Page 32 of Christmas Wishes
“Why?”
“I wanted you to see firsthand exactly what good we do and that not all humanity is selfish, that there are those among them who seek to heal and help and offer hope. Who want to love and be loved in return. Who want to work and give, not just take.”
“You’ll let me take on Mother’s project, but not lead the sleigh team?”
“I think it’s wonderful,” Blix added before his father could answer. “Would you like to come inside, Santa?”
“Thank you, young lady.”
“Traitor,” Rand muttered out the side of his mouth. She giggled and it was the purest and most perfect sound. He looked down at her, leading her back into the cabin with his father following behind. “You really think it’s a good idea?” he whispered.
“To invite him in or your mother’s project?” she whispered back.
“Both?”
She laughed softly this time, and it warmed him. He could listen to that sound every hour of every day for the rest of his life and never tire of it. It charmed him, the way everything else about her did. “Yes, I do. Sometimes we need to see things from a little different perspective. If we’re always looking down, we don’t see the stars, or the sun, or the moon. We only see the ground. We only see below. I was trying to help you see things that you were no longer seeing, Rand. And maybe we can help others see the same things.”
“Hmm.” He focused on his father again, who was standing in front of the Christmas tree. “What will this entail?”
“I should’ve done this when I was here.”
When he was…? “When were you here?” Rand asked.
Santa turned, but didn’t move from in front of the tree. “When I was your age. It was after my first year leading the sleigh team when I had my doubts. You and I are not so different. You might like to think we are, but we’re not.”
“Grandfather sent you here?”
The older man chuckled. “No. Your grandmother made the decision. Actually escorted me here herself. She was none too happy. I had to remain here for ten months and I was alone. She wouldn’t allow your mother to join me until the very end.”
Rand stared. He thought he’d known everything about his family, but with this information, he had to wonder what more there was to learn. “Did it help?”
“It did. I got to know the people here. I traveled to other parts of the world on small budgets and no magic so I could figure out how to live, to see how those we serve live. And that is something I failed to understand in my privileged upbringing. We serve them, humanity. We serve them hope and wishes and wonder. We bring those things to them once a year and pray it lasts for three-hundred and sixty-four days until the next time. It’s a terrible honor. It takes so much of us, so much from us, but there are moments, Rand. Moments when this one night makes every other night worth it.”
And still, Rand stared. He’d never heard his father speak that way about Christmas, but maybe he hadn’t been listening, either. Not to anyone but the noise in his own head.
“It takes magic and faith and love to do what we do day in and day out, Rand.” Blix stepped in front of him, wedged herself between his knees as he sat on the arm of the couch. The light in her eyes was mesmerizing. It was the light he saw flickering every time he saw her. Sometimes it was banked and barely there, like when she was concentrating on something other than what she wanted to be doing. And other times, it burned flame bright, like a star at its peak. Her whole body glowed with it and he was humbled by the hope she let him see.
Hope for him.
Hope for herself.
Hope for humanity around the world.
He started to speak, but stopped to clear his throat, then looked up at his father. “So, this thing you and Mother want to do … Tomas spoke of something like it and you said you traveled. Is that what you’re talking about?”
“Yes.”
“Like guardian angels?”
“More like ambassadors. We have no celestial powers. You are not the only one with doubts, son. As time progresses and humanity stagnates and wallows in their differences, light gets lost in the darkness. I think if more of us were to see humanity up close, that maybe we can help them see that life is a blessing, that each moment is something to be savored, not squandered.”
“They’ll know we’re not like them”
“Our magic can hide us if need be.”
The whole thing was… It was a good idea. Even he could admit that. He nudged Blix back and stood, pacing toward the tree and his father. “I thought I wasn’t allowed to do anything like that since I’m your heir.”
“It is a risk, but sending you here was, too. We can’t remain isolated, though we’ve tried. The world is simply too populated now and we have gifts to give and share; things that are important to the ones who need help the most.”
