Twenty Years Ago, I Played Santa for a Little Girl – This Christmas, She Came Back for Me

And candy?”

She couldn’t have been older than five.

Her hair was pulled into a crooked ponytail. A small scar crossed one cheek.

She clung to her mother’s coat as if it were the only safe thing in the world. Their cart held just milk and bread.

The mother’s eyes welled up as she crouched down and stroked her daughter’s hair.

“Oh, sweetheart, Santa wrote me a letter. He said he ran out of money this year.”

The little girl’s face fell, but she didn’t cry.

She just nodded like she understood disappointment already.

I don’t know what happened inside me, but I moved without thinking.

I left my tea on the counter and ran down the toy aisle, heart pounding so hard I could barely breathe. I grabbed the last doll on the shelf, candy canes, a small teddy bear, an apple, and an orange.

When I returned to the checkout, the woman and the little girl were gone. I paid, tossed the receipt in my purse, and ran into the parking lot. They were just about to cross the street.

“Hi!” I called out, breathless.

The little girl stared.

Her mother looked confused, maybe a little scared.

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