A Christmas wish

I watched flames dance from red embers in the fireplace. The aroma of hot mince pie filled the house. I was warm, cozy and relaxed in my armchair after a busy day of decorating the Christmas tree and preparing festive fare for the next day's family gathering.

The clock chimed 11. Before turning in for the night I wrapped a shawl around my shoulders and stepped out onto the deck for a breath of cold, winter air.

The twinkle of Christmas was all around me. In the midnight blue sky, stars appeared to be bigger and brighter than usual. Along the eaves of building and draped on evergreen trees, lights flickered casting a rainbow of color on a layer of soft, fresh snow.

The world was still and glistened like diamonds from heaven to earth.

An animated rooftop decoration of Santa Clause and his eight reindeer captivated me. I watched Santa's head move up and down and the reindeer's legs dance rhythmically in unison.

With delight I saw the group travel forward then swoop high above the rooftop. In a flash Santa and his team skidded to a halt below me in our front yard, throwing a shower of snow over Santa.

"Ooops. It's a little slick tonight," he said with a chuckle while wiping the snow from his rosy cheeks and saucy blue eyes.

"Come on, be quick," he called patting the empty space on the seat. "Your wish has been granted."

I hurried down the steps and boarded the sleigh. Santa's blue eyes sparkled and his short, plump, red-suited body resembled pictures of a round English plum pudding. A sprig of holly dangled from the tip of his cap.

"Are you ready?" Santa said. Before I could answer, he snapped the reigns and in a cloud of snow we were air-born.

"Ho-ho-ho, hang on"' he said, "Here we go."

The sleigh, slightly lopsided, flew tree-top high through the air, with a load of toys.

When our flight smoothed out I asked, "What wish are you referring to?"

"For years you have secretly wished to ride with me on Christmas Eve. Tonight your wish is granted."

We landed silently on rooftops. Santa sprang from the sleigh with a sack of toys, slid down chimneys, and was back in his seat in a flash.

Sometimes it took a little longer than a "flash" to deliver the toys, because of narrow chimneys. When he faced this problem, the reindeer glided off the roof to let Santa enter the house through the front door.

He returned to the sleigh once, huffing and puffing. "Whew, that was close," he remarked, his breath bursting forth like small white cotton balls.

"What happened?"

"I dropped a box of building blocks and the noise woke up the kids. On Christmas Eve they sleep with their eyes open and are tuned into unusual sounds," he said with a ring of laughter.

I had often wondered how Santa Claus could get his job done so quickly. This was a good time to ask him.

"That's no problem," he said, "With different time zones around the world I have 24 hours to get my work done and," his chuckle came from deep down making his tummy jiggle, "I have lots of helpers."

Periodically we stopped during our whirlwind flight to refill the sleigh with toys. Santa called these filling station stops.

The instant his sleigh slid to a halt, hordes of little elves appeared. They scampered to and fro in double quick time to fill the sleigh, and then pushed it with all their might until we were air born.

"Away to the housetops my trusty friends" he called. "On Donner and Blitzen, Comet and Cupid. Stay in step Dasher and Dancer, your hooves are hitting Prancer and Dancer."

A sudden breeze made me shiver. I pulled my shawl tightly around me, "Dawn is breaking," Santa said looking east to where the sky began to lighten.

He gave a long deep sigh. "This is the last delivery and Mrs. Claus will be watching for me. I hope she has something to eat besides milk and cookies." His light-hearted chuckle rang through the night air.

"I could fix you some hot soup." I offered.

"That would be nice but I think we both need to get home"

Santa's reindeer made a smooth landing in my front yard. "After a night of landing on rooftops, my team finally has the hang of easing to a stop," the merry man said with a hearty chuckle that made him jiggle from head to toe.

"Thank you Santa for making my wish come true. It is the nicest Christmas present I've ever had."

He nodded, snapped the reins and was away. I heard his jolly voice ring out, "Merry Christmas to all on this beautiful night."

Before I entered the house, I surveyed the Christmas scene. Santa and is eight reindeer were back on the rooftop where I'd first seen them. They kicked their heels in unison, Santa Claus smiled, waved his hand . . . and I'm sure he winked at me.