"It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" The shrill and excited voice of Lily Bexley cut through the air as she ran down the hallway. Her heavy footfalls could be heard through the entire house, disrupting the early morning quiet. With a soft groan, her elder sibling rolled over in bed to check the time. Through the tight tangled curls of her bed-head she glared violently at the time device, as if were mocking her by reading 6:50am. Propping herself up with her elbows, Piper pushed back her matted hair and let out a long breath in preparation for her sister's arrival. Sure enough, the bouncing little blonde came rocketing through the door a second later, and flung herself on the bed; ramming brutally into her older sister. Piper grunted in pain and quickly sat up as Lily jumped up and down on the mattress, giggling profusely.
"Pip! It's Christmas!" She shrieked gleefully.
Chuckling at her sister's antics she slid off the bed and held out her arms. Lily jumped into them immediately and laughed as she was spun around before being placed on the floor.
"Now, go get us some milk and I'll meet you in the living room for presents in a minute." Piper instructed. Squeaking with excitement at the mention of presents, Lilly shot off down the hallway and quickly disappeared. Outside the large paneled window, big fluffy snowflakes were falling slowly to the ground, adding a new layer to the already heavy buildup of snow. The fresh coat was pristine white and glistened in the rays of the rising sun. Upon seeing this, Piper smiled widely; and though she didn't see it, Jack Frost smiled too. The Guardian was leaning on his wooden staff underneath the large willow in the yard, watching her with a slightly wistful gaze as she interacted with her sister.
Inside, Lilly had already begun to tear into the presents that her parents had left her. The girls had been left by themselves while their parents were away on business, leaving the job to wrap and hide the gifts, until last night to the eldest, Piper. A present sat in her lap, wrapped in bright green paper with a white bow. She bounced the box on her lap unconsciously as she watched Lilly open a gift from their aunt. It was cute little yellow dress with a daisy on the matching yellow belt. Shrieking with delight, the bouncing blonde ran over to give her older sister the letter to read. She quickly tore it open and unfolded the note.
"Aunt Minny says you can wear it for Easter when we go visit her." Piper summarized. The rest of the note was riddled with her Aunt's gushing over the adorableness of Lilly.
Piper quickly unwrapped the present in her lap and was pleased to pull out a book she had asked her mother for. It was classically leather bound with gold leafing; a collector's item. She had a taste for the old classics. She placed it carefully on the coffee table to her right and was handed an unfamiliar brown parcel. Lilly had stopped her rummaging and sat crossed legged, staring expectantly at her. Looking at the tag, Piper could tell why. In beautiful calligraphy, on the pointed tag, the words; From: Santa, read. Piper hadn't received a present from Santa in quite a long time. She had stopped believing after she turned eleven but kept up the ruse so Lilly could still enjoy the wonder.
"Piper, it's from Santa!" Lilly hissed. "Open it!"
Nimbly her fingers undid the perfectly tied bow on top, and let it fall to the floor. Sliding her finger along the paper edges, she undid the wrapping and opened the plain box. Inside laid a pair of plain brown leather ice skates. She traced the flat sides of the blades carefully in awe of the simplicity of the stunning gift. Had she not, only a day ago, express to a friend that she wanted a pair, since her old ones had been so worn out that her mother made her throw them away? The gift had come from nowhere, as Piper had laid them all out last night. Certainly Lilly hadn't put it there. A whisper of belief passed through her momentarily, before she pushed it from her thoughts. She would have to ask her parents about it when they got back; surely they had somehow arranged for it to be put there, maybe by a neighbor.
Lilly had begun to tear into her gifts again, apparently losing interest in her sister's special gift. Piper quickly took the item to her room and laid them on the bed before returning to participate in the unwrapping. When all the gifts had been exchanged and the colorful paper discarded unceremoniously on the floor, the girls collected their gifts and shuttled them to their separate rooms to enjoy privately. Piper began to place the few books she had received on various shelves, sorting them accordingly. The skates still lay on the bed, and as she eyed them from across the room, her mind was boggled again by their seemingly random appearance. After all, her parents knew she didn't believe in Santa Claus anymore. Why go through the all the trouble? And Lilly had gotten two gifts from the fat jolly man. One of them, a doll, Piper had wrapped herself, and the other was another unfamiliar package with the beautiful script. It had been a stuffed rabbit; the same one that Piper had thought about buying for her a few weeks ago.
Maybe, just maybe, Santa was real.
"There! That's her light!" Jack exclaimed as floated swiftly above the large globe. He pointed excitedly to the newly flickering light in Burgess. Below him, North stood skeptically with his large arms crossed in front of his chest. He had pulled a big favor for the mischievous boy, who had come to him in the middle of his final preparations to ask that he make and deliver one more gift to a deserving girl in his hometown. He had put his best Yeti's on the job and they had managed to produce a fine pair of skates last minute, but North was beginning to question Jack's intentions as he flipped around in delight midair around the busy workshop.
"Jack," Sang the large man, calling the Guardian of Fun down to ground level.
"North, this is great! She believes!" he laughed happily. A wide, toothy smile was plastered on his pale face. The older man could see the livid bounce in his step as he sauntered over, staff in hand.
"Well she only believes in me." He chuckled to himself.
"Not for long." The winter spirit laughed with a mischievous grin. As he took off into the air North bellowed.
"Where are you going?"
"To Burgess!" Jack yelled.
Piper sat on a frosted log at the edge of the frozen lake. Neighborhood kids ran around behind her, in a heated snowball fight, and a few were already venturing out onto the ice. She turned to straddle the log and watched as her little sister weakly threw a snowball at an older boy, Jamie. A soft giggle escaped her lips as the blonde was knocked flat on her back as a snowball collided with her face. Lilly was good sport and jumped right back up; running to hide behind a tree while she made more ammo. Suddenly Piper was being pulled up from her sitting place by Jamie who was rambling something about Jack Frost.
"Come on Piper! Jack wants you to play too!" He said excitedly, tugging at her sleeve.
"Jack?" She questioned as she was pulled closer to the crossfire.
"Frost!" Piper barely had time to register what had been said when she was hit directly in the face with a soft, powdery snowball. Something within her sparked, and she laughed while scooping up a mound of white, and splattered it all over Jamie's head. The boy jumped away quickly and ran. She gave chase, only to slip and fall a moment later on an ice patch. The snowball fight lasted for well over an hour, and when all was said and done, the children plus Piper, lay in a circle, panting in the snow. Jack squatted down by her, using his staff for support as watched her puff out white wisp of breath, a smile still carved firmly on her lips.
"All tuckered out?" He asked with a chuckle.
"Jack, that was awesome!" Jamie exclaimed as he stood. Piper's head jerked around to look at the young boy who seemed to be talking to no one.
"Thanks, buddy." Jack sighed as he stood; disappointment evident in his tone. Jamie's face fell slightly as he looked between the Guardian and the older girl, lying in the snow.
"She still doesn't believe?" He asked in incredulity. Jack's gaze casted downward, as he looked sadly at Piper. Jamie determinedly walked over and plopped down next to the girl. "Piper, do you believe in Santa?" He asked.
She sat up from her position on the ground and looked curiously at him. After a few moments she nodded yes. "Yes, Jamie, I think I do." She confessed.
"Then what about Jack Frost?"
Momentarily stunned by the questioned she fumbled over her words. If she believed one thing, then why not the other? If Santa could be real, then Jack Frost could be too, right? A small smile tugged at her lips. What a wonderful world it would be if all the legends were true; if the Easter Bunny were real, and the tooth fairy actually came at night to collect your teeth and leave you quarters; if the Sandman came to sprinkle his golden dream dust over you, and if Jack Frost came every winter to make it snow. Yes, if Santa had brought her those ice skates last night, then Jack Frost had made it snow this morning. A joyful laugh left her as she nodded her head.
"Yes, Jamie, I believe I do think Jack Frost is real."
A wide grin spread ear to ear on Jamie as he looked back at a wide eyed Jack.
"You believe in me?" He asked tentatively. Cautiously he took a step forward. Piper turned upon hearing his voice and looked incredulously at him. A grin was slowly working its way on Jack's face as he continued to walk towards her.
"You can see me," he now stated happily. She nodded in response and smiled.
Jack celebrated with a whoop and a flip in the air. He landed in front of Piper, who was now standing and looking at him with wonder and amazement. Bouncing lightly on his feet in joy and excitement he grabbed her hands and pulled her towards the lake. Her skates were sitting on the log that she had been sitting on earlier, and in one swift motion, Jack scooped them up with the curved end of his staff, while still keeping one of her hands in his.
Nothing could dispel his excitement and joy at the time. She was able to see him! Jack grinned charmingly at her as he lowered his staff so she could grab the skates, only to yank them away at the last moment in a teasing fashion. She giggled at this, so he continued to keep them just out of her reach as he enjoyed the sound of her laughter.
"Jack." She laughed. Chuckling, the Guardian finally handed her the skates.
"Come on," He said, motioning to the lake, "we're gonna have a little fun." He said with a smile.