Santa's Newest Reindeer (2 page)

she wondered to herself.

Suddenly, Will seized the moment and pushed her off bal-

ance, laughing out loud. Ellie slid sideways toward the edge

of the sidewalk and nearly fell down the short embankment.

“Gotcha,” he taunted. It was his turn to get even with her

for stuffing snow down his pants and sticking her tongue out

at him.

“You dumb bunny. I’ll get you back!” she shouted at him.

This was one of her favorite sayings. Will extended his hand

and pulled her back onto the sidewalk. Her face flashed with

anger, and her bright blue eyes seemed to burn holes through

him. Will knew better than to look directly at her.

“It was a question one of my teachers asked us to think about

during Christmas vacation. We’ll probably have to write a report

when we get back to school. Just like the one we had to write

about our summer vacation when we returned to school last

fall. Kinda dumb. We all just made up a whole bunch of stuff.

I wish I could have done half of what I wrote,” he responded

to Ellie with a carefree attitude.

The snow was falling at a faster rate. The slogging became

more tedious, and their visibility was hampered by a bone-

chilling crosswind that blew the snow more horizontal than

vertical. For now, there was an undeclared truce between them.

“I hope Mom and Dad get home safely,” Ellie offered with

a sense of concern. She knew they were good drivers, both

having been born and raised in this northern climate, but the

route between Holly Valley and the capital city included two

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high mountain passes that quite often filled with snow, trapping

motorists without warning. Their parents always took survival

gear in their vehicles just in case. Plus, they drove a four-wheel-drive SUV. Still, people were reportedly found frozen to death

in such weather, especially if it was not forecasted.

“Ah, I’m sure they’ll do just fine. I bet they’re home waiting

for us and having coffee and cookies with Grams and Gramps,”

replied Will. He didn’t usually worry.

“Well, I hope so . . .” Ellie said, her voice trailing off.

“Brrrrrrrr! That wind always seems to find an opening in my

scarf. It’s as if it waits until I adjust my backpack and finds a way in,” offered Will, trying to change the subject.

They put their heads down and leaned into the wind, their

gait becoming more labored. Frost was forming on their eye-

brows, and thin coats of ice decorated their mouths, creating

false moustaches. They exhaled heartily to watch their breaths

seemingly attach to the snowflakes and then disappear. Wil and

Ellie exchanged coughs as they inhaled the cold air. Their lungs

labored to warm the damp air only to expel it again and again.

“What is the first thing you’re going to do on the first day

of vacation?” posed Ellie.

“I think I’m going to sleep in, get up and have breakfast,

and go back to bed,” Will chortled.

“Fat chance,” she retorted. “Dad will probably have some

plans for you; he always does. You’ll probably be helping him

format some spreadsheet or play some computer game.”

Will was a natural when it came to computers. He was often

called upon in class to demonstrate the newest computer game

or help another student with basic arithmetic. But his real love

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was numbers and science. Will was always the first to raise his

hand and answer the science question of the day. He thoroughly

enjoyed stories involving aliens and space travel. He dreamed

of being an astronaut. In space flight he could enjoy both math

and science. His science teacher, Mr. Burns, always scolded him

for his daydreaming, but Mr. Burns was a dreamer himself. Mr.

Burns and Will would frequently share outer space stories before

and after school. Will figured he had plenty of time before he

had to choose what he wanted to be in life.

“Don’t forget about Gramps. He likes to put puzzles together

until he nods off. He says he’s just checkin’ for holes in his eyelids,” mused Ellie, wiping the melting snow that dripped from

her blonde, stringy hair that jutted from underneath her knitted

stocking cap. More than once they had caught Gramps holding

a puzzle piece while his eyes slowly closed. They laughed when

they caught him napping, and they laughed now, only louder.

Their laughs were expressions of endearment.

“How ’bout you, sis? What are you goin’ to do tomorrow

morning?” countered Will, hoping Ellie would volunteer to

help Dad and Gramps decorate the house and front yard.

“I plan to help Mom and Grams in the kitchen. We’re bak-

ing some special cookies for Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve.”

She chuckled half-heartedly. Ellie was responsible for setting

out the plate of cookies and milk for Santa. Unlike several of

her classmates, she really believed in Santa Claus and all the

happiness he brought to the boys and girls around the world.

This year, she would include a dozen extra cookies for Santa’s

elves and a paper bag stuffed with carrots for Rudolph and the

eight tiny reindeer. She had heard from someone that reindeer

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loved carrots. Her favorite saying was,
“If you don’t believe, don’t expect to receive.”
At this time of year, she was certain the reindeer would become hungry after pulling Santa’s overloaded

red sleigh all night.

Ellie always had a place in her heart for animals. With

all the injured or sick creatures she brought home, Gramps

and Grams figured she would become an animal doctor, but

Ellie really wanted to be an elementary school teacher. She

often helped Mrs. Olson, her favorite teacher. Ellie was most

fond of helping her classmates. She read adventure stories to

them. Since Christmas was Ellie’s favorite time of year, she

loved to read the poem, “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

And her listeners were hypnotized by her facial expression and

body contortions. Ellie seemed to create life in each character.

Mrs. Olson had told Ellie that she should become an actress

because of the way she breathed life into each character, espe-

cially Santa. Secretly, Ellie wanted to become a famous writer

and have her own children’s stories published worldwide. She

must have learned, or inherited, this unique talent from her

mom or dad, or both. Every night, Ellie would disappear to

her bedroom, retrieve her diary from between the mattresses,

and write about the many make-believe characters living in her

head. Occasionally, she scribbled a verse of poetry or sketched

faces of her classmates or Mrs. Olson.

Ellie and Will’s parents, Peg and Bill, often told them stories

of kids who got lumps of coal under the Christmas tree rather

than brightly wrapped packages. Those children were “naughty

and not nice” during the year. In any other month, Ellie and

Will usually got their way, but neither of them was willing to

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push their luck just before Christmas. What would they do

with lumps of coal, anyway?

“Well, good luck helping Mom and Grams,” Will said.

Suddenly they stopped in their tracks and stared at each

other. Ellie and Will looked cross-eyed at each other and filled

their cheeks like hot air in balloons. Simultaneously, both

pushed their cheeks inward, releasing a reverberating rush of

air. They laughed aloud. Ellie and Will always reacted the same

way as each other by imitating each other’s facial expressions,

body language, and word choices. After all, they were fraternal

twins! It was as if they were reading each other’s minds, and

it was not a mere coincidence. They had shared this uncanny

connection several times before.

Peg and Bill (they loved to tease their parents by calling

them by their first names) had shared stories of Ellie and Will

finishing each other’s sentences, picking up their pens or pen-

cils, and writing or drawing the exact same thing, or buying the

same item even though they were miles apart. Other times, one

twin would experience a physical sensation such as an emotion

that happened to the other twin. Will was given his first bicycle on his eighth birthday. It was a BMX model used for racing

on dirt motocross-style tracks. On his first ride, he rode off

the curb and crashed. He skinned his left knee and left elbow.

Although his wounds bled, he hadn’t uttered a sound. He was

more concerned about his new bike and what Mom and Dad

would say. However, at the same time Will crashed, Ellie had

broken into tears and ran looking for him. She felt pain on her

left knee and left elbow, and feared something bad had hap-

pened to her brother, though she didn’t know what. Since Ellie

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was the older by a mere three minutes, she felt an obligation

to take care of her younger brother. While their parents were

intrigued by the phenomenon, Ellie and Will shrugged it off

as something every brother and sister experienced. It was no

big deal!

“Well, at least we’ll get to decorate the Christmas tree. That’s

my favorite part. And by how deep the snow is, our yard will turn out great with all the multicolored lights, Frosty, and Mr. and

Mrs. Claus. I wonder what new decorations Dad has planned

for this year,” Ellie said.

“Oh, it will be something. There always is. Next year, we’l

have to start decorating earlier in order to get it all done in

time,” Will said with a sigh, for he knew what it was like wad-

ing through snowdrifts and anchoring seasonal figurines into

the frozen ground. But most of all, he feared climbing onto

the icy roof to attach Christmas lights and ornaments to the

eaves. Last year he unexpectedly rappelled down the roof after

losing his footing only to be saved by grabbing the eave trough

as he slid by.

“Yeah, so we can be in the parade of lights again. Maybe you

should dress up like Santa and stay on the roof,” suggested Ellie.

They both laughed, knowing that they truly enjoyed decorat-

ing their home for all to drive by and enjoy the many different

Christmas scenes, but they liked to complain about it.

“Maybe you could dress up like Mrs. Claus or even one of

the elves in a little, green tutu and hand out cookies to all the people,” retorted Will as he kicked his leg in the air.

As the snow landed on their stocking caps and piled on their

shoulders, they started to resemble abominable snowmen. The

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wind was more biting than ever, and the darkening sky made

it seem even colder. They looked to see who could spot the first

twinkling star. Their gramps had once told them that the stars

were little elves, but the twins also knew that Gramps liked to

tell stories. Some of his yarns were pretty good, but this one

was a little too far out even for Ellie and Will to believe.

Around the curve in the road was their home and sanctuary,

located at the edge of the cul-de-sac. They lengthened their

strides as if competing to be the first one home.

“Beat ya home,” challenged Ellie, pulling with her arms like

a cross-country skier. As she pulled even with Will, she grabbed

his backpack, which altered his step and caused him to lose his

balance. Ellie charged into the lead.

“Not fair,” echoed Will as he struggled to regain his step.

The shifting weight of his backpack slowed his recovery, but

his competitive nature drove him to catch up.

They both arrived at the gate in a dead heat. Gasping for

breath, they brushed the snow from each other’s head and

shoulders, then inched up the driveway, walking sideways to

avoid falling down.

Their parents had arrived home, as evidenced by the snow-

covered automobile. The SUV had not been there long, as the

snow was still melting off the warm hood. They saw footprints

leading to the back door and gamely tried to step within each

large imprint. But something was eerie about the house. While

the rear porch light lit the pathway to the back door, no lights

were on in the kitchen, and the enticing aroma of garlic toast,

meatloaf, skillet-fried potatoes with onions, as well as Grams

spicy apple pie, was noticeably absent. This was Dad’s favorite

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meal, and Grams always fixed it especially for him the first

night Gramps and she visited. This was highly unusual.

They looked at each other as uncomfortable feelings crept

over them. The only time the house was dark at night was if no

one was home or if they were sleeping. Yet the SUV was in the

driveway, and footprints led to the back door. Did something

happen to their parents and grandparents? Ellie remembered

reading about a family in a neighboring town that was kid-

napped and held hostage in the basement. Only the pile of

newspapers on their doorstep convinced the papergirl to call