The line for Santa is miles long and doesn’t seem to be moving. At the front, it appears there isn’t enough help to keep everything running smoothly. Suddenly you are tapped on the shoulder and turn around to find a woman dressed as an elf looking at you with panic in her eyes. “There you are! Where have you been? Why aren’t you dressed? Hurry up! We need more hands up there!” It appears she has mistaken you for one of the missing elves. Do you go along with it? Set her straight?
Drew had volunteered to take Dani to see Santa Claus at the mall this year. He was regretting it now. Oh not because of Dani. Dani was remarkably well-behaved, for a ten year old who had been waiting to see Santa for two hours in a line that had not moved for a half hour. She either talked with Drew, or weaved a friendship bracelet that she was working on for her friend, for Christmas. However, she was almost done and her patience, a healthy amount for a ten year old, was wearing thin, and so was Drew’s. He looked impatiently towards the front of the line. From what he could see, there was not enough help to keep things going.
Suddenly there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to find an elf-dressed lady with alarm in her eyes. “There you are! Where have you been? Why aren’t you dressed? Hurry up! We need more hands up there!” Evidently, she thought he was one of the misplaced elves. “Ma’am. Take a deep breath.” He didn’t skip a beat. “I think you’ve made a mistake. No-” Here she tried to interrupt him. “I have never seen you before. My name is Drew, and this is my little sister, Dani, whom I brought to see Santa.” Dani smiled and curtsied.
The alarm died in the woman’s eyes and she deflated and looked exhausted. “I am so sorry sir, for the confusion, I hope I have not ruined your trip.” Not only were they understaffed, but it seemed that people had been treating them harshly as well. The woman started to walk away. “Wait a minute, do you need help?” The woman’s eyes lit up, then faltered when he said, “I can’t help, I promised Dani, I’d take her to see Santa, and I can’t leave her alone.” Dani smiled, she had been worried he’d leave her. Drew frowned thinking. An idea popped into his head. “Let me make a phone call.”
Drew made one call, talked firmly and made his points and thanked the person on the phone and then hung up. “They have to make a call, and we just have to wait and see.” Twenty minutes later, three company vans pulled up to the mall bearing the name Bones Engineering. Mom, Dad, Aunt Dia and all their employees got out, wearing elf clothing and asked the mall director where he wanted them. Five minutes after that, Dria rode up on her bicycle in an elf costume, and asked to help. Soon the line was moving pretty quickly and Drew and Dani were at the front.
The lady from before greeted them and asked Drew, “You did this young man, did you not? Why?” He replied, “Ma’am, not too long our family was ripped apart, and in trying to save it, we lost just about everything. Then there were small kind deeds done by strangers, and these little things put our family back together and brought blessings upon us. Just want to pass them on.” The lady smiled.
Then, Dani sat on Santa’s lap and Santa asked what she wanted for Christmas. She looked around and then announced in a small, still voice, “I do not want presents for Christmas.” The whole Mall just about shut down in shock. “Christmas is not about presents.” Mom about dropped her glasses. “Christmas is about compassion. What I want for Christmas, is to be like my big brother and sister, Drew and Dria.”