frigid {jack frost}

t h r e e

t h r e e

Jamie's 8-year old body clambered onto the sofa, alerting Elsie to look up from her book. He sat Indian style in his shark pj's (one of his favorites), facing his cousin with a grin that's missing a bottom tooth. El's light-weight laugh was short but ignited the mood gracefully. It was Christmas Eve and she planned on telling another one of her parents' Santa Clause tales for the boy that had the same big imagination as her. Jamie already set out a plate of cookies and a glass of milk by the Christmas tree, adding his own snack to share with Elsie that night. They planned on staying awake until sunrise to spot the jolly old man, so the camp was set up for a long wait. Sleeping bags, flashlights, snacks, and even a trip-wire by the fireplace that they had set up themselves. It was going to work this time, and the two made sure of it. Last year was just a practice run, they had excused.

"Let's see," Elsie started, placing her book on the coffee table, "Would you like to hear about the time Santa's sleigh broke down? Or when he lost one of his reindeer?"

"How could he deliver presents without the sleigh?" Jamie gaped up at her, sincerely worried how Santa managed to do it.

"Ah, well, he got a little help from the Tooth Fairy," she nodded thoughtfully, smiling at his shocked expression.

"They know each other?!"

"Know each other? They go waaay back, Jamie."

She continued on to retelling the story her father once told her, using hand motions and sound effects to add to the exciting night. She explained how the Tooth Fairy used her flying skills to deliver while Mr. Clause jumped from roof to roof. Sometimes the big guy would slip, making the 8-year old boy gasp loudly. Sometimes Tooth would forget a house, but Santa would get it for her. It was a fun tale, ending in Elsie taking a sip from her own mug to create the image of Santa Clause taking a victory chug.

"You two really staying up all night?" Elsie's mother sluggishly entered the room, a hand on her back as she walked. "Again?"

The 15-year old girl full of Christmas spirit found it funny that both her aunt and her mom were pregnant at the same time. It was just relieving and wonderful to know she'd have a baby sister and a baby cousin soon. Once she went to college, she hoped Jamie would retell the stories to the two girls, wanting them to have the same amazing childhood as she did.

"You guys are surely persistent," her mom chuckled, heading into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

The two cousins with a close bond just smiled at each other, planning on having the same persistency until they saw the great Santa Clause in person at last.

February 11, 2013

Elsie Abernathy's mind was elsewhere as she dressed her little cousin for a day out in the cold, and that anyone could tell by the way she constantly put one of Sophie's arms or legs in the wrong clothing item. Her thoughts were drowned in anxiety and concern. How was she supposed to convince the 2-year old that Jack Frost was real? What if she doesn't want to believe and Jack is left sad?

Sophie Bennett was completely oblivious to the fact her oldest and coolest cousin wasn't in the right state of mind. She corrected El when her head was put in the arm hole of her rainbow sweater, but she didn't think anything of it.

Jack Frost was still in the house, admiring how homey and pleasant it looked. Sure, he'd been in here a few times, but more so in his pal's room. His eyes, the color of a nice and chilly blue, were scanning the living room to keep his brain active and away from the topic he was highly curious about. Because of that, the frozen boy found himself in front of the picture frames on the fireplace and the ones dangling in a pattern on the walls. He noticed how happy they all looked, the three members of the Bennett family, in each photo. Sometimes there'd be relatives or friends in the captured moments, including a line of pictures of Elsie in them.