“Sparkles, do you see anything?†asked Mandy. Sweat poured from his brow despite the cold wind. His hands ached from holding the rope. He was glad for his gloves. “Nope,†came the reply from the darkness. “Still looking…†“Well, hurry up, we don’t have much time!†Sparkles grunted. “Don’t rush me now. It’s hard to see, and I’m hanging upside down here. And this is your fault anyway. I’m only doing this to save Christmas.†Mandy sighed. “I know, I know. But it was an accident… really! I didn’t mean to drop it. And you‘re smaller than me,†He lied. “I can‘t fit into the chimney.†He felt the rope holding Sparkles twist and jerk a bit. “You know, Santa does this sort of thing all the time. He’s much bigger than you.†“Yeah, but I have a fear of heights.†Mandy let the rope out a bit to drop Sparkles further down. He heard a yelp at the other end. “Sorry!!†Sparkles sighed loudly. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. Refresh my memory… how did you lose it again? “Ummm, well, you see, I took the sleigh to polish it.†Mandy felt uncomfortable. He must be the stupidest elf in the world. “And so I brought it to my shop and got it all shiny. I repainted the trim and fixed a hole in the upholstery. That’s when I saw it mounted on the dashboard. It was all shiny with a colorful screen and buttons to push. I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to see what it would be like to be, you know, our boss… just for a minute.†He paused for effect. “So I climbed up to the top beside the chimney and pointed it towards the stars. That’s when it happened.†“What happened? Sparkle’s voice echoed from below. “It talked to me! The lady’s voice startled me, I thought it was “the Mrs.†and I dropped it. It bounced… into the chimney and down.†The wind blew colder now. They were at the North Pole after all, and even though he wore thick red boots, Mandy’s toes hurt from standing in the deep snow. He wiggled them to be sure they still functioned. Sparkles grumbled something, and it wasn’t very Christmas like. Then he said “Wait a minute, I think I see it. Lower me a little more…†Mandy let the rope slide a bit through his gloves. “Yeah, that’s it,†came Sparkles’ voice. “Ughh…. I got it! Now pull me up!†Mandy yanked on the rope. He grimaced as he tugged, struggling to keep a grip while going hand over hand to get Sparkles out of the chimney. When Sparkles emerged , his clothes and face were covered in soot. Sparkles triumphantly held the unit in his hand and waved it about. “Thank you, thank you!†Mandy jumped up and down. “You saved the day!†“Sparkles and Mandy!†boomed a voice from behind. He had appeared on the roof, so nimble and quick. They gasped at the sight of their boss, old Saint Nick. “My goodness, young elves, why all the clatter? I came here to see just what was the matter.†He chewed on his pipe and paused for a time; he waited for them to confess to their crime. “You tromped on my roof like you hadn’t a care. You gave my poor wife such a terrible scare!†He crossed his arms then cocked his head. He smile a bit, but his cheeks were all red. The elves looked at each other. Mandy spoke first. “It’s my fault, sir. I lost your GPS… I… I dropped it into your chimney by accident, and Sparkles had to retrieve it. I know you use it to find all the houses. I’m so sorry for the trouble.†He hung his head down. Santa bellowed a hearty “Ho, Ho, Ho!†and his belly jiggled. “Don’t fret, my dear Mandy. I know your heart‘s true. You meant nothing naughty; you know what to do. You tried to make right, and Sparkles helped too. I‘m thankful to have such good elves as you!†He paused then to wink and held out his hand. Sparkles looked at the GPS and twisted his face. The cracked screen was black. He shuffled over to Santa and dropped it into his palm. Santa stared at it for a full minute. His checks turned redder. His eyes lost some of their twinkle. “You know, even if I don’t have a GPS it will be okay. I used to go all around the world with only the stars to guide me. Plus, the reindeer are pretty smart.†Beep, beep, beep. Santa looked at his watch. “Oops, time to go! I have presents to deliver!†He didn’t even look at the elves. Instead, he muttered, “Well, at least this will be a holiday to remember!“ He laid his finger aside his nose, gave a nod, and dropped into the chimney where he disappeared in a flash. Mandy felt relieved. Everything was going to be okay. Christmas would be okay. His toes would soon be warm again. Sparkles punched Mandy in the arm. “You crazy elf, Santa lost his rhyme. You’ve really done it now big time! If all goes well, we‘ll be okay. If he gets lost, he‘ll dock our pay. †And with that, he stomped off leaving a trail of soot behind him on the roof. Mandy laughed at Sparkles’ rhyming. He rushed over to give him a comforting hug. In the darkness, they heard Santa let out a whistle. They looked up to see the sleigh with eight tiny reindeer rise high into the sky. Only the wind could hear Santa mutter to himself as he took a wrong turn by the moon to his first destination. Word count: 970 Inspiration: Christmas has become a time where we give each other gifts like iPods and Gameboys and other techie type stuff. So I thought by now Santa would have gotten a GPS to find all the houses and have a cell phone to call his elves and so on. So I thought what would happen if Santa lost his GPS and that led me to write this story. I was also inspired by The Night Before Christmas poem.