Chapter Five: Christmas Eve
The town of Burgess could not have been a happier place that Christmas Eve.
A gentle snow fell silently in the night – a sign that a certain spirit had come once more to the town he called home. Each home seemed to be glowing, even those which had no decorations upon them. Jack had just visited the Bennett children and made sure they were tucked comfortably in their beds to await North's arrival in the night. His heart laughed, filled with joy after having given Jamie and Sophie the gifts he had crafted for them in the Workshop (a marshmallow shooter and light-up magic wand, respectively). He could feel the belief in the air stronger than ever, so he just knew it would be a wonderful holiday. He reached into his hoodie pocket, checking to make sure that the last present he wanted to deliver that night was still there. When he felt the little box, he smiled. Then he gripped his staff and called out into the darkness.
"Hey, Wind!" The Wind immediately picked up, ruffling his soft white hair. "You know where to go!" He hopped upon the strong gust and flew off toward the house at the edge of the wood.
When he reached the house, he landed gracefully in the back yard, hopped up the little set of stairs to the back door, and peeked inside. He could see Luna sitting on the floor, her enormous black dog Phoebe laying in her lap. She was sipping what Jack was sure must have been a cup of peppermint hot chocolate, her eyes glued to the television and the Christmas tree sparkling before her.
Jack tapped ever so lightly on the glass, and Luna's large, alert eyes flashed straight to him. Phoebe also looked up, her ears perked toward the ceiling. Luna jumped up and came to the door to let her friend inside.
"Merry Christmas!" she whispered with excitement as she opened the door.
"Merry Christmas," Jack said, patting Phoebe's head as she bounded up to him and began to lick at his hands.
"Come sit down," Luna said. Jack walked over and plopped onto the couch, propping his staff on the side table next to him. "Do you want some hot chocolate?" she asked.
"Yes, please!" said Jack. "What are you watching?"
"A Christmas Carol," Luna said as she moved to the kitchen to prepare the drink.
"Sweet!" Jack replied. "I bet the book is better," he added as Phoebe crawled up to lay on his lap.
"Well, obviously!" the girl said. "I mean, it is Darles Chickens after all." They both laughed at this. "You want peppermint and whipped cream?"
"Of course," he said. Luna returned to his side to hand him a blue mug with little white snowmen painted on it. Jack thanked her and smelled the delicious drink. He took a great big sip of it, enjoying it immensely. When he pulled the cup away from his lips, a little whipped cream mustache was left behind. "Do I look like North?" he asked playfully. He dipped his chin into the enormous heap of cream to make a matching beard. "Ho ho ho." Luna laughed at the silly boy.
"Not quite," she said through a smile. "Too short, not enough red." She poked her finger into the dessert-ish beard then popped it into her mouth to clean it off. "Wanna finish the movie with me? Everyone else is in their rooms."
"That sounds perfect," the spirit agreed.
"Great! But first…" Luna crouched down under the tree and picked up a small boxed wrapped in white paper with little silver snowflakes. A sparkly blue bow was stuck on top. "Here," Luna said quietly as she sat down next to him. She gently placed the box in Jack's hands.
"You got me a present?" Jack asked in disbelief.
"Of course. Open it." Jack smiled as he stripped the parcel of its wrappings. He lifted the lid of the little white box and found a necklace. A silver chain strung through a round, black pendant with a full Moon on it. It was identical to Luna's necklace which he so loved. As Jack looked at the gift, he felt a little tear form in his eye, but quickly blinked it away.
"You're the best," he said, putting it around his neck. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome! Now we match," said Luna, holding up her own necklace. Jack admired the little pendant with immense gratitude.
"Now it's your turn," Jack said as he pulled the little package from his hoodie pocket. "Merry Christmas. And happy birthday."
"Jack! You didn't have to get me anything."
"I wanted to. Well, go on!" He pushed the gift into her hands. Its wrapping paper was light blue with white snowflakes, and a silver bow tied around it. Luna untied the ribbon and peeled off the wrapping paper. There was a little box inside. She opened the lid, and her eyes widened. Inside, there sat a bracelet made of braided leathery material. She picked it up to look more closely at the little charm which dangled from it. Her heart welled with a sweet feeling as she realized that it was a small, intricate, silver snowflake.
"Jack..." she breathed quietly. "This is so lovely. Thank you." She looked at it some more, a small yet very happy smile on her lips. "Where did you get this?"
"I made it," Jack said, trying not to sound too proud of himself. She looked up at him with surprise.
"You made this?"
"Yeah. North let me use the stuff at the Workshop for it. The Yetis might have helped just a little bit, but I did most of it on my own. And that's not real leather, by the way, my dear vegetarian friend."
"You remembered!" she said with glee.
"Of course! I'm glad you like it."
"Like it? Jack, I love it. Thank you so much." To Jack's great surprise, Luna reached out and wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug, her soft hair brushing on his face as she did so. It took him a moment to realize what was happening; he had gone so long without being seen – let alone touched – that it still caught him off guard even when one of the Bennetts hugged him. But this was different than a hug from a child. There was something funny about it, as if there was some part of it that he didn't understand. Even so, it did not take away from the happiness and warmth that he felt in it. And it was because of this that he put his arms around her in return and enjoyed just a moment of this feeling.
When Luna pulled away, she gave him a funny smile and looked down at the bracelet in her hand once again. "Could you help me put it on?" she asked as she handed it to him. He nodded and gently took her wrist in his hand. Though his head was bent down to face the bracelet as he clasped it onto her, his eyes couldn't help but wander up to look at his friend. She smiled at him, her white teeth catching the light of the tree. Once the bracelet was secured on her wrist, she thanked him once more. It seemed to Jack that her cheeks were a bit more pink than usual, but he didn't mention it.
"So when do you think North will get here?" she asked him. "I need to give him this." She pulled a red and white striped box out from under the tree.
"What is that?" Jack asked.
"It's a gift for North. As a thank-you for… well, everything," she said a bit shyly.
"What's in it?" Jack asked. Luna lifted up the lid to reveal an assortment of scrumptious-looking cookies in plastic bags and a few candy canes, along with a large canning jar filled with brown powder.
"It's just a bunch of cookies I baked. I wasn't sure which would be his favorite, so I made four different types. And that's a jar of my homemade hot chocolate mix."
"He'll love it," Jack told her. "It's perfect. Now how about that movie?"
Luna giggled, and they decided to settle in and finish watching A Christmas Carol together. When it was over, they played a few card games at the coffee table, with Phoebe snoozing close by, as they waited for North to arrive.
Sometime around midnight, they finally heard a sound on the rooftop. Luna's heart leapt. It was only a few moments before North came shuffling down the chimney and out of the fireplace, his jolly face and red coat all covered in soot. Over his shoulder was slung his enormous bag of toys, full to the brim with Christmas goodies.
He looked at the two of them, chuckling to find Jack there on Christmas Eve. He held a finger to his lips and shushed quietly, then proceeded to the Christmas tree to place a few presents neatly beneath it. Then he approached Luna, bending down to look at her as he placed a tiny box in her hands.
"This one is special," he said. "Take good care of it."
"I will. Thank you," Luna said with sincerity. She handed the box of homemade sweets to North who thanked her with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Merry Christmas, Luna. And you too, Jack," he said with a wink.
"Merry Christmas," they replied in unison.
North flashed them both a bright smile, and was back up the chimney in an instant. Phoebe skipped over to the fireplace, looking up into the chimney to see where he had gone. They heard the pitter-patter of the reindeer taking off (which was surprisingly quiet), and knew that North was off to the next house to deliver more gifts. Luna glanced at the little present which he had handed to her.
"Am I supposed to open this one now?" she asked.
"I guess so," answered Jack. "Go ahead."
She looked down at the tiny box, examining the glimmering silver wrapping and white ribbon tied around it. She gingerly untied the ribbon and unwrapped the gift with tenderness. She lifted the lid off of the box and let out a small gasp.
"Whoa…" she whispered. She looked up at Jack, then tilted the box so that he, too, could see what lay inside. Jack's eyes widened. Inside the box sat a strange charm – a beautiful cut crystal of some sort that gave off a bright blue light.
"What… what is this?" she asked Jack. He reached into the box with two fingers and lifted the charm close to his eyes, squinting at it intently. As he watched, the blue light shifted and swayed within the crystal. Suddenly, the light began to pulsate, and the entire charm twitched in Luna's direction.
"Luna…" Jack said with awe in his voice. "Luna, this is a Moonstone! And… And there's a Moonbeam inside of it!"
"What does that mean?" she asked urgently.
"It means that this is a gift from the Man in the Moon!" As they spoke, the charm continued to pull toward Luna. Jack held it out to her. As she took it in her hand, the Moonbeam grew brighter. Without warning, the charm shot out of her hand and attached itself comfortably to the bracelet Jack had given her. She looked to Jack, her mouth open in astonishment.
"But why? Why would he give me this? What does it mean?"
"I don't know," Jack replied honestly. "But it must be important. I can't come up with why, though."
"Well, it's very kind, at any rate." Luna admired her bracelet for a moment. When she looked at Jack she could clearly see that he was confused, and thinking very hard about it. "I'm sure the answer will come eventually,' she said. "But for now, let's just enjoy our evening."
Jack agreed, though the matter was still bothering him. However, he soon succumbed to the sweet comfort of Christmas Eve, and allowed himself to be happy for the night.
…..
They enjoyed a few more merriments that evening, but soon Luna couldn't fight off her sleepiness any longer. She fell fast asleep on the couch next to her friend. Jack watched with interest as a little Dreamsand version of herself rode upon a reindeer above her head. He chuckled quietly, feeling a little tired himself. That's strange… he thought. As a spirit, he didn't often need to sleep, nor feel tired at all. But every now and then…
He settled himself into the couch as comfortably as he could, and it was not long before he, too, was out like a light. The last thing he saw before his eyes fell shut was a stream of golden sand creeping through the window frame.
As he drifted off to sleep, the sand swirled around above him, then took the shape of himself and his closest friends having a snowball fight. And so Jack and Luna's Christmas Eve together ended with this moment of blissful sleep and pleasant dreams.