The Gift from the Heavy-Drinking Santa

My father loves alcohol.
Having a drink with dinner is his daily routine, and it is not rare for him to finish a 1.8-liter bottle in a single day.

As my father worked in the arts, he would receive year-end and mid-year gifts from his students and associates, and they were always alcohol.
I spent my childhood getting excited whenever there was a set of juice included with the occasional alcohol gift.

My father, who loves alcohol, never eats sweets.
Maybe once a year, he might have a tiny bite of red bean paste during the New Year holidays,
but other than that, he never eats anything sweet.
I feel like that is a common trait among heavy drinkers.

There was one other thing I looked forward to during the year-end gift season.
That was Christmas.

Santa Claus would come to our house on Christmas, too.
From "Amu Amu Tamago" and "The Game of Life" to "Mini Billiards,"
Santa would bring things that the whole family could enjoy.

After reading picture books about Santa,
I would often ask my mother,
"We don't have a chimney, will he be okay?"
"Will he know where our house is?"

Perhaps because of that, from a certain year on,
I started writing letters to Santa with my mother.

I would write down what I wanted, our address, and questions for Santa.
I remember writing things like "I've left the window unlocked" in my room on the second floor,
and feeling strongly that I had to make sure Santa wouldn't get lost.

The year I first wrote a letter, I received a reply from Santa.
It was written in English and I couldn't read it, so my father translated it for me.
I was so incredibly happy to receive that letter.

I think it was around the time I was in the fourth grade of elementary school.
The theory that "Santa doesn't exist" suddenly started circulating in the world.

Apparently, in other houses, the "family members" act as Santa.

What on earth? Is that true?

Even though I had heard a little bit of that talk, I still believed in the existence of Santa.

The year after I received the letter, in addition to my annual letter,
I decided I wanted to give Santa a Christmas cake that I had baked with my mother.
So, I put a slice of cake on a plate, left it by my bedside with my letter, and went to sleep.

December 25th.
Morning came.

There was a large gift box, an English letter, and,
a cake that had been eaten by just one bite.

"…Santa ate the cake!"

That joy raced through me.
At the same time, I thought, "Santa definitely exists!!"

That said, since the theory that Santa was just a family member was still in the back of my mind,
I asked my father, "Dad, did you eat it?"

The reply I got back was,
"Dad doesn't like sweets, so I couldn't eat it."

I knew it. There's no way Dad would eat it.
Mom never wakes up until morning once she falls asleep, so there's no way she could have placed the presents.
"Santa Claus" became a solid, undeniable existence.

My belief in "Santa Claus" was fragilely shattered by my grandmother when I was in the first year of junior high, but even after that, my father always...

insisted, "I absolutely cannot eat the cake."

The one who ate that cake that day must have been Santa.

I am married now and have a family of my own.
Santa will be coming to our house this year, too.

Now, let's get the gifts ready.

Thank you for reading this far 😌

This article is an entry for the project that Kotara-san and I have been running since November 7th. (Actually, it is exactly 1,225 characters long, matching the entry requirement of 1,225 characters or less ⭐️)

When I thought about Christmas for this project, the first thing that came to mind for "#UnforgettableGift" was this event.
When I was young, I lived as I pleased, and I think I caused my parents a lot of worry.
People say it all the time, but now that I am a parent myself, I understand how my parents felt painfully well.

As it happens, yesterday was my father's birthday.
My parents' home is far away, and I have far fewer opportunities to talk to my father.
There are many things I'm too embarrassed to say to him directly, but I have poured my feelings of gratitude into this note.

Please, tell me your story too ▼

Kotara-san is also preparing a special Christmas present consisting of heartfelt feedback and an exclusive 'Suki' image, so please do participate 🌸

I hope we can warm up the town of Note by +1°C together 😌