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After Barry of Brooklyn, we pause in New York to water and feed the animals. Perspiration steams off our torsos. I unhook myself from the harness and take a walk to get away from the eager gazes of the males.
Snow has gathered on the Charging Bull of Wall Street. An animal I more resemble now than the man I once was. All around rise the spires of capitalism, the offices still filled with people even at this early, endless hour, 02:15 on Christmas morning. They sit like mannequins at their desks in offices strobing with the slow on-off of their time-dilated monitors. I'd once been like them. I'd been the King of this place. I had been someone!
But what happiness had it brought me? All those Christmass Days spent working when I should have been home with my family. All that wealth couldn't buy my freedom from this madman. Perhaps... I deserve this...
I run back to the sleigh, throwing myself into the snow before the big black boots.
"I understand now! The lesson you've been trying to teach me!" I exclaim ecstatically. "The true spirit of Christmas isn't about receiving! It's about giving! It's about bringing love and joy to all mankind!"
"Ho ho ho! Good for you!" he chortles merrily, eyes twinkling, his belly jiggling like a trifle. "Now get your sweet ass back to the front of the sleigh and pull."