It was a late afternoon in December when my belief in Santa peaked. I was entering the Mall of the Bluffs with my mom, and the snow was falling heavily on my face. When we got inside, the mall was packed with people. There were hundreds of people shuffling around, trying to get their Christmas gifts. I remember the food court had at least ten busy restaurants and the whole cafeteria, surrounded by a large, glass wall, was full.

   Even before this moment, I had already liked Christmas. Everything about it was just simply appealing to me. The thought of Santa and the North Pole, the birth of Jesus Christ, getting with your families, spending time with others, and getting and receiving gifts all made December my favorite time of the year. I walked cheerily with my mom around the mall.

   The mall was quite small, and so many people were crowded side by side. It didn’t even have a second floor. It seemed really rustic and welcoming, though, and the mall has evolved into something like a cemetery today.

   At the time, I didn’t really care about any of the stores, except for Far Eastern Treasures. Today, I know that it wasn’t a totally appropriate store, though I remained in the front of the store every time I went in. I was always fascinated by the goods from the “far east” and everything about it seemed cool. At the store’s entrance, there was a sign that stated “2 students allowed in at a time”. I never understood this as a child.

   Inside the store, there were many plants and statues on display, but perhaps the most intriguing thing to me was the key chains. However, these were not any regular key chains. Each keychain had a gem-like rock with an insect (or something of an insect’s size) stuck inside of the substance. They were cool to see as I was always afraid of bugs and got to see them up close. The bugs were dead but still preserved inside of the material, and the best way I can explain this is the mosquito trapped inside of amber on John Hammond’s cane from Jurassic Park. I actually ended up collecting quite a few of these, and for Christmas, I remember my mom got me one that had a huge water bug in it. My mom really, really cared for me. A lot. She would always try to get me stuff unless she didn’t have the money or didn’t think I needed it.

   Once out of the Far Eastern Treasures store, my mother and I approached several other stores that had great sales going on. After all, it was the holiday season.

   After getting out of the stores, I made my ways towards the play area, where there were at least twenty other kids playing while parents were watching. At the entrance of the play area, there was a rubber statue that gave demanded you must be a certain height to enter. I was above that height. I was sad at the time but didn’t really care that much, as I wasn’t like most of the other kids. I felt a need for maturity.

   Finally, towards the end of our mall adventure, it was getting later into the evening and you could see the snow collecting on the glass roof part of the mall. There was a large crowd of people around a cartoonish Santa display. This display was located in one of the intersections of the mall and attracted attention from parents and children in every direction. The line was long, but my mother and I still got into it.

   The parents in front of me were all smiling and watching as their kids went to see Santa. Pictures were being taken and there was a lot of holiday cheer.

   The wait seemed to go on forever. It was like an infinite amount of time went by. I began to observe the Santa in front of me, as I was now near the front of the line. He had a long, white beard, and long, white hair. He wore glasses and had a warm smile. His suit looked old-fashioned but heart-warming.

   At last, it was my turn to go up and talk to Santa. As the kid in front of me walked away, the Santa’s gaze turned to me.

   “Come right on up, Sidney,” he exclaimed.

   I instantly looked back at my mom, who had a wide grin on her face. I knew that my face looked extremely puzzled and full of wonder. He knew my name! I was pretty sure I had never seen the Santa before, but then I remembered: Santa himself is magical. Was that the real Santa?

   I continued walking toward Santa and sat on his lap. I began to explain everything that I wanted for Christmas, though the main thing I wanted was a Wii.

   Still, I was in shock because he knew my name. I finished my conversation with him, and as I walked away and back to my mom, the Santa winked at me.

   Outside, it was now nighttime, and there was a light gray night sky. The snow was still falling. My mom and I approached the car. When I got in the back seat of my mom’s white car, I began pondering to myself.

   “Mom, how did he know my name?” I asked, curious.

   “I don’t know. It could’ve been magic,” she replied, smiling.

   To this day, I still don’t know how that Santa at the mall knew my name. It confuses me. There are a lot of possibilities. I do know, however, that this event sparked my strongest belief in Santa, and I really enjoy reliving the memory as it made me like Christmas a whole lot more. Today I am still fond of the holidays, but my beliefs have obviously changed with age.