In another place, on the Santa-Co-Motion, there are also mixed feelings of hope and horror. The Super Shield takes a tighter hold on the passengers on board. Not because something bad's looming just ahead but because they are decelerating; they are arriving at their end station, Santa's Hideaway, their holiday village.
The co-driver reassures the passengers, 'Just 10 seconds and we'll be at our destination, safe and sound.'
The Santa-Co-Motion comes to a gentle halt. The Super Shield loosens its grip on the passengers, lets them stand up and gather their belongings.
The journey was comfortable. The elves served snacks and a proper meal with a Chinese twist, which delighted the passengers. It was clear they had thought about the Chinese passengers' preferences beforehand, so the elves didn't just offer local food to the unaccustomed, for fear of exposing them to any displeasure. This approach was chosen because the guests come from a culture quite unlike the local one.
The passengers were also happy to find sleep pods on the Santa-Co-Motion because the airplane seats are not the most comfortable for sitting, let alone for sleeping. So their muscles needed more rest. They became even happier when they realised the beds they lied on automatically spotted the sore points in their bodies and massaged them. To top it off, the elves brought wooden buckets for the passengers' tired feet containing body-temperature warm water with refreshing herbs. They put the buckets in their designated places which also guaranteed the temperature didn't drop.
But now it's time for the passengers to get off. Every family, the three ladies and the other creatures each get their own escort. The escorts lead them through a passenger tunnel to a lift, which takes them up to the newly-opened reception under Santa's Hideaway. There they sign the authorisation paper on which they are given the right (but not an exclusive one of course) to make Santa's Services known to their peers, friends and relatives in China. If a person coming to Santa Claus' Village will have received the information through them, they'll have the right to get a 30 % discount for their next trip to Santa's Village, not to mention, a bonus gift once they arrive in the Village.
Except for the rights and privileges, there are duties and responsibilities that humans and other creatures need to take seriously. So if they on the off-chance get to know the location of Santa's Hideaway (which is highly unlikely because the location distractor created by Santa's hi-tech elves is active 24 hours a day), they'll have to keep it top secret not to spoil the peace and quiet that Santa Claus needs to be creative in the future for the kids from 18 months to 1212 months to make their future fun and pleasure exceed today's excellent equivalents. (So no dropping a pin on Google Maps or on any other please.)
Then the guests are led out of the reception to their aboveground accommodation. Each family gets their own igloos, so does the 3 ladies' group. The Chinese chef has an igloo of his own. Tiger and Kunming share an igloo and Panda and Rooster another. The igloos are situated twenty metres apart in a clearing in the middle of Santa's magical forest of fir trees and pine trees. These hemispheres have a transparent roof to make it easier for guests to admire the star-lit sky and the Northern Lights at night whenever the circumstances are favourable for seeing them. However if there is a need to communicate with the other guests, they can go underground from their igloos to meet in a huge shared living room conveniently next to the reception if they have any questions or worries.
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General FictionThere is an unexpected turn in the story that drastically changes the course of events and, in the long run, even the lives of those involved. Magpie, the first to be involved, suddenly finds himself in the world so unlike his own. Will he find his...
