Aj's life is turned up-side down, his mom in a coma he is transferred to live with relatives he has never met and then pulled into a mission for Christmas, even though he does not believe in Santa Claus. A novel coming out soon, so enjoy the first few chapters. Thanks for stopping by.
The Christmas Mission
Chapter 1
The sky was dark gray; it seemed as if it might fall down and crush the world any moment now. Rain was pouring down, turning the dark pavement into a shiny mirror.
AJ was sitting by the window, starring out into the wet, cold evening, feeling as if justice was done, at least a little, to the world by the weather complimenting his mood.
"AJ, honey, it's time to go now. Do you have everything?" the woman said from the door. Her name was Mrs. Dalton, she had arrived right after the ambulance had taken his mom away to the hospital. He chose to ignore her. He didn't know her, not really at least and he had no intention to make friends with her or anyone else for that matter. Even the rather friendly police man that had stayed with him until Mrs. Dalton had arrived had not even received the tiniest hint of a smile and he had made sure that AJ could hang on to Teddy.
He felt angry, sad, lonely and terrified, all at the same time and he was biting his lip, just hard enough to avoid busting into tears. He had promised himself that he would not cry, he was by all means a big boy and not a little cry-baby, but it was hard and his tummy felt all funny, as if he had swallowed rocks and those rocks were trying to push up and it made him nauseous. So he bit his lip a little harder.
"AJ?” Mrs. Dalton asked and came closer. He pressed his little friend Teddy tightly to his chest, determined not to talk to her.
"Look, not to answer me will not change anything. Those people are your aunt and uncle and you have to go with them. They are very nice, you will like them, I’m sure of it. As a matter of fact, I’m so sure, I’ll promise you that you will like them and you will love staying with them!" she said and tried to hug him. He quickly shook her off. With a sigh she stepped back and picked up his travel bag.
"Alright then, let's go!" she ordered and stood in the door with his bag. Reluctantly he got up and went passed her through the door. He did not pause to have a last look, he did not look left or right, he just went straight through the door, out of his room and to the front door.
There they were standing, water dripping off their coats onto the floor. If his mom was here, she would have told them to dry off and take off their shoes. He wanted to tell them, but he did not want to talk to those people, so he kept quiet.
"Hello there, little man. I'm glad to meet you" the man said, stooping down to be closer to him. "I'm your uncle William and this lovely lady here is your aunt Betty."
Uncle William’s hair was turning gray and thinning on top, which Jimmy could see when his uncle stooped down. His soft brown eyes looked kind and concerned, maybe even a little sad. The boy knew that it was only a slick way of adults to trick him into talking to them and liking them. It was not real kindness, it never was, only with his mom. She was kind and warm and filled with love. Everyone else was a stranger and there was no need to get involved, strangers come and go, pass by and that’s that.
"We are here to pick you up. You will stay with us for a while, until your Mom is well again. You will like our place" the woman said, smiling at him and stooping down to hug him. He quickly stepped back. Stopping in the middle of her move she looked up at Mrs. Dalton.
"He is being stubborn. I'm sorry, I was hoping he would behave" Mrs. Dalton said to the woman.
"Is he alright?" the man now asked concerned.
"He is fine, he just does not know how to behave. I'm sure, he'll remember his manners in a few days." Mrs. Dalton assured them. They both nodded and the man reached for his bag.
"Are you sure that's all you need?" he asked, looking at the small bag. "You know, we can't just come back tomorrow, we live too far away for that. Do you think there is anything you might have forgotten?"
Stubbornly the small boy looked straight passed them, not acknowledging a word they said. All he really, really wanted and needed was for his Mom to come home, really, really bad.
Mrs. Dalton had told him that she was very sick and would not come home for a long time. When they finally had left him alone in his room, after the ambulance had taken his mom away, AJ had cried for a long time. He had no Dad, his Dad had died even before he was born and his Grandparents lived far away and were very old.
AJ had clutched his Teddy tightly, the Teddy his Mom had won for him at the game park last summer. Then he had fallen asleep. That was three days ago. Now those people that he had never heard of had come to take him away and there was nothing he could do about it.
The last few hours he had been spending wondering if his Mom knew about him leaving and if she would be able to find him when she came back. Now, that it was time to really go through this door into the night, away from home, he was close to tears again, but he pressed his lips together and gritted his teeth until his jaws hurt.
Those strangers would not see him cry, never!
While Betty held him by the wrist with her left hand and guarded him with an umbrella over his head with her right hand, William walked briskly down the front stairs to a waiting cab, carrying AJ’s bag. He held open the door, until AJ and aunt Betty had gotten in the back seat. Then he shut the door with a loud thud and got in the front passenger seat.
"Airport" he told the driver and then turned in his seat to smile at AJ and Aunt Betty.
The rain was still pouring down and it was getting dark. AJ shivered in his seat and turned his head to look out of the rear view window. The cab took off and he watched the house where he and his mom had lived all his life, as it slowly grew smaller and then disappeared. Some of the houses had Christmas decorations lit up and he remembered with a start that it was close to Christmas and he was without his mom. And then he felt very small and alone in the world and it felt as if his insides twisted and knotted and hurt and his chest felt really tight and his hard so very, very heavy.
"It will be alright, I promise" his aunt Betty whispered and squeezed his arm. Before he knew it he had nodded his head in agreement. He decided to be more careful next time, he did not want to talk to them, ever! If he already started to give in by nodding his head, what would be next? However, her words did make him feel better and a small seed of hope was growing deep inside him.
Chapter 2
AJ woke up when a sun beam tickled his nose. Quickly he sat up in bed and looked around.
The walls were painted in a light blue, hand painted pictures of animals and light houses were hanging on the walls.
On one side of the bed was a bookshelf, filled with lots of books, next to it a big, heavy armchair with a blanket folded on top of it.
Across from the huge bed in which he was laying the sun came in through a large window with white curtains. AJ jumped out of the bed and his bare feet landed on a soft, thick carpet, muffling the noise and feeling soft and plush.
On his toes AJ went to the window and looked out. Nothing but lots of land greeted him, trees, and a shed and in the far distance mountains, their tops covered with snow. Where the land ended he could see a group of animals. First he thought that what he saw were cows, but then he realized that it were deer. He looked back to the bed and saw his Teddy lying on the pillow. Quickly he ran over and picked him up.
"How did you get there? I know that you were in my bag, did I take you out?" he asked his Teddy, of course not expecting an answer.
He carried the little plush guy to the window.
"Look Teddy, over there, those are deer. See that big one? It's the boss, the one with all the horns. I have never seen a real deer before, have you?" AJ stood in the window, setting Teddy down and they looked out, watching the deer together. Suddenly a knock on the door broke the silence. Quickly AJ spun around, hiding Teddy behind the curtains.
Slowly the door opened and his new aunt Betty stuck her head in.
"Good morning, sweetie! Did you sleep well?" she asked and came into the room. She ignored the fact that he did not answer and, humming a song, she fixed his bed. Then she got his travel bag from the closet and put it on top of the bed.
"Here, big guy, why don't you unpack your bag and put your things up; if you like, I can help you," she offered.
AJ shook his head and went to the bag. Slowly he got his clothes out and put them up in the closet and the dresser, which was on the opposite side of the bed. Next to it stood a desk. Drawing papers and coloring books were neatly stacked on the left side. A container with pencils and crayons was waiting on the right.
"Oh, if you like you can go ahead and draw a picture for your mom, before you unpack. Your bathroom is right here," she went to a door next to the closet and opened it for him to see the sparkling blue tiles. "When you're done with the drawing, you can get washed and dressed and come down. We will put it inside an envelope and mail it to her, what do you think?"
He stared at the desk with the paper and crayons. To draw a picture for mom was a great idea, he had to admit that much. He nodded his head, without looking at Aunt Betty and sat down on the chair. Pulling a sheet of white paper out of the stack and placing it in front of him. He selected a pencil and started his drawing.
Quietly Aunt Betty left the room and shut the door behind her.
Forgetting where he was, he drew a picture for his mom, with the prettiest colors he could find. In the middle he placed Teddy and himself, inside a big, red heart. When his work was finished he picked some clothes and rushed into the bathroom. The prospect of his mom getting the picture he drew for her convinced him that he might need to speak to his new aunt and uncle, but only the most necessary things, no more!
Aunt Betty and Uncle William were sitting in the kitchen, having breakfast when he came down stairs.
"Hey there, good morning. Come on in, have a seat! You must be starving!" his uncle greeted him. Slowly AJ came into the kitchen, his drawing in his hand. He stood in front of Aunt Betty and held it up for her to take.
"Oh, you are finished! Great! Come with me, we will find a nice envelope for it. Would you like for me to write something to your mom to go with the picture?” Aunt Betty said and walked off, expecting him to follow. He rushed after her and found himself in a big study with heavy furniture. A gigantic fire place impressed him the most. Surely Santa had no problem coming down a chimney like this! In front of the fireplace two chairs and a small stool were waiting for people to settle down and relax.
"Can you write for her 'I love you and be good, AJ?" he asked when he saw her by the big, heavy desk.
"Of course! Here see," she had pulled out a large envelope, big enough to put in the picture without folding it and made of sturdy yellow paper. On an extra sheet she wrote something, probably the message he had asked her to write. When she showed it to him he nodded and then watched her placing the drawing and note inside the envelope. She sealed it and then wrote something on top of it, so the mail man would know where to deliver it.
"Here, put a kiss on it, to make sure it will get there safe!" she encouraged him. Quickly he put a kiss on the seal of the envelope and gave it back.
"Good. It is important to send lots of love to your mommy, that will make her strong!" Aunt Betty said, "When William has to go into town later, he will drop it of at the post office. And now let's go and eat."
To his big surprise he actually was hungry and Aunt Betty's food tasted good. Her hot cocoa was the best he had ever had.
"Thanks dear, that was good. Now it is time to do some work," his uncle said to Aunt Betty and then turned to AJ, "I have to go into town and do some work in my store. Would you like to come along? You can mail out the letter yourself then, what do you think?"
The boy nodded; to mail out the letter himself would surly put more love on it and that would help his mom.
"Good. Go get your coat. I'll wait here for you," his uncle promised and smiled.
Chapter 3
The drive into town had not been long. AJ had been nestled in a booster seat in the back of the car and looked at the few houses they had passed until they were in town. When they got out of the car, the air was fresh and crisp.
"I can feel snow in the air, won't be long now and we will have plenty of it!" his uncle stated.
They had parked at the back of a building and they entered the house through a heavy door.
A small hallway led them past two more doors into an office that was connected with a sales room.
"So, here is my office. Sometimes I have to come here and do some work, but not very often. Most of my work I do at home. Let's go and meet Shelly, she runs the store for me. You will like her and, I'm sure you will love my store!" William announced and led the way into the store. AJ gasped. The shelves were filled with toys. Games, cars, trucks, action figurines, stuffed animals, dolls, building blocks, anything a child could think of was displayed. Amazed he went from shelf to shelf, from aisle to aisle. Wherever he looked, every space was filled with nothing but toys.
As he rounded the corner of an aisle, framed by shelves stuffed with toys, he came to a sudden halt.
"A train, an electric train!" AJ called out and clapped his hands. In front of him was a winter landscape displayed with a town, with people and reindeers building the center. Three electric trains were going around the town, climbing hills or disappearing for short moments in tunnels. Above the display a sleigh with Santa Claus and reindeers was hanging in the air.
"You like that, huh?" his uncle chuckled and put his hand on the small boys shoulders.
AJ nodded his head, being too excited to speak. In all of his five years of life, he had never seen a real electric train. He had seen them on TV or heard about them, but never been that close to the real thing.
"Come on, let me show you how it works," his uncle said and guided him to the other side of the display. Small boxes with switches and buttons and lights were mounted on a board, the little lights blinking yellow, green, red and orange.
"See, this is where you turn it on or off, change the direction the train will take, make it stop at the train station and, watch this!" uncle William said and fumbled on the little switches.
"Tooooot-toooot-toooot" the trains called as they kept going around the landscape. AJ jumped up and down with delight, clapping his hands.
"Hello, who is tooting our train here?" a voice said from behind. Startled AJ spun around and faced a woman, not much taller than him, dressed in green pants with a red sweater and a green vest. All over her clothes gold sprinkles glittered and sparkled. Dark long hair fell over her shoulders, reaching her hips.
"I am AJ. My uncle is tooting the train." AJ informed her.
"Nice to meet you, AJ. I'm Shelly; I work for your uncle. So, how you like this place here? Do you like toys?" Shelly asked, her voice sounding almost as if she was singing.
AJ nodded his head and looked at her. He had never seen a person that small, unless the person was a child, but Shelly surely was not a child. She looked like a woman, not really young anymore.
"Why are you so short?" he bluntly asked.
"Because when Christmas comes around it is easier for me to help Santa with choosing the toys for the kids." She answered seriously.
"There is no Santa, not a real one anyway," AJ informed her, wondering how come she had not heard about this.
"Of course there is! What ever makes you think there wouldn't be a real Santa!" Shelly answered surprised.
"Everyone says so. All the grown ups. Even the TV people" AJ explained to her, almost feeling sorry that he had to fill her in on the truth about Christmas.
"Not all the grown-ups. Some know the truth, some even have seen him" Shelly insisted, causing Jimmy to sadly shake his head.
"They are just pulling your leg. There is no Santa, no Easter Bunny, no Tooth Fairy and no anything else." The boy insisted.
"Well, we will see. Christmas will be soon, who knows, maybe you will meet Santa and the reindeers, and then you will believe me." Shelly said cheerful and pinched his cheek. Before he could protest she walked away from him, humming a Christmas song.
"You know, you should have told her the truth. It is embarrassing to see a grown up go around believing in Santa Claus," AJ explained to his uncle and tried to rub her touch off his cheek.
"Who knows, maybe I did and she didn't listen or maybe I think she's right? What if there is really a Santa Claus? Wouldn't it be terrible to meet him, just to admit that you never thought he was real?" Uncle William said.
"You are being silly," AJ replied and returned his attention to the electric train. His uncle explained each button and each switch to him and let him change rails, make the train toot and pull into the train station.
"I really have to do some work now. You can go ahead and play with the train, if you need anything, let Shelly know, she'll take care of you," he finally said and walked toward the back of the store to work in his office. AJ happily stayed and kept pushing buttons and turning switches.
After he had played with the train and other toys for a few hours, his uncle called him to take him back home.
"We will stop by the post office and mail out your letter and then we'll go home and eat something." Uncle William informed him.
After saying bye to Shelly and promising to return to visit soon, AJ climbed back into the car, feeling as if he had had a great day so far. Maybe this uncle and aunt were not so bad after all.
Chapter 4
After dinner Jimmy went to his room and sat down by the desk. His Teddy cuddled on his lap, he started drawing a picture for his mom. After the first picture, where he drew the open field outside his window and the deer by the woods he decided that he needed to draw another picture, one of uncle William's toy store and the short woman that worked for him.
By the time he was half way through with his drawing a soft knock came from the door and his aunt Betty stuck her head in.
"Hey, how are you doing?" she asked and came over to the desk. "Pictures for your Mom? May I have a look?" she asked and AJ nodded and handed them to her. She studied them for a while and then gave them back, smiling. She sat down half way behind him on the edge of the bed and watched him finishing his drawings.
"Alright! Let's get you ready for bed, little man," Aunt Betty said when he was done and got up from the bed. "I'll run some bath water; you can go and get your PJ’s."
After he took his bath and was snuggled tightly in his bed, she sat on the edge of the bed again and looked at him.
"Your uncle told me that you don't believe in Santa Claus" she said and looked at him seriously.
"Of course not, I'm not a baby!" he replied. “I am five years old… and soon, I'll be even older.”
"Well, you see, I thought we could start your letter to Santa tomorrow with all your wishes on it. It really can't hurt to do it anyway," she told him with a warm smile.
"But it is no use, there is no Santa Claus," he discouraged her.
"You can't really be so sure. After all, lots and lots of people believe otherwise. I think it is a greater risk not to write a wish list then it is to write one," she replied.
"If you want to, sure" he sighed, wondering how grown up people could be so silly.
"Good! That's what we do then tomorrow. Here's your Teddy. Good night, see you in the morning!" she happily announced, tucked his sheets tight around him again and left. His thoughts wandered back to the electric train in his uncle’s store, he wished there were a Santa Claus, which of course he knew there wasn't, and then he would wish for an electric train! This thought in mind he drifted off to sleep, holding his Teddy securely in his arm.
Chapter 5
AJ suddenly woke up, the room was still dark. Quietly, not moving he lay there, waiting. He was sure that he had heard something. There, now he could hear it he was hearing were voices whispering, right there in his room, somewhere by the big armchair.
AJ considered to pull the covers over his head and shut his eyes tight and hope to go back to sleep. But that would mean that he would be acting like a baby, of course that was not an option. Very slow he moved his right hand, out from under the covers, across the pillow, toward the night stand, where he knew the small lamp was standing. Now he touched the base of the lamp, spread his fingers until he felt the little turn knob on the stem of the light and turned it. The light came on and something shrieked, right there by the arm chair. AJ sat up and stared toward the chair. What he saw did not make sense at all and it most certainly did not explain the whispering, hissing and shuffling he had heard. On the chair and around it a group of toys was gathered, dolls, stuffed animals, his Teddy. He was wide awake now and jumped out of the bed. What were all these toys doing there? He wondered. He was sure that the chair had been empty when he had gone to bed.
AJ picked up his Teddy and looked at him. That was his Teddy, no doubt. He stooped down and picked up another Teddy, a nice fluffy one. There was nothing strange about it, just a regular toy. He picked up a few more, but they all were just regular toys. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to his bed. It must have been Aunt Betty and Uncle William, they must have been coming in his room and putting those toys by the chair, whispering to each other, that's what it was. He switched the light off. "Good night, Teddy" he mumbled and fell asleep.
The sunshine woke him and he stretched under the covers. AJ looked over to the chair and sat up straight in his bed. The toys were gone, not one was left. He got up and went over to the chair, looked behind and under it, but not one toy was to be found. He looked to the bed, there was Teddy, still on the pillow. He went through his room, looked under the bed and in the closet, even in the bathroom, but none of the toys was there. Did his aunt and uncle come back into his room and took the toys back? He went to get dressed and then stormed to the kitchen, where he found Aunt Betty reading the paper.
"Good morning, did you sleep well?" she greeted him. AJ nodded and sat down at the table. She put the paper down and got up to get him some breakfast. He watched her, trying to figure out how to ask her about the toys.
"I've seen the toys last night" he finally said.
"Which toys, sweetie?" she asked and smiled.
"The ones in my room, by the chair" he explained. She looked at him in a funny way and sat down again.
"The toys by the chair?" she asked.
"The ones you and Uncle William put there," he explained further.
"Sweetie, you must have been dreaming. We did not put any toys by the chair in your room. Now, eat your breakfast.” she brushed her hand over his hair and went to the sink, where she started clattering with the dishes.
"But, I heard you and Uncle William whisper and when I turned the light on I found the toys. But you came back and took them away again." He told her with all the authority he could muster with his little self.
"Now, why would we go to your room, whisper and put toys by the chair, just to come back and take them back out? You must have been dreaming." She insisted.
AJ sighed and decided to give it up. Maybe they were sleep-walking. He had heard that some people walked around in their sleep and did all kind of things that did not make a lot of sense. That's what it must have been. Poor Aunt Betty, she did not even know that she did funny things in her sleep!
”Why don't you put on your coat and go outside and play while the weather is still nice? I think that we will have snow real soon," she suggested. AJ nodded, got up and then ran upstairs to his room and grabbed his Teddy and his coat.
He went outside into the yard. Behind the house he found a huge barn. Carefully he approached it and put his ear on the side of the wall. From inside he could hear voices, but he could not make out what they were saying. Then there was a grunting sound. Startled the little boy jumped back. Before he could figure out what it was that he had heard, the barn door flew open and his uncle came out.
"Hey there! Nice to see you are out and about" his uncle greeted him. Behind him a big black dog peered out of the door. AJ took a step back, just for caution.
"Oh, don't worry, that's Sammy, my dog. He's a good old boy, he won't harm you. Come here, let him say hello" William called him over. Carefully AJ approached the dog and held his small hand out for the dog to sniff on. Sammy friendly wagged his tail and licked the hand Jimmy held out, startling him for a moment. Then AJ patted the big head of the dog.
"Good, very good. Now you two are friends. Want to come inside and see where I work?" his uncle offered and AJ nodded. He followed Sammy and his uncle inside. It smelled like a typical barn, a little of animals. Soon AJ found out why, along his way were several stables, empty, but straw was covering the floor and food was in the big wooden feeders. On the side of the stables were hooks holding gears. Where the stables ended two big sleighs were parked, the seats thickly upholstered with red leather. Blankets lay folded on the seats.
"Do you have animals in here?" AJ wondered and looked around. Big barrels were stacked in a corner; bundles of straw was stacked next to them.
"Yes. Here we keep our Reindeer. Right now they are outside, having fun. Here, if you look out of the window you can see them, over there by the trees," uncle William pointed to the end of the open field, where AJ could see a group of animals standing together.
"Won't they run off?" he asked.
"No, they won't. They are happy here, you know. It is always important to keep everything around you happy, and then no animal or person will ever run away. And even if, they would come back soon, everyone likes to be happy" his uncle explained.
"Do you think that my Mom will get well soon and come back home?" AJ asked. His uncle did not answer right away. He went to one of the gears he had placed on a workbench and rubbed it with a greasy towel.
"You know, I have no idea. I hope that she will get well soon, so you can be with her. But, she was in a bad accident. That's why she is in this deep, deep sleep. We just have to wait, hope, pray and see. I know that you miss her. I really wish for you that she will be well soon." Uncle William finally said, without looking at the boy. AJ watched him treating the leather strips. Then he finally came close and put his hand on his uncle’s arm.
"She is not getting well, is she? You just don't want to tell me," he said, not taking his eyes off his uncle’s face. William sighed deep and put down the gear and the rag. He picked up the little boy and sat him on top of the workbench. His face was now real close and he looked deep into AJ eyes.
"I don't know if she will get well or not. I don't know if anything will happen soon. No one ever knows for sure. But, what I do know is that there is always hope! If we keep her in our prayers and don't give up hope, not even for a moment, then everything could be well. What your mom needs now is for you not to give up hope. She needs you to be strong and to believe that everything will go well. I know it is hard, you miss her and you are worried about her, I know that, but for her, you have to be strong! Do you think that you can do that?" his uncle asked.
AJ sat very still and listened. Then he thought about his uncles words for a moment. Finally he nodded his head.
"Yes, sir. I can." He said.
"Alright, very good. Now, one of the most important things to keep ones strength, physically and emotionally, is to have a certain amount of happiness! One sure thing to keep one happy is a cup of hot cocoa. Let's go over to the house and ask your aunt Betty for some hot cocoa with whipped cream and extra chocolate sprinkles!" his uncle decided and put him back on his feet.
"What is phyc…whatever that word was?" AJ asked.
"Oh, physically strong? It means that your body and mind need to be strong and healthy."
Together they walked over to the house to ask Aunt Betty for their treat. Sammy followed in their tracks, hoping to be lucky enough to snatch up a little treat as well.
Chapter 6
AJ was lying in bed, he had said his prayer for his Mom twice and now was sleeping calm and quiet, his Teddy snuggled safely in his arms. The moon was sending soft light through the window, snow flakes were lazily whirling from the sky.
AJ opened his eyes. He lay still, holding his breath. There, the whispers. Tapping, cluttering, shuffling and more whispers. He was sure. His arms were empty, Teddy was gone. Without moving he scanned the dark room with his eyes. There by the chair, something moved, no doubt! Slowly he moved, careful not to make any noise, closer to the edge of the bed. He scooted down to the end of the bed, very slow and under the covers, so no one would notice. When he reached the foot end of the bed he peered out from under the covers, over the edge of the bed and saw them. Small creatures, by the chair, gathered together, whispering and moving. Then he realized that the one small creature on the chair was no other than - Teddy! His Teddy, he was standing on the chair, whispering to the small creatures that were gathered around and they whispered back at him.
"Who are you? What are you doing?" AJ asked. A shriek answered and they all scattered in various directions, trying to hide.
"Don't run away, come back here!" he called after them and then, "Teddy, you can talk! I had no idea!" he got out of the bed and went to the chair. There he picked up his Teddy, held him in front of his face and looked at him.
"Why did you never talk to me? Why did I not know that you can talk and move?" he asked his Teddy. Teddy was quiet, did not make a sound, but his little eyes, usually made of shiny brown glass, were alive now, looking at him, then looking around, as if searching for something.
"I see that you are alive! Answer me, come on, we've been friends for so long, talk Teddy!" he encouraged his stuffed little friend.
"Alright, alright, stop squeezing me so tight. Take a seat," Teddy finally said and sighed. Even though it was exactly what AJ had asked him to do, the boy was so startled that he almost dropped his toy.
"Sorry" he mumbled and sat down on the chair, placing Teddy on his lap.
"How come that you are alive, that you can talk? I had no idea that things like that can happen!" AJ said.
"Well, it is a long story and a bit difficult. I'm not sure that I can really tell you, because it is a secret," Teddy said and looked around.
"Who are the others, you know, the ones you've been talking to?" AJ asked and looked for the other creatures.
"Friends, I think you can come out, it is safe," Teddy called over his shoulder. From under the bed, under the desk and behind the curtains little creatures came out and slowly approached the chair, where AJ was sitting.
"Wow! What are you?" AJ asked as he looked at the small crowd gathered by his feet. Two dolls, one with blond pig tails and one with dark long hair down her back, a plush dog, another Teddy bear, a plush bunny, an action doll in something like a super hero outfit, a black plush cat with long whiskers and a red fluffy fox were gathered in front of him, studying him.
"We are toys" the action figure answered and the others nodded their heads.
"But how come you can talk and move?" AJ wondered.
"We are special toys. It's a secret" the bunny said.
"Maybe we should tell him, he could help us," the fox suggested.
"No. We don't know him. We barely know his Teddy. Until we can be sure they won't betray us, it is no good," the cat answered and arched her back.
"You can trust me. I would like to help!" AJ quickly assured them.
"See, we can get him to help us, he says so!" the doll with the black hair said excited.
"He does not even believe! Are you mad? We can not possible trust one who does not believe!" the cat hissed and turned her back on them.
"He might not believe, but he is a good kid, I've known him almost all his life. He never treated me bad, at least not on purpose," Teddy took up for him.
"Good or not good, how can he help if he does not believe? It would not work, he would let us down at the most crucial moment!" the cat insisted.
"I would not let you down at the most cr..., you know, that moment" AJ defended himself.
"Crucial, it means the one moment where it counts, the most important moment, silly child" the cat explained, "and it is not important, since we will not tell you our secret anyway. So, just go back to sleep, so we can hold our meeting."
"Please trust me. I promise not to let you down, honest!" AJ begged.
The cat starred at him and then at his Teddy. She arched her back and hissed. AJ did not move.
"Alright, wait here!" she ordered and walked away. Then she turned around, looking at the other toys, "you are supposed to follow me, what are you waiting for!" she hissed at them. Quickly they followed the cat.
"Don't worry, AJ, it will be alright. If they don't trust you tonight, I'm sure they will some other night" Teddy tried to comfort him.
"You trust me, don't you?" AJ asked doubtful.
"Yes, I do. You are my kid, if I don't trust you, who will?" Teddy said. They could hear the toys whisper in the far corner of the room where they had gathered. Every now and then one of them grew a little louder and at one time the fox growled.
Finally the toys returned to AJ and Teddy. The cat, who seemed to be the leader, hopped onto the armrest of the chair and studied the boys face.
"We took a vote, but this is such an important matter, we can not make a decision right now, we will have to wait on Murray to get here. He'll get to have the last word. Until then you will have your chance to prove yourself. All that you have seen and heard here tonight has to stay a secret. You can not talk to anyone about it, no one, do you understand?" she said. AJ nodded sincerely, holding on to Teddy.
"Alright. Go back to bed. We will talk to you when Murray has made a decision." The cat finally stated and hopped of the chair. The other toys in tow she went to the far side of the room, into the Chimney and they all disappeared. AJ sat in the chair, staring after them.
"Why won't they trust me?" he asked his Teddy.
"Because you don't believe. People who don't believe can't usually be trusted. That's why," Teddy simply answered.
"Don't believe what, Teddy? What is it that I don't believe and should?" AJ asked, feeling a little frustrated. All this talk about believing, without telling him what it was he should believe, it exhausted him.
"Don't worry about it now. Let's get you back to bed. Everything will be alright" Teddy softly assured him.
”Who is Murray? Where is he and when will he be here?” AJ wanted to know.
”Don’t worry about it now, go to sleep my friend,” Teddy soothed him.
AJ went to bed, holding Teddy in his arm. More snow flakes were whirling from the sky now, but AJ was already asleep.
Your story starts out so poignantly with little AJ left without a mother and forced to travel with his before unknown aunt and uncle to a new, distant place. Your recounting of his problem with adjustment is beautifully presented, although I did detect a couple of errors in the first chapter or so that I didn't note and don't remember today.
It looks like AJ is very lucky, unlike so many children in this situation, to have a wonderful aunt and uncle that seem about to make the five-year-old believe in Santa. But then, you bring in the toys that appear in the middle of the night, the talking cat and fox and your story becomes a fantasy. While fantasies may or may not be more delightful to children, frankly I think the story would be better if you left the fantasy out. But that's just my opinion. I'm not an expert in how children react to fantasies. I looked at Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, the Wizard of Oz and other fanciful stories more as an adult, finding them full of lessons in life. I was one of those who didn't believe in Santa but accepted the presents under the tree my parents worked so hard to provide every Christmas. My brother and I knew where they were coming from and always looked at Santa Claus as merely an old man dressed up in a red suit giving out candy to the kids.
The Christmas Mission
