A bitter cold beat on his fur. He shook the snow off, grunting for a moment as he looked around the dense forest. He was alone tonight, the other deer were either sleeping deep in their dens or had found other places to escape the cold.

The whitetail buck shivered tonight. This winter was much colder than any other he had ever lived through. He felt very alone, and moving on, could only think about the doe he loved. A tear filled his eye when he found her…cold, lifeless…she left the world seemingly for no reason.

He needed to find warmth. He knew if he stayed out any longer, he might share the same fate as his doe. He walked on, steam puffing out from his mouth and nostrils with every breath. He stopped and looked curiously at a seemingly radiating town. He had never gotten too close to the place, but was very curious why all the trees and buildings seemed to be glowing like they were on fire.

He approached one of the trees, looking deeply into what was a light bulb. The gentle radiating glow glistened in his eyes, and it even had the slightest warmth to it. There was nothing to be afraid of, his mind drifted in wonder as he listened to the lights hum with electricity.

Then something else caught his eye. Was he imagining it? Could it really be?

He saw a doe standing by one of the buildings, glowing just as brightly as the trees. Was it his doe? Would she recognize him?

The stag approached, his heart racing for a moment. But his excitement ceased when the doe was only made of metal and lined with the light bulbs. It was a fake deer. The stag let out a deep groan, disappointed and lost at that moment.

The yard where he stood was suddenly illuminated, a young boy opened the front door to his house, and was surprised to see the stag standing there by the glowing yard deer. He was startled at first, but stepped out into the cold, smiling at the deer. “Hello there.”, he spoke softly to the stag. The deer took a step back, not sure what to think about all this. The boy reached out to him, holding a fresh piece of celery in his hand. “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you. I’ve got a treat for you.”, he said.

The stag cautiously approached him, sniffing the air deeply. He could smell the celery from where he was, and with a few more steps, he calmly took the celery from the boy’s hand. He bit into the vegetable, and for the moment, his body relaxed and his mind cleared. He stared at the boy while chewing and enjoying the snack.

“Come on.”, the boy said to him, “There’s a little more in the barn. You look like you need to get out of the snow.” He walked around the house, turning and watching the deer for a second. The stag, trusting him for the moment, followed him to a large barn. When the boy opened the door to it, he walked in and invited the deer to come in.

The stag wasn’t so sure about this, but he saw a few horses and other animals taking shelter in the barn. He took a deep breath and walked in. As the boy shut the barn door, the air became a little warmer. There was no chilling breeze, and the deer shook his fur to let the slight warmth insulate him. The boy walked over to a lone cabinet and prepared a bowl of deer corn for the stag. He placed the bowl before the animal and sat down in a small chair, watching the deer smell the food and calmly eat from it.

“My name is Jake.”, the boy said to the deer. “Do you have a name?”, he asked, but the deer, who continued eating, didn’t make any kind of response. “I bet you were waiting for Santa, huh?”, Jake asked. The deer looked toward him for a brief moment before continuing to eat. Jake smiled, “I am too. I wanted to ask him something.”

The food bowl was empty, and the stag nosed it around the floor a little before lifting his head and looking at him. He had eaten plenty, and finding a small pile of hay, he rested on the ground. Jake continued to watch him, and said, “It wasn’t a great year…my dad passed away, and I wanted to ask Santa if there was any way to bring him back. I miss him already.” The deer grunted a little. Jake wanted to pet his head, but he wasn’t sure if the stag would let him. “What do you think? I mean…he is Santa…”, Jake said, sighing. He wished there was an answer, but the more he listened to himself talk, the more it sounded so hopeless.

“Well…you can stay for the night. But if Mom finds you in here, I could get in trouble.”, he said, standing and moving toward the door. Before he could reach it, he felt something brush against his hand. He stopped and saw the deer had reached out and touched his palm with his snout. Jake hesitantly put his hand on the deer’s head, feeling the softness of his fur. He smiled once again, looking deep into the deer’s eyes. “Thank you…”, he said, “…for trusting me.”

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The morning came and Jake ran to see what was under the Christmas tree. His mother started a pot of hot chocolate and the two of them began to open the presents when there was a strange knock at the door. “I’ll get it.”, Jake said, and opening the door, was surprised that nobody was there.

“Who is it?”, his mother asked. Jake didn’t reply, but instead, stepped out into the cold morning and looked around. He noticed something in the snow that covered the steps up toward the door.

He found an envelope buried just slightly in the snow, with his name and his mother’s written on the front. He noticed two hoofprints in the snow next to where it was, and walking in, he opened it.

The letter inside was written to both of them from Jake’s dad.