Sarah stared blankly into her refrigerator. Her mind drifted until the cold air permeated her sweatshirt, reminding her what she was doing. She grabbed the tube of cookie dough and shut the refrigerator door. Slicing the tube open with a knife, she peeled the wrapper back and took a large bite of the dough. She looked out the window to the outside courtyard, decorated in colorful Christmas lights.
"Merry fucking Christmas," she muttered under her breath. It was Christmas Eve 2020 and Sarah couldn't help but think of what she had been doing last year at this time. She had been celebrating with her parents, two sisters, their husbands and kids. It had been the first Christmas since breaking up with her boyfriend of five years. Although she was surrounded by family, she had never felt more alone.
Sarah couldn't help but laugh at how naive she had been. The loneliness she felt last year was nothing compared to the months of isolation that followed. She never could have imagined that she would miss an entire year of holidays, birthdays and family gatherings. Of course, she had been lucky compared to others. She was able to work from home and so far her loved ones had been safe. But the pandemic had still taken its toll on her. The resolve she felt in the beginning slowly faded as it was consumed by depression and frustration. It had been almost a year since she was even in the same room as her family, let alone hugged one of them.
Sarah took another bite of her cookie dough, set it on the counter and then wandered into her bedroom. She slid her yoga pants off, leaving them around her ankles and grabbed a small vibrator and tube of lubricant off the nightstand. Crawling into bed she squirt a small drop of lube onto her clit. She turned on the vibrator and stroked it over her sex, slowly rocking her hips. The steady hum of the vibrator soothed her, as pleasurable sensations radiated from the pulsing toy through her lower body. Her breathing accelerated, back arched and Sarah began to moan. As she felt her climax approaching the hum began to slow. The pulsing stopped and so did the pleasure. The vibrator had died.
"Of course," Sarah whined. She laid in bed exacerbated for a few minutes trying to decide what to do next. Slowly she climbed out of bed, pulled up her yoga pants and began rifling through her drawer, finally pulling out a charger and plugging in the vibrator. The effort it took just to do such a simple task felt exhausting.
Sarah fought the urge to collapse onto the floor, "What else can I do while this damn thing charges?" she wondered. She checked the time on her phone. "8:36...I guess we better go for a walk before it gets too late."
After getting dressed in her winter gear and mask she approached the front door of her apartment and instinctively reached for Bear's leash. As her fingers wrapped around the smooth nylon they quickly released and her hand fell to a ceramic paw impression on the side table below. She stroked the print, staring at the urn behind it. "I miss you big Bear," she whispered.
Overwhelming pain hit Sarah as she remembered that Bear was gone. She had put him down just a week before. Sarah moped back towards the kitchen, picking up the tube of cookie dough and taking another bite. She threw herself onto the couch, hanging her head. Thinking about her last moments with him she began to sob. The last kiss she had ever given him had to be through a surgical mask. Looking up, through tears her eyes focused on Bear's stocking hanging from the fireplace. Suddenly she remembered she had put a bag of Bear's favorite treats inside before he got sick. She had no use for them now.
Sarah took another bite of cookie dough, trying to chase the sadness away. It wasn't working. "I should go to the bagel bush," she thought. As she stood up, she threw the cookie dough on the coffee table. She retrieved the bag of treats from Bear's stocking and headed out into the cold, dark night.
As Sarah walked she ripped open the bag of treats. She stopped at a planter and placed a treat on the edge. Making her way through the city, she zigzagged through the streets leaving treats in flower pots, planters and bushes. Sarah wanted to make sure they were spaced out so as many dogs as possible could discover a special Christmas treat on their morning walks.
Finally, Sarah arrived at the bagel bush. Bear had discovered the bush on their very first walk when she moved into her apartment three years ago. He discovered a bagel inside and from then on, he always insisted on walking past and searching the bush for hidden treats. After the first six months, it still didn't matter that no more bagels had ever materialized in the bush...he still had to check. So Sarah started bringing treats with her and throwing them in the bush to feed his love of the magical bagel bush. After his first seizure he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, so she started taking bits of his favorite human food for him instead.
Sarah placed the last treat under the bagel bush. "I hope all the bushes are bagel bushes in heaven, sweet Bear," she whispered.
The bagel bush grew in front of a large train station in the heart of downtown. Sarah peered through the window of the station. The historic building had always seemed so grand and glamorous with its art deco features, but now the building sat empty. The high ceilings looked ominous and the contrast of the white and black marble looked cold and harsh.
A train whistle ratcheted through the thick silence that filled the air. Sarah was surprised trains were running this late on Christmas and she had never known any of them to have a whistle. She walked around the train station to investigate. A short train sat just outside the station with gleaming green lacquered paint and a brass roof. Sarah approached the train with intrigue. She had never seen a train like this before. A door swung open, revealing a luxurious interior. Sarah stepped inside to admire the intricate detail of the solid mahogany benches, which looked to be hand carved. She sat down and ran her hands over the deep red velvet that upholstered the seats. Brass accents adorned the walls and ceilings, offsetting the darkness of the benches and making the cabin feel light and cheerful. A sharp gust of wind blew the train door shut and the train lurched forward. Despite this, Sarah felt a sense of peace. The next train stop was just a few blocks away, so she planned to just get off there. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and her nose was filled with the aroma of cinnamon. Almost immediately, sleep overtook her.
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"Welcome to the North Pole!" Sarah was startled awake by a high pitched voice. Standing in front of her were two men and one woman. "I'm Ginger Wonderland, President of Santa's Adult Toy Workshop!" The woman exclaimed, "This is Crusty Bells, our Chief Adult Toymaker. And this is James McJinglepants, our resident expert on human culture and sexuality."
"What?" Sarah looked confused. All three of these people looked very strange. They were all under four feet tall.
"I know this is probably very surprising, but let me explain." Ginger replied, "We're all elves, which means we are immune to the coronavirus. We have brought you here to the North Pole for the evening. See, you were at the top of Santa's nice list and we know what a hard year you've had so we thought we'd give you a special treat...you get to test out some of the new adult toys we've been developing! Now hurry up, this way to the workshop!"
Ginger grabbed Sarah's hand and led her off the train into a spacious building. They walked through one of the many halls attached to the building. At the end of the hall were double doors that led into the adult toy workshop. The workshop was tastefully decorated in bright whites, dark reds, greens and golds. It was not like the childish looking elf workshops portrayed in the movies, but rather an understated and elegant design.
A door swung open and out rushed another elf, "Oh my Santa! Is this our lady human!? Tinker, come quick! Our scrumptious little human is here!"
Another elf came running through the open door, "Mmmm...look at her! She is a tasty little treat! But what are you wearing, little humanita!?"
Sarah looked down at her sweatshirt, covered in cheeto stains, "Um...these are my pajamas I guess."
"Well, we're going to polish you right up, like a shiny little Christmas ornament," the elf replied. He motioned for Sarah to come through the open door. "Step into our studio. We're going to get you all ready for your sexy night of fun."
