".........minutes of the meeting of the Board of Members of the Managing Council of Santa, Elves and Reindeer Limited held at Santaland, North Pole. Dated 26th December 2014.

Resolved,

1)That, one Mr. Mephisto Sanguini (here-in-after referred to as 'The Santa') is appointed the new Santa Claus for the year 2015-16, who will be in charge of the 10001 Elves, 25 reindeer and the Gift Factory™.

2)That, the Santa's duties will include a prudent selection of children and Adult Santa believers eligible to receive gifts (here-in-after referred to as the Giftees), manufacture & distribution of gifts to giftees and any damages to Giftees' fireplaces while distribution, will be made good by deducting from the Santa's annual remuneration.

3)That, in light of the new appointment being the first of its kind; the Disqualification Clause under Sec 36 Subsection 2 Para (f) of the Santa Claus Regulation Act, 1825 as amended in 2014 (here-in-after referred to as 'the Act') is modified to include the following changes in the event of the Santa being a born or a turned Vampire [ as certified by the Department of Abiogenesis ] : 

a) The Santa will be disqualified and discourteously detained and penalised by the Santa Court, without trial if the Santa, Elves & Reindeer Committee (here-in-after referred to as 'the committee') has any reason to believe that the Santa attempted to taste/drink the blood of a Human being/Unicorn/Reindeer and other magical folk (as listed under Table A of Annexure I to the Act).

b) The Santa will not change into his bat form unless otherwise it is for the sole purpose of appearing at the home of the Giftees whose home do not facilitate a Standard Fireplace ( as defined under Sec 12 of the Act). Any breach of above clause will lead to his/her immediate disqualification.

c) The Santa is not allowed to morph his canine teeth longer than the generally accepted length, during duty as stated by the Santaland Dental Association norms. Violation of above clause will lead to immediate disqualification.

d) The Santa will always have his recommended meal of 4 Quarts of animal blood before commencing his distribution duty.

e) Company paid Life insurance for the Santa is denied owing to the fact that he/she is not a person of the living.

f) Hereby, use of silver instruments at the Gift Factory™ is banned owing to the delicate disposition of....."

Being a vampire, Mephisto's choice of jobs had been pretty limited. He had tried being a night watchman, but it was so damn boring that he had turned into a bat and sat on the windowsill to watch the Supernatural reruns in Netflix; that his employer was partial to. This had continued for several months, until one day, he had sneezed; the employer had turned enquiringly; only to see a bat cupping its scaly wings around its beak and saying 'Excuse me'.

To keep it short, the employer's mental health had taken a hit and his family had, had him admitted to a private mental institution after he had reported the er..incident.

After this, he tried several other jobs - bartender at a night club, but his Bloody Marys' fell flat. A security guard at an indoor mall but he was too soft with meddling kids and even tried being an undertaker and failed.

As a kid, he had enjoyed Christmases with a spirit unlike anyone; reveling in his faith on Santa and staying awake all night on Christmas Eve to catch Santa in the Act. But he never managed it as there was always that one second which he chose to close his tired eyes; and there they were, all the gifts piled in front of the Tree, neatly labelled and a pleasant smell of chocolate lingering in the air; the plate of cookies and the glass of milk, empty.

His affinity towards Santa had never dimmed even after marriage and kids. It wasn't a childish fantasy for Mephisto. It was a truth he breathed and soon it became an obsession; and later - an obsession which turned into his life's journey to meet the Santa Claus.

Mephisto was not a born vampire and he had turned at the age of 50 when he was in Pennsylvania. It was a painful incident which he chose to forget; reminded only by the puckered skin on his neck which sometimes tingled, when he smelled fresh human blood. So he had remained a portly man with pristine white hair, lush beard and a cheerful disposition. A Santa look-alike.

One day, he became aware that there remained only one desire in his otherwise pathetic life: To meet his hero, the Santa Claus.

And so he sifted through the North Pole like his life depended on it, now having time and strength on his side. He had been a gentle soul while he had been among the living and it followed to his later life and he never touched human blood.

Finally, he found Santaland.

It was a village not plotted on maps; unseen by human eyes. It was a land of magical realism. He never believed that a vampire would ever belong there. But it was also a land of love & hope and he was promised a second chance at living. There were other creatures like him living their life, unheard of, for in Santaland, Evil was not always evil.

He became a part of the Santa Industry but he never saw the Santa Claus. Soon Mephisto realized that there never was one true Santa. It was always and will always be - Being Santa.

Christmas Eve.
Santaland Crypt, Santaland.

O'er the fields we go 
Laughing all the way
Bells on bobtails ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing
a sleighing song tonight
O Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
O what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh....

Mephisto opened his eyes to the radio alarm and he instantly knew why he felt so happy. His new job started tonight. He climbed out of his bed and went to the window.

His favourite song made his spirits rise even more and he saw that the night was nicely cold with the moon clouded over. The snow fell steadily and he could recognise all the snowflake patterns when it shone with the light from the street lamps.

Perfect night for 'Santa Claus'ing.

Dressed in the traditional Santa Claus suit, he looked the part very well except for the red of his eyes and he proceeded to use the special contacts his company had provided him.

With a low whistle, his ultra modern sleigh already loaded with the gifts came swishing through the air with his eight reindeer neighing with fear. They sensed his vampire origins, but one touch from Mephisto and they knew he wouldn't harm them.

He pulled the reins taut and the reindeer galloped into the star-spangled sky with cold air rushing over his face and his beard flowing like fluffy white clouds smeared against a dark blue canvas.

There was a new Santa in town.