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dogwoodmaple · 01-01-2024, 04:13 AM

Link to Part 1

They didn't move an inch until Dogwood's driver, the jolly, rotund Delta employee with a large white beard got out of the car and approached the herd. Police yelled at him to get back in his car and that they had things under control, but he continued towards the reindeer who suddenly all started paying attention to him. They stopped their movements altogether and stared at Dogwood's driver. He walked up to the biggest buck in the herd who had to have antlers that spanned a good four feet and whispered something in his ear.

Then, all of the sudden, the large buck seemed to nod his head and the entire herd ran off into the woods.

"It was unbelievable," Dogwood said, "and everybody on the highway was in awe of my driver. People threw their arms around him, hugged him, and were all incredibly thankful. I guess since it was the holidays, everyone was dying to get home and this traffic jam was causing all sorts of problems."

Once the reindeer galloped off into the woods and the traffic began to thin out, Dogwood continued on his journey to try and make it home before it got too late. Luckily, there wasn't very much traffic on I-75 and they were making great time. That is, until, on the side of the road the Dogwood noticed a large, dilapidated cabin that looked like it was from the 19th century. The most remarkable part about the cabin was the enormous stone chimney that, unlike the rundown cabin, was seemingly in immaculate condition.

"When I say this chimney was incredible, I mean it looked like a miniature skyscraper made of stacked stone and it looked about two hundred years newer than the house itself. When I pointed it out to Nicholas, that's the driver Delta guy, I thought he was going to run off the road," Dogwood explained.

In fact, Nicholas did pull the car over near the chimney and muttered something to himself

'Almost time' he said, as he nodded slightly and smiled.

Nicholas and Dogwood then got back on the highway and continued to barrel towards home. With only about 15 minutes left in their journey, Nicholas asked Dogwood if he was alright with a quick pit stop. Nicholas explained that he had a long drive back and was running low on gas and he'd like to go ahead and fill up the tank now.

"I didn't care at all, of course. I mean, this guy was giving me a free ride home right before Christmas so I told him wherever he wanted to stop for gas was good enough for me. But the strangest thing happened when we pulled up to a QuikTrip. When he got out to pump the gas he asked if I could help him with some boxes in the trunk. He was on the older side, so I gladly helped. When we popped the trunk there must've been five or fix large bankers boxes that were heavy as lead. As I picked one up to move it to the backseat, the lid slid off one and I saw what was inside - paper. Well not just paper, but it looked to be a list of some kind. It was in sets of two columns with first and last names covering every single sheet, front and back. The top of the pages had some large calligraphy that I didn't get a great look at, but there were definitely two columns worth of names on everything. I asked Nicholas what exactly they were and he just laughed, shook his head, and told me that I wouldn't believe him if he told me."

The true nature of these lists ate at Maple the rest of the drive and it bothered him something awful that he couldn't figure out what was going on with Nicholas.

When the pair finally pulled into Dogwood's house, Nicholas leapt out to help him with his luggage as they walked up to the front door. As Dogwood opened up the front door and started to step inside he was greeted by his dad where they exchanged a big hug. His dad asked him if he took an Uber from the airport and Dogwood answered, no, that someone from Delta drove him home as he turned back to point out the driver to his dad.

To Dogwood's astonishment, Nicholas was gone.

"It was unreal. I probably had my back turned for five seconds and Nicholas, the car, everything seemingly vanished. My dad thought I was pulling his leg when i told him, but I tried to explain everything. He just laughed," Dogwood said.

After some reminiscing with family that night, the Maple crew decided they would do a Christmas brunch the next day on the local town square. The plan was relatively typical for something like this - to see the lights, the tree, decorations, the whole nine yards. When the morning came everyone piled into a couple of cars and headed for some delicious french toast, mimosas, and scrambled eggs. After they wrapped up their meal, they decided to walk to the middle of the town square with all of the nieces, nephews, grandkids, and the younger kids and go see the town Santa Claus.

When their group approached the Santa setup, Dogwood had the most unbelievable reaction. He was fairly certain he recognized the Santa.

"I know you're not going to believe this, but the Santa was Nicholas. The Delta employee guy who drove me home. I can't say 100%, but I'd say I'm about 97% sure that's who was wearing the red and white suit complete with the hat and black boots. I was so convinced of it that I decided to wait in line with the other kids just to get the chance to thank Nicholas for driving me home the other day. When I was about 10 people back from the front, I finally caught eyes with the Santa and he gave me a joyful wink, which is what clinched it for me. It was him. He recognized me and I took that as gospel so I didn't want to bother him," Dogwood said.

Then it all started to click for Dogwood.

Long white beard. Rotund, joyful older gentleman. Had a fascination with chimneys. Had an incredibly long list in the back of his car. And he certainly owns at least one Santa suit. Named Nicholas.

Could it really be?

No way, Dogwood thought to himself. But it didn't stop him from wondering if he just had the most bizarre experience ever known to mankind.

Would anyone believe this tale? Who knows for certain, but it definitely capped off a wild holiday trip for Dogwood and his family.

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