My Christmas Star ( A Santa Clause Story Ft Bernard x OC)

Chapter 3: Santa Visits

Stella's POV

Seven years have passed by and now the eldest kids were fourteen, the middle triplets were ten, and the youngest, who was a boy we named Adam, was six. Adam was quite different from his other siblings. He was the only child who didn't have elf ears. This made it easier for when he started school, he didn't have to put mist on his ears like his other siblings. He also didn't have any magic like his older siblings. This made him feel lonely so he isolated himself from his brothers and sisters. He felt the only one who could understand him was his me because I too was once human. He was also a selective mute, so he rarely ever talked unless it was to me.

We haven't visited the Pole in a while, only I had to revive my life force so I can continue to age and have magic, but I noticed something strange happening.
The light from Bethlehem seemed to have gotten dimmer and dimmer, which worried me because it was affecting me too. I too was feeling weaker. I didn't want to worry my family so I kept it to myself. But, that year, when Dad would arrive at our house with Noel on Christmas Eve, I decided that I needed to have a talk with my Dad.

My family and I patiently waited for Dad to appear in their fireplace.
"Mom, what's taking so long? Grandpa is never late. He always arrives at 11:30 sharp," Evangeline said, worriedly.
"Don't worry, kids. I'm sure the list was just longer this year...hopefully," I said as I muttered the last part to myself. We continued to wait up until it was 11:59.
"Okay, kids. Looks like Grandpa is running behind schedule this year so why don't you all get to bed, okay?" I said.
"Aw, mom!" the triplets whined.
"But!" the twins said.
"No buts! No whining! No pouting! Off to bed," I said sternly as I pointed towards the staircase.
The kids got up and headed towards the staircase, but just then...the fireplace stretched and Dad and Noel appeared in the fireplace.
"Grandpa!" the kids yelled in unison.
"Grandkids!" Dad said happily as he got out of the fireplace. The kids all tackled him with hugs. I sighed in relief and looked at Bernard who looked worried. We both knew something was off.
"Look what I got for you," Dad said as he pulled out some gifts. "
"Whoa! A laptop! Thanks, grandpa! I needed this for school" Holly-Joy said as she hugged the laptop close to her chest.
"Whoa, an old style gameboy? I love this! Thanks Grandpa," Nicholas said as Dad handed him the vintage game system.
"A new sketch pad! Thank you, thank you!" Evangeline said as she hugged her grandpa.
"Whoa! A new PS5! Thanks Grandpa!" Chris and Joseph said as they both hugged their grandpa.
"You're welcome kids. You didn't think I'd forget you, did you Adam?" Dad asked as he reached into his bag. He pulled out a snowglobe and handed it to Adam. Adam smiled a little and admired the snowglobe. He nodded to his grandpa, in thanks.
"Bestie!" Noel shouted as he came over and tackled me with a hug.
"Hello, Noel. Good to see you," I said as I smiled and returned the hug. "How's Betty doing?" I asked.
"She's doing great. She's running the place as smooth as a baby's bottom," Noel replied with a chuckle.
"Good to hear," I said with a smile. "Okay, kids. Say goodnight to Grandpa, okay?" I said.
"Awww," the kids said in unison. They all gave their grandpa hugs.
"Bernard, take them up to bed, will you? I need to talk to Dad alone," I said.
"Sure thing, Angel. Come on, kids," Bernard said as he led the kids upstairs, which left me alone with Noel and Dad.
"You're late," I said as I put my hands on my hips.
"We're just a little behind schedule. Nothing to worry about," Dad said dismissively.
"Dad, you were always on time once we moved. What happened this time?" I asked.
"Nothing. Nothing happened," Dad said with a nervous chuckle. I crossed my arms and gave him a stern look.
"Just tell her, Santa," Noel outburst. Dad looked at Noel and signaled him to stop.
"Tell me what?" I asked as my eyes grew even more stern. Dad and Noel exchanged looks. Dad sighed and looked at me.
"Stella. My magic failed me tonight. I couldn't get back up the chimney," Dad confessed. My eyes widened.
"What?" I asked in disbelief. "How in the world does Santa not get back up the chimney?" I asked, panicked.
"Well, there could only be one reason," Noel said. He then looked me dead in the eye. "How have you been feeling, Christmas Spirit?" he asked as he emphasized "Christmas Spirit".
"Keep this between us but I haven't been feeling myself. So riddle me this. How long was your list this year?" I asked.
"Uhhhh," the two mumbled in unison.
"Long," Dad said.
"Very long," Noel said.
"So long," Dad said. I outstretched my hand and used my magic to summon the list. I was awfully surprised at how light it was.
"What the–this isn't even fifty pages. How could you let this happen?" I asked.
"We don't know. All those kids we used to visit when you were younger...grew up. They stopped believing," Dad explained.
"But the list didn't start to shorten up until you left. Of course, I don't want to make you feel bad for leaving the nest," Noel said, innocently.
"But how? I've been doing my job wonderfully in helping kids who didn't believe or had no Christmas Spirit..." I trailed as I skimmed the list. "I've even visited places where no human dares to tread."
"Well, it seems like only those you helped and a select few others made it on the list," Dad said. I frowned.
"What do we do?" I asked. "How do we fix this?" I asked.
"I don't know but don't tell Bernard or the kids. Not yet. I'm gonna try and figure this out, okay?" Dad tried to reassure me but I definitely wasn't reassured. I stiffly nodded as I kept my arms crossed and my lips pursed.
"Come here," my Dad said as he opened his arms. I hugged him and for some odd reason, he seemed a few pounds lighter.
"You've lost weight," I commented.
"What?" Dad said in disbelief as he broke the hug. "How can you tell?"
"I'm your daughter, Dad. I definitely would know," I replied.
"Don't worry. The second I get home I'm slamming down a fattening shake," Dad said. I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, Santa. We better go," Noel said. "Bye bestie. Miss you bestie," Noel said briskly as he and Santa went back in the chimney.
"Tell Betty and the family we say hi," I said right as Dad flicked his nose. But nothing happened. Dad chuckled nervously.
"Heh. Do you mind if we use the front door?" he asked. I shook my head in disbelief and gestured to the door. The two of them hurried to the door and quickly left. I sat down on the leather lounge chair and buried my face in my hands.
"Angel?" came Bernard's voice. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," I replied in a glum tone.
"That's not very reassuring. Did something happen?" he asked.
"No, it's just..." I sighed. "The list was shorter this year," I replied.
"What? But how?" Bernard asked.
"I don't know. I've done my best to spread Christmas cheer and whatnot over the world but apparently it wasn't good enough. Kids just don't believe as much anymore," I said, glumly.
"Stupid Amazon. I blame them," Bernard said. "They sell almost everything that the North Pole makes and they deliver all the time, which would really throw Santa off the charts," Bernard said as he approached me.
"I know. I've looked at the Christmas Market share charts," I said before I summoned a laptop and opened up to reveal a chart of all the delivery market systems. "You see the one marked as Other? That's Santa. He's only seventeen percent! That's bad. Back in the nineties and early two thousands, he was at eighty nine percent. This is bad," I said.
"It's the new generation of kids, I'm tellin' ya. They all rely on allowances and then use them to get whatever they want with only a few clicks on their phones," Bernard said as he slumped on the couch across from the lounge chair I was sitting in.
"Do you think it's time?" I asked. Bernard looked at me. "For us to move back, I mean," I said.
"Do you think the kids are ready for that?" Bernard asked. "And what about Adam? School is the only place he feels he belongs, if we move him to the Pole, he'll just feel more out of place," Bernard said, worriedly.
"He wouldn't be totally out of place. His Aunt and Uncle are humans just like him too," I said.
"Fair point. But I mean kids his age. He needs human friends his age."
"I know but you know what that Santa said. We're destined to bring our family and Dad's together in the Pole. And maybe since the list and Dad's accid–'' I paused and shut my mouth.
"I'm sorry, his what?" Bernard asked in disbelief. I covered my eyes with my hands and groaned. I uncovered my eyes and looked at Bernard.
"When Dad and I were talking, not only did he mention that the list was shorter but...at one point he couldn't go back up the chimney. And then he couldn't get up our chimney so he had to use the front door," I explained.
"Holy Christmas Nuts," Bernard said in disbelief. "If the list has been short and Santa's magic failed him tonight does that mean...are you feeling sick?" Bernard asked.
"Don't worry about me, Bernard. This could be fixed. Dad just probably felt out of whack this year and I probably didn't do as much of a good job as I thought I was doing so I guess we both just need to try harder next year," I explained.
"Don't put yourself down like that, Bella Stella. You know and I know that you did the best you could to spread Christmas cheer around the world. It's just the kids of the times, that's all. Maybe Santa and the elves just need to come up with a more efficient way of trying to give kids what they want that they don't already have or can't get with a tap of a screen," Bernard said as he tried to reassure me. I didn't want to make him feel bad so I nodded.
"I hope so," I said.
"Come on. Let's get to bed," Bernard said as he stood up and outstretched his hand to me. I took his hand and we both made our way upstairs to our bedroom.