The Alien Reindeer's Christmas Miracle

by Zara Zenia

  “Ah, okay. Maybe I’ll come by there later. We’ll see,” I said, standing up too.

  I walked with him to the door. Opening it, I shivered, but noticed something odd in the snow and stepped out to investigate.

  “Kultaseni, you aren’t wearing a coat, come back inside—”

  “Look at this, Oskar, are these… are these reindeer tracks?” I asked, following them into the parking lot.

  “Huh, they are. That’s pretty odd, the reindeer are all penned up on the other side of the resort.”

  “They are all over the walkway here and go in both directions to the lodge and the tavern!” I said shivering. “I swear I haven’t seen any reindeer go through the parking lot or by my door!”

  “Really strange, I’ll ask Sven about it, maybe he took the reindeer out. Either way, you should go back in before you catch a cold, kultaseni.” He urged me back in my door. “I’ll look into it.” He smiled and ran a finger gently through the hair framing my face and then leaned down and kissed my cheek.

  I sighed, I loved the gentleness and hesitancy, it was like a slow burn, but I could not wait for the day he finally kissed me on the lips. I knew I shouldn’t hope for that, for us to connect like that, but I couldn’t help myself. I smiled up at him and said, “Let me know.”

  “I will, sydämeni,” he murmured and slipped out the door.

  I closed the door and my heart was racing. I hurried over to my computer and typed in what I thought I’d heard him call me to see if I was right. “Sydämeni… translates to… my heart,” I murmured. I blinked and steadied my breathing. “Maybe he’s starting to feel as I do about him,” I said softly, feeling almost giddy.

  I woke up to a rapid pounding on the cabin door. I rubbed my hand over my face and grabbed my phone. It was nearing Midnight. Who the hell was trying to get my attention so late? I’d fallen asleep in my clothes, I’d only meant to lie down for a few minutes, but ended up sleeping for hours. I slid from the bed and hurried to the door.

  “What the hell? Mike, what are you doing?” I asked when I pulled the door open and saw him running in the parking lot.

  “Fl-flying reinnnndeer! Near-a-ly took myyyy headddd offfff! I swwwwear! Tried to kill me!” he screamed, his words slurring as he ran.

  “I’m sorry he woke you, sydämeni, I caught him peeping in your windows.”

  I looked to my left and noticed Oskar coming from the side of my cabin. “What on Earth is he yelling about reindeer?”

  Oskar shook his head. “I ran him off from your window, he must have seen my sweater and thought he was being attacked by flying reindeer.” He gestured to his broad chest. His sweater did indeed depict Santa being pulled in his sleigh by flying reindeer. “I tried to catch him before he got to your door and disturbed you, I’m sorry.”

  I smiled. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I didn’t meet you at the tavern earlier. I fell asleep.”

  “It’s okay, sydämeni, you needed your sleep.” He looked across the parking lot at Mike. “I should go catch him and get him to calm down before he wakes everyone.”

  “Thank you,” I said, smiling. “I wouldn’t want us to be kicked out.”

  He chuckled. “I doubt Sven would kick you all out. You’re the most regular paying group he’s had here at the resort.”

  “Still,” I gestured at Mike running and screaming, “thank you for dealing with that.”

  He reached a hand out and pulled me to him in the doorway, then placed a chaste kiss on my forehead. “Till later, sydämeni, sleep well.”

  “Good night,” I answered softly. I closed the door but moved to the window and watched Oskar corral Mike and herd him toward his cabin as gently as he would a scared animal and thought about what a good guy he was. “Maybe my track record is changing,” I murmured to myself as I headed back to bed.

  Chapter Ten

  Janice

  The next morning, I got up, showered and got dressed for the day in a pair of jeans, a fluffy green sweater, a thick pair of fluffy green socks and my tennis shoes. I fixed a bagel with cream cheese, for myself and heated up some of the fish I’d gotten the night before for Smoochy.

  “Here, Smooches, come eat,” I said as he wound his way between my legs affectionately. I set the plate down for him and he immediately set about devouring it.

  I ate my bagel and drank my coffee, then gathered up my notebooks and things I needed for the day. I put on my coat and gloves, wrapped my scarf around my neck, and grabbed my purse, then headed out to meet Dee. I knocked on her door and she hurried out. “Morning,” I said, smiling.

  “Hey, did you hear that commotion last night?” she asked with a yawn.

  “Oh, yeah. That was Mike being an asshole.”

  “Yeah, he got pretty drunk last night at the tavern. Erin left him.”

  “What? How did she leave?”

  Dee laughed. “She cozied up to Sven and got him to take her to Sodankylä. By now she’s probably on a plane to Helsinki. Being Christmas Eve, I’m sure she had to pay through the nose for a ticket. But I bet, she’ll be laying on the beach basking in the sun for Christmas.”

  I shook my head. “Well that explains part of Mike’s craziness last night. He was peeping in my window apparently. Oskar caught him.”

  “What? Oh my God! What a perv!” Dee exclaimed. “Carl should make him leave too!”

  “That wasn’t the weirdest part though.”

  “What could be weirder than that?”

  “Mike was yelling about being attacked by flying reindeer.”

  “Okay, yeah that’s pretty weird,” Dee said with a grin.

  “Oskar thinks he saw his sweater, which had Santa and the reindeer on it.”

  “It wasn’t the damn sweater!” Mike said from the doorway to his cabin. “I know what I saw! That local guy you’re screwing sicced his mutant reindeer on me!”

  Dee and I both stared at him in disbelief.

  “First of all, I’m not screwing anybody, and second you’re delusional!”

  “You were drunk off your ass last night, Mike,” Dee added.

  “Whatever! I know what I saw,” he said and then turned and walk away from us.

  “Where are you going?” I called.

  “Fuck off, Janice, you don’t control me!”

  “I thought you were going to the library to research with us!”

  “Why bother? You’re too busy fucking the local yokel to even get anything done, so why should I put forth any effort?” He rounded the corner and disappeared.

  “Just ignore him,” Dee suggested. “Between him and Carl getting drunk every night on mead, I don’t know who is worse. I think Erin had the right idea when she hightailed it back to the states.”

  I frowned. “You want to leave?”

  Dee shrugged. “Well, no, not really. I mean I came here for you, and I know we are making headway on it. But it is damn cold here.” She laughed. “So I do envy Erin for going to a warmer climate!”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, but Finland is magical. I’ll take this over hot summers any day of the week.”

  “Hey, what do you make of this?” Dee asked as she moved toward the SUV. “What is that?”

  I followed her past the SUV and noticed what she was looking at. “Fresh reindeer tracks. I’ll have to ask Oskar if he talked to Sven yet. He said it was odd too.”

  Dee nodded. “Well, I wish I’d been awake to see them go by our doors. Hey, we should have Oskar take us over to the reindeer pens. I would love to see them.”

  “Me too,” I answered. “Maybe once we get a little bit more accomplished.”

  “Okay, I guess that means we should head out then, hmmm?” Dee laughed.

  “Yeah, probably. Let’s grab Mary, we’ll leave Carl to sleep, since you said he’s been drinking a bit more. Maybe with enough sleep he’ll sober up.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Oskar

  I watched Janice and the other girls get in the SUV and leave, I assumed heading to the library again, and then
I went to find out where Mike had gone. He’d gone around the side of the cabins and seemed determined. I was worried he was up to something, and wanted to follow him immediately, but I didn’t want to get waylaid by the ladies. So I waited. As they pulled out of the parking lot, I followed the tracks in the snow that Mike had left, and then quietly ducked out of sight as I watched him muttering and taking pictures with his phone of the snowy reindeer tracks in the snow behind Janice’s cabin. I moved a little closer to hear what he was saying.

  “Think I’m making shit up! I’ll show her that fucker isn’t what she thinks! Damn mutant reindeer man! I know what I saw!” Mike ranted.

  I drew in a sharp breath. Mike must have sobered up and recalled more than I thought he would. Damn it, I’ll have to tell Father. He’s going to be so angry. I shook my head and quietly made my way back to the front of the cabins. Maybe I can head this off, spin some story…

  “Oskar,” Janice said, smiling when she answered the door. “You have good timing, I just got back.”

  “I know, sydämeni, I was watching for you,” I replied. “Have you eaten?” I held up a bag of the take-out I ordered.

  “I haven’t, what did you bring tonight, and are you going to join me?” she asked, a twinkle in her eye.

  “I am, if you don’t mind, sydämeni. I brought us merimiespata, a beef and potato stew.”

  “It smells good,” she offered. “Let me get Smoochy’s food fixed then I’ll grab us some bowls.”

  I nodded, set the bag down on the table, and then took off my coat and gloves. I was nervous. “So how was your day?”

  She laughed. “Kinda strange. Mike showed up, raving mad about whatever happened to him last night. Kept saying that we needed to believe him about the reindeer.” She turned, her eyes wide behind her glasses. “Oh, by the way, did you talk to Sven about the reindeer tracks?”

  I blinked. “Joo, I did. As far as he knows, the reindeer have remained penned.”

  “Huh, that is so weird, don’t you think?” she asked as she fixed us each a bowl of the stew. “This smells so good.”

  “Well, I have another explanation… well two possible ones, but one is more…. Fun.”

  She handed me a bowl and arched a brow. “Oh?”

  I chuckled. This was where I was going to be walking a fine line between reality and fable. “Another folklore tale…”

  “Really?” Her eyes lit up. “Let me get my notepad.” She set her bowl down on the coffee table and hurried over to her desk and returned a moment later.

  I sat down and took a bite of my stew. “Maybe try a bit of your stew first, while it’s still hot?”

  She giggled, picked up her bowl and took a bite, her eyes closing as she savored the taste of the beef cooked in a beer broth. “It’s really good.”

  I grinned. “So, there is a story connected to the reindeer around here. It is a very old tale, and most of the lore about them has been forgotten. I too had forgotten it until recently. The lore, as my father reminded me, says that during the polar nights, the reindeer are given transformative powers.”

  “Oh this sounds interesting, can they fly?” she asked, writing on her notepad and then taking a bite of her stew.

  “Joo, but that is not all. It is said that the reindeer can take on the image of men. Walking upright on their back legs, acting as Humans do.”

  Her jaw dropped, her eyes wide. “Wow! That is so crazy!” She grinned and her aura told me she was happy. “Why would they have such powers?”

  I shook my head. That was where I got stuck. I had no idea how to answer. “I don’t know, actually. Maybe it had something to do with the gods and goddesses?” I suggested but wasn’t sure if she was going to buy that.

  “Does your father know? Can I talk to him? You said he was the one who reminded you about the lore?”

  Shit. I hadn’t thought she might want to speak to my father. “Um, well my father isn’t really well. He’s been very sick for quite some time and he doesn’t usually like having visitors, but I can ask him.”

  She sighed and took another bite of her stew. She looked back up at me and smiled. “I understand that. I’m sorry he’s sick. Is he very old?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, he and my mother had me very late in life. It’s just me and him now.”

  “Oh that’s too bad,” she said, grabbing my hand. She smiled again, softly this time. “So what is your other theory about the tracks?”

  “What?” I asked, blinking, my mind was still on her hand touching mine, sending little waves of electricity through me.

  She giggled. “You said you had two explanations for the tracks. I’m guessing the folklore was the exciting explanation, so what is the other?”

  “Oh.” I grinned. “A wild reindeer herd moving through the area in the middle of the night.”

  Laughing, she said, “And that is probably what really happened. Too bad too, I was kind of excited to see the reindeer transform into men!”

  I hesitated for a moment and then said, “Janice… what would you do if this or any of the legends turned out to be true?”

  Chapter Twelve

  Janice

  I looked at Oskar, taken aback by his question. I took another bite of the delicious stew and thought about it. Writing this dissertation and getting my doctorate had been all I had thought about for so long. I knew in the back of my mind, I hoped that in getting my doctorate, it would impress my dad and finally make him proud of me, but who was I kidding? He couldn’t care less about me and what I did. We hadn’t really talked since Mom died and then he went and married… that witch… I wouldn’t ever say her name again. She’d been one of my college roommates, a friend, or at least I’d thought she was, before she seduced my father and got pregnant on purpose.

  Shaking my head, I shoved thoughts of my father away and thought about Oskar’s question. What would I do if one or more of the legends turned out to be true? I glanced up at Oskar and he seemed to be patiently waiting for me to answer, watching me with a look of… was that worry? Why is he worried? I took a breath and said, cautiously, “I think it would depend on the circumstances and what kind of effect it would have on the world and or the legend if it was revealed.”

  A bright smile lit his face and the worry that I’d seen in his eyes cleared. He set his bowl and mine down on the table and then scooted closer to me. He leaned forward, and my breath caught in my throat at the look in his eyes. “Tell me no now, sydämeni, if this isn’t something you want,” he murmured close to my lips.

  Instead of saying anything, I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed the distance between us. His lips were so soft, and his beard was so silky against my face as we kissed. Gentle at first, and then I opened my mouth to him, and he delved his tongue between my lips, accepting my invitation. He lifted me up onto his lap, and held me around the waist, his hands rubbing my sides. I slid my fingers into his hair, pulling him closer. I couldn’t get enough of him as our tongues tangled in a magical kiss.

  In the distance I could hear bells ringing and it just made the moment even more magical. I pressed myself closer, I could feel his strong broad chest against my breasts and felt heat pool in my core. I wanted him badly.

  He licked my lips as his hands slid beneath my sweater, pushing it up. His thumbs stroked over my bra and my nipples stood up at attention. He nipped at my lips, and then kissed me deeper again and I swear I was a pile of emotions ready to explode.

  He trailed kisses from my lips to my jaw and down my neck as the bells sounded again. “Sydämeni, that is at least the sixth time your phone has rung. Apparently someone is desperate to get a hold of you,” he whispered between kisses on my neck.

  I pulled back, sighing and rested my forehead against his. I didn’t want to stop kissing him. I wanted to see this through, maybe all the way to the bedroom. I wanted him like I’d never wanted any man ever.

  He leaned back a moment, looking at my face and smiled. He then kissed my forehead and said, “To be continued.�
��

  I smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. I got off his lap, straightened my sweater and moved to my purse hanging on the coatrack and dug out my phone. I looked at my missed calls and saw that I had missed numerous calls over the last ten minutes from Dee. Taking a deep breath, I pressed her number and returned her call, even as I cursed her for interrupting us right at that moment.

  “Hey, you called?” I asked, trying not to sound like I was breathless and well kissed.

  “Yeah, oh my God, I’ve been calling every minute for the last ten minutes, where are you?” Dee asked.

  “In my cabin? Why?” I frowned, suddenly worried at the tone in her voice.

  “Mike is here at the tavern, he’s ranting and raving, stinking drunk off his rocker! He’s now telling anyone who will listen that Oskar is some kind of supernatural being that can turn into a reindeer and fly!”

  I blinked and looked over at Oskar with a frown. “Okay, that is bizarre.” I bit my lip, wondering what on Earth was going on. Why would Mike be saying things like that?

  “He’s got pictures of reindeer tracks and he’s trying to say that they belong to Oskar!”

  “Yeah that’s crazy. Maybe see if you and Carl can get him back to his cabin to sleep it off?”

  “But what about Oskar?” she asked.

  “I’ll… talk to him.”

  “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, bye.” I clicked my phone off and looked at Oskar. “So apparently Mike has moved from claiming you sicced a mutant reindeer at him, to saying you are the supernatural reindeer.” I looked at him and he seemed worried again. “Oskar, is there something you want to tell me?”

  Chapter Thirteen