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Chapter 4~ Same and Different
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Much of what Kit came to be was based on New York—all the good and the bad. She was given real hope and the belief that she’s not all alone in the world. They do have good people watching over others when they least expect it. But, her other life…there in the North Pole…It couldn’t be shared with anyone. It was more of a burden that others would never know. Her dad always said he felt the same way when he was her age. He thought he’d just fall apart from all the secrecy and lies. But, somehow, it didn’t feel that way for Kit. She felt lost, hopeless, and, at many times, depressed. Somewhere in the world was a place much more forgiving and loving than the world she had. For years, the only thing Kit wanted was to share her knowledge and make the world just a bit brighter. People like Kit…They were a dying breed and she felt like Grandpa and the elves were doing nothing about it. She also fell into the mindset that she would forever be stuck in a world of hatred and judgment she could do nothing about it neither. There would always be a separation. She used to think it was her job to change all that.
After breakfast, they didn’t spend much more time in Grandpa’s office. Scott took Charlie and Kit on a short walk around the workshop, purposefully showing Charlie the new upgrades to the renewable snowflake energy compressors. She trailed behind them, taking in the sights of the stained glass windows and crystalized snowflake chandeliers above. The group passed by all kinds of busy gift-wrapping stalls. Many of the elves located on the floor worked with packing and wrapping gifts for distribution. Kit particularly spent a lot of time there when she was young, drawing on gift wrap and tearing up colorful tissue paper. She let herself wander over to the towering 15-foot tall rack of wrapping paper. The sun hit their surfaces and reflected rainbows of color and patterns. And she smiled to herself, remembering how she’d always dreamed of climbing the tower.
“Hey, if you’re gonna be lolly-gagging around here, can you at least roll the—”
Kit turned back to the snipping voice behind her and stopped. It was Bernard. He looked back at her with widened, genuinely shocked eyes. His mouth fell open a bit.
“Kit?” he said.
She smiled and quickly took her hands out of her pockets. He stood several feet away from her but she could feel a mix of a hundred emotions exploding in her chest and head—panic, over-the-moon joy, overcoming guilt. But, the joy won over.
“Hi, Bernard.” He didn’t make much more movement, but his mouth still hung open a bit. He shook his head slowly but dared not break eye contact. He tried sputtering out some words but fell short into silence again. Kit let herself take a step or two closer. Why do I feel so vulnerable?
“You, um,” he started, this time with success, “You cut your hair.” He made an awkward hand movement to his own deep black hair. She reciprocated and felt the shortened ends of her hair that’d once been well past her collarbone. But, now the thick brown locks fell just a little above Kit’s shoulders.
“Oh,” She said, still feeling the ends, “Yeah, I did. I was nervous. I’d never cut it so short before.”
He seemed to have gained some proper control of himself and nodded quickly. “It looks fine—good. Good.”
Kit smiled again and went in for a hug. He didn’t hesitate to respond. She held on long and hard and felt more of the shame slide away. As always, he smelled faintly of mint and old papers. They pulled away after several seconds and took more of each other in.
“It’s so great to see you,” she continued. Bernard grinned back, dark eyes sparkling.
“You too, of course. But, ah, why are you here?” Her smile fell and Kit turned back to Charlie and Grandpa who were still talking several meters away.
“There’s been some sort of break in time and everyone back home is still stuck in December 23rd. We have no clue what’s going on but Dad and I were the only ones not affected. We were taken here and Grandpa’s holding a meeting with the Council in an hour.” Bernard looked to Grandpa then back to the office.
“I’ve heard…What about your mom? And Buddy?”
“We haven’t heard from Buddy. I guess Grandma is checking that. But, we had to leave Mom.” His look of confusion shifted to a more sympathetic one.
“Kit, I’m so sorry.” She brushed it off and crossed her arms in.
“It’ll be okay. We just need to find out what’s going on. This must be a nightmare for you all.” Bernard shook his head again and looked down at the large, old book in his arm.
“You couldn’t imagine. I’ve spent all this morning going through every single text I could find, looking for any record similar to this. But, I’ve had no luck.”
Kit smirked. “Guess it’s my turn to say ‘sorry’, huh?”
But, he was watching her, almost detailing every inch of her face. “You look different, you know.”
Kit didn’t say anything but watched him back. Nothing had changed in him. Same clothes and old-fashioned hair. He was just the same then as in Kit’s memories. And something of it brought comfort to her.
“Kit!” Charlie’s voice called. She turned back to her dad and Grandpa making their way back towards us.
“Ah, Bernard,” Grandpa began, “Did you find anything yet in the archives?”
“Not a thing. Looks like we’re dealing with this on our own.” Grandpa suddenly glanced past his shoulder and straightened the suspenders on his trousers.
“Maybe not…” They followed his gaze back to his office where several of the members of the Council of Legendary Figures were entering. Kit looked back to Grandpa. He wore a look of grave confidence and she could hardly tell what would come next. Nevertheless, they followed.
**********
Shouting and arguing. Voices toppling over one another, desperate to be heard above all others. Kit had never, in all her years experiencing this group, seen them in such a state. They pointed fingers, spat accusations, and came close to tearing each other apart. She allowed herself to watch from afar.
“Alright! Would you please be quiet?!” Grandpa hollered, banging his fists down upon his desk. The rowdy group quickly fell to a hushed grumble. Grandpa stood tall from behind his desk and looked down at each of the members in heavy disappointment.
“I am absolutely ashamed to see our team acting so barbarically. In times like these, we need to be supporting each other—not bickering like schoolchildren.”
“That’s easy for you to say!” Tooth spat back. He was in complete disarray with wings bent and drooping to a face wrung out from stress. “Your job comes once a year! We had to redo an entire day’s work of collecting teeth and distributing cash. My workers are exhausted, Scott!”
“Hey!” Mother Nature snapped back, “Do you realize the kind of stress Scott is under? It’s two days before Christmas!” This caused a whole other eruption of voices and arguments.
“Shut uuuuuup!” he finally yelled. They fell quiet again and Grandpa came out from his desk. “We’ll get nowhere going at each other’s necks about this. We need to take account of what exactly is happening to each of us. Bunny?”
All attention shifted over to the Easter Bunny who stood very nervous and agitated on the edge of the group.
“Well,” he began, “We came into work today to find all the painting and decorating we’d done yesterday was all gone. It was like we’d never done a thing. We knew something must’ve been wrong because eggs don’t just disappear like that overnight!”
Grandpa nodded. “And you, Sandman?” But, of course, he was already asleep.
“Okay, I think I can guess. What about you, Mother Nature?” She smiled, pleased to finally be recognized.
“This morning was such a disaster, Santa. I’d grown such beautiful trees and arranged for the perfect weather for Christmas Eve when I woke to see the work I’d done just two days before. I couldn’t understand it! And this whole situation makes me worry that we might never fix time after all.”
Grandpa shook his head and said, “Don’t think like that. Now, where’s Father Time? He’s ten minutes late. That’s never like him.” Grandpa turned to the elf from earlier on the phone.
“Fiona, where is he?”
“Sir, I don’t know. He never responded to the message.” Grandpa pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes tight. Kit turned to Bernard who stood leaning against the wall beside her. He shared her look and crossed his arms. Grandpa turned to Mother Nature.
“Mother Nature, are you sure nothing like this has ever been heard of before? I mean, Father Time is the one responsible for all this, isn’t he? He should be here.” Mother Nature folded her hands and nodded.
“He should be here, yes. And in all the millenniums I’ve known him, he’s never been one to be even a minute late. But, no, Santa, I can’t say there’s ever been an occurrence such as this.”
The room fell silent as everyone soaked in the reality that this might be it. Without Father Time, all efforts were meaningless. Grandpa sulked back to his desk and sat back in his chair. And out of the silence, Cupid sang, “Well…there was that one time…”
All heads turned to him. Mother Nature said, “What are you talking about?”
“You remember. It was hundreds of years ago if I recall. The scare of the Middle Ages?”
“Oh,” Tooth Fairy chimed in, “I remember that! It was a few years after we’d disbanded Bogeyman for abuse of power. You required each of us at the meetings ever since then, remember?”
And as if a light suddenly came on, Mother Nature’s eyes widened and she turned back to the rest of them.
“I do! But, that was just a misunderstanding in the end.”
“What happened?” asked Grandpa.
“We were still new as a Council goes. Santa Claus had only been around for maybe fifty years or so. Easter Bunny hadn’t even been born yet. But, we began meeting frequently to discuss who we would allow in the Council. Father Time and I were the first to start the Council, after all. I didn’t know much about Father’s work but I knew how crucial he was to the universe. One meeting, Father Time was late so we decided to take a trip to his domain, thinking he must’ve been busy with the human’s invention of the sundial. When we arrived, we couldn’t find him anywhere. Things on Earth changed. The daylight lasted longer than normal and the sun wasn’t moving in the sky. When we finally tracked down Father Time, he was in a different domain than his own—Bogeyman’s domain. He had been forcibly summoned by Bogeyman who planned to hold Father hostage in exchange for his seat back on Council. Fortunately, we talked Bogeyman down and returned Father Time. Everything on Earth returned to normal, with a few alternations. The whole thing became something to laugh about years down the road. Meanwhile, Daylight Savings Time was born.”
Grandpa stood again and crossed to Mother Nature. “What does this mean? Father Time isn’t in his domain?”
“It would explain his absence,” Cupid chimed in. “What do we do then?”
“We visit his domain. That’s what we do. And we get to the bottom of this huge mess. I can’t lose much more time waiting for a Christmas that may never come.”
Mother Nature nodded. “That sounds like a good plan. Tooth, Bunny, Cupid, Sandy? Are you ready for a trip?” They all cheered, except for Sandman who was still deeply asleep. The Easter Bunny nudged him awake with a loud snort. Grandpa retrieved his hat from a nearby rack and put on his gloves. But, Kit stood up and stopped him.
“I want to come.”
Grandpa turned to her and shook his head. “No, Kit, it’s too dangerous for you.”
“I want to come. Dad and I are as equally included in this as you are. We know more about what’s happening on Earth.”
“No. You two know nothing about Father Time’s domain. It’s easy to get lost and, if there’s trouble, we can’t risk you getting hurt.”
“But—”
“Bernard, watch over Kit and Charlie for me. It might take a while till we get back. Time works differently there.” Burning anger flared in her chest. This wasn’t at all fair!
“That’s not right,” Kit protested, “I want to help.”
“Kit,” Charlie barked, “Stop the arguing. The faster your Grandpa finds the problem, the faster we can get home safe and sound.” She didn’t continue to fight but watched the Council quickly prepare for their trip.
“We’ll be back soon. Bernard will show you to your rooms. The elves will have retrieved your things and can help you with anything you need. Please, stay safe.” And with that, they disappeared out of the office and down the hall. She fell back onto the couch and crossed her arms.
“This is a load of—”
Charlie cut her off, “I know you want to help, Kit. But, you’re of better use here where I know you’ll be safe. It’s better for your Grandpa as well. You think he wants to be worrying about his only grandkid while trying to fix time?”
“I’m not a child. I know how this place works and I can do more when I’m not sitting here helpless.”
Charlie came to her and sat by her on the couch. He took Kit’s hand and squeezed lightly.
“Mom and I love you more than anything in the world. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you. I promise you’ll be able to help out. Just, for tonight, please don’t do anything stupid.” He kissed her forehead and followed Fiona the elf out to his room.
Kit tried hard to push down the disappointment and focus on the love of her family. She was so so lucky. But, she still felt like the same burden of a child from years back. This was all so ridiculous. It made her angry to know her mother was still back home, probably calling the police, and Kit was there, not doing a damn thing about it.
“Are you okay?” It was Bernard. He came up off the wall and took a seat next to Kit. She squeezed her elbows tight and looked at him.469Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvZVlJ7Ec1
“I thought by coming here I’d have a more important place than just ‘family tourist’. I’d really matter to the world and could save my mom.” Bernard chuckled, and it almost made her mad again.
“You’re not a ‘family tourist’, Kit. Everyone here knows you—and I mean really knows you. You have a bigger family than you realize. And I’m sure if you found any trouble out in Father Time’s domain and got yourself hurt, the elves would be far more devastated than you know.” She thought about it and smiled to herself.
“I never thought about it like that before. You make it sound like I’m some huge deal, though.”
He shrugged and smiled back. “Well, you are.”
The disappointment from before was fading away and Kit felt a little better. Bernard stood and held out a hand.
“Come on, let’s go find your room. I’ll help you get settled in.”
She cocked her eyebrows and took his hand. “You’re really not as totally freaked out as I’d expect you to be. By now, I would’ve thought you to have at least three meltdowns.”
“Oh, I got them out of the way just before you all showed up. Trust me, I’m practically falling apart on the inside. You know, I’m actually trying meditation. I think it might be working, too.”
She could help but giggle as they made their way out of the office. It didn’t take her long to realize how much she’d missed this. She slipped her hand down in her pocket as they walked the halls and felt the cool glass of the snow globe. Kit wondered—if she got hurt, would Bernard be devastated, too?
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