Aunt Santa

Chapter 8

That night, Sara tossed and turned, falling into the same dream each time she fell back into a restless sleep.

She was moving fast. When she looked up, there was a night sky blanketed with stars. At some point, she heard a bark and realized they were on a sled being pulled by a team of white dogs. Bells jingled frantically, getting louder and louder, as the dogs raced to get them over the snowy terrain, beckoned by a red light in the distance.

Every time they pulled up to that glowing light, Sara woke up.

The last time it happened, her thoughts shifted from the red light to the hat they'd found in the snow. BB had slept peacefully since they found it. Sara couldn't say the same.

She lay awake in the silence, thinking about the hat, the snow globe, the reindeer. Maybe it was time to try and find some answers. She announced her plan over breakfast.

"Why the library?" BB moaned.

"Do they have electricity there?" Sam asked at the same time.

Sara had remembered the night before that Harpshead had a decently sized public library in the small town center. Sam looked longingly at the train station as they drove past. "Maybe we should just go back to the city," he suggested. "Christmas in New York could be fun."

Sara patted his hand, resisting the urge to remind him of his mood when they'd been there just days before. "I don't think you'd enjoy the three of us being crammed in my studio apartment. But it's a nice thought."

"Or you could just take us home. We have our own rooms there."

"Look, here we are. The library." She flashed him a consolatory smile. "You'll be home soon enough, Sam. Just a few more days."

"Are we getting books?" BB demanded to know as she hopped out of the backseat. She tugged the Santa hat down on her head. "We have enough books."

"No, we're here to use the computer." Sara took her hand and guided her through the empty parking lot.

"What for?"

"For that," Sara replied, tapping BB's Santa hat. "We're going to see if we can figure out where it came from and how it ended up at my house."

As soon as they walked inside, Sam spun off in search of an outlet to charge his phone. Sara saw him cozy up against a pillar and knew he'd be more than content to stay there awhile. "Here we are." She patted the top of the computer, recoiling at the thick layer of dust. "Can I have the hat, please?"

BB gamely handed it to her, her hair standing up on its ends from static. "Now what?"

"I'm going to search these numbers that Sam found last night. See?" BB frowned over them, tracing the closest number with a finger.

"What are they?"

Sara pulled up an image of a map on the screen and showed her the lines. "See, that's longitude and that's latitude. If you have two numbers, you can find exactly where the lines cross on a big map like this one. Maybe we can find out where the hat's from. Let's put them in." She typed the numbers carefully into the search bar, amazed at how slowly the ancient computer seemed to process the information. If it let out an actual wheeze from the effort, she wouldn't have been surprised.

BB was perched on the chair next to her and leaned so far over Sara's lap that her head blocked the screen. "What's it say?"

"I can't quite see it, Beebs. Here, sit with me." Sara pulled her onto her lap, typing around her. 

"Okay, there it is. Hmmm."

"What's it say?" BB repeated urgently. She said it so loudly that even Sam ambled over from his spot on the floor.