A little bit of snow
Even when ordinary children had given up on the belief of Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, the Tooth fairy, and more, Jamie still believed. Because he knew, that somewhere out there, they were giving gifts, bringing happiness, and sneaking quarters under pillows, just to keep wonder and excitement in every child's dream.
But, even though Jamie believed in all of these "myths" as his parents called them, he never dreamed that he'd actually meet the real ones. So when they all mysteriously appeared at the foot of his bed, he had to admit he wasn't exactly prepared. In fact, he would have fallen off the bed, but something caught him and put him back on his bed.
"You're the tooth fairy!" He had practically shouted, and then clamped a hand over his mouth. The flying, slightly scaly woman gave a meek wave. "And Santa, and the Easter Bunny!" He stared, raptured. A little man, who wore golden robes so shiny they seemed to be made of sand, stood by his headboard. "And you're the Sandman!" They had all given embarrassed nods.
A faint shiver came over him as he his blanket fell around his shoulders by and unknown source; though he felt a slight chill go over his skin.
As he had scanned the room, there was a slight gap between the Tooth Fairy and Santa. It was almost as if someone was standing there, but there wasn't anyone to be seen.
All the mystical beings stared sympathetically at the spot for a second, before Santa gave a sigh. "Sandy, knock him out." As soon as those words were spoken, all hell broke loose. As the 4 legends raced and dodged the room, Jamie could have sworn he heard a laugh, a laugh that sounded like a teenage boys. But there was still no one there. Eventually, everyone was knocked out. When he awoke, he realized that that it was Easter.
But there were no eggs. None in sight. When he tried to get the others to keep looking, they denied the presence of the Easter Bunny. When clouds came that night, and everyone seemed to have nightmares, Jamie felt a sense of foreboding. He pleaded with his stuffed bunny for proof that he had not been dreaming of a large Bunny with boomerangs and an Australian accent. When it seemed all hope was lost, he turned and saw an egg being drawn on the window pane. Then, on the pane above it, a rabbit was drawn, and then soon pranced around his room turning into a small ball of snowflakes.
"You are real…" Jamie murmured. A snowflake settled onto his nose, jogging his memory.
"Jamie, don't forget your hat! You don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose do you?"
"Who's Jack Frost?"
"It's just an expression honey."
Jamie jumped slightly as a gust of chilly wind blew into the corner of his room.
"Jack Frost." He muttered.
"He said my name!" A voice came from the corner, wonder emanating from it.
"Jack Frost!" Jamie exclaimed louder, and turned around to see something he'd never seen before.
"He said my name again!" The teenaged boy's sky blue eyes stared into Jamie's with complete astonishment. "You said my name!" Of all the things he'd seen in his room, Jamie had least expected a teenaged boy a few years older than himself to be standing in his bedroom holding a wooden staff with a frosty coating.
Jamie gave the teen a once over. He looked ordinary except his pale white skin, and snow white hair. He wore a blue hoodie with frosty patches on it, and patchy faintly green pants. His bare feet were pale as his ghostly white skin.
"Can you…hear me?" The teen cocked his head in wonder.
"Yes." Jamie nodded, awestruck.
"Can you, see me?" He asked again, voice tentative. Jamie nodded again in the affirmative.
"You can SEE ME!" There was no disguising the delight in Jack's voice.
"You're Jack Frost!" Jamie had yelled.
"Yeah I am!"
"You're real! You're really real!"
"You bet I am!" Jack was floating all over the room, his teeth flashing a brilliant white smile. "Who do you think makes it cold, gives you snow days?" Jamie gaped in wonder. "Remember that awesome sledding experience you had the other day?"
"That was you?!" Jamie had nearly exploded with excitement.
"You bet it was!" Jack Frost was practically doing a jig he was so happy.
"You're real! And the Easter Bunny…"
"He's real too! Him, the Tooth Fairy, Santa, the Sandman, they're all real!" Jamie jumped on his bed.
"I wasn't dreaming! It wasn't just my imagination!"
That night, the night he met Jack Frost was the day that Jamie truly opened his eyes. After he and his friends helped "The Guardians" (as they were called) defeat the Boogeyman, he didn't think that he would ever forget the existence of Jack Frost, or his fellow mystical friends.
*One year later*
It had been a year since Jamie's miraculous experience with the Guardians. Sometimes, he began to doubt it had ever happened, just as his friends did. But every night, whenever he began to wonder if it really had been just a weird dream, sleep would show him the truth. He'd dream of Jack and his magical staff, creating the biggest snowball fight ever. Or the Tooth Fairy, fluttering around a large palace, counting teeth, and jumping up and down over a pair of incisors. He'd dream of Santa flying his massive sleigh with wings and rails, or the Easter Bunny fighting with boomerangs and exploding eggs. And when he awoke, he would laugh and believe all over again.
Today, Jamie was sick. It was getting cold, but it had yet to snow. There was hail, and sleet. But no real snow. Jamie wasn't suffering from a cold, but strep throat. He wanted to go outside, the doctor had said he needed exercise, but he refused to go outside until it snowed.
"Honey, we might not even get snow this year." His mother had prodded. But Jamie had remained obstinately in bed, waiting for Jack Frost to come to town, and make his days more fun.
One night, when he couldn't sleep, Jamie awoke to see snowflakes falling gently on the ground right outside his house. An invisible finger drew a picture of a smiley face and on the panes above it, pictures of a tooth, a box with a bow, an Easter egg, and streaks with animals coming from it. The invisible finger then drew on the last pane, something that would make Jamie smile for years to come, even when he was sick or sad. The finger drew an intricate snowflake.
That night, Jamie pulled on his boots, and charged outside, feeling much better. He'd simply stood there in his pajamas, watching as the teenage boy who had appeared in his room one year ago, brought snow to his town.
The next day, Jamie felt happy and healed. He wanted to go and play. School had been canceled.
"Don't forget your hat; you don't want a visit from Jack Frost to give you a cold after you've just gotten better." His mother warned him.
"He won't give me a cold." Jamie had assured her, though he'd put on his hat anyway. He knew he'd need it if Jack was preparing for another snowball fight, or a sledding adventure.
It didn't always take gifts, or money under pillows to remind Jamie that his frosty friend and his companions were real. Sometimes, all he needed was a little snow.