Christmas Elf

Part 3

I had made it days in these endless woods. Our food supplies had run thin, I could tell I was getting sicker. My reindeer slowed in their everlasting steps. The trees above me grew, their arms blocking the sky, halting the pain of the cold from landing upon us. With the limbs growing, their distance closed. Soon we had to walk on foot, the sled abandoned in the woods, our belongings on our backs. I could see my daughter, her skin a sickly pale, her limbs grew thin, i tried my hardest to give her most of our rations, but we were falling on dead ends.

By nightfall after two months I could tell we would get nowhere. My daughter could not get better, huddled tightly into my jacket her body shivered and paled. My eyes grew heavy, I could see my reindeer walking ahead, one by one leading us. I could tell they would not be able to hold our weight, they were all too frail.

"Come on dove, we are going to take a small nap right here. When we wake up we will be warm." I promised, I knew we would die, I was too ill to go on. I could see her struggle to nod, she would be warm soon.

I sat against a tree as my reindeer tried to scavenge for food. My body grew warm, I could feel it begin to shut down. Before I closed my eyes I saw a man. His black hair blurred, his tan skin poked out of his loose hood. He seems to be coming my way, I couldn't tell. Before I saw his face, I had fallen asleep.

The world was warm now, quiet and soft. I could hear simple hummus from birds, I could smell the winter vanilla trees. I could hear the crackle of fire, something was being boiled in a nearby area. Then I heard the giggle of a small child, I heard Holy.