrote a new letter to Santa. It said – “Dear Santa, I want not only my mom but everybody in the train to be safe and reach home before Christmas. I do not want any other gifts.”

Next day, she heard her mom wishing her ,”Merry Christmas sweetheart”. She bounced with joy as if a spring was attached to her feet.

Mom, “Did your train engine get fixed so quickly?”

“A miracle happened yesterday. We saw the elves fixing up the engine so quickly. 

The elves sang,

Dear Mary, never do you fear

When we are here

Your selfless thoughts, cute words

Left Santa’s heart stirred.

Santa ordered us to fix the engine,

To fulfill your wish, so pristine.”

Just then, she heard the doorbell ringing. When she opened the door, Santa  was smiling there with loads of gifts.

It was the best Christmas for Mary.

// This fictional story has been penned by 10-year-old K. Shrija and was chosen among the top finalists at the Read Your Story event organized by Beyond Academix. //