A Word With the Elf by Jonathan Elsom is a heartfelt story about the relationship between Edward Harbottle, an elderly man living in London and working as a Santa Claus impersonator, and Mr Punch, his elderly terrier. It is a story written in the Christmas spirit, taking place during a cold December. When Mr Punch dies in a street accident, Harbottle is left alone, with no one to keep him company: “In Edward Harbottle’s upstairs window the lights on a small Christmas tree twinkled busily, but as the elderly actor sat over his solitary breakfast the carols pouring from the radio only seemed to emphasize the inactivity in his house.”
Although there’s a light of hope towards the end of the story, when Sarah Jenkins, Harbottle’s next door young neighbour, asks Father Christmas to bring the old man another dog, at its core, A Word With the Elf, remains a sad story, eliciting pity from its readers. It is a character-driven short story about the loneliness people of an old age feel and the inevitability of death. The title of the short story refers to Sarah’s chat with the elf regarding Harbottle’s address, but “I don’t think that elf was listening,” confessed the young girl in the end.
A Word With the Elf by Jonathan Elsom was the November 2009 winner of the Global Short Story Competition. It is available online here.
Jonathan Elsom is a Sydney-based writer.
