Everpresent Radiance

“Who’s that fella over there?” asked one of the rabbits.

“Not sure. I’ve never seen him before,” replied a deer.

“Well, he kind of looks like you… except for, well, you know,” a squirrel chimed in.

“Yeah… what’s the deal with that?” asked another deer.

“And what’s he doing here? Was he invited?” inquired a chipmunk.

“Hey, it’s Molly’s party,” said the first deer. “She may know him.”

The woodland animals had no idea what to make of this mysterious guest. He just wandered into the clearing, where they were holding a birthday party for their friend Molly. This had been a tradition in their little corner of the woods for as long as the animals could remember. It was always their quaint little group of friends. This party was for their group, and their group alone.

Now, none of the animals were specifically against additional guests joining them - but they were creatures of habit, animals easily thrown off by disruptions of their routines and traditions. And this guest? Well, he was throwing them all into a tizzy.

Had it been just another typical woodland critter, that would have been one thing. But this guy was distinctly different. At first glance, he looked like any old deer. But his nose… his nose… Well, it glowed a bright red. Constantly. Nonstop. Everpresent radiance. None of the animals had ever seen anything like this before. It was startling and strange and weird and even a little scary, especially to the smaller animals. 

“We should talk to him,” suggested a rabbit. “Find out who he is and what he’s doing here.”

“1-2-3 not it!” exclaimed another rabbit.

The last animal to respond, possibly because he didn’t understand the game, was an older deer named Ted. This worked out well for the creatures, as Ted was well-known as the wisest and most thoughtful of all animals in the forest. If anyone could get to the bottom of this, it was Ted.

However, Ted, while wise, was not always particularly open to anything new. He’d been in the woods his entire life, and liked things the way they were. He had his friends, his home, his snacks, his quiet place to reflect alone. He didn’t say it, but when he saw this bright-nosed stranger, he only saw trouble.

The stranger was picking at a small pile of snacks - acorns and buckeyes - laid out on a log. He was humming to himself an unknown tune, something about reindeer games. Ted approached with caution.

“You there,” he commanded. “Who are you?”

“Hello! My name’s Rudolph,” replied the stranger.

“Rudolph?” Ted seemed to be playing with the word in his mouth, trying to get a feel for it. “Rudolph.”

“Yep, that’s me!” he replied cheerfully.

“And what are you doing here?”

The stranger looked embarrassed. “Well… I’m a little lost. I’m trying to make my way back up north, to home. And I got a little turned around. You see, I can’t fly until Christmas Eve next week, and…”

“FLY?” repeated a startled Ted. “Deer cannot fly.”

“Well, I can. Back home, all reindeer can fly. I’m not really sure how and why, but we can.”

“Nonsense. You’re talking nonsense.”

“No, we really…”

“And your nose?” interrupted Ted. “Why is it red? And why does it GLOW?”

Rudolph chuckled to himself. “I’m not really sure why, to be honest. I was just born this way. But it’s actually proven to be helpful! Every Christmas…”

“Nonsense. Nonsense. It’s shocking you haven’t been shot by a hunter thanks to that nose.”

“Yeah, I guess so. We don’t have too many hunters up north, but I guess you have a point. So, great party, huh?”

“Does Molly know you’re here?” demanded Ted.

“Molly? Not sure who that is.”

“This is Molly’s party. She throws it every year, to celebrate her birthday every December. She won’t be happy we have an intruder among us.”

“I don’t really see myself as an intruder. Just a lost little red-nosed reindeer is all.” Rudolph gave his nose a wiggle, and the red light flickered rapidly. 

Ted backed away in horror. “Nonsense, I tell you. Complete nonsense.”

The old deer meandered away, muttering to himself following this encounter with this weirdo.

For the next hour, the animals kept their distance from this odd stranger. He kept himself occupied by snacking on berries and humming his tunes, singing random words like “dasher” and “vixen”.

At no point did Molly, the party’s host, make an appearance. The animals became increasingly concerned that the appearance of this Rudolph guy coincided with the disappearance of the birthday girl. Did this ruby-nosed reindeer do something to their dear friend Molly?

Eventually, the other animals began approaching this Rudolph character. Each time they were met with plenty of unbridled cheer and enthusiasm, but few answers.

One rabbit learned that there were actually MORE reindeer out there that could fly. This Rudolph seemed to be the only one with a red shiny nose however.

A chipmunk observed that a bearded old man named Santa was affiliated with this odd duck. 

A deer - not Ted - was shocked to learn that humans fall under two categories: naughty or nice. In her experience most humans were definitely naughty. 

A little squirrel was intrigued by the idea of people getting presents - assuming they were nice that year. He secretly felt that a creature who delivers beautifully-wrapped gifts can’t possibly be BAD, can he?

Ted tried again, emphatically demanding to know the location of their friend Molly. Rudolph didn’t know, but he offered to help find her.

As a racoon was quizzing Rudolph about the role of mysterious little elves in this strange holiday called Christmas, the animals heard a faint cry for help.

All perked up. All got quiet, listening more intently. 

Then another cry. Was it? YES. It was Molly!

The animals - and their new party guest - sprung into action, frantically and fearlessly running towards the source of the cries. Molly was in trouble!

Minutes later, they found Molly - hanging upside down by her hind legs by a rope from a tall tree! It seemed that Molly had stumbled upon a primitive trap, surely set by those often-naughty humans. 

How on earth would they get Molly down? She was too high up, and the rope hung too low from its branch for a climbing critter to easily un-knot it. Even the old wise Ted was stumped. Poor Molly was trapped.

These animals had never heard the word “Christmas” before tonight, but at this moment, a Christmas Miracle occurred. Despite it not being yet Christmas Eve, Rudolph felt something change deep inside him. He knew he alone had the ability to help Molly, to return her safely to her woodland friends. His nose flickered with excitement. He looked down at his hooves, as they slowly rose off the ground.

As the other animals witnessed what was happening, they were overcome with terror. This strange reindeer was FLYING! He rose higher and higher, first slowly then with more urgency. He seemed surprised himself - briefly - and then found a sense of calm.

He smiled at his new friends. They wondered: was it the smile of a friend, of a savior… or a sinister smile of a devil deer sent here to destroy them all in a sea of red illumination?

Rudolph continued to rise up and up - and toward the dangling Molly the rabbit. He hovered, midair, next to the rabbit, and began to unknot the rope with his teeth. The shiny red nose sure helped him see the knot. 

The animals began to calm. Was this stranger helping her? It did seem that way.

After a minute, Rudolph unknotted the rope and eased Molly onto his back. He slowly, carefully lowered himself down to the ground, kneeling down to let Molly safely onto the snow. 

As the other animals watched in shock, Molly looked at her rescuer. Sure, she was a little scared of this stranger. But she was mostly grateful - and gave the reindeer a hug bigger than any bearhug ever given by any bear in these woods. 

Upon seeing this, one by one all the other animals - even Ted - approached Rudolph to thank him for saving their friend. The smaller animals even asked him to flicker his nose, and to do some mid-air flips - which he found himself now unable to do. The magic was gone, for now at least. It would return on Christmas Eve in time for his flight around the world. 

The animals continued their party, and happily welcomed Rudolph. They taught him hide and seek, and he taught them reindeer games. They shared more snacks, and he taught them Christmas carols. He even showed them how to roast chestnuts over an open fire, and explained the rules of mistletoe. 

The next morning, Rudolph continued his way back up north. He promised to return next year, hinting that he may even bring some presents for his new friends. The animals escorted him to the river, and pointed him due north. He left with a flicker of the nose and continued on his way.

And about a week later, on a dark snowy night, the animals were talking and snacking and playing games, and Molly found herself looking up to the sky. Now, maybe it was her imagination, but she chose to believe - she saw a faint red light soaring through the sky about the woods. She smiled to herself, knowing far above them her new friend was surely smiling too.