14 yr old aspiring writer wins #upgoer5 Mr Santa competition!

In the run-up to Christmas and in collaboration with Imperial Fringe, I set up a competition for the best letter to Mr Santa written using only the most common 1,000 words in English, the idea behind my book, “The Edge of the Sky”.

Among many excellent entries, one stood out: It was inspired, poetic and moving. The letter by Dahlia, from Sanibel, FL, was the clear winner:

Dear Santa, man of red and white who lives for ten hundred hundred hundred years and never tires of making children feel warm in their hearts, I would like you to keep doing what you do best.

Dear Santa, man with ice horses who grow trees from their heads, please never let the happy cold time fun die.

Dear Santa, when the home place goes to rest under a bed of white, please make sure that the colored star lights of people’s homes never go out and let the night turn dark. When we all light up our trees with pretty star lights. Santa, we come together to be happy even though we have not always loved each other.

Love for being happy, sir, is what makes this time of year so special. I want nothing but to keep that love in me and never lose it, so that I may be good to others all year round.

If we all may learn not to hate others all year, not just the time when your voice rings sweet in the air, we may learn to love our selves.

Dear Santa, when the trees wake up and make my home green again with their new life, do not ever forget why you once came to warm our cold hearts.

As it turns out, Dahlia not only has a touch for writing using this harder-than-you-think language — she is actually a 14 year old aspiring to become one day a student-woman (scientists, for those unfamiliar with #upgoer5 language), or perhaps a writer, or a bit of both:

Hello my name is Dahlia. I am seven times two years old. I would like to be a student woman / writer when I grow up.

Huge congratulations to Dahlia and all best wishes for her future – she certainly seems to be on the right path to make her dream come true!

Merry Christmas!