Book Six: Chapter 164

“I suspected as much.” The man helped her stand, then brushed some ice from his beard. For just a moment, those fine white curls had looked like something else as they twisted before her. “You had to sacrifice much to be here, but I’m sure glad you did.”

“Did...did I die?” The thought hardly bothered her. After all, she was just now aware that she was alive.

“You didn’t.” He patted her affectionately on the shoulder. “But you aren’t the person you used to be, either.”

“I’m not?”

“No. But isn’t that the truth of growing up? We’re never the same person all the time. You’re just less you than you used to be, but more you than ever.” He smiled. “I’m Santa, by the way.”

“Where is this place?” She looked up at the sky. “What are those?”

“This is the North Pole,” he proclaimed with a smile. “And those lights above us are the spirits of the north. Well, and something to do with the sun, apparently. I don’t understand it, no matter how often they explain i