Santa Claus seemed to have noticed him too. As the sleigh flew closer, Will remembered that his meeting with the old man had taken place in the future. Santa Claus should not recognize him yet. Hopefully, this would not cause any misunderstandings.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when the bright red sleigh reached the summit and stopped in midair. Santa Claus looked Will over. "You shouldn't be here, child."
"Santa Claus, I—" Will started to explain.
But Santa Claus raised a hand to stop him. "I didn't give you a Christmas present this year, child."
Will froze. He had considered several possibilities, but he really had not expected Santa Claus to say that.
"But I'm sorry, you're not on the list." Santa Claus jumped down from his sleigh, his round belly jutting out, and kindly patted Will's shoulder before handing him a Gingerbread Cookie. "And you've appeared at the wrong time. The gift you have... I should have given it to you 385 years from now. Have you come back from the future?"
Will nodded. "Yes, Mr. Nicholas. You're very perceptive. Can you... sense when a gift was given?"
"Magic gives me a little help with that, and you're clearly special." Santa Claus scooped up a handful of snow and began kneading and shaping it. "Child, I think we should sit down to talk. Standing in the cold wind on a mountaintop isn't a good way to spend Christmas, even if Christmas is already over."
With that, Santa Claus tossed a snow house into the air. It grew taller and larger in midair, and by the time it landed, it had become a beautiful little white cottage adorned with red Christmas decorations. He gestured for Will to enter. "Come in. Let's talk."
Will was rather amazed—Santa Claus's magic