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PoetryIn-e-Motion

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Poems and short stories ©   by Arno and Anna unless differently stated (Disclaimer).

Christmas Tale

There is a land far away in the north, where the sun shines all through the night in the summer, but doesn't even dare to peek through the sky in the winter. At the darkest time of the year everything is white. The snow is falling lightly, dancing through the sky like small downs, swirling around, blown in one direction until the next moment it decides to go another way, before softly touching the ground and covering it with a glimmery white layer. If you catch a single chrystal of ice and look at it very closely, you will see that it is unique. Nothing in the whole world looks just like this little star, glittering with all the colors of the rainbow.

Other times this same gentle snow is being poured out from the sky, with the wind whipping it just as it chooses, so that the cold air is full with hard, small, icy hail.

This was the weather one cold day on christmas eve. The sky was covered with gray clouds, and no stars found a way to shine through and show the way to a little boy who was driving fast through the storm in a sleigh with one reindeer. He was on his way home to the village of the Lapps, when the snow storm had caught him. He knew that as long as his reindeer could see the stars in the sky there was no need to be concerned, but the stars were now covered by heavy clouds, and because of the snow raging he could not see where he was going. Neither could the reindeer.

At last the reindeer stopped. It refused to move before the storm had calmed a bit, because it felt they were going nowhere, only in circles. It knew they would have a much better chance to find the way home if they spared the energy that was left. The boy had also realized the same thing, and managed to turn the sleigh upside down as a little shelter against the raging storm. Together they huddled close to each other, the boy under the sleigh and the reindeer beside him on the outside.

The arctic winter is beautiful, but it is also dangerous. Sometimes the cold is overwhelming, and you must know the ways of nature to survive in this white wilderness.

The boy woke up with a start. He realized he had fallen asleep, something you should never do when it is cold, because you might not wake up again. He peeped out from under the sleigh, and saw what had caused his sudden waking. The reindeer was standing, sniffing the air with it's mule, stamping and shaking itself anxiously. When the boy scrambled out, the sight of the night landscape made him stare in awe.

The storm was gone, without leaving a trace except for the thick, white layer of snow that covered the ground, softly embracing and following the outlines of the distant, tiny trees that grow on the tundra. As he was looking from inside the warm hide his mother had prepared for him as a scarf, he saw the fjelds as big, white hills and little, round mountains against the dark sky, which was now full of stars.

The sky held his gaze, spellbound, because it was blazing, flaming in hues of red, green, yellow and white. It was as if someone was throwing snow in the air, coloring it in all the colors of the rainbow. The boy had seen these mystic, beautiful lights before, but never in the same amount and wonderful beauty as on this night.

The reindeer was dancing around in the snow, wanting to free himself from the harness that still bound him to the sleigh. He blew steam from his nose and shook his horns impatiently. The boy looked at his reindeer, and saw a longing in its eyes, like a begging to being free, just for tonight. He unharnessed the creature, and before it took the first leap forward, the boy jumped on its back. The reindeer hesitated, but just for a moment, before he sprung forward and started trotting in an even pace. The snow whirled around the reindeer's legs, as he carried the boy through a winter landscape, where the snow was colored by the dancing lights in the sky.

After a time the boy recognized a familiar shape in the horizon. It was the arctic hill Haltiatunturi, which means the fjeld of the gnome. It was higher than all the arctic hills in the surrounding landscape. A big, smoothly shaped fjeld that stood as a contrast to the dark sky, lightened by the moon, the stars and the northern lights, so that it bathed in the gloomy light of the night. As the boy approached the fjeld, he started to perceive shapes in the snow on the ground around it. Soon he saw that they were those of animals, all kinds of creatures in hundreds, maybe even thousands, big and small, white, fluffy hares, dark, fierce wolves and herds of reindeer all moving closely together, side by side. There were wolverines running with tiny lemmings, and big owls flying with small, white snowbuntings. All were heading to the top of the legendary arctic hill, slowly and rescpectfully. The boy sat on the reindeer, and as he behaved calm and didn't say a word, the animals didn't pay any notice of him. The reindeer had long forgotten who he was carrying, and only sensed the intense waiting and longing in the air. It had joined a group of reindeer, and the boy saw that even the young ones, the calves from last summer, were eagerly waiting for something they yet could not name.

Soon the heards of animals, among the the boy with his reindeer, had reached the top of Haltiatunturi. There they formed a loose circle, leaving free space in the center. Almost a complete silence surrounded the fjeld, only an occasional snort or a stamp was heard. The air was smooth, without a single breeze.

Then the sky grew lighter, and the stars faded a little. A light that seemed to come from the air above, but had no source, shone upon the animals gathered on the top of the hill. It grew brighter, until there was a shape all made of light in the center of the circle. It radiated a bright light and warmth, and the boy could see the light in the eyes of the creatures standing close to each other, knowing that this was what they were waiting for.

The boy saw that his reindeer, along with the others, pricked up its ears, as if they were hearing something. He didn't have to wait long, until even he could hear a sound increasing. It grew louder, until a beautiful song filled the air. It flowed around, whirling and spinning around, embracing the boy and the animals, until it seemed as if the whole world was made of joy and song.

After a while, that seemed as only a couple of minutes, but could have been hours, the song started fading, and the light spread around and all over the fjeld, so that every single creature was embraced with it. Then it slowly disappeared along with the song, leaving only a whisper in the air of what just had seemed to fill the whole world.

The boy startled when the reindeer moved under him. He felt like he had woken up from a dream, but the warmth he still felt on his face and the music that still filled his ears told him it was not a dream he had just seen.

The reindeer turned and headed towards home through the chrystal clear winter wilderness. The stars were now filling the sky and leading the way, like small holes in the sky where the celestial light still shone through, reminding those who know about the mystery of that one night in the year.