Day 4: Journey

The sleigh descended in a gentle spiral, giving Joe a view of a brightly lit town bustling with elves and reindeer dashing here and there.

“Is that…?”

“Yup, the one and only,” his grandfather said. “Cool how I can anticipate your questions, eh?”

“Ah, not much of a trick since I am in a sleigh piloted by elves and pulled by reindeer. The question was more rhetorical.”

“Will you listen to him, Levi David,” his grandfather said, winking at the elf. “All these big words from our resident genius here.”

“I can read, you know, grandfather.”

“I know, I know,” his grandfather laughed, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “And it’s because you can read that we are here.”

Joe’s face scrunched up. “Huh?”

His grandfather pointed. “Here’s comes someone to explain. And before you say, is that…it is.”

“Hello there, Joe,” Santa Claus himself said. “Thanks for coming.”

“You’re welcome, but I was sort of kidnapped.”

Santa put his hands together. “I see he has your sense of humor, Liam. I am not surprised. He comes from a long line of wise guys.”

Joe’s grandfather shrugged his shoulders. “We grow ‘em right in Cumberland. Not intimidated by anyone.”

“Let’s hope so,” Santa said. “Now, Joe, I bet you’re curious about why you’re here.”

“You might say that.”

“You know about our Journey, Engage, Believe process?”

“My mom told me grandfather used to say it all the time, but I’m not sure how that has anything to do with me.”

 “Because I need you to go on a journey, find whoever has taken something from me, engage with them, convince them to return it, and help the world believe in possibilities again.”

“Me?” Joe said, “Why me? I’m not magical. I can’t fly around the world in one night like you. What can I do that you can’t?”

“That is true,” Santa said. “Yet you have something inside you few people have.”

“I do?” Joe said, glancing at his grandfather.

“Like your grandfather here, and his grandfather before him, in a line going back centuries, you have the gift of believing in possibilities. Most people have lost it. When I sensed the world was losing its ability to believe in the possible, I began giving it out. I used to add it to all the gifts I deliver, but someone has taken that ability away.

“And the troubling part is, at first, I never even noticed. I just assumed it was with each gift, then I started to notice a change in the world. People lost their ability to imagine, to dream, to wonder. It took me a while to figure it out. Once I did, I sent for your grandfather and he told me he had just the person for the job, you.”

“I still don’t understand,” Joe said.

Santa nodded at one of the elves who seemed to disappear then reappear in a flash. He handed a wrapped gift to Santa.

Santa handed the gift to Joe.

“What’s inside, Joe?” Santa asked.

Joe shrugged, turning the gift over in his hands, getting a feel for the weight. “I’d have to open it to see,” he said.

“What could it be?” Santa asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, a lot of things. “A model plane, a car, a video game, lots of things.”

“Open it,” Santa said.

Tearing the paper off the box, he popped the tape and opened the box. It was empty.

“There’s nothing inside,” Joe said, holding the box open. “It’s empty.”

‘And yet, just a moment ago, it was full of possibilities,” Santa said. “You never for a moment believed it to be an empty box.”

Joe nodded, handing the box back to the elf.

“And if there had been, say, a rocket ship inside?” Santa said, putting his hand on Joe’s shoulder, “What would you have done with such a gift?”

“Played with it. Make believe it was flying to the stars.”

“You see my point?” Santa said.

“I believe in possibilities?” Joe answered, a bit unsure.

“Exactly,’ Santa said, “and that ability to believe in possibilities is what is missing in our world. People now focus on getting the box open, not seeing the possibilities. And I need you to find out why.”

“But why do I still believe in possibilities if the rest of the world doesn’t?” Joe asked.

“That, my boy, is the fortune of birth,” Santa said. “When all this started,” waving his hands at the elves, reindeer, and workshops around him, “it began because I and a few others, like your grandfather and all the grandfathers before him, believed in possibilities.

“When a little boy or girl holds a toy plane and pretends to fly through the sky, they are seeing the possibilities. When a young girl or boy looks through a telescope, they are looking into a universe full of possibilities.

“We need to get the power of possibility back so it can be given to everyone. It is believing in possibilities that makes our world a better place. It is the whole reason for the spirit of Christmas. This spirit isn’t a thing, or a gift, or even the act of giving, it is the power of believing we can make a difference in the world. Believing it is possible to make the world a better place. Starting with your family and friends then reaching out to the whole world.”

Joe stayed silent for a moment, there was a lot to take in. “Okay, I’ll do it but where do I even begin?”

Santa turned to look at Joe’s grandfather. “Liam?”

“We start at the beginning,” the old man said. “There are, pardon the pun, a lot of possibilities for what’s happened.”

“I will leave it in your capable hands, Liam,” Santa said. “Levi David and Wyatt James will be but a thought away should you need them.” He turned to face Joe, putting his hands on his shoulders. “Whatever happens, Joe, never let anyone or anything take away your belief in possibilities, okay?”

“That’s not even a possibility, Santa,” Joe said with a smile.

Santa let out one of his world-famous laughs. “Hah, you gotta love this kid.” And he disappeared in a flash, the laughter still echoing of the snow-covered mountains.

Joe looked at his grandfather, “Now what?”

“Now, we get you back to school so you’re not late. Then we get started after you get out.”

“How we gonna do that?” Joe said. “No matter how fast the sleigh travels it can’t go back in time. I’m already late.”

Joe’s grandfather tilted his head, giving Joe a ‘think about it’ look.

“Ah,” Joe said when the light went on. “Travel in the sleigh slows down time, right?”

“Right you are,” the old man winked at Joe. “And by my calculations we have just enough of time remaining to get you to school. Let’s go.”

Back onboard the sleigh, Joe sat in silence.

“Something wrong?” his grandfather asked.

“No, no, just thinking about…”

“Possibilities?” his grandfather said.

Joe smiled. “Yup, possibilities.”

Tomorrow: The Journey to the Land of Nowhere