Mi Mi and I made some arrangements and on Christmas eve, PA (short for "Peng Aun") received his first Christmas presents from Santa Claus, who was none other than Ah Hoe all dressed up in a borrowed Santa suit! He presented the young kitten with some snacks and a toy fish, all of which he had personally bought for PA. A couple of nuns also gave PA some toys to play with. The joy on PA's face was indescribable and touched our hearts, even Ning could not help shed a tear. Ah Kong and Ah Ma also received a warm shawl each, knitted by one of the nuns. When PA finally went to sleep that night, his face was all wreathed in smiles.
We gathered for a simple Christmas breakfast the next morning prepared by Mi Mi. PA was running about playing with his new toys and looking very happy. We noticed that someone had given him a small golden ball which glittered and shone as it rolled. It certainly didn't look like one of those balls you could buy in the supermarket.
"That's a beautiful ball! Did one of the nuns give it to you?" I asked PA. He shook his head, then said it was Santa who gave it to him. Ah Hoe looked surprised and whispered to me that the ball was not among the presents he brought. Well, we didn't want to spoil PA's fun, so we kept quiet.
Just as we were leaving, PA said, "Oh, I almost forgot, Santa asked me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and to thank you for all you have done to help Ms. Mi Mi." Ah Hoe was now looking quite confused.
"Er ... you mean the Santa who came yesterday and gave you your presents?" asked Ah Hoe, puzzled. (PA of course had no idea it was Ah Hoe who played Santa).
"Oh no, this one was a different Santa, he came when I was sleeping," said PA.
Now all four of us, Ah Hoe, Ning, Mi Mi and I were stumped.
"PA, are you sure you're not making this up?" said Mi Mi sternly. "I didn't see a second Santa come here last night."
"Ms. Mi Mi, I'm telling the truth!" said an indignant PA. "He came after midnight, woke me up, gave me the ball, then left. I peeped from the window and saw him get on his bicycle and ride off. I wasn't dreaming, believe me!"
"Bicycle?" I gasped, looking at Ning.
"Did this Santa say where he's from?" I asked, my heart beginning to pound with excitement.
"Well, he said he comes from a place far, far away where many cats like me live...."
"He said that?" I gasped, goose pimples running up and down my spine. "Er ... what else did he say?"
"Oh nothing much except that he loves all of us, especially Ms. Mi Mi and that I should be good and not give her any trouble," replied PA. "Now, may I go? I want to play with my ball." With that, he skipped away.
Well, Mi Mi wasn't convinced by what PA had said and laughed the whole thing off.
"You know, Da," murmured Ning thoughtfully as we walked back to the temple. "I spoke to a few friends from the village earlier this morning and they confirmed no one had dressed up as Santa last night. In fact everyone stayed at home. So who was this mystery Santa?"
"Ning, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I said breathlessly. "Don't you remember - he came one Christmas on his bicycle and now again this Christmas ...."
'Yeah, I remember," said Ning calmly. He paused, looked up at the sky, then added softly,
"Merry Christmas, Tom."
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