Father Christmas was busy in the North Pole deciding on the deliveries of presents to all the children in the world. Every child will receive a gift on the eve of Christmas. But the children who have not been on their best of behavior got a challenging gift.
The Chief Elf of Production went up to Father Christmas and reported about the challenging gifts list. Father Christmas listened with patience and said that he wanted the list of children who would be getting these gifts.
Chief Elf sadly said, “Father Christmas the list is rather long this year!”
Father Christmas replied, “Don’t worry this year we would change their hearts and you’ll be making lesser of these toys next year.”
Chief Elf nodded and was about to leave when he turned back and fiddled with his cap and said, “We have a situation with one of the challenge gifts.”
Father Christmas lifted his head from the list that he was reading and said, “What kind of problem?”
“The one-legged Tin Soldier has fallen in love with a Paper-Marché Ballerina and refuses to be boxed with anyone other than her,” complained the Chief Elf. “And you know toys voluntarily get into their packages! I can’t force him. What can I do with him if he refuses to be gift wrapped?”
Father Christmas asked, “What does the ballerina feel about it?”
“She is tongue-tied and refuses to talk but keeps twirling nervously,” said the Chief Elf.
Father Christmas smiled with benevolence and said, “Box the ballet dancer along with the Tin soldier. Don’t put him in the Tin Soldier’s box set. I want to let them travel together; they will find each other. They are my special toys so take diligent care when you pack them.”
The Challenging gifts were packed and set separately so Father Christmas will know who gets which gift. The Tin Soldier and the Paper-Marché Ballerina were packed together with the Soldier being besotted and Ballerina being incredibly nervous. But both waited eagerly for their Child owner.
On the streets of Rome, a small girl with an ever-cross face was huddled in her tattered blanket. Having totally lost in her thoughts of how to play prank on passers-by, Augusta fell into a deep sleep despite the frosty winter night.
Father Christmas smiled at the sleeping child and left the Tin Soldier and Paper-Marché Ballerina by her side. Father Christmas told the toys to behave and left them.
In the early hours of the morning, Augusta awoke and found her Christmas present right by her side. She picked it up and looked all over and wondered who had left it. The marking of her first smile creased her face crowding her with quiet an unfamiliar feeling.
The Child hurriedly opened the gift box and found a Tin Soldier and a Paper-Marché Ballerina. For a long time, Augusta just looked at the present and remained puzzled. Augusta’s only source of happiness was listening to stories about the town’s heroic General Marcus Quintus Valerio. Augusta had heard so many stories about General Marcus from Father Benedict on Sunday school at the Church. Father Benedict opened the Church doors for the poor street children to provide them with free one-day meals and some education through their Sunday school.
The Tin Soldier looked so much like the Town’s General Marcus Quintus Valerio that she ran as fast as her feet could take her to the Town Square. Right in the center was the statue of Marcus sitting steadfast on the stone horseback. She kept looking at the Tin Soldier and the statue to confirm the unmistakable resemblance.
General Marcus had lived as a war veteran making major changes in the town. He had taken a bullet shot on his leg while saving one of his men. The poison from the bullet had spread throughout his leg and it was amputated to save his life.
Augusta always thought of General Marcus to be the ideal hero who inspired her make-believe adventures. He was popular in those parts as always willing to hear the people’s demands while offering them the best solutions within his means.
Augusta grew remarkably close to her Tin General Marcus and Paper-Marché Ballerina. Whenever she felt a need to cheer up, she would set her toys and create make-believe stories about their adventures. One day, the Father Benedict heard her narrate a fictional story about the Heroic General Marcus saving a Ballerina from danger risking his life. He was surprised at her rich imagination. He asked her if she wanted to learn more words to create even more adventures to include in her story.
Augusta became a regular visitor to the church and became well-versed in her three Rs. She was extremely excited to learn more and slowly began to make a collection of adventure stories in which General Marcus saved the Paper-Marché Ballerina from different life-threatening situations. Augusta was no longer the ever-cross child in those parts but had come into herself.
Soon Augusta grew into a young woman while she continued to write the adventures of her about General Marcus and Ballerina. Her works were published by Father Benedict in his Church newsletter and distributed to the town’s people. She became recognized as prolific writer in those parts. One day as she was conversing with Father Benedict, she found out that General Marcus was secretly in love with his friend’s sister Antonia Marcella who was well known stage artist.
Then one day, Augusta was sifting through the things of General Marcus to record his real-life adventures. Father Benedict had shown her a collection of well-documented Town relics. Among them she found a collection of letters to Antonia Marcella that didn’t bear postal marks. It seemed like General Marcus had poured his love in secrecy to his lady love. Augusta was surprised since she had always written adventure stories about her Tin General Marcus and now after all the Paper-Marché Ballerina can bear the name of his lady love. She never thought of them falling in love with each other.
Augusta was able to find through her research that Antonia Marcella had passed away suffering from Tuberculous and left a broken-hearted General Marcus. Augusta felt that their unfinished love story needed a happy conclusion. As a tribute to their beautiful unrequited love story, she wrote a well-researched biography of General Marcus and Antonia Marcella, but she was unsure how to end it.
Struggling with the dilemma about the ending, then one day, Augusta decided to visit their graves. She took her childhood toys to the Town’s graveyard and placed the Paper-Marché Ballerina on the General Marcus’ grave, while placing the Tin Soldier on Antonia Marcella’s grave. With a feeling of restlessness Augusta returned home, since, according to her, their love story didn’t seem to be complete.
That night a great forest fire caught near the outskirts of the graveyard and spread inside. Both the toys burned in the wildfire. When the Town people came to inspect, the next day to find the level of damage to the graveyard, they found the toys had fused to General Marcus and Antonia Marcella’s graves in the shape of black hearts. Augusta felt that the love story had found its happy conclusion.
Augusta changed her ending to her biography by including the black hearts on their graves. Meanwhile high above in heaven’s pearly gates the couple stood in front of Saint Peter who welcomed them with a warm heart and great cheer.
Itinerant Storyteller 