When she was six-years-old, Hanna Anders learned about a legendary figure who became just as important to her as Santa Claus. Four days before Christmas, Hanna looked out her window to discover it was snowing outside. Fluffy, white ice crystals fell down from the sky, looking to her like tiny pieces of cotton. She shivered from the cold temperature and went over to the fireplace to warm herself a little before turning to her grandfather, who was sitting in his favorite chair and smoking his pipe. She asked him where snow came from, to which her grandfather chuckled and set his pipe down, picking her up and sitting her on his knee to tell her a story about a man who had the power to summon ice and snow, and how he became known as the ruler of winter. The man he spoke of was Jack Frost or Old Man Winter, as some people called him.
Hanna never heard of Jack Frost before and asked her grandfather to tell her more about him. Her grandfather explained that Jack Frost was once a normal man who froze to death in a snowstorm a long time ago, but through a miracle, was brought back to life as a winter sprite, giving him the power to control the elements of cold, such as freezing lakes into solid ice and turn everything into snow and sleet. He told her that Jack Frost was considered a legendary figure by most, meaning a lot of grown-ups didn't believe in him. Ever since then, Hanna became fascinated with Jack Frost, the man responsible for bringing cold weather to the world.
On Christmas Eve, Hanna wrote a letter to Jack Frost, thanking him for bringing snow for her and other children to play in. Before her bedtime, she placed the letter and a crudely made card underneath the tree, her name written in blue marker. The card she made for him had a drawing of herself holding hands with the legendary figure of ice and snow, and a short, simple message written inside: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Jack Frost. By next morning, Hanna sprung from her bed and ran to the living room, discovering the card was gone and a couple of presents were left behind in its place. Hanna asked her parents if Santa Claus had taken the card and given it to Jack Frost. Her parents looked at each other, not sure how to answer their daughter, but then her grandfather replied yes. Hanna was happy to hear that and began opening her presents.
By next year, Hanna decided that writing a letter to Jack Frost and giving him a Christmas card wasn't enough. She decided to save up her allowance in order to buy him a present, because even Santa Claus' best friend deserved a present on Christmas. Hanna went to the toy store on her way home after school and looked among the shelves to see if they had anything Jack would like, finding a little plastic snow globe that had a snowman wearing a red scarf and black top hat inside. Hanna picked up the globe and shook it to watch it snow, smiling to herself. It was perfect. After paying for the snow globe, Hanna went home and asked her mother if she would teach her how to wrap a present. Once she knew how to do it, Hanna took some blue wrapping paper and wrapped Jack's present all by herself. She made him another Christmas card and laid both her present and the card underneath the tree. By morning, they were gone. Hanna smiled, knowing she had succeeded yet again.
Ten years later, Hanna continued her annual tradition of showing her appreciation for Jack Frost. Every year, she wrote him a letter or left him a Christmas card or a special present under her tree. On Christmas Eve, she went to place her present for Jack underneath the tree, adjusting the bow so that it looked perfect for when he arrived. Hanna was very excited about tonight, for she decided that after her family went to sleep, she was going to stay up all night, hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus and Jack Frost. It occurred to her that even though she left out a snack for Santa and a present for Jack every year, Hanna never once saw either one of them. Her peers at school mocked her for still believing in characters they told her didn't exist, but Hanna was determined to prove them wrong.
Once her family was asleep, Hanna got out of bed and went out to the living room, standing over by the window and watching the inky sky as snow started falling down, huge flakes blowing softly in the breeze as they caked the ground in a fresh, clean sheet of white. She went to the door and opened it quietly, stepping outside for a moment to hopefully catch a glimpse of Jack Frost performing some neat tricks with his ice magic.
Hanna looked around for any sign of Jack Frost, looking up in the trees and expecting him to be lounging on a branch or something, but to no luck. Sighing in disappointment, she went back inside and sat on the couch, waiting for Santa to arrive. If the man in blue was too busy to stop by and say hello to her, maybe the man in red would come visit her instead. By three in the morning, Hanna started feeling drowsy and went to the kitchen to look for a caffeine-laced drink, but even that wasn't enough to help keep her eyes open. She finally decided to go to bed and get a few hours of sleep, knowing that staying up all night wasn't good for her, anyway.
When morning came, Hanna woke up and went to the living room, discovering that the milk and cookies she left out for Santa Claus were untouched and no new presents were under the tree. Worst of all, her present for Jack Frost was still sitting in the exact same spot she left it in. Hanna was heartbroken and returned to her room in tears, not caring if her sister and brother started opening presents without her. Later that day, she got into an argument with her siblings and told them she hated Santa for not delivering her present to Jack Frost. Her parents told her she was too old to still believe in fairy tales and needed to grow up. Hanna sought comfort from her grandfather, who told her to never stop believing in Jack Frost, for without him, there would be no such thing as a white Christmas.
Hanna Anders was sixteen when she stopped believing in Santa Claus. When the old man in the red suit failed to stop by her house and deliver her present to Jack Frost, Hanna lost all admiration for Father Christmas and thought of him as nothing more than a joke. She really hoped to see her favorite winter sprite above anything else that year, but held no grudge against him. No matter what, Hanna still believed in Jack Frost. Someone was responsible for bringing snow and ice every year around Christmastime, and it certainly wasn't Kris Kringle.