#flashfiction #santa #Krampus #Christmas

Krampus was tired and a bit depressed. His night had gone well, perhaps too well. There were so many naughty children to punish that he had broken his switches half a dozen times from all the beatings.
His lot in life was to only see the bad and it brought him great sadness as he crawled back into his cave to sleep until next year.
A sound woke him from his slumber and he growled a warning.
“Wake up Krampus, I have a job for you,” a booming voice echoed through the cave.
Krampus rattled his chains and growled as he crawled from the cave. Whoever this interloper was he would pay for waking a grumpy Krampus.
Krampus emerged from his cave baring his teeth and then stopped when he saw the big red sleigh. The red clothing and huge white beard quickly told Krampus that Santa had come for a visit. Beside the big man was a lovely woman in a flowing dress, Mrs. Claus.
Krampus growled at the jolly duo. How dare they bring their smiles to his cave of sorrow.
“Krampus you look depressed,” Mrs. Claus said. “I told Santa we had to do something nice for you.”
“You did great work Krampus,” Santa said. “All the naughty children have been punished and I have no doubt they’ve learned their lesson and will be good next year. But come with us, I want to give you a gift before you go to sleep for another year.”
Krampus grumbled but knew he would never be left in peace by these overly jolly elves if he retreated into his cave. With a huff he crawled into the sleigh and hung his head to await whatever indignity the duo would impose on him.
The sleigh took to the sky and flew down to the world of men. Soon it spiraled down and landed in a large courtyard. Hundreds of people, young and old, crowded the space and cheered as Santa and Mrs. Claus descended from the sleigh. A gasp ran through the crowd as Krampus dropped to the ground.
“Merry Christmas,” Santa bellowed. “I’ve brought a new friend for you all to meet. Show Krampus your Christmas spirit.”
It started low but quickly grew. Cheers and shouts of ‘Merry Christmas Krampus’ echoed through the courtyard.
Krampus felt a strange warmth, he had never been cheered before. Santa led his wife and Krampus to a dias with a pair of chairs and piles of toys. The trio sat and children, good children all, walked forward to receive gifts and all wished Krampus a Merry Christmas.
The scary beast did not feel so scary for once. The children smiled at him and thanked him as he handed them presents. Soon he found himself laughing and smiling.
His work had ensured that there were good people to enjoy this holiday and he felt his sorrow lift as he discovered the good he was doing for the world.
The night soon ended and Santa returned Krampus to his cave. As the Christmas Devil entered the cave he turned one last time and growled a thank you to the jolly old elf. He was eager for sleep so that he could awaken next year to once again create a better world and bring joy.

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Happy Holidays all. A special holiday greeting to the folks in my picture today. This was my friends Piers and his lovely wife Julie (sorry Krampus I don’t know who was in the costume) from @SantasCauseDc during last year’s @KrampusnachtDC
Check out their pages, its a great charity, and a great fun night.