ALLISON’S CHRISTMAS PRESENT
By Denis Plew
“Mom, I’m going ice skating now,” said Allison with her skates already on. She shuffled out the backdoor to a small frozen area that her father had made in the back yard by sprinkling water from the lawn hose. It wasn’t a large area, but big enough to skate in circles or to practice making half turns in order to skate backwards.
Her mother followed her to the back door saying, “You be careful now, you hear. It’s only two days ‘til Christmas and I don’t want you hurting yourself.”
Her mother’s warning fell on deaf ears as Allison walked on her tip toes to the ice patch. Swish, swish--- her sharp blades cut into the ice as they skimmed smoothly along the surface carrying her thin eight year old body. Faster and faster she circled. She loved ice skating, and feeling the cool air brush against her face. Each day she wanted to improve on her skating moves and today wasn’t any different. She was intent on practicing switching from front to back at a faster speed. She pushed off with her right toe, and with a few quick gliding steps, attained the speed she thought was best. As she turned to skate backwards, her blade hit an open crack in the thin ice. Down she fell. But instead of springing back to her feet as she normally did; she lay motionless on the cold clear ice.
Ann, her mother, kept a watchful eye on her daughter from the kitchen window. When she peeked out, she saw Allison sprawled flat on the ice. She sensed that something was wrong and franticly ran to her side. With a concerned look on her face, she bent down by her daughter’s still body. She cautiously turned Allison over only to be met with a dull stare from her daughter’s eyes. Right away, she knew that this wasn’t any ordinary injury. She ran back in the house and dialed 911. In desperation, she grabbed some blankets from the beds and ran outside to cover Allison. There was no sign of life in Allison’s body as she gently turned her over and placed a blanket beneath to protect her from the cold ice. Then she covered Allison with the other blankets. The only way her mother knew that she was still alive, was by the small white cloud that formed above her face with each breath. As Ann kneeled beside her daughter, she spotted Allison’s ice skates sticking out from beneath the blankets.
“Those darn skates!” she exclaimed. “They’re coming off right now.”
She quickly removed the skates, and then ran inside to find Allison’s fur lined winter boots. For Allison’s mother, minutes seemed like hours before the ambulance arrived.
***
“Ohhhhhhh, where am I?” Allison groaned as she opened her blue eyes and found herself lying on top of a vast white snow pack. She raised her head slightly and sat up. Nothing looked familiar. All she saw for miles were mountains of snow.
“The sun seems so far away. I don’t know this place at all. I must be lost-- terribly lost. There’s nothing but snow,” she said as she stumbled to her feet. “Where is my house?”
Then panic set in.
“M-O-T-H-E-R!” she screamed out into the vast cold wilderness.
There was no answer. It was like every word froze in mid-air.
I’ve got to find my home, she thought, but how?
“H-E-L-P!” She yelled. “SOMEONE HELP ME!”
There wasn’t even an echo from this barren land. Allison plopped down on the frosty snow, terrified, dejected, and alone. A cold chill seeped through her snow pants making goose bumps race up her legs. Even at her tender age, she knew that getting too cold was a very bad thing. Allison stood on her cold and stiff legs. She tipped this way and that trying to catch her balance. She knew she would freeze to death if she remained still.
Placing one frozen foot in front of the other, she started walking toward a patch of low evergreen shrubbery just ahead. She had no idea which direction she was going, but with every step her cold body seemed to warm up. Allison thought the brushy shrubbery might provide some shelter from the cold air. When reaching it, she sat down to rest and to figure out which direction to travel. She had no idea, because everywhere she looked, it all looked the same.
But surprisingly, she didn’t feel afraid anymore. Once rested, Allison decided to walk to the wide open valley ahead of her. At the mouth of the valley, she spotted a single set of animal tracks left in the snow. Allison couldn’t tell whether they were freshly made or not, but she followed them. Maybe, just maybe, there will be someone to help me at the end of the tracks, she thought.
Soon the tracks led to the entrance of a large snow cave. She didn’t want to enter the cave for fear of being attacked by some wild beast, so she just sat down outside the cave and started to cry. Tears froze as they trickled down her cheek.
Sometime later, she felt a slight nudge on her back through her quilted coat. She quickly jumped to her feet knowing that no creatures could live out here. It was just too cold. Terror instantly gripped her body. Allison slowly turned, and to her surprise, she found a small reindeer standing behind her. The young reindeer seemed to be alone, too. The reindeer stood perfectly still staring at Allison. She gazed into its eyes. She saw lonely but friendly eyes. The fear from being nudged just seconds ago was no longer with her.
“What are you doing way out here by yourself?” Allison found herself saying, knowing very well that reindeer can’t talk.
“I’m lost from my mother,” said the little deer.
Allison’s eyes grew wide. Did I really hear that little reindeer speak or am I just feeling the effects of the terrible cold? It must be the cold settling in, making me hear and see things that aren’t really possible, she thought. Then she looked straight at the reindeer and placed her hand on its nose to see if it was real. It was. She then cocked her head to one side, and listened.
“Yes, I can talk,” whispered the reindeer so as not to scare Allison. “I came from Santa’s reindeer herd. All of Santa’s reindeer can speak. In fact, that’s the main reason I’m lost.”
“What do you mean, little deer?”
“I talk too much. The other young reindeer don’t like me because I ask too many questions, so they won’t play with me. The other day, I got so angry that I ran away. Now I’m lost and can’t find my way back to the North Pole.”
“Oh, you poor little deer. I’d like to help you find your way but I’m lost, too.”
They both looked at each other. Then Allison said, “Well, since we’re both lost, let’s stay together and maybe we can find Santa’s house. It has to be somewhere in this area.”
“That’s fine with me. I’ve been here way too long.”
So together, the new friends walked up the valley until they happened on a well trodden trail.
“Does this trail look familiar to you?” she asked.
“No, but let’s follow it anyway.”
“Okay, it has to lead to somewhere. Maybe it goes to Santa’s,” said Allison.
Even though the two of them hadn’t had anything to eat and not much rest, they seemed to be energized by a mystical and magical trail. So they walked on, not feeling hampered by the harsh weather conditions any longer.
Soon the well trodden trail led them past a huge snow covered rock. Lurking behind the rock was a hungry gray wolf waiting to eat anything coming down the trail. When he saw the young reindeer coming his way, his jowls began to quiver and drool. As Allison and the reindeer approached the rock, the wolf tensed his back legs and launched his best jump with his mouth open wide and his sharp teeth glaring. But his leap was a bad jump and he fell short of the little reindeer. Allison looked down at the embarrassed wolf lying flat on his belly in front of them. Seeing a real wolf that close, the little reindeer immediately ran back down the trail leaving Allison all alone to face the glaring eyes of the old shaggy grey wolf. She stepped back, horrified by his presence. I can’t outrun a wolf, she thought. Although she was shaking with fright, she didn’t turn and run.
“Shucks,” said the wolf as he righted himself, “I can’t hunt anymore. I can’t jump anymore. I’m just too weak and cold.”
“Why that’s just terrible,” Allison found herself saying without even thinking that she was facing a dangerous wolf that had scared her reindeer friend away. But she wasn’t going to let him know that she was scared, too.
“I’m useless up here in the snow and ice. I belong in a forest. I’m lost. Can you help me?” asked the grey wolf.
On hearing that, Allison’s fear of the wolf vanished, and she found herself saying, “You can come with us if you want, but you have to follow this one rule.”
“What’s that?” questioned the wolf.
“You can’t eat my reindeer friend.”
Being very hungry and tired, the wolf had to think hard about obeying Allison’s rule. That small deer is very tempting. He sure would make a tasty meal for my empty tummy. Finally, the wolf decided that it was better to have company when you’re lost than to be hungry and lost. Then he asked, “Where are you two going?”
“We’re not sure. We’re lost, too, but I think Santa’s home is in this area somewhere. Have you seen it?”
“Nope”, said the wolf. “I’m just as lost as you are.”
On seeing Allison talking to the wolf, the reindeer strolled back to join them.
“How did you get lost?” asked the reindeer to the wolf.
“I was taking some food to an old lady’s house, when I met up with an ill tempered woodsman. He had an ax, and I guess he was hungry, because he ran after me with his ax to get my food. Well, I dropped the basket of food, and ran away as fast as I could. And I ran, and I ran, and I ran, until I couldn’t run any longer, and I ended up here.”