It was the night before Christmas eve and Rajat had lost all hope…
Last evening, like every year the whole family had left for the farmhouse. On the way they came across a makeshift shop that was selling Christmas decorations and plum pudding. Dad had to have the plum pudding and they also decided to pick up some new decorative lights. At the shop while looking through the many beautiful lights Rajat spotted a nice four feet Santa with glow in the night lights around the border. That was meant to go on top of a house on the chimney. It would require some amount of effort however the effect would be just amazing. Mamma agreed and while it would mean that dad would have to climb up and set it all up, he also agreed. After making the payment they loaded up the new glow-in-the-dark Santa on to the roof rack. Rajat had dozed off by the time they reached the farmhouse. It was the excited barking of the two rottweilers who lived on the farm and guarded it that woke him up. It was always so exciting to return to the farm. You had to actually see the millions of shades of green in the countryside to actually realize how much soothing nature really was. It was like the brain just entered a spa and the masseuse went to work . Really relaxing.
The first thing dad and Rajat did after unloading and cleaning up was to get up on to the roof and setup GloSanta. Everything was secured properly, there were two sturdy ropes that went properly around the chimney and everything was plugged in, ready to roll. The two of them got down from the roof and went and stood in the lawn in-front of the house. Mamma plugged in the Santa and switched it on from inside the house. It was a spectacular sight…. all smiles… mom also came out to join them and admire their handiwork… And then… it sputtered, gasped and dozed off. The lights all went off as if in a power cut. Only that there was no power cut the whole thing had just blown a fuse. Rajat was crestfallen as dad tried to figure out the problem. It did not look good.
So this was the reason that Rajat went to sleep a little sad on the night before Christmas Eve. Early morning as he woke up mom and dad had lined up a lot of activities for the day which included mostly cleaning up the house and preparing for the party in the evening. The high point for Rajat was the strawberry picking activity at their own farm and a visit to the nearby horse riding club. By evening Rajat was all bubbly and excited, he had almost forgotten about the gloSanta. When they got back to the farm house grandma and grandpa had arrived for the dinner. Aunty Sarla and her twin daughters were also there. Rajat had a tough time running between the kitchen to fetch something or the other for the huge dining table loaded with yummy food now. He had totally forgotten about fused GlowSanta on the roof top. Finally late in the night everyone had settled on the patio and lawn to listen to music and watch the fireflies flitting around busily in the garden area. Rajat had already pushed off to his bedroom, he was tired. That’s when grandma came to Rajat and taking him by the hand asked him to follow her.
A weary headed Rajat followed grandma half expecting to be told to bring down a heavy photo album from the top shelf in dads study. But she took him outside to the lawn. It was pretty cold now but as Rajat stepped out into the patio with grandma he was surprised to see the whole family gathered outside with lanterns and candles in their hands. Grandma gave Rajat a lighted candle and they all sang the family anthem. A tradition that all the kids found extremely embarrassing and weird but the grown ups swore by. As they were coming to the close of the anthem Rajats’ eyes were almost shutting down and he just wanted to go back to his cozy bed and sleep. That’s when Grandma shook him by the shoulder and pointed to the rooftop. Almost as if on cue GlowSanta lit up. No one else had noticed it yet. Rajat yelped with joy and hugged his grandma. That night he slept out in the lawn in a sleeping bag in the tenthouse. The transparent roof and window of the tent allowing him to look up at the glowing Santa on the rooftop whenever he felt like it.
Inside the house Papa thanked grandpa for having picked up the spare cables and fuses on their way to the farmhouse.