Chapter 1 -A Midnight Snack
Tom was in the house next to the hearth of the fireplace, for warmth. The countdown to Christmas had already begun and as the days counted down so did the temperature. While Australia didn’t get extremely cold during this time of the year, there seemed to be something strange afoot recently that caused the temperature to go down. Tom the cat wasn’t particularly thrilled but he wasn’t annoyed either. As long as that mouse Jerry didn’t annoy him, he would enjoy this Christmas.
Unfortunately, things wouldn’t stay like that for long, for peeking out of the mouse hole was the little pipsqueak himself. Jerry had noticed that Tom had settled down because of the unnaturally cold weather. He sneaked out and went to the kitchen to see what food he could pilfer for himself to keep himself warm and well fed during this time.
Now, the thing is that, the person who owned the house wasn’t exactly normal. Jerry had spied various herbs and spices which included things that he had never seen before. Slowly he made his way into the pantry and spied a big slice of freshly made cake. He made his way up with agility and quickly started nibbling away at the cake. He could have gotten away with it had he not dropped something from the top-shelf while coming down. Tom awoke, startled. He made his way to the pantry to find the little mouse escaping with a slice of cake in his mouth. The cat gave chase to the mouse and Tom almost caught Jerry but then the door gave way and the owner came back home.
Chapter 2 -The Unexpected Visitor
The owner walked through the door but he wasn’t alone. Another man who seemed to be very old but also very big walked through the door with the owner. While the pair sat down, Tom and Jerry were holding their breaths anticipating what would happen next.
“It’s no use, they don’t believe in Santa anymore. We have to think of something lest everything I have crumbles to dust.”
The owner then spoke up, “Things will get better and while everyone may know you as ‘Santa’ you are also a powerful mage and known as the king of Christmas spirit, don’t give up now old friend.”
“Santa!” The two hiding in the pantry thought they had definitely heard the name before. Tom and Jerry leaned closer to hear everything that was happening.
“I may possess great power but that power is being threatened and you know as well as I that I am not the only one that wields these powers,” said Santa.
“You can’t really mean that the memory of the great harbinger of joy is being undone, is it?” the owner inquired.
Santa could only nod. Jerry wanted to know more but it would be his undoing as something clanged as he tried to move closer. The two humans swung around in their direction. They looked at the mouse and cat that were standing in the kitchen.
“My, my, what cute little pets you have here, what are their names Chris?”
After so long, Tom and Jerry finally knew the name of the one who they called “the owner”. It was quite a revelation to them.
“The cat is named Tom and the mouse I have never seen before,” Chris replied.
“Jerry,” Santa replied. “I can sense that a name like that would go well with him.”
Jerry instantly brightened both at the fact that someone got his name right but also that he had been acknowledged and treated better than Tom had been for over 5 years.
Chris looked at the mouse contemplating what to do with it. He was about to throw the mouse away into the freezing cold but then Tom kept a strong grip on the small mouse. It was clear that the cat wasn’t going to let the mouse go.
“They go together quite well,” remarked Santa.
“Well we still have to focus on the problem with you,” replied Chris trying to bring back the relevance of the visit.
Without having to hide, the two animals sat down and watched Santa as he explained his predicament. They could see that Chris was also watching on with intrigue.
“I’m going to need your help again old friend, or else I might truly lose this time,” Santa sounded worried.
Chris sat there and could only look with sadness as he replied, “It has been far too long and my powers are almost gone from having to adapt into a society where I can’t use my magic too much, I am no better than these two little companions beside me.”
“Hmmmmm, I feel like your two little companions could help me in this time of need,” Santa mused.
Chris was holding back his laughter, Tom was taken aback but Jerry seemed to be enthralled at the idea. Their expressions wouldn’t go unnoticed. Santa guessed that they weren’t the typical house pets. Living near someone of magical talent for a long time had definitely changed them in some way.
“Chris, do your pets talk by any chance?”
“No” replied Chris, though he was kind of bemused at the idea.
“I think it’s time you had a little fun with your magic. Don’t you think Chris?” Santa said with a twinkle in his eye.
“Are you sure about this?” Chris was sceptical but Tom and Jerry nodded.
After giving the cat and mouse the ability to talk, Chris approached the pantry and held up his hand. A soft green glow emanated from his hand. Soon the walls of the pantry began to pull away to reveal a secret passage.
“Guess your penchant for secrets is what kept you from drawing attention to yourself,” winked Santa.
Chris could only chuckle at Santa’s comments. The cat and the mouse entered with the two humans who descended into the depths of the house into an impressive basement, not the average kind you would find in Australia. In the basement existed a magic stone, blue in color as well as a cold aura which encompassed it.
“This is one of the main sources of magic in this world” described Chris.
Chapter 3 – History
“Long ago many of these stones existed and in much bigger forms than the one that sits before us. People would build cities and towns around these magic stones. In turn they would draw power from the stone and this would create the sorcery we see today.” Chris’s eye’s then began to darken, “Unfortunately there are forces that seem to exist beyond this world that wish to corrupt it. Many stones have lost their shine and many have shattered into pieces. Only certain stones are left remaining and it seems that whatever destroyed the stone back then is trying a different approach to destroy the stone now.”
Santa then sighed, “This entity has already started to make my powers wane too. My power may have started from the stones but my magic also got way stronger because of the people who believed in me and my magic. But the power is now under threat. My magic almost failed me last year. I was only able to deliver half the presents I normally would and that caused a lot of people to become doubtful and then stop believing”.
Tom and Jerry soon understood the importance of the Santa figure and why they had to help. “Well we got to do something about it,” Tom said. He then looked in shock as he was hearing his own voice for the first time.
“Haaaa, you sound stupid,” remarked Jerry who obviously was enjoying Tom making a fool of himself. The two were about to go at it again when Chris cleared his throat….loudly.
“If we don’t help Santa to deliver all the presents, his magic will fail for good and the last stronghold of magic will fall,” Chris remarked. “And believe me, when Santa falls, my little stone here will soon follow and magic will be lost to the world forever.”
“Well let’s get to the North Pole and help Santa” squeaked Jerry.
Writer : Ethan
Grade : 10 (Year 2023)
Place : Sydney, Australia
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