Santa Claus — My Gift to You

I wrote a story about one man’s redemption some time ago.

I am posting it here on Medium as my gift to anyone who would care to read it.

Please enjoy and Happy Holidays.

Santa Claus

When Sam Graham exited the bus in Central City, the cold wind whipped around his body, fluttering his clothes. Sam turned the collar of his overcoat up so his ears and the back of his head were protected from the fierce, frigid wind. Kneeling against the pull, he picked up his bag and walked to a nondescript brownstone hotel on First Avenue.

Sam quickly went inside and registered, paid one week’s rent in advance, then hurriedly went up to his room on the seventh floor. Inside his drab hotel room, he sat on the single bed and fingered a loose ringlet in the corded bed cover. After some time, he reached into his pocket and laid a ten-dollar bill, two ones, and some change neatly on the bed. He stared at the money for what felt like a long time.

As he unpacked his bag, Sam took a bottle of pills and placed them in the top drawer of the bedside dresser. Once completely unpacked, he left his room and got a hamburger from a little place he had passed down the street. When he returned, he pulled out the bottle of pills and placed them on top of the dresser so he could study them as he lay on the bed. In the neon flicker of the hotel sign, he stared at the bottle until his eyes drifted shut. Soon after, Sam fell asleep.