Member-only story
The Christmas Girlfriend
What did Santa bring you this year?
When I woke up on Christmas morning, there was a girl sitting under the tree in my living room.
At first, I thought my apartment had been the scene of a break-in gone haywire because the girl sat so still, her brown eyes staring straight ahead and her body clad in a red-and-white dress that would have made Mrs. Claus green with envy. But she looked perfect, much like a realistic doll, with her hair falling in wavy locks and her lips pursed in a pretty pink smile.
I thought of calling the cops, but I hesitated because maybe I could talk some sense into her — if a drug trip was the cause of her wide-eyed and unnerving stare at any rate.
Taking the girl by the shoulder, I shook her and said, “Hey? Hey, I don’t know how you got here, but you have to leave and — ”
I let go of the girl as a shock surged from her skin to mine. The girl’s eyes blinked shut and then opened again to focus on me. Her smile bloomed as if she were happy to see me.
“Hello,” she said. “Santa Claus sends his regards and has kindly fulfilled your deepest Christmas wish.”
I simply stared at the girl as if she had told me I had been born with two heads. “Um,” I said, my voice slow and measured as if I were preparing myself to…
