John Farmer smiled as he walked past
the two sleeping girls on opposite ends of the sofa. Their granddaughters
always managed to tire themselves out when came to visit, and today was no
exception. He reached over the back of the sofa and touched the off button on
the remote, and the now blue TV screen went dark. The girls must have dozed off
before the movie ended. He walked into the kitchen where Erin, his wife was
still preparing the ingredients for the family’s Christmas dinner. “Sleeping?”
she mouthed silently. He nodded. “I’m headed out to feed the dogs,” he said
softly. “Why don’t you get some rest before church. That stuff can wait until
tomorrow. Jean is here to help you.” Erin nodded but kept right on doing
whatever it was that she was doing.
He went on
into the laundry and entry room, and was taking his coat down off the hook when
something brushed his arm and reached past for the coat next to his. He looked
down at the bright eyes of Natasha, his oldest grandchild. She smiled at him,
“Didn’t think you were going to feed the dogs without me, did you? John shook his head, and the two headed out to
the kennel yard.
“I thought
you were going to sleep the evening away. Santa will be coming before you know
it.” John chided her.
Natasha’s
blue eyes flashed at her grandfather.” Grandpa, I am old enough to know that
there is no real Santa Claus.”
“What do
you mean, there’s no Santa Claus?” John asked her. “There most certainly is
Santa Claus in everything that happens at this time of year.”
“I mean
that I know there is no fat jolly old elf coming down the chimney to put
presents around the tree.” Natasha looked at her grandfather,” I am old enough
now to know that that is a story to cover-up for what you and grandma and mom
and dad do every Christmas.”
“And just
where did this little bit of knowledge come from?” John queried her.
“All the
kids in my school grade know that, Grandpa. We are almost adults now you know.”
John
suppressed a chuckle looking very seriously at his 12-year-old grandchild, and
said, “What you think you know now may be changed in a heartbeat, in a flash,
before you’re even aware of it.” They walked into the barn and were greeted
with a clamoring of hungry sled dogs anxious for their evening meal. Quickly,
they went about mixing warm water, broth and the high protein food that the
Chinook dogs needed to keep their energy level up while pulling the heavy cargo
sleds into the backcountry.
“What do
you mean?” Natasha asked.
“You know,
in your entire 12 years, you’ve asked more questions than most people five times
your age.” Her grandfather smiled. "I mean oftentimes what we think we know is
different than what is actually going on around us. Let’s go get some dinner
for ourselves, and then we can take these buggers for a little jaunt.”
“But we
have to get ready for church.” Natasha asserted.
“Wouldn’t
they just be surprised if we pulled up to St. John’s Lutheran, on a couple of
dog sleds?”
“Are you
serious?” The girl’s eyes widened.
“We shall
see, dear one. We shall see.” Her grandfather answered.
Inside the
house, Natasha’s sister Sophie had woken up and was buzzing around the kitchen
at her usual high rate of speed. Natasha and John made a couple of quick
sandwiches and some turkey soup that came from the broth for tomorrow’s turkey
dinner, and started to head back out.” Where are you going?” Sophie asked.
“Grandpa
says we can take the dogs for a quick run before we have to be at church.”
Natasha countered.
“You’ll
get in trouble! You’re going to be late!” Her little sister replied. Erin
looked up from her preparations and moved over to Sophie. She put her hand on
the younger girl’s shoulder.
“Don’t
worry Sophie, your grandfather does this whenever somebody in this family hits
the marvelous age of 12.” Her grandmother looked at her,” Your mother took this
Christmas Eve ride when she was Natasha’s age. In a couple of years, it will be
your turn.” As she spoke their daughter Jean, the girls’ mother, came into the
kitchen.
“Is it
that time already?” Looking from her father to Natasha to her mother, and then
ask the older woman, “Is it ready?”
“Oh yes.
It’s been ready for a few weeks now.” Erin answered.
“Yes, it’s
time. We’ll be out in the barn harnessing up the dogs.” John replied, as he
pulled on his big red, wool duster coat and pulled the hood up over his ears.
“Maybe
you’re right Grandpa,” Natasha observed. “Maybe there is a Santa Claus. You
certainly look the part in that coat.”
Her
grandfather smiled and looked at his reflection in the laundry room window.
“Perhaps you’re right, dear one. Perhaps you’re right.”
The eight
Chinook dogs were strangely quiet as John and Natasha put them into their
harnesses and put them to the guy line of the big cargo sled. Only Thunder, the
lead dog, made a noise as Erin and Jean came into the barn. Erin held the
bundle in her arms out to her granddaughter. “You’re going to need this
tonight,” she said. “It will keep you warm no matter how cold it gets. They say
it was made by elves.”
Natasha
took the bundle from her grandmother and allowed it to open in her hands. The
warm soft fabric almost felt radiant in her fingers. As it cascaded down, she
realized that it was a long dark green cape with white fur along the edges, and
ornately styled clasps to hold it closed. She started to say something but then
realized that both her mother and grandmother were wearing identical cloaks.
Jean spoke, “This is something every girl in our family has received on the
Christmas after their 12th birthday. It’s very special, and someday
you will get to pass the tradition on to your own daughter.”
Natasha
swung the cape over her shoulders slid her arms through the sleeves and snapped
the clasps together. “It’s beautiful and so warm. Thank you, Grandma.”
“As
grandma just said it will keep you warm. They say it was made by elves.” Her
mother replied. Natasha looked at her grandmother, and in the half-light of the
barn through her grandmother’s silver hair, it almost appeared that she had
pointed, Elvish ears. The girl shook her head and looked again, but her
grandmother had pulled up her own hood to keep her head warm. She looked over
at her grandfather to ask, but he just smiled at her.
“Ready to
take the team out?” He asked her.
“I’m
driving?” Her eyes wide with excitement.
“Absolutely.
This is your night. Take them out!”
Natasha
and John stood on the rear of the big sled. “We have one stop we need to make.
Thunder and Lightning know where we're going.”
“HIKE!” The
girl yelled in her best command voice, and the sled almost ripped out from
under them like a rocket sled on rails. They headed out across the snow-covered
field, snow blowing up in the wake of the eight dogs and the sled itself as the
team kept going faster and faster. And then an amazing thing happened. Through
the snow, Natasha could see a change in the dogs ahead of her. In fact, they
didn’t look like dogs anymore, they looked like… reindeer. She started to look
at her grandfather, but then, with a jolt, the sled leaped into the air.
“Grandpa?”
Natasha glanced at her grandfather and was surprised to see that his grizzled
beard had taken on a much whiter appearance. “Grandpa, what’s happening?”
“Just what
I cautioned you about before we ate dinner.” John smiled at her, “There’s a
reason I take every 12-year-old in our family for this ride and have done so
for many years, as my predecessors have done for centuries before me. I have
been telling you for years that I am Father Christmas. I think you’re finally
realizing what I meant by that.”
“So…You
really are St. Nick?” An incredulous note creeping into the question.
“No, dear
one. Saint Nicholas was an actual person who lived many years ago in a place
called Moira. Father Christmas has had many names over the years, including
Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, Connor Clark, and now his real name just happens to
be John Farmer. But regardless of the name, the mission is always the same,
spread goodness throughout the whole world.”
“The whole
world?” Natasha looked at her grandfather, “Connor Clark, isn’t that Grandma
Erin’s father’s name? You mean he was Santa before you?”
“How do
you think I got the job? The Clark’s only had daughters, and everyone knows
that Santa Claus is a, how do you say it, a dude?” John smiled at her, but only
paused for a second and pointed ahead of them. “Look! We’re already here!”
“Here,
where?”
“As the
conductor said, why the North Pole of course!” He smiled warmly as the sled
descended into the mists and a city ablaze with light emerged from the fog.
Natasha
could not hide her incredulousness. “Next thing you’re going to tell me is that
the Polar Express is a real train.”
“Why would
you think it isn’t,” her grandfather said pointing off to the horizon where a
single headlight showed from a train crossing the snowy tundra. “Welcome to a
place where everything is possible, and even the impossible is real. Think
about it; you are driving a sleigh that started out as a dog sled. It’s being
pulled by eight reindeer that started out as Chinook dogs. In your wildest
imagination, your wildest dreams would you ever have thought that your 12th
Christmas Eve would be spent this way?”
“I’m not
even sure it is being spent this way.” Natasha shook her head. “This could just
be some really bizarre dream, Grandpa.”
Well,
we’ll see about that.” He looked at the girl. “Think about everything that’s
happened just so far tonight. Think about where you got that cloak you’re
wearing. Think about feeding the dogs and eating a bowl of soup. Think about
the fact that I let you drive the dogs and all of a sudden you are driving
reindeer.”
“I can’t
stop thinking about the fact that I think Gramma Erin has pointed ears.”
“Here, let
me take those reins. As I said to you before, the Clarks only had daughters.
But that’s another story for another time.” Deftly he guided the sled into a wide-open
area in the center of town. It touched down gently and was immediately
surrounded by a sea of elves.
“Welcome
home sir!” Said one of the elves who was obviously a leader of the throng. “Is
this the latest 12-year-old from the line of Clarks? She looks like she can
handle herself.” John nodded.
“Grandpa,
these are all elves…” Natasha kept swinging her head back and forth.
“Yes?”
“Well…
They all look a lot more like Legolas than they do like Hermey.”
Her
grandfather smiled at her. “I suppose they do at that. The elves have always
been among us dear one, but as the world of man dismissed the presence of the
Deep Magic, they could no longer see the elves. Many of the elf-kind sailed
beyond the Western sea, and many of them that were left came here.”
“Won’t
Lady Erindyl be joining us this year?” The lead elf asked.
“Maybe
later, after the deliveries are done, Potar. Right now, she’s preparing a great
big dinner at home for when this girl gets back from her journey.” Out of the
corner of his eye, he saw Natasha mouth the words, “Lady Erindyl?”
“Potar,
let’s get the sled loaded up. Natasha before we take off I have somebody I
would like you to meet.” They want to a large red double door and John knocked
before opening it. Natasha found herself looking at the most beautiful woman
she had ever seen including both her mother and her grandmother, and she
realized that they both bore a striking resemblance to the woman in front of
her except for her raven-black hair and the most amazing green eyes Natasha had
ever seen.
“Natasha,
I would like you to meet Iolena, your great grandmother.” The girl’s mouth
dropped to the floor and her eyes got big as saucers. “You, you’re, you’re an
elf!” She paused. “That means Grandma Erin is an elf too.”
“Actually,
Erindyl is half-elf, and half Terran. Her father, my husband, Connor, is from
your world.” The girl looked confused. Iolena continued, “Your grandmother’s
given name is Erindyl, but the only place she uses that name is here in
Christmastown.” Iolena glanced at John, who nodded toward the door. “We have so
much more to talk about, dear one. But the night is short, and you have far to
go. Travel well, and if you get hungry you can chew sparingly on this.” She
handed Natasha a small package and kissed her on the forehead. She took John’s
hand, “Travel well and stay safe.”
“We will.
I promise.” He released his mother-in-law’s hand, and the door opened before
them. Natasha could not believe the transformation of the sled. In one aspect
it looked exactly the same as before and in another, it was as full as it could
be with gifts of every description.
“So, what
do I do now?” The girl looked longingly over her shoulder at the red door.
“You will
have plenty of time to get to know your great-grandmother. Right now, you are
about to witness some of the greatest of the Deep Magic, celebrating the birth
of Christ the Savior of the world and the gifts of the Wise Men.”
“Natasha.”
She looked at her grandfather. “You must remember that you cannot mention any
of this to your sister, to your friends, to anyone except your mother, your
grandmother, and me. Sophie will come into her own when she is 12. Until then
the secret is kept.” Natasha nodded, “I understand.”
“We must
be going but first I must give the first gift of Christmas to one of the
children from the train.” He looked at the group of children in their pajamas
assembled in front of them. Looking at one small girl who seemed to be hiding
behind the others, John held out his hand to her. Young lady, you have nothing
to be afraid of.” The children parted, and the girl stood there, eyes on the
ground. When she looked up, she saw Santa Claus and his granddaughter. He knelt
down until his eyes were even with hers. “What would you like for the first
gift of Christmas?” Her eyes immediately went back to the ground. Natasha
nudged her grandfather. “May I?” John nodded.
Natasha knelt down by the little girl
and whispered in her ear. The girl smiled a little bit, and looked at Natasha
and then whispered back in her ear. Natasha nodded, smiled and stood up. She
went to her grandfather pulled his ear down and whispered into it. John smiled.
He looked at the girl, “You have chosen well, and your gift has been granted to
you and to your family. When you go home what you asked for will have already
happened.”
John
surveyed the elves, looked at the sled helped his granddaughter up onto it,
climbed on board. He handed her the reins. “You did a good job for your first
time. Let’s keep going.” Natasha clicked her tongue three times, and commanded,
“Hike!” The reindeer bounded forward and headed into the sky.
===================================================
Natasha
shook her head, as if to get the cobwebs out of it and looked around her. She
was on the sofa in her grandparent’s living room and marvelous smells of
Christmas dinner were coming from the kitchen. There were presents under the
tree, and her mother, father, and sister were sitting in chairs talking quietly.
“Mom?” Her mother looked at her.
“About time you woke up, sleepyhead.”
“Mom… I
think I had the most amazing dream. It can’t be real, but I dreamt I met my
great-grandmother.” She looked around, “Where’s Grandpa?”
“I think he’s
out feeding the dogs, then we’re going to open our presents. Santa has been
very good to us this year.”
“Yeah,
about that…” Natasha said and then jumped off the sofa. “He’s feeding the dogs
without me!” She bolted out the living room door to the coatroom, to meet her
grandfather coming through the door.
“Slowdown
there, TJ. I was going to let you sleep but put your coat on and we’ll go feed
the dogs before we open the presents. They had quite a workout last night.” He
smiled at her.
“Okay,”
she said and reached for her coat, then realized there was now a green cloak
hanging on the hook where her barn coat should be. Pulling it on, she looked
over at her grandmother who was standing in the doorway. “It’s very warm,”
Natasha said.
Her
grandmother smiled at her. “They say it was made by elves.” Natasha nodded. “By
the way, Natasha, you might want to take that lembas bread out of your pocket
before the dogs get a whiff of it” When she looked back at her grandmother, for
just a second Natasha thought she could just make out the slightly pointed ears
of Lady Erindyl. Then she turned and followed her grandfather into the barn.