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As Jebidiah’s minions gathered wood for the fire, he amused himself by tossing gifts from the sleigh and watching them rip open when they hit the frozen ground. After each toss, he turned to look at Mrs. Claus and the others.

Levi and Jane stood fuming at him. His former associates, now returned to their original form, quaked with fear, but Mrs. Claus stood smiling. She would reach out to comfort and calm the others but never lost her smile.

“You can pretend all you like that this doesn’t upset you, but I know better.” Jebidiah snarled, then tossed a pile of gifts into the air.

There was no reaction, and this made him even more furious.

“Where is that wood? We’re in the middle of a forest. There’s dead wood everywhere. What is taking so long?”

Jebidiah climbed down from the sleigh and started gathering his own branches. Soon, the crowd of still loyal apparitions arrived with a load of wood. Most of it was still snow-covered.

“That will never burn,” Jebidiah yelled. “Do I have to do everything myself?” With one branch, he knocked the snow off the wood and tossed it toward the smashed presents. “Pile them on there and be quick about it. I’m in the mood for a good fire.”

It took a while, but soon, a mountain of wood was stacked in cone shape. Jebidiah told the apparitions to start piling presents on the ground near the wood.

“We’ll take our time burning these,” he glared at Mrs. Claus and the others. “I wouldn’t want you to miss seeing each and every one burn to ash.”

He reached into the sleigh, turned back to face them, hands behind his back, and strolled toward them.

“Now, what could I possibly use to light this bonfire? Anyone? Any ideas?” He waited just the briefest of moments, then pulled Santa’s list from behind his back.

“No! ” Jane and Levi yelled again in Elvish unison, joined by the recently returned elves.

Again, nothing but a smile from Mrs. Claus. But she did glance for the briefest of moments to the sky. Jebidiah caught the look.

“Looking for a rescue from the sky?” he asked. “Do you really think Santa could even find his way here without a plan?”

“Mrs. Claus shrugged. “There’s always hope, remember?”

*****

“But she said to wait,” Axe pleaded, blocking Santa from climbing aboard the sleigh. “She made me promise to wait for her to send for us.”

Santa smiled, putting his hands on Axe’s shoulders. “She already did, my boy. She already did. Now, get on board. We have to save Christmas and a lost elf.”

“Lost elf, who?”

“Jebidiah, of course. He’s lost the way of Christmas, and we’re gonna get him back. Ready?” Santa looked around for his checklist. “Where is my… Oh, never mind. We’ll have to wing it.” Grabbing the reins, he waited for the reindeer to take off.

“You have to use their names, Santa. You know, On Dasher, on Prancer…”

“I do? Oh yeah, I do.” Santa tightened the reins once more, then started the familiar chant. “Now, Dasher! Now Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, ah, On, ah…”

“Comet and Cupid,” Axe whispered.

“Oh yeah, On Comet and Cupid….”

“On Donner and Blitzen,” Axe yelled for him. And the sleigh rose into the sky.

“Which way?” Santa asked.

Axe shook his head. “Here, give me those. I’ll get us there, but you still haven’t told me what we’re gonna do.”

“We are going to remind Jebidiah about the true meaning of Christmas,” Santa said, settling back in the seat and enjoying the ride.

*****

The wood pile was ready to go. Jebidiah stood next to it, waving a match under the list. Despite all his efforts to make Mrs. Claus unhappy, she remained defiantly smiling and laughing.

Then, he heard the bells of the reindeer.

“So, Santa will be joining the party. How convenient. It will do you no good. I know him as well as anyone, and he will do nothing that might hurt someone. How’s he gonna stop me from burning this list and all the presents?”

“He won’t,” Mrs. Claus said, stepping forward. “You will.”

Jebidiah laughed, then spun around to see the sleigh with Santa and Axe slide to a landing.

“Glad you could join the party, Santa. Oh, and look, it’s my old friend, Axe. Lovely.”

“Jebidiah,” Santa said, stepping down from the sleigh. “I have something for you.”

“I don’t think so,” Jebidiah said. “I’m not falling for any tricks.”

“It’s not a trick. It’s a letter. This is a letter I should have given to you a long time ago. But at the time, it didn’t seem like you needed it. I didn’t realize how lonely you felt inside.” Santa smiled at Mrs. Claus. “Mrs. Claus figured it out, and that’s why I am here.”

He took a step forward, reached into the pocket of his red suit, and pulled out a letter. The envelope was old and yellowed with age, and on the front was printed “Jebidiah.” The back had a wax seal. He held it out for Jebidiah.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a letter from your Mom and Dad. Something they wrote when you were a little boy in case anything ever happened to them. After the accident, we decided to wait until you were old enough to understand it. Then, as you grew up, you seemed such a happy boy we didn’t think you needed to read it.”

Santa took a step closer. “No tricks, Jebidiah. Just an apology. I should never have kept this from you. Please take it and read it. Then, if you want to burn the list and all the presents, I won’t stop you. It’s your decision to make.”

Jebidiah hesitated a moment, then snatched the letter from Santa’s hand. He felt an unfamiliar sense of warmth in his heart when he recognized his mother’s handwriting, something he had come to know over the years from all the stories she’d written for children.

Taking a deep breath, he gently opened the flap and unfolded the letter.

Jebidiah,

If you're reading this, your father and I are no longer with you. Not as we were, perhaps, but we will always be in your heart. We know this is not what we wanted but what we must accept.
You have a long life ahead of you. Filled with adventures, friends, and, hopefully, a family of your own someday. We are sad we won't be there to share with you, but remember, we are always part of everything you do and become.
Whenever you are sad or lonely, think of all the times we shared. All the laughter we made. All the precious moments we were together. That will make it easier.
But most of all, remember why we lived as we did. We lived to keep the Spirit of Christmas alive for all the world.
If there were one wish I could make for you, it would be that you do as much and more to keep Christmas alive as all the others in your family have done for centuries.
Merry Christmas, our dear boy, and have a long and happy life.

Mom and Dad.

*****

Jebidiah looked up from the letter, and tears fell from his eyes. As he looked around, the apparitions all transformed back into elves. Making his way to Santa, he fell to his knees.

“Oh, Santa, what have I done? What have I done?”

Mrs. Claus helped him stand. “Remember when I said we never give up on anyone? Well, we never gave up on you. Just because someone gets on the naughty list doesn’t mean they stay there forever. The world survives when we all learn to forgive.”

Jane and Levi came to stand next to him. Jebidiah put out his hand, “I’m sorry.”

They both hugged him and then stepped back.

Santa bent down on one knee to look Jebidiah in the eye. “I’m so sorry, my boy. It never should have come to this. Will you forgive me?”

“Forgive you?” Jebidiah said. “I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. Will you forgive me?”

“We already have, my boy. We already have.”

Years later, when Mrs. Claus would tell the story of everything Jebidiah had done to keep the spirit of Christmas alive, those listening would marvel at her words. She told how, right before their eyes, Jebidiah became a believer in the Christmas Spirit and its most important ambassador.

And from that day forward, as long as people like Jebidiah and others believe, Christmas lived on forever.

*****

I cannot express how wonderful a feeling it is when people read things I’ve written. I hope this story has touched your hearts and reminded you of what really matters. Since time is the most precious commodity we have, your taking some of your time to read my stories means more to me than you could ever imagine. Time truly is the greatest gift of all.

I hope all of your time is filled with love and happiness and the true Spirit of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all!

Joe Broadmeadow

If anyone would like a PDF or eBook version of the complete story, send me an email at joseph.broadmeadow@gmail.com Be happy to send it along as my gift.