Collection of Short Stories

Saving Comet

Fiona plods through the snow with her eyes down, her paws compressing the cool flakes with each nimble step. She neither knows nor cares where she is going. All she knows is that she is walking away from her village, so when the sound of conversation reaches her ears, she is mildly shocked. With Christmas just four days away, the North Pole is usually a bustle of activity, so quiet walks through the forest are not the most popular activity. Intrigued, she continues her walk, but this time with a purpose. As the sound grows in volume, Fiona trots faster and faster until she is almost running, but slows as she begins to make out words. When she sees a small group of animals, she stops behind a bush and peers around the branches, straining her ears to hear.

"How are we ever going to find him?" A snow hare worries. He unconsciously flicks his ears.

A lemming shakes his head in exasperation, "All I know is that we have to try. Santa is incredibly worried. Have you heard about Dasher?"

A puffin nods sadly, "The poor deer. I heard that he stayed up all night looking."

The lemming sighs and the last thing Fiona hears before the three creatures leave is the lemming say, "Why in the world would Comet run away?"

For a moment Fiona stays where she is, processing what she just heard as the snow slowly melts and soaks her fur with its icy touch. Comet ran away? With Christmas only four days away, this could be a disaster!

While these thoughts race through her mind, she sprints to the village, hungry for more information.

When Fiona reaches the village, she slows to a walk and proceeds to Santa's house in the center of the village. As she walks down the snowy path, she keeps her head down and avoids eye contact. On the rare occasion that she does meet someone's eye, however, the other animal immediately looks away and scurries out of view. Wolves aren't terribly popular in the North Pole, as a majority of its inhabitants are below wolves on the food chain. That is why Fiona prefers a little den on the outskirts rather then a home in the busy village. Finally Fiona reaches Santa's house and when she looks up she is shocked to see a bright red poster on the huge door. Fiona reads, "Help wanted! If you would like to help us find Comet, then talk to Prancer and Vixen at the Stables." 

Fiona hurries to the Stables and finds the famous reindeer. She asks to join one of the search groups but nobody accepts her request. Humiliated, she runs out of the village and into the forest, determined to help anyway. She finds the spot where Prancer and Vixen said Comet was last seen and sniffs the ground. She howls in triumph as she recognizes the musty scent of reindeer and dashes through the snow, her nose to the ground. Fiona follows the trail all day until the sun sinks below the horizon and stars come out. She sleeps in a small cave until morning, and then continues her hunt.

She follows the trail excitedly as the sun rises into the sky, but has to stop when it reaches the midway point because a problem had suddenly appeared in the form of a lake. Fiona feels her hopes sink like a rock in water at the sight of the frigid obstacle. Comet's scent ends right at the edge of the lake, so Fiona concludes that he must have flown over. The wolf shakes her head hopelessly, wondering how she was going to get over. She wistfully watches the large pieces of ice floating in the water. She could always ride one of those, but she knows that she would never be able to get on one, let alone push one all the way across the lake. 

She howls in frustration and despair at having gotten so far only to be defeated by a lake.

"Hello?"

Fiona jumps with a yelp at the sound, shocked out of her anguished howl. She looks around and sees, to her surprise, a seal staring at her from the lake.