A flash of red shoots up the chimney

Triumphant is the night on Christmas Eve. The trees shimmer with the dazzling tinsel. The radiant ornaments glisten through my eyes. My heart is racing like a thousand horses trying to win the World Cup. I stop as I hear tiny grains of rock tumbling down my chimney. I suddenly see part of a leathery red jacket and a tiny bell strews with white fur. I gasp.

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As I hear a thud I see shiny black boots with laces so fine. I see red pants and a red coat. There's a man standing tall and bulky with a long white beard, almost as if it were a delicate blanket of snow. One of my Christmas lights reflects through his eyes and he has red cheeks like a rose, perfectly bloomed. On his back he has a big bag with designs almost as if they were gold. In the bag there lays toys you could not even imagine. The man stares at me with sunshine in his eyes and he says, "Merry Christmas to all."

Was Ironton's 3-year-old Zach Adams' heart racing like a thousand horses when he saw Santa Claus at the Westgate Mall in Brainerd-Baxter?

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Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey

Then I see a flash of red go up the chimney and sitting right under my feet was a bell from his jacket. When I looked at the bell I could see the brightness in his eyes and his smile. It's a memory I'll never forget.