"What's different about this blend?" asked a young man, picking up a bag of coffee beans. Covered in dust, except for the bright orange clearance sticker, it simply said North Pole, in shiny gold letters.
"Let's see... I've had everything in this sale bin in the back for at least a decade. Extra inventory and leftover specialty blends mostly. But I can assure you, despite the age they're still superb. I've kept them in a climate controlled room," the shopkeeper announced proudly.
"I don't remember this one. But looking at the name, I would say it should be excellent as a mocha," he replied.
"I'll take it! And three bags of the clearance premium espresso. Then I can call my Christmas shopping done," the young man said with satisfaction.
"I've bought my mom, sister, and uncle espresso machines, grinders, coffee makers, flavors, and mugs," he explained with a smile.
"I'm sure it'll be one of their favorite presents," the shopkeeper replied happily, as he rang up the purchase.
"My little sister's going to love that North Pole blend. She still sits in front of the TV sipping cocoa, while watching Christmas cartoons every year. I'm not even sure if she ever stopped believing in Santa," he laughed.
A slight frown crossed the old man's face, but was gone in an instant. "Now that I think about it, maybe I should just keep that bag. I don't remember where it came from, and can't guarantee its flavor," he suggested smoothly.
"Oh, I'm sure it's perfect. Those specialty coffees are usually of the highest quality," he replied putting the grocery bags on his arm.
"Thanks again, Sir, and merry Christmas," he said as he left.
"That couldn't be one of the bags from them, could it?" whispered the shopkeeper worriedly to himself, as he stood behind the counter.
The coffee sets were a success. In particular, Miss Sheila Lissette was thrilled with hers.
"Oh, Duncan, it's perfect! Everything I need to make the best mocha, coffee, and hot chocolate of my life," gushed Sheila, as she threw her arms around her grinning brother.
"Well I was going to give them out tomorrow morning, but I figured why not let Christmas morning start off right? And I know you'll be wanting cocoa tonight when you watch TV," Duncan said to his sister, careful not to laugh.
"You know me too well," she admitted with a giggle.
Several hours later:
"North Pole. How appropriate for watching Rudolph," Sheila said aloud, as she ground the beans.
"Mmmm. They smell perfect," she thought as she inhaled the fine grounds.
Once the mocha was ready, she took it in the living room, and settled on the couch. She took the first sip just as the Christmas music began to play.
"Rudolph is so cute...I wish I could see him in real life," she said smiling.
A few seconds later, the room began to fold and pop. Confused, she sat up straight. "Could this be what an earthquake feels like?" she wondered.
Slowly the room came back together. It was no longer her tiny but modern efficiency apartment. Instead, she was sitting in a hard chair, in front of a heavy, rough hewn table.
"Where am I?" wondered Sheila, as she looked down. Instead of beige carpet, there was fluffy golden straw. The room was small, and most of it was taken up by the table, and a small bed, also made of roughly hewn wood.
Still holding her mug, Sheila stood. The door was only a couple of steps away. "Oh, my!" she gasped when she opened it a crack, and saw two neat rows of stalls.
Each stall contained one reindeer. "They're huge!" was her first thought, having always imagined them being small and cuddly. In reality, they were more like a majestic elk than a tiny fawn.
At the very end one of the animals stared at her, and snorted loudly. His entire muzzle began to glow a warm, soft red. "That's impossible..." Sheila gasped, as she realized that she was very likely locking eyes with the real Rudolph. And that it was more than his nose that glowed, it was a good portion of his head!
One step at a time, she made her way towards him. Once she was within reach, she felt the top of his nose. It was warm, but no more than a horse's might be.
"Hello, my name is Zip," a small, childlike voice said next to her.
She jumped, but quickly realized that she had nothing to fear. The creature had pointed ears which moved in much the same way as a German Shepherd's might. But otherwise, he had the appearance of an eight year old child.
"I have to get them ready, would you like to help?" the elf asked solemnly.
Too stunned to speak, she nodded.
The leather harness was heavy and awkward, but after some trial and error Sheila felt like an old hand. And the reindeer were patient, even shifting around to help the process along.
"Thank you very much for the help. Now it's time for you to go home," announced Zip.
"How?" she asked, the question never having entered her mind.
Just take a drink, and wish yourself home," replied Zip.
"Goodbye Zip, I will try to come back again, if that's okay?" she asked, taking one last look around.
"Of course, I love company," he replied with a smile.
Sheila picked up a small handful of the soft straw strewn about the floor, then put her mug to her lips.
"I wish I was back in my living room," she whispered, regretting each word.
Once the folding and popping stopped, she found herself sitting on her own couch, holding a few pieces of straw.
"Best Christmas gift ever, Duncan," Sheila whispered with a smile.
Cover image made in Canva Pro using their gallery