The Alien Reindeer's Wish

by Thanika Hearth

  “Elle Jones from PressFeed. Do you have any comments on the Seventh Pine ski slope being an avalanche hazard?”

  He half-stammers an angry denial before I cut in again. “Anything you want to say about it before I publish this proof globally?” I wave a printout of the article in front of his reddening face and he snatches it, scans it, and then goes white.

  “This would ruin the town,” he says through gritted teeth, and in a swift movement — though he has to know it’s only for dramatic effect — he tears it in half. “Do you want all the people living here to lose their homes, their jobs? Because what? You want to run a ridiculous story?”

  I swallow, regaining my nerve. “Your Christmas-related exports are the second-highest source of revenue for the town. If you put all your resources into those, they would far exceed the ski slope tourism anyway. Not to mention it’s only one slope you’d be shutting down.”

  He gives a growl and goes to shut the door on me, but Liara steps forward and blocks it with her foot. Hands on hips, she glowers at the man. “We have all the evidence we need. We just wanted to give you the chance to comment,” she says, getting fully into the role. I knew she would understand the thrill of being a reporter if she gave it a chance.

  “No comment,” the man snarls, struggling to close the door but clearly not about to cause damage to Liara’s foot and open a whole new can of worms.

  “Are you going to keep letting your own citizens get in harm’s way like this?” I call over Liara’s shoulder, clicking my pen as menacingly as I can, ready to write. He stares at my pen, at the littered paper on his office floor, and then looks up at the large, intimidating form of Braxen with his arms folded. “Just a yes or no will be fine for the article.”

  “You are incorrigible. Who even are you?” he spits.

  I smile. “I’m a journalist.”

  Damn, that feels good to say.

  “Listen. I’ll talk to you. Just get in here before you cause a scene,” he says, nostrils flaring as he looks out at his assistant, Jessica from before, who is pretending not to listen.

  “You don’t want to talk about the welfare of your people out here? Where better to talk about it?” I ask him loudly. My mentors tried to teach me when to prod and when to leave an interviewee alone, and I feel like now is the time to push Mayor Kane.

  “Look here, Miss!” he shouts, stretching himself to his full height and waggling his finger at me. “You and your weird friends have got to leave. Right now. This is … this is unacceptable. I will not comment. I will not comment on this nonsense!” His face is reddening again like a ripe tomato, and I glance back towards Braxen, who has the weirdest look on his face. It looks like the mayor has spotted it too. “I don’t know what kind of intimidation technique this guy is trying, but he looks ridiculous, not frightening. Is he sniffing the air?”

  “Mayor, are you saying you have no soundbite to give?” I ask, shifting over to the right a little as if to shield Brax from view. Why does my guy look so confused? “Are you going to step down over this scandal?”

  He stammers. Behind us, Jessica hides a giggle with a cough. This guy may not be well-liked. “I’ll step down when … when pigs fly!” he snaps.

  Braxen gently clears his throat and points to the left. Behind the reception desk is a large set of bay windows looking out over Seven Pines. Snow is gently swirling through the darkness, but I realize after a moment that it isn’t quite as dark as it should be. What’s going on?

  “When pigs fly. How about reindeer?”

  “What?” the mayor snaps, craning his neck to see where Braxen is pointing.

  A dozen, no, two dozen reindeer, glowing like golden stars, gallop past our window up here. Forty feet from the sloping, snowy ground below.

  They curve around, as if searching for something, hooves silently pounding against the sky as they go.

  All of our mouths drop open, including Brax’s. “They’re here,” he mutters. “They’re really here…”

  One of the reindeer turns its head and spies Brax, who lifts his arm in greeting and allows his body to glow a violent, heated gold.

  The reindeer tosses its massive antlers, and crashes through the bay window.

  Glass flies everywhere, and Jessica screams and flees to safety. Two dozen or so golden reindeer alight in the manor reception room, hooves crunching over glass, and slowly morph into the same humanoid alien as Braxen’s true form. They have differently-shaped horns on their heads instead of thick deer antlers, long, muscular limbs, glowing eyes, and chiseled bodies it’s hard to tear your eyes from.

  My Braxen is most definitely the most handsome one of them all, though. He steps forward, places his hand to his chest, and then embraces one of the other men.

  There’s a loud sound as Mayor Kane suddenly crumples to the floor in a dead faint.

  *

  Liara and I are hugging ourselves from the chill wind whipping through the air. Braxen and the other Reilendeer have caught up, shared stories in their rapid-fire mother tongue, with Brax tossing over out of context translations of things here and there. We’re cold, but the heat radiating from each alien is warming, so we’re doing OK while they chat, excited to be reunited.

  I don’t want to think about what this means for me and Braxen. That his people are back, and he has a ticket off this planet. I know I’m not leaving Earth; that’s for sure.

  So is this goodbye?

  The thought brings hot pinpricks to the backs of my eyes, and I shiver from the cold as I force myself to think happier thoughts. Like, if this was all this was, that’s alright. Ultimately, these last few days were probably the happiest I’ve ever been. I can close my eyes and relive it whenever I want. The warmth and the joy. Just like I can close my eyes and remember being with my mother.

  Finally, the reindeer men part ways momentarily, and Braxen makes his way back to me. He says something to Liara, so quiet I can’t hear what it is, and then he takes me to one side, out of hearing range of the others.

  Tears still prick the backs of my eyes, but I ignore them and smile up at him. His tall, well-muscled body and kind, angular face. Heat radiates from him as he grasps my forearms and leans down.

  I have no idea what he’s about to say, but when he speaks, I’m simultaneously surprised, and not really at all. “Stay with me.”

  “Here?”

  “Yes, here. I’m staying on Earth. The energy here, when it can be harvested at all, is potent. I have convinced them it’s within the good of our people to keep someone down here. Stay with me, Elle. I love you.”

  I swallow, and my eyes finally well up with happy tears. “I think that would be a dream come true, Brax.”

  Before I can say anything else, he’s kissing me. The glowing men nearby give little whoops and cries, and Liara whistles and then laughs as we break away.

  “This town has nowhere to go but up now,” he says. “The story will run, and the mayor will be forced to resign if he doesn’t do it earlier. There’ll be new leadership, a new focus on creating custom holiday gifts and decorations. On giving. My business will thrive. And you can focus on writing stories. About anything you like.”

  I think about it, thoughts swirling around too fast to catch and look at properly. “I think I’ve already had my fill of big scoops,” I say, looking beyond him at the mayor’s mansion. “Happy stories would be nice. You know, for a while. Human interest. Or nonhuman interest. I’d like to talk about the people who inject a little good into the world. Make sure everyone knows about the positive.”

  Suddenly, Braxen looks different. I can’t quite put my finger on his expression. Is it pride? It’s something so human and yet so alien to me, because I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen it.

  “What are you thinking about?” I ask him, looking at our companions, still too far to quite hear us. Unless aliens have super-hearing, which they very well might.

  “I’m just thinking about a wish I made,” he says cryptically. “And how it c
ame true in the most magical, unexpected way.”

  He takes my hand, and together we walk down the winding, sloping, tree-lined paths back to his gorgeous little Christmas village. Our gorgeous little Christmas village. And I think about my own wishes, and how unexpectedly and magically they came true too.

  I took a leap of faith, believed in myself a little, and came away with the most incredible Christmas gift I could ever have imagined. Not only did I discover what true happiness is, I found my calling, my soulmate, and my home all in one crazy weekend.

  I think about how lucky I am as he leads me back to the cabin, and finally up to the bedroom.

  His lips claim mine, now and always. He consumes me with his love, heats me from the inside out with his commanding kisses; different now that we’re truly, completely committed. I turn my head just in time to see a shooting star out the window. Then another. Then another. And I smile.

  Because I know now that wishes really can come true.

  Epilogue

  Braxen

  I wasn’t able to wear a woolen cap during the ceremony, because of human tradition. And since I’ve made the decision to live within human society now, I have to acquiesce.

  The problem is, when I feel extreme emotion, sometimes I worry that my guise will fade. It’s not the worst thing if my skin gradually looks more tan; if I give off more heat. But the beginnings of horns poking through my hair? Impossible to explain away.

  I just have to stand up straight, tall, look straight ahead, and try to contain myself.

  When Elle walks down the aisle, the music changes and everyone rises, and I forget how close I am to losing control of my disguise. She looks like a vision. Honey-colored waves are loosely pinned on top of her head, and her dress sparkles, subtly, as though it has an inner glow. It reminds me of the way my people look in their true forms, and I know that must have gone through her mind too.

  To distract myself from glowing a happy golden color, I try to think about something grounding. Like the fact that my business is taking off now that the town is leaning on quaint holiday exports. Like how I just hired my second employee, and Elle and I are considering buying our cute little cabin rental.

  But these thoughts, while enabling me to think straighter, aren’t doing anything to curb my powerful feelings for her. Feelings of happiness that will power my communicator for months to come.

  Snow is gently swirling from the sky all around her, alighting in her hair and on the faux fur snow-queen-esque shrug she has wrapped around her shoulders.

  Gasps and squeals ring out from the guests, and from Liara in her rose-red dress and matching red shrug. She points, and I follow her gaze to see that the aisles are lined with the wild reindeer from the forest. Just close enough that they’re visible in the strung up lights.

  They are just watching, nothing more. When the guests settle, remembering to be respectful of my stunning Elle’s walk to stand beside me, the officiant begins. We happened to get the town’s new mayor to marry us. He’s a kind, positive man, and I can feel the difference his calm leadership makes already.

  While he speaks, I can barely hear, as I stare at my bride. In my mind, we are already bonded with ties far more important than marriage, but it’s a human tradition and I wanted Elle to have everything.

  Because I know I already do.

  I think the words at the same time that I say them aloud.

  For everyone of Seven Pines, for Elle’s closest and oldest friends, and for a couple of my extraplanetary friends in human disguise, I say I do. I look her in the eye as I say it, and I know she can tell that I am promising her the world, if she wants it.

  And as it goes on, I’m thinking about just how much I do. About what I have. About the things I never thought I’d gain by coming to this tiny faraway planet, a planet that everyone said was hostile; dangerous.

  I will always think of it as the happiest place in the universe.

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  Make sure to check out the other books in the Winter Starr series!

  Warm yourself up with more Hearth Christmas stories and grab Snow Bear for 99c.