Blitzen's Revival
How one reindeer's worst moment would become his finest hour.
Preparing to circle the globe, Blitzen stomped his hooves on the icy ground, ready to gallop and lift off into the sky. Flying for the love of children was the best job he could ever imagine—until one small misstep set off catastrophic consequences.
Santa grunted, and Blitzen turned back to see him jostle out of his sleigh.
“Please,” Santa said, “tell the team I’ll be right back.”
Blitzen nodded and told the lineup.
All the reindeer turned their heads this way and that.
Dasher asked, “Where’s he going?”
Blitzen sighed. “I don’t know.”
“What’s he doing?” Donner asked.
“He’s probably kissing Mrs. Claus,” Cupid quipped.
A few reindeer laughed.
“Maybe he’s showering,” Vixen said.
“Or brushing his teeth,” Comet added.
“He’s Santa Claus,” Blitzen reminded. “He’s the boss.”
“Yes—that’s true,” Dancer agreed. “But—communication’s important too. Right?”
“Oh! Communication’s everything,” Prancer affirmed, “especially when the whole world’s waiting. I think you could’ve asked for a reason, Blitzen.”
“I’m fine with not knowing,” Blitzen said.
Donner chimed, “But we live in the Information Age.”
All the reindeer laughed.
“Don’t bother poor Blitzen,” Vixen said. “Remember Bangladesh?”
Years ago, a boy and girl in the urban area of Dhaka left bananas on the roof for the reindeer to enjoy while Santa helped himself to their cookies and milk in the kitchen. Blitzen lost his footing when he landed on the squishy fruit, causing all the reindeer to wipe out in the dark. Not only were the bananas too flattened to enjoy, but the accident caused considerable delay.
Back at the North Pole, Blitzen’s blizzard of apologies ended with him being moved to last place in the lineup “where we can talk,” Santa assured. But all the reindeer surmised that Santa simply wanted closer oversight and less risk. That executive decision had damaged Blitzen’s reputation over time. They all defined him as a clutz, and he had been trying to redeem himself ever since. And now, defending Santa’s untimely absence wasn’t helping his situation either.
“Hey, we’re just joking around,” Donner said. “No offense.”
“No, none at all,” Vixen agreed. “We’re jolly good before we soar!”
The reindeer laughed some more as Blitzen counted the seconds, shaking with coldness. He thought of Santa’s presence as his safe haven.
Santa hopped into the sleigh with what appeared to be his forgotten laptop. He thanked Blitzen for keeping things cool.
“Are we ready now?” Blitzen asked.
“I have to secure my computer,” Santa said. “We can’t have my spreadsheets blowing out of the sleigh at our lightning speed.”
Blitzen hesitated, thinking about the children. “So you can see who’s naughty or nice?”
Santa checked over his documents. “That’s folklore, Blitzen. There’s no such list.” He shrugged. “We can’t say Merry Christmas and then deny kids presents.”
Blitzen pondered his own situation with all the reindeer. “I think that’s right,” he told Santa. “They’re young. They don’t always know better. They deserve a pass.”
Santa smiled with unambiguous approval.
Blitzen’s heart raced. “And you—Santa. You leave the sleigh for whatever reason, and you get a pass, because—well, you are who you are. Isn’t that the way?”
“We cheer for goodness. Blitzen—the time has come. Tell everyone we’re ready.”
Blitzen turned his head forward, feeling overwhelmed with joy for the passes offered to children and Santa. At his command, all the reindeer took to the sky at Mach speeds, circling the world so many times over that they always lost count of their landings on rooftops at night across different time zones. Santa’s laptop helped ease their burden, and Blitzen maintained his steadfast belief in miracles. They touched down at home before dawn. All good.
And so everyone followed the early morning directions of Mrs. Claus since she was in charge of all things outside the sled and workshop. Instead of having hot chocolate served to each of them separately, the reindeer traditionally lined up at multiple troughs for their “Mission Accomplished” treat. Unfortunately, an exhausted Blitzen stumbled at the end of his trough to make room in the middle for his fellow reindeer, and he bumped out one of the support logs. The trough crashed down and their hot chocolate spilled out. Blitzen froze. He drew a deep breath, raised his head, and looked at everyone with apologetic eyes.
“I guess it’s true,” Blitzen said. “I’m a clutz. You see what I’ve done.”
All the reindeer turned their heads this way and that.
“But we don’t expect children to be perfect,” Dasher said.
“Right,” Donner agreed. “Kids make mistakes. We give them a pass.”
The reindeer nodded to one another.
“Santa and Mrs. Claus—they get passes too,” Cupid said.
Comet added, “For all the good they do.”
The steam continued to rise from the troughs of hot chocolate.
Dancer stomped the ground with his front hooves. “Let’s give Blitzen a pass!”
Every reindeer nodded.
“We can all use a pass from time to time,” Dasher said.
“And we don’t think you’re a clutz,” Vixen confirmed. “Things happen. So what?”
Blitzen beamed ever so brightly. “Thank you,” he said. “Thank you all.”
Cheering together, the reindeer stomped the ground with their applause.
The spilled hot chocolate was an easy cleanup for such caring reindeer, and Mrs. Claus quickly refilled the trough with extra from the kitchen. Santa rang his bell and thanked his crew for another spectacular show of unconditional love.
Maybe we can all remember the power of the pass when we say: Merry Christmas.
Thank you for your interest. Please consider liking, restacking, or sharing. Cheers!
—Sincerely, John
Also, Top in Fiction featured this post under New Voices. https://www.topinfiction.com/p/vol2-iss52 Thank you, TiF!
Really enjoyed this one.
“We can all use a pass from time to time.” Truer words were never spoken.
Aww what a lovely feel good Christmas story John. Love how modern Santa is these days with his laptop and spreadsheets, the cute reindeer & the power of the pass. Thanks for a fun festive piece that made me think but smile too. 😊