untitled.

notes: not an original work, someone posted it on an IRC channel a few years ago. Author will remain anonymous upon request. 

Pibbles the Panda is lying in bed, barely conscious but feeling alright. Then suddenly someone is poking him, telling him to 'wake up'. He realizes it's Santa Claus telling him to get up and put his slippers on, so he does. He brings Pibbles to the living room and his whole family is there. No one is bickering or arguing; instead they're all smiling and telling him how much they love him. They've all been waiting for Pibbles. He realizes how much he loves them, how much he's always loved them and always will. Pibbles doesn't even think about tomorrow. Outside it's snowing, a perfect winter wonderland, but inside it's warm and wonderful.

There is delicious food spread out for everyone to eat after the presents are unwrapped. It's a feast unlike anything Pibbles has ever seen before. He can't figure out which he wants to do first, open his presents or eat the delectable treats.
Pibbles' family gives him only one present, a crumpled up piece of paper. He unfolds it. There is a single name written on it. They don't even have to tell Pibbles whose name it is on the paper. It's his soul-mate, that one person he will always love no matter what. Everything is perfect. This is the best Pibbles has ever felt. He curls up in front of the roaring fireplace with his whole loving family and just stares at the paper.
Then it's all over and everything is back to normal. Santa is back at the North Pole, his family starts arguing like they normally do and that relative still has cancer. It was a farce all along? No, it can't be. Pibbles remembers having the piece of paper but can't remember the name.
So he remembers how wonderful everything was that one Christmas morning and decides he wants it to be that way again. It's okay if Christmas comes early this year. Santa wakes him up again, the food is spread out again and his family is loving and wonderful. The lights seem a bit dimmer and the food doesn't taste exactly like he remembers but it doesn't matter. Everything is warm and loving and wonderful.
Then he wakes up again and everything is back to normal. He wonders 'Why can't every day be like this day?' and it is so. Every day is Christmas and that's all that matters.
Some time passes and it's not as great as Pibbles remembers it being. After awhile the food tastes the same as normal food and his family behaves as they normally behave. Santa stops coming by to wake him up. Still, the food is out, the snow is on the ground and today is a nice day anyway.
Then one day Pibbles wakes up and he's cold. He looks around and no one is there, he doesn't know what happened to everyone. They're all gone. His warm bed is some street and it's cold outside, there is snow but it's all slush. He feels sick and his body aches. He's hungry but there's no food. Then some kid kicks him in the side and tells him that Santa is make-believe. There never was a man named Santa Claus. He reaches in his pocket and feels a crumpled up piece of paper. He takes it out and reads it. The name was 'Heroin'.