Chapter 58: Santa Claus
Mr. Raymond's Hyundai Tucson SUV drove down the dusty, empty desert road for over an hour as Arora stared out the window from time to time in amazement.
She'd naturally never been outside Chicago before, so she had no idea what the world beyond the city was supposed to look like. Still, an instinctual feeling told her it wasn't supposed to look like this.
"Mr. Raymond, do you mind if I ask a question?" she said finally, unable to control her curiosity.
Mr. Raymond glanced at her through the rearview mirror with a bright smile.
"Of course, you can ask anything."
Arora quickly took his invitation as she thought about the questions troubling her the most.
"Why is everything like this? Is this how everything outside Chicago looks? If so, why is Chicago different? And more importantly, where exactly are we going to meet my new parents?"
Mr. Raymond hummed softly before chuckling
"So many questions, Arora. You truly are a curious one. Well, it's only natural. The other children were the same when they were being taken to their new homes."
He lightly tapped the steering wheel rhythmically for a few seconds before answering finally.
"Well, firstly, everything is like this because the world, as you should have known it, is in a precarious state. Things aren't the same as they used to be. A few years ago, this entire area was filled with populated cities."
His voice grew somber as he sighed heavily.
"Unfortunately, an ever-increasing disaster has swallowed them up as well."
Arora stared at him in stunned silence, shocked that something like that was even possible.
"Was it an earthquake or something similar? And will something like that happen to Chicago too?" she asked, worry creeping into her voice.
Raymond shook his head gently. "No, it wasn't. But you don't have to worry about it too much. There are countless cities besides Chicago, entire countries even. We were just one of the nations hit hardest initially, that's all."
"We're on our way to another one of those cities — the North Pole, where the mailman sends those letters of yours after you sneak them into the mailbox."
Arora's eyes narrowed at his words. Then they suddenly widened in surprise as she processed what he'd said fully.
"How do you know about my letters to Santa Claus, Mr. Raymond?"
"...Ah." Mr. Raymond muttered, realizing his mistake. He face-palmed as he sighed deeply.
"Haha, seems like I rambled on more than I should have. I guess the cat's out of the bag now, isn't it?"
He considered his next words carefully.
"The truth, Arora, is that I'm the one you've been exchanging letters with for the past few years."
Arora's eyes widened even more, her mouth falling open slightly.
"...What?"
"What are you saying, Mr. Raymond?" she asked with a nervous chuckle, her mind reeling with disbelief. "I was exchanging letters with Santa Claus, my friend, not you. Did you somehow read the letters before they were sent or something?"
"You're lying... you have to be."
Mr. Raymond scratched the back of his head with one hand while gripping the wheel with the other.
"Santa Claus isn't real, Arora. It's quite unfortunate, honestly. I wanted him to be real too when I was a kid. I'm the one who sent you those letters every December. I've also received all the ones you sent."
He said as he reached into his glove compartment and pulled out several carefully handwritten letters that he still had in his car from last December.
He glanced at Arora again through the mirror as he remained silent, allowing her to process the revelation.
Arora stared blankly at the letters she was certain were hers. She felt like her world had just shattered. Santa Claus, the one friend she thought she'd made in this world... was nothing but a fairy tale after all.
Just like Beth had said.
And the person she'd believed she could trust most had deceived her.
She remembered when Mr Raymond had visited the orphanage once, after a confrontation with Beth. He'd comforted her, then suddenly started talking about Santa Claus. At that point, she'd naturally believed Santa wasn't real, but Mr. Raymond had convinced her otherwise. After that, her yearly letter exchanges began, bringing newfound joy to her life.
She furrowed her brows in confusion and rage as she finally turned her gaze to Mr Raymond. "Why did you do it?"
"For what purpose?" she said, her voice cracking slightly as it increased.
Mr Raymond remained silent for several moments once again. Finally he met her eyes in the rearview mirror.
"To make you happy, dear Arora."
"I knew you were suffering. I knew you were sad and that you didn't fit in. There was nothing I could do besides punishing the other kids when you told me about incidents. I knew there was a lot you didn't want to discuss with me because you didn't want to cause trouble for anyone."
"So I gave you a friend who would listen. A friend you could talk to and look forward to hearing from. I wanted to make the letters more frequent, but I'm usually very busy most of the year. That's why I always made time for December."
Tears began to well up in Arora's eyes as she listened.
"I'm sorry I deceived you. I truly am. I hope you can forgive me... for that, at least."
The rage building in Arora's heart slowly melted away as he spoke. She now understood why Mr. Raymond always seemed to know exactly what was troubling her.
She wanted to be mad at him, but she couldn't. She could see things from his perspective. Everything he'd done was out of care.
Silence stretched between them for several minutes.
Then suddenly, Arora frowned.
"Why?" she stammered. "It doesn't make sense, Mr. Raymond. I'm just like every other kid in the orphanage, yet you've always treated me so much better than the others. You've always gone above and beyond for me. I'm just wondering why you always go so far for me?"
Arora asked, as she stared at Mr Raymond for several moments while he remained silent.
Then suddenly, and without warning, the car came to a resounding halt on the empty desert road.
She jerked forward slightly from the unexpected stop, her seatbelt catching her. She looked into the rearview mirror, and her eyes widened.
Mr. Raymond was crying....
His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he gritted his teeth, his face contorting with what looked like self-hatred, pain, anguish, and despair.
"Because it's the least I can do, Arora." he stammered through ragged breathing as tears flowed freely down his face. "It's the least I can do as your shameless disappointment of an uncle who deserves death!"