Second Star

This holiday season I was able to take part in an anthology of different short stories and poems called Second Star. Below is an excerpt of the story I wrote. If you want to read more download the whole anthology here:  SecondStar

Reindeer Games

By Dawn Brock

I knew I would be one of the chosen to pull Santa’s sleigh. When he called my name, I puffed up my chest and pranced over to where the others were. My mother cried, and my father stood taller than he ever had before. It was perfect.

Our first flight, however, wasn’t perfect. The eight of us stood stamping our feet in the snow for hours before Santa graced us with his presence. Finally, he began to harness us to the sleigh, calling us over one by one.

“Vixen,” he called, but I pretended not to hear him. Instead, I continued to pick at the hay some elves had left out for us.

I heard the crunch of his boots as he walked over to me. “Come on Vixen,” he said placing his hand on the back of my neck and stroking softly. “We can’t do this without you.”

I ducked my head slightly before gently nuzzling Santa’s shoulder with my chin. I would do anything for this man, so I allowed him to lead me back to the sleigh. He placed me in the middle of the pack, but I was sure in time I would be in the front where I belonged.

Once we were all harnessed to the sleigh, we took off. It was a disaster. We crashed before we made it ten feet into the air.