Ding ding dong, da-da-dong  
In my headphones Christmas drums still rolling strong  
Shopping lights drip like frost  
Milk tea sweetness in the air just gets lost  

Ground floor window, neon snow at night  
On the glass I catch a small, tired smile in the light  
Both hands full of bags, losing all control  
By the sliding doors I sway with the crowd’s slow roll  

Then a sudden cold wind cuts through the heat  
A shadow freezes in the middle of the street  
Plain gray coat and a canvas bag  
Ordinary sneakers, but his eyes don’t lag  

Hey, are you Santa Claus for real  
Or some stranger from a story that I half-conceal  
He drops his voice and chuckles low, ho ho ho  
Like he’s reading every secret that I never show  
Hey, I said you’ve got the wrong girl, ah  
I’m just here for sale-rack lipstick, flowers, nah  
He slips one gold-wrapped candy in my palm  
Says tonight might bend the way you think of calm  

Third floor speakers play breakup songs  
I slide past the checkout line that slowly snakes along  
He’s pushing an empty cart, matching my pace  
Like a background extra guarding every trace  

By the cashier glow and plastic snowman  
He reaches out, scans my card right from my hand  
Says this is a bonus for the ones who stay too late  
Hooks a little reindeer on my shoulder like a cape  

I ask him, how do you get paid  
For walking lonely hearts through every night parade  
He winks and says I only charge wishes, time  
And I pack your little worries, send them back, declined  

Hey, are you Santa Claus or what  
Or just staff for some promotion that I half forgot  
He tries his clumsy one-liner, ho ho ho  
Still he hits that quiet, empty space inside my soul  
Hey, I said don’t joke around like that  
No candy’s sweet enough to flip the world we’ve got  
He points outside the glass, fresh snow begins to dance  
Says miracles don’t check your name or circumstance  

Radio’s counting down a city off to sleep  
Windows blur to stories soft and deep  
Suddenly I feel all the words I never said  
Like letters on a window, curling, unread  

He asks what I want the most this year  
I almost say “no more sadness, no more fear”  
But I just smile and whisper, one good night of dreams  
He nods like he’s signing some old pact between the beams  

Hey, maybe he’s Santa after all  
Or some quiet little glitch behind the shopping mall  
He turns and melts in the crowd’s fluorescent glow  
Leaves his footprints and a milk tea cup of warmth below  
Hey, I’m standing by the sliding door  
Phone lights up with tiny unread midnight noise once more  
On the fogged-up glass there’s a red silhouette I know  
Like he turned and gave one last silent hello  

Ding ding dong, da-da-dong  
Those drums keep beating in my heart so strong  
If next year I walk through this same bright hall  
I’ll hide one extra wish in my coat, let it fall  
In case I run into him once more at all