At the North Pole in November, a new postal carrier put eight large sacks of letters in Santa’s mailbox. She had no idea how they all fit, or how they were easy for her to lift. Magical things just seemed to happen in early winter near Santa’s Workshop. She bumped the top of the mailbox with the last bag. The impact dislodged an old letter that had been stuck a long, long time.

At 74-year-old Chester’s house on Christmas Eve, everything was quiet. That was good, because Chester was irritable and cranky and liked it quiet. He lived alone and had no family. He had gotten himself a puppy when he retired, but his dog Buddy had passed away from old age the previous month. Before bed, Chester had a few shots of schnapps remembering his furry companion. He dearly missed the lazy, but devoted old mutt. Chester was cranky and irritable because he had no one.

When he walked to the bathroom on Christmas morning, he nearly tripped over the large red and green gift on the floor. He saw a nicely decorated Christmas tree to his right, with tinsel, blinking lights, and dozens of colorful ornaments on it. He hadn’t had a Christmas tree since the one he helped his father cut when he was a teenager. On the coffee table to his left, in front of his favorite chair, he saw a candy cane on top of a handwritten note. After finishing up in the bathroom, he had a seat and read it.

“Dear Chester, I’m glad you believed enough to write, even at the age of 14. I’m sorry that it took your letter 60 years to reach me. You’ve been a good boy and very patient, so you get a gift that will make you very happy.

Merry Christmas!

Santa Claus”

Chester wondered who cared enough to break into his house, to play this prank on him. He wondered where the TV cameras were. He looked around but discovered no cameras. The doors were shut and locked. The snow and ice on the windowsills showed nobody had used them as entry points.

He touched the large, nearly cube-shaped gift and could feel it was a cardboard box wrapped in colored paper. A thin silver ribbon was wrapped around it, and there was an ornate bow on top. He pushed a corner a little and could tell its weight was substantial. He didn’t want to risk lifting it with his bad back. He got a pair of scissors and cut the ribbon, then removed the lid slowly.

Inside the box a girl snored quietly, as she slept curled nearly in a ball. Somebody gave him a child! He’d never had any children and didn’t like them. Kids were loud, stinky, and broke things. He wondered why the girl wore all-green clothing, including her pointed hat. He saw the tops of her ears came to points too, like a cat’s. It was hard to guess her age, but he thought she was the size of an early high-schooler.

The girl moved a bit and looked up at him with her eyes less than half open. She yawned and mumbled, “Coffee, we need ... some coffee.” She jingled the bell atop her hat with a finger, and two steaming cups of coffee appeared on the table! She sipped hers and said, “Go ahead. You look like you need some too.”

He was stunned a moment, then took a sip. He wondered how she knew he liked his very strong, with lots of sugar. He thought the added bit of peppermint flavor was nice.

The girl took the candy cane from the table and unwrapped it. “I’ve been trying to quit, but it’s really hard.” She held the candy cane to her lips, puffed deeply, then exhaled a cloud of snowflakes. They fell slowly and melted when they touched the floor. Chester smiled and chuckled as he smelled more peppermint.

He finally asked the obvious question, “Who are you?”

“I’m Delphine, Delphine Greene. There’s a serious lack of names containing “Elf”, so there’s also a Delphine Red, a Delphine Silver, a Delphine Gold ... but you’re Chester Davidson, because your father was a fan of President Chester Arthur. I’m you’re gift, Chester.”

“And, um ... How old are you?”

She giggled, “It’s not polite to ask a lady her age, but older than you think. Older than you.”

“But you look like you’re only fifteen or so.”

“If you don’t believe me, here’s a picture of my first day as one of Santa’s helpers.”

In the black and white photo, she handed a paper-wrapped package to a little boy about 5 years old, who was holding a woman’s hand. Most of the people in the photo wore formal and very old-fashioned clothing.