The "Creative Writing" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
It was 3 days till Christmas and Bill was still at his desk in his study, late in the evening. He needed to finish debugging all 3 sections of the latest systems software before Christmas Eve or his boss wouldn’t give him the Christmas bonus he so needed. He'd heard all about those big shot coders who made a name for themselves in the city, that wasn’t Bill. He worked for a lousy boss earning peanuts being a systems programmer.
Bill wasn’t exactly poor, but he needed money desperately so that his wife and young son could have a present. He wasn’t worried for himself, they were all he needed, but he knew his son would be disappointed if he didn’t have at least one toy under their sparsely decorated Christmas tree. He thought about his son and quietly wished for a miracle.
The long days were taking their toll though and despite all the coffee, he soon found his eyes drooping and before long was fast asleep on his desk. As he slept, several little figures climbed up the table leg and sat there looking at the screen.
“Anything you can do Toby?” asked Gareth, the largest of the figures. He wore a small red pointed hat and a waistcoat, as well as a worried look.
“Well, boss, it looks like standard systems coding, nothing I can’t handle with the right tools, beats working on that Windows software anyway. Even the fairies could probably fix this one given time.”
This was actually a compliment coming from an elf. Elves and fairies were not exactly fans of each other. Fairies can’t stand the smell of an unwashed elf (which, to be honest, was most of the Elf population) and Elves just can’t be doing with all that fairy make-up and glitter, especially on the male fairies. Despite this set of circumstances there are many mixed fairy/elf weddings every year.
So these particular Elves set to work fixing the program before morning light.
When Bill awoke he looked at his clock. It was 4am. He sighed and hit a few buttons on the keyboard as his vision cleared enough for him to make out the letters on the screen. When his brain finally caught up with his eyes he couldn’t believe what he saw. Somehow his software was fully debugged and working. Not only that but it seemed to have decreased his runtime overhead as well. Bill dragged himself off to bed in disbelief.
The next evening was the same, Bill tried and tried to complete his next assignment but it took all day just to get through even half of the software coding. This time he called it a day and went to bed instead of falling asleep at his desk. This made it a bit easier for the Elves. They took a look at the screen for a second time.
“Well, it’s a bit of a mess.” Said Toby. “But I think we can sort it in time.”
“Well you’d better get started, then.” Replied Gareth. “We’re on performance related pay, remember.”
They worked until the light started to peek its way in through the curtains, then disappeared as quickly as they had entered.
Yet again Bill found himself staring in disbelief at the screen, all his work was somehow completed. He was sure someone had managed to sneak into the house while he was asleep, but why? After telling his wife, they both decided that this time they would hide and find out what was going on.
Evening came on the last project. It was Christmas Eve and Bill heard people heading down the street in high spirits. He called out to his wife to say he was on his way up to bed, but instead of going up the stairs he crept in to a cupboard where his wife was already waiting.
The Elves yet again made their way up the leg of the table and toward the computer. Bill saw them and had to bite his lip to keep from making a noise.
“Looks like the last one.” Said Gareth. “Just in time, too.”
“Why?” Asked the third Elf, “It’s not as if we’ve got a Christmas party to go to. Getting time off is like asking for the moon.”
Bill was watching so intently that he didn’t see the door creep open until it was too late. The Elves saw him and his wife.
“Look mate.” Said Gareth, “I won’t even bother asking what you were doing in that cupboard, but we’d better be off. We’re not supposed to get caught, it makes our superiors a bit nervous.”
Bill didn’t know what to say. He gathered his wits and replied.
“Look, you’ve really made our Christmas.” He said. “I just wanted to find out who did this and thank them. I didn’t really expect….”
“Elves.” Said Toby. “We’re elves.”
“Makes sense.” Said Bill. “I mean with that Shoemaker story and all.”
“Yeah, that was my great great uncle. He’s still go his tailored suit they made him, bit moth-eaten now though, of course…”
“Well, neither of us can really sew or anything, but please stay and have some food and drink. There’s only us here and my son and he's in bed. You can call it your Christmas party.”
So the Elves and the Programmer celebrated Christmas together, which involved much drinking, eating and some rude jokes from the Elves. And they were invited back on Christmas Eve every year to enjoy their little Christmas party, providing they helped with any last minute programming.
The End.
Bill wasn’t exactly poor, but he needed money desperately so that his wife and young son could have a present. He wasn’t worried for himself, they were all he needed, but he knew his son would be disappointed if he didn’t have at least one toy under their sparsely decorated Christmas tree. He thought about his son and quietly wished for a miracle.
The long days were taking their toll though and despite all the coffee, he soon found his eyes drooping and before long was fast asleep on his desk. As he slept, several little figures climbed up the table leg and sat there looking at the screen.
“Anything you can do Toby?” asked Gareth, the largest of the figures. He wore a small red pointed hat and a waistcoat, as well as a worried look.
“Well, boss, it looks like standard systems coding, nothing I can’t handle with the right tools, beats working on that Windows software anyway. Even the fairies could probably fix this one given time.”
This was actually a compliment coming from an elf. Elves and fairies were not exactly fans of each other. Fairies can’t stand the smell of an unwashed elf (which, to be honest, was most of the Elf population) and Elves just can’t be doing with all that fairy make-up and glitter, especially on the male fairies. Despite this set of circumstances there are many mixed fairy/elf weddings every year.
So these particular Elves set to work fixing the program before morning light.
When Bill awoke he looked at his clock. It was 4am. He sighed and hit a few buttons on the keyboard as his vision cleared enough for him to make out the letters on the screen. When his brain finally caught up with his eyes he couldn’t believe what he saw. Somehow his software was fully debugged and working. Not only that but it seemed to have decreased his runtime overhead as well. Bill dragged himself off to bed in disbelief.
The next evening was the same, Bill tried and tried to complete his next assignment but it took all day just to get through even half of the software coding. This time he called it a day and went to bed instead of falling asleep at his desk. This made it a bit easier for the Elves. They took a look at the screen for a second time.
“Well, it’s a bit of a mess.” Said Toby. “But I think we can sort it in time.”
“Well you’d better get started, then.” Replied Gareth. “We’re on performance related pay, remember.”
They worked until the light started to peek its way in through the curtains, then disappeared as quickly as they had entered.
Yet again Bill found himself staring in disbelief at the screen, all his work was somehow completed. He was sure someone had managed to sneak into the house while he was asleep, but why? After telling his wife, they both decided that this time they would hide and find out what was going on.
Evening came on the last project. It was Christmas Eve and Bill heard people heading down the street in high spirits. He called out to his wife to say he was on his way up to bed, but instead of going up the stairs he crept in to a cupboard where his wife was already waiting.
The Elves yet again made their way up the leg of the table and toward the computer. Bill saw them and had to bite his lip to keep from making a noise.
“Looks like the last one.” Said Gareth. “Just in time, too.”
“Why?” Asked the third Elf, “It’s not as if we’ve got a Christmas party to go to. Getting time off is like asking for the moon.”
Bill was watching so intently that he didn’t see the door creep open until it was too late. The Elves saw him and his wife.
“Look mate.” Said Gareth, “I won’t even bother asking what you were doing in that cupboard, but we’d better be off. We’re not supposed to get caught, it makes our superiors a bit nervous.”
Bill didn’t know what to say. He gathered his wits and replied.
“Look, you’ve really made our Christmas.” He said. “I just wanted to find out who did this and thank them. I didn’t really expect….”
“Elves.” Said Toby. “We’re elves.”
“Makes sense.” Said Bill. “I mean with that Shoemaker story and all.”
“Yeah, that was my great great uncle. He’s still go his tailored suit they made him, bit moth-eaten now though, of course…”
“Well, neither of us can really sew or anything, but please stay and have some food and drink. There’s only us here and my son and he's in bed. You can call it your Christmas party.”
So the Elves and the Programmer celebrated Christmas together, which involved much drinking, eating and some rude jokes from the Elves. And they were invited back on Christmas Eve every year to enjoy their little Christmas party, providing they helped with any last minute programming.
The End.
Nice and festive (well it was when it was written anyway!). The little bit on the background of the relationship between the fairies and elves is a good little touch. I love Gareth's speech ('performance related pay' and the cupboard incident too): gives him a good character despite us not knowing that much about him. A great read, which I think anyone can appreciate.
That's a very nice story. :)
Charming.
Good stuff, a modern-day "if only" fairy tale. .
It was 3 days till Christmas and Bill was still at his desk in his study, late in the evening. He needed to finish debugging all 3 sections of the latest systems software before Christmas Eve or his boss wouldn’t give him the Christmas bonus he so needed. He'd heard all about those big shot coders who made a name for themselves in the city, that wasn’t Bill. He worked for a lousy boss earning peanuts being a systems programmer.
Bill wasn’t exactly poor, but he needed money desperately so that his wife and young son could have a present. He wasn’t worried for himself, they were all he needed, but he knew his son would be disappointed if he didn’t have at least one toy under their sparsely decorated Christmas tree. He thought about his son and quietly wished for a miracle.
The long days were taking their toll though and despite all the coffee, he soon found his eyes drooping and before long was fast asleep on his desk. As he slept, several little figures climbed up the table leg and sat there looking at the screen.
“Anything you can do Toby?” asked Gareth, the largest of the figures. He wore a small red pointed hat and a waistcoat, as well as a worried look.
“Well, boss, it looks like standard systems coding, nothing I can’t handle with the right tools, beats working on that Windows software anyway. Even the fairies could probably fix this one given time.”
This was actually a compliment coming from an elf. Elves and fairies were not exactly fans of each other. Fairies can’t stand the smell of an unwashed elf (which, to be honest, was most of the Elf population) and Elves just can’t be doing with all that fairy make-up and glitter, especially on the male fairies. Despite this set of circumstances there are many mixed fairy/elf weddings every year.
So these particular Elves set to work fixing the program before morning light.
When Bill awoke he looked at his clock. It was 4am. He sighed and hit a few buttons on the keyboard as his vision cleared enough for him to make out the letters on the screen. When his brain finally caught up with his eyes he couldn’t believe what he saw. Somehow his software was fully debugged and working. Not only that but it seemed to have decreased his runtime overhead as well. Bill dragged himself off to bed in disbelief.
The next evening was the same, Bill tried and tried to complete his next assignment but it took all day just to get through even half of the software coding. This time he called it a day and went to bed instead of falling asleep at his desk. This made it a bit easier for the Elves. They took a look at the screen for a second time.
“Well, it’s a bit of a mess.” Said Toby. “But I think we can sort it in time.”
“Well you’d better get started, then.” Replied Gareth. “We’re on performance related pay, remember.”
They worked until the light started to peek its way in through the curtains, then disappeared as quickly as they had entered.
Yet again Bill found himself staring in disbelief at the screen, all his work was somehow completed. He was sure someone had managed to sneak into the house while he was asleep, but why? After telling his wife, they both decided that this time they would hide and find out what was going on.
Evening came on the last project. It was Christmas Eve and Bill heard people heading down the street in high spirits. He called out to his wife to say he was on his way up to bed, but instead of going up the stairs he crept in to a cupboard where his wife was already waiting.
The Elves yet again made their way up the leg of the table and toward the computer. Bill saw them and had to bite his lip to keep from making a noise.
“Looks like the last one.” Said Gareth. “Just in time, too.”
“Why?” Asked the third Elf, “It’s not as if we’ve got a Christmas party to go to. Getting time off is like asking for the moon.”
Bill was watching so intently that he didn’t see the door creep open until it was too late. The Elves saw him and his wife.
“Look mate.” Said Gareth, “I won’t even bother asking what you were doing in that cupboard, but we’d better be off. We’re not supposed to get caught, it makes our superiors a bit nervous.”
Bill didn’t know what to say. He gathered his wits and replied.
“Look, you’ve really made our Christmas.” He said. “I just wanted to find out who did this and thank them. I didn’t really expect….”
“Elves.” Said Toby. “We’re elves.”
“Makes sense.” Said Bill. “I mean with that Shoemaker story and all.”
“Yeah, that was my great great uncle. He’s still go his tailored suit they made him, bit moth-eaten now though, of course…”
“Well, neither of us can really sew or anything, but please stay and have some food and drink. There’s only us here and my son and he's in bed. You can call it your Christmas party.”
So the Elves and the Programmer celebrated Christmas together, which involved much drinking, eating and some rude jokes from the Elves. And they were invited back on Christmas Eve every year to enjoy their little Christmas party, providing they helped with any last minute programming.
The End.
Bill wasn’t exactly poor, but he needed money desperately so that his wife and young son could have a present. He wasn’t worried for himself, they were all he needed, but he knew his son would be disappointed if he didn’t have at least one toy under their sparsely decorated Christmas tree. He thought about his son and quietly wished for a miracle.
The long days were taking their toll though and despite all the coffee, he soon found his eyes drooping and before long was fast asleep on his desk. As he slept, several little figures climbed up the table leg and sat there looking at the screen.
“Anything you can do Toby?” asked Gareth, the largest of the figures. He wore a small red pointed hat and a waistcoat, as well as a worried look.
“Well, boss, it looks like standard systems coding, nothing I can’t handle with the right tools, beats working on that Windows software anyway. Even the fairies could probably fix this one given time.”
This was actually a compliment coming from an elf. Elves and fairies were not exactly fans of each other. Fairies can’t stand the smell of an unwashed elf (which, to be honest, was most of the Elf population) and Elves just can’t be doing with all that fairy make-up and glitter, especially on the male fairies. Despite this set of circumstances there are many mixed fairy/elf weddings every year.
So these particular Elves set to work fixing the program before morning light.
When Bill awoke he looked at his clock. It was 4am. He sighed and hit a few buttons on the keyboard as his vision cleared enough for him to make out the letters on the screen. When his brain finally caught up with his eyes he couldn’t believe what he saw. Somehow his software was fully debugged and working. Not only that but it seemed to have decreased his runtime overhead as well. Bill dragged himself off to bed in disbelief.
The next evening was the same, Bill tried and tried to complete his next assignment but it took all day just to get through even half of the software coding. This time he called it a day and went to bed instead of falling asleep at his desk. This made it a bit easier for the Elves. They took a look at the screen for a second time.
“Well, it’s a bit of a mess.” Said Toby. “But I think we can sort it in time.”
“Well you’d better get started, then.” Replied Gareth. “We’re on performance related pay, remember.”
They worked until the light started to peek its way in through the curtains, then disappeared as quickly as they had entered.
Yet again Bill found himself staring in disbelief at the screen, all his work was somehow completed. He was sure someone had managed to sneak into the house while he was asleep, but why? After telling his wife, they both decided that this time they would hide and find out what was going on.
Evening came on the last project. It was Christmas Eve and Bill heard people heading down the street in high spirits. He called out to his wife to say he was on his way up to bed, but instead of going up the stairs he crept in to a cupboard where his wife was already waiting.
The Elves yet again made their way up the leg of the table and toward the computer. Bill saw them and had to bite his lip to keep from making a noise.
“Looks like the last one.” Said Gareth. “Just in time, too.”
“Why?” Asked the third Elf, “It’s not as if we’ve got a Christmas party to go to. Getting time off is like asking for the moon.”
Bill was watching so intently that he didn’t see the door creep open until it was too late. The Elves saw him and his wife.
“Look mate.” Said Gareth, “I won’t even bother asking what you were doing in that cupboard, but we’d better be off. We’re not supposed to get caught, it makes our superiors a bit nervous.”
Bill didn’t know what to say. He gathered his wits and replied.
“Look, you’ve really made our Christmas.” He said. “I just wanted to find out who did this and thank them. I didn’t really expect….”
“Elves.” Said Toby. “We’re elves.”
“Makes sense.” Said Bill. “I mean with that Shoemaker story and all.”
“Yeah, that was my great great uncle. He’s still go his tailored suit they made him, bit moth-eaten now though, of course…”
“Well, neither of us can really sew or anything, but please stay and have some food and drink. There’s only us here and my son and he's in bed. You can call it your Christmas party.”
So the Elves and the Programmer celebrated Christmas together, which involved much drinking, eating and some rude jokes from the Elves. And they were invited back on Christmas Eve every year to enjoy their little Christmas party, providing they helped with any last minute programming.
The End.