Lacey stood side by side with Peter, looking out over the Wasteland. In the bright Gatherday sun, it had its own wild beauty. Flowing ripples of unblemished snow ran across the surface, stretching into the Wasteland and fading toward the far-off craggy mountains. The sunlight spilled over the gently shaped waves, creating a mix of purest whites and icy shadows that flowed along the ridges in a soft, multi-tonal panorama.

  Breathing out in awe at the vastness before her, she said, ‘Where do we start?’ What she didn’t say was, How do we even find a little elf like Jinxy in all of this? It felt overwhelming, and yet she knew they had to start somewhere.

  ‘Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,’ Peter said. ‘Obviously, we cannot check every inch of the snow-covered ground. But, what we can do, is look for disturbances in the snow. In some ways we’re lucky – the snowfall has been gentle over the past few days, only adding a light layer to the deeper snow. So, if she went into the Wasteland, we should still be able to see where her footsteps had disturbed the snow.’

  ‘Makes sense,’ Lacey nodded. ‘Additionally, we don’t have to go in very far. She had to have come from this direction, so the beginning of her trail should also be around here.’

  ‘And, because no-one ever goes in, we don’t have to wonder about whose trail it might be if we find one,’ Peter added. ‘So, we’ll be doing a simplified grid search, so we can cover every part of our search area without missing gaps. We’ll start here on the north-eastern edge of the village, walking ten steps apart from each other, and moving straight down the eastern edge until we reach the south-eastern edge. Then we move ten steps further in and repeat. We’ll do this five times. That should be plenty deep enough to see if she entered the Wasteland, while still being close enough to the village to run back if we hear the abominable snowman.’

  ‘All right, I’m ready,’ Lacey agreed. ‘What am I looking for in the snow?’

  ‘See how flat and even the waves in the snow lie? We’ll be looking for a set of slightly hollowed dimples in it, likely heading outward in a roughly straight line.’

  Following his plan, they got started. They walked slowly, with no conversation, concentrating on the patterns in the snow like it meant the difference between life and death. Because it did.

  The first pass revealed nothing. The second pass even less. By the time they got to the third pass, Lacey began feeling jittery. They should’ve seen something by now. Where would Jinxy have gone, if not here? The snow stayed perfectly even, perfectly white, not a single ridge disturbed. She kept scanning the surface, forcing herself to focus even more intensely.

  Halfway through the fourth pass, a small tremor ran under their feet. They both froze, meeting each other’s eyes. Peter raised a finger to his mouth, and Lacey nodded. Staying completely still, they watched, and listened. For a moment nothing further happened. Then, there was a soft, faraway rumble. In the distance a mound of snow collapsed from a distant cliff, the shifting snow sending up a spray of mist into the air. All grew quiet again.

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  Peter motioned for them to continue. Slowly they began walking again. Lacey tried to shift back into her focused state, but it was a struggle. The tremor and avalanche in the eastern cliffs had been stark reminder that they weren’t alone out here. That they were intruding in the territory of a terrifying beast. She tried to keep her eyes on the ground, but find herself nervously checking the cliffs every now and again as they continued.

  They turned, and started the fifth and final pass. She could tell that Peter was nervous too. Every now and again he cast a wary glance toward the east. Step by step they were getting closer to the end of their defined search area. In the distance the terrifying call of a beast sounded, followed by a heavy boom. They froze again. Another slight tremor ran under their feet. But this time the threat was even further away. Aside from the noise and the rippling of the ground, there were no signs of any other disturbance.

  Peter stepped forward, waving for her to follow. They moved faster now, searching less carefully. They were deeper into the plains of the Wasteland than was strictly safe, and they needed to get done and out. Finally, they reached the last edge, back on the north-eastern side. There was no need to talk. They turned back to the village and hurried down the boundary line as fast as they could.

  Her breath was huffing in and out of her mouth from the exertion, but she didn’t stop. A well-honed instinct inside her refused to even consider the possibility of rest, taking control of her feet and moving her forward. They moved faster until they were jogging at a light pace. The village cottages came closer. Finally, they sprinted across the eastern village boundary. They were safe.

  Lacey doubled over, resting her hands on her knees as she recovered her breath. Peter didn’t go through that trouble, falling over like a human log into the snow and lying there. She gave him a look, stared down at her knees, and then followed his example, plopping down face first into the snow.

  After a while, she flipped over to her back, and looked up at the sky, her breath recovering. They were under a tree. Lacey blinked up at the branches, in full leaf and bearing plump, golden pears.

  ‘Hey look,’ she said to Peter. ‘This is where I appeared the first day.’

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I found you right over there. You thought you weren’t an elf and I carried you to Mathilda’s.’

  They didn’t speak of what was not found in the Wasteland. They knew, and they also knew the implications of it.

  A distant honk sounded. Lacey frowned, she hadn’t heard that noise here before. High up in the sky, a speckle of white patches approached. As they neared the village, the honking sounds became more frequent.

  ‘What’s that?’ she asked.

  Peter was also watching the approaching flock. ‘Want to guess?’ he asked. ‘I bet you know.’

  Lacey frowned, thinking it over. She’d seen so many birds since she’d arrived in the village. First the two turtle doves almost gave her a heart attack, then she had helped Melo get the three French hens back into their chicken coop, and then the far calling birds were singing outside her window when she had woken up one day. Making the connection, she smiled. ‘It’s the six geese a-laying, coming here for Christmas.’

  Proving her words, the flock began circling down over the village, extending their feet to land. ‘But it’s winter,’ she said. ‘Geese migrate to warmer parts. What are they doing here?’

  ‘All part of the Christmas magic,’ Peter said, smiling.

  Lacey didn’t argue. If a golden-pear tree can survive in the snow in full bloom and bearing fruits, then six geese probably could too. She closed her eyes, moving her arms and legs to make a snow angel, so she would also have wings.

  And then she gasped, sitting bolt upright. ‘Peter, there’s something’s missing!’

  ??????

  Lacey’s noticed something missing… Did you spot what it is?