✅ The Nice List

Solstice

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"You have to be kidding me?" Merri said. That was the biggest problem with Tarja: You could never tell if she was actually serious, because her ideas were just as dumb when she was trying to say something that made sense. "A letter to Santa? You don't... Please tell me you don't actually believe in Santa. I mean... this isn't like fairies, or the Loch Ness Monster, or Bigfoot, or all the other junk. Santa? There's like a whole tradition of realising he's not real. He's an old man who was invented to sell coke!"

"I didn't say Santa Claus," Tarja answered with a shrug. "I didn't say a name at all. I just asked you to write a list of what you want. Even if he doesn't exist, it might be fun to imagine. What you'd ask for if you could have anything."

She didn't mention that she knew Merri was more realistic than most people would be. Even with just a handful of days left before Christmas, there might be time to get her some of the things on her list. There would probably be at least one item mentioned with an actual product code.

"Maybe," Merri said with a shrug. "I think it's dumb, though. I've told you before how much I hate this season. It's just a drag, the same jokes over and over. Like nobody ever does anything different. I'm already impatient to get back to work."

"Can you give it a try?" Tarja asked, unsure herself whether her motivation was more eagerness to help her friend enjoy the season, or curiosity about what the deal was with this weird envelope.

"Is this something the quacks are selling now?" Merri guessed. "Get in touch with your inner child or something? Like that affirmation rubbish? There's nothing that can change the way you act except deciding to be different. No product or magic ritual is going to help you be a happier person, or a better person, you know? Nothing can change you except you."

"No, no trend," Tarja said, and for a change she found herself blushing. It was rare that she would be embarrassed by anything, but there was something different when she was chatting with Merri. She wanted so much to make her happy, and there was a part of her that really didn't want to be embarrassed in front of her serious friend. But she wanted to be honest about it. "It was... a gift, I guess. You know those weird little shops where it seems like normal people aren't welcome? You see them in movies more than the real world."

"Like in... Charington Esquire? Or the start of Gremlins?"

"Yeah, that kind of place, I think. I went in one, and the amount of weird stuff was overwhelming. To be honest, I was surprised not to see any examples of taxidermy in there. Everything from tarot cards to skulls. I wouldn't know where to start looking, let alone working out how much of it might be real. But there was this guy... I forgot his name already. Another customer, I think. He suggested that if I don't know what I want, I should try this envelope. It's not a psychology trick, it's supposed to be magic. And I want to know if it is. I mean... it doesn't feel like the kind of thing you'd expect to be magic. But... I want to try it and see."

"You don't really think that a letter to..." Merri started, and then gave a little chuckle. "You don't, do you? It's just an experiment, a game to you. Some guy says it's magical, and you want to give it a shot so we can have a laugh when nothing happens."

"Can you think of anything better to do?" Tarja asked with her usual sunny smile, and then turned back to watching the thin layer of ice on the windows as the temperature dropped again. It was late in the evening now, and she was sure that there would be ice everywhere before they awoke in the morning. The hesitation behind her told her that Merri could actually think of something, but didn't want to say it. That drove a little spike of guilt into Tarja's heart; she didn't want to keep her friend from going out with friends if she had other plans. But she told herself that this experiment was as much for Merri's benefit as her own.