Kriti and Sanju were discussing the gifts they hoped Santa would bring them. Their older brother Hari laughed at his siblings. “You twins are so lame. Santa does not exist,” he announced.
“We have to prove to Hari that Santa is real. Let’s stay up and catch Santa when he comes. Then, we’ll wake up Hari,” Kriti suggested. Sanju agreed.
That night, the twins finished their nightly routine quicker than usual and were in bed within 10 minutes.
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“Psst! Look what I have,” whispered Kriti. Under her pillow was a mobile phone. “It’s Appa’s. He’s already asleep, so I took it. Maybe we can take a picture with Santa!”
Sanju saw the phone and shivered. “Santa is definitely not going to give gifts to thieves,” he thought to himself.
That’s when they heard it — a soft tinkling and a softer rustle. “Santa’s come,” Kriti whispered excitedly. “Turn on the phone camera,” she called and ran to the living room.
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In a hurry
When Sanju stumbled into the living room, he spotted Kriti, clutching Santa’s hand. He could not believe his eyes. He took a hasty picture while Santa tried to push away from Kriti.
“Santa, wait!” screamed Kriti. “Sanju, go get Hari. NOW!”
Sanju sped off to their bedroom. “Hari wake up! Kriti has caught Santa! Come quick!” he hollered.
Amma and Appa woke up. “Amma, we have caught Santa!” announced Sanju happily.
“WHAT?!” shrieked Amma. “Where?”
“In the living room. Kriti has caught him,” At that moment they heard a thud and then a loud CLANG!
The four of them rushed to the living room. No Santa there. Just Kriti lying in a heap on the floor.
Amma rushed to her side. Appa ran to the door.
“Santa was in a hurry!” said Kriti, smiling sheepishly.
Amma and Appa looked around the living room. “Nothing’s gone,” said Appa. He looked at Kriti and Sanju. “Tell me what happened.”
Kriti told everyone about their plan.
“Kamal! The gifts... one of them is gone,” Amma called out. “There were three, now there are only two.”
Kriti could not understand what Amma meant. How could she know there had been three gifts? She was confused. Sanju wasn’t. “There is no Santa, is there, Amma? You kept the gifts for us. And now one is gone,” he said.
Kriti and Sanju looked sadly at the Christmas tree. Santa was not real. “You may as well delete the photo you took. I do not want to be in a picture with a thief,” said Kriti.
“The photo!” exclaimed Sanju, taking the phone out of his pocket.
“Appa, look at this picture I took of Kriti and the thief.”
“Look — that watch, isn’t it familiar?”
“Of course! It’s mine. We gave it to Richie,” he said.
They went straight to the watchman.
“Michael, look at this,” Appa said pointing to the photo. “This is the photograph of the thief dressed as Santa. Look at the watch he is wearing. It’s mine. I gave it to your brother Richie, for Deepavali.”
Michael burst into tears. “I’m sorry, sir. I heard a sound from your house and I came there. I saw Santa running out and I caught him. When I removed his mask I saw it was Richie. He has four kids and no money to buy them gifts...” Michael reached behind the cupboard in his room. “I gave him a slap and took the bag of loot from him, sir.”
The next day, Michael and Richie were summoned to the community hall. All the residents had gathered there. Three other houses had also been robbed.
Appa said to Richie as he handed him a bag. “It is Christmas after all, so we have decided to forgive you. These are for your children; they deserve a good Christmas. But, next time you need something, ask.”