"Mother? Mother where are you!", the cries of a fawn called out, disrupting the quiet of the Forest. He wandered around in the snow, searching tirelessly, constantly calling out again and again. There were a few deer around, but they seemed to sleep through his cries. None of them heard him call.

The fawn kept running, past the Playground, checking the Pond, peeking inside the Old Oak. He stopped by the old Ruins, looking around, calling out again. No answer. He let out a sigh, his eyes tearing. Losing his mother was one of his greatest fears, and no deer would help him look for her. Nearby, a sleeping stag dreamed he was a child again, playing with his mother in the snow. She joined him in romping around, the two watching their hoofprints mold the snow. Redd loved the feeling between his hooves, and turning to his mother, he opened his mouth to tell her that he loved her deeply.

Instead, when he opened his mouth, a different set of words came out. "Mother, where are you?!"

Redd's eyes opened. He was drowsy, but he looked over to the fawn who cried by the Ruins. The stag stood up and walked over to the little boy, noticing that his body was emitting a strange blue glow. Still, he had to do something. "Hello there, are you lost?", Redd asked. The fawn was startled to see him there and jumped up. "No, no...I can't find my mother...", the fawn replied, his voice sounded oddly raspy.

"Oh, well maybe I can find her. Do you know her name?", Redd asked. The fawn shook his head, "I can't remember...", he replied. "Hmm...well what does she look like?", Redd asked. "She's got brown fur, little antlers on her head, and wears a brown mask.", the fawn knew the answer to that question. Great..., Redd thought to himself, That's what most does look like around here. This will be tougher than I thought. Instead, he spoke, "Alright, well we'll find her. Are you okay? Are you hungry?"

The fawn nodded his head, and Redd sniffed the air. He walked over toward an open part of the Forest, where a lone blade of grass stuck up from the snow. He dug out the grass underneath the snow, finding a nice patch that would be more than enough for the little fawn. "Over here.", Redd said to the fawn. The little one approached and began to eat from the grass, not speaking or making any sound at all. While he ate, Redd noticed that there was only one set of hoof tracks in the snow - his own. The fawn was apparently so light that he wasn't leaving any tracks. Odd..., Redd thought. "So, what is your name?", he asked the fawn. The little one looked up, "Mom never gave me one, but some of the deer call me 'Wisp', as a nickname." he answered.

Wisp sat up and asked, "The last time I remember seeing my mother, she was at De Drinkplaats. Could you come with me there?" "Of course, Wisp. I'll help you find her.", Redd replied. The fawn smiled a little, his body seemed to radiate a slightly different, greenish color. The two walked off toward the fountain, Wisp asking Redd about his scars and such.

Redd wouldn't notice that the grass that the fawn had been 'eating' remained untouched.

When they arrived at De Drinkplaats, Wisp called out for his mother again. There were a few deer standing around in a group, and they looked over toward Redd curiously. "Are you making noise over there, stag?", they asked Redd. "Me? No, I'm trying to help this fawn look for his mother. Do you know any does that have lost a fawn lately?", he questioned.

The deer all looked to one another for a moment, then back to the stag. "What fawn are you talking about?", they asked him. "His name is Wisp, he's standing right next to me.", Redd spoke. The deer tilted their heads, "You're standing over there by yourself. There isn't a fawn next to you.", they said, turning and returning to their conversation, ignoring the strange deer from then on.

"It's okay, Redd. Don't worry about them. They can't see me.", Wisp said to him. "What do you mean?", Redd asked him. The fawn let out a sigh, and then said, "They don't believe in ghosts."

The words chilled Redd's blood. No wonder Wisp wasn't leaving any tracks when he walked. No wonder his body seemed to radiate. He was a ghost! The stag stepped back for a moment, "You're dead? But...", however he couldn't finish the sentence. He was very surprised, but composing himself, he cleared his throat and continued, "How long ago was it?"

The fawn lowered his head, "A few days ago. I was playing at the Pond and one of the deer pushed me into the water. I couldn't swim, and...", he started, but then began to cry. Redd nuzzled the little one (at least the best he could, it was more like nuzzling air), saying "It's okay, you don't have to explain any further. But why are you still here? Shouldn't you be moving on to another life or something?", he asked the fawn.

"I can if I wanted to, but I wanted to tell my mother goodbye first.", Wisp said. The words touched Redd deeply, he held back a few tears before saying, "Come on, let's go find her."

"But...where could we look? I have looked everywhere for her.", Wisp questioned. Redd smiled, "Maybe Michael will know. Let's go to the Twin Gods and ask them.", he replied.

The two walked from the fountain toward the hill where the statues of Michael and Auriea resided. They were silent on the way, neither really speaking to one another, but rather thinking about how to ask the Twin Gods for help. As they walked up the hill, two deer were nearby - a praying doe and a standing stag. Redd easily recognized Michael as the stag, who was speaking to the praying doe when they approached. The doe stood and looked to them. "My baby!!", she cried, and ran to the fawn.

"Mother!!", Wisp screamed happily, and the two embraced. Wisp's body radiated from green to a bright yellow, and he continued to cry happily. Redd smiled, accomplished to see the fawn reunited. He turned to Michael, showing respect as he asked, "How did you know we were coming here?"

Michael was smiling when he replied, "She prayed for him to come here. So I granted her wish, and here you are with her fawn."

The two continued to watch the mother and her fawn embrace, the warm glow was enough to melt the snow around them. The moment was bittersweet for Redd, as Wisp was dead, but with his last request fulfilled, he could move on to a new life. He had a sudden sense of nostalgia watching them, remembering the dream he had before.

"This must be the true meaning of Christmas spirit...", Michael said, and before Redd could thank him for his help, the god vanished.

The true meaning of Christmas spirit..., the words echoed in his mind.