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‘Gather round, children!’ the mayor shouted. ‘Gather round to meet Father Christmas! Have you all been good this year?’

Charlotte squeezed Jacob’s hand. ‘We did it,’ she said.

‘Thanks to you,’ Jacob said, but Charlotte shook her head.

‘It was a collective effort,’ she said. ‘Things always work out best when people work together. Ah … Jacob … can I talk to you about something?’

‘Sure.’

She led him away into the churchyard. Around the back, she spotted a bench beneath some trees that had been cleared of snow. She sat down beside him and took his hands in hers, feeling the warmth of his hands through his gloves.

‘Jacob … there’s something I need to tell you.’

‘Ah … sure. Am I going to like it?’

‘I … don’t know. You see … a long time ago, something bad happened to me on Christmas Eve. I was only three years old, so I don’t remember much about it, but there was a crash. Both my parents died.’

‘I know,’ he said. ‘You’ve told me before.’

‘Not everything.’ She shook her head. ‘I’ve never really mourned them because I have no memory of them, and Grandma was so wonderful … she gave me a childhood I don’t regret for a moment. But that night … I saw something in the sky, and I knew everything was going to be all right.’

‘A police helicopter?’

Charlotte couldn’t help but smile. ‘No … but looking back, I suppose it might have been. But from that day, and ever after, I’ve been sure that I saw him.’

‘You mean….’

‘Yes.’

‘Father Christmas?’

‘Flying across the sky. He’s real, Jacob. I know because I saw him.’

He was quiet for a moment, and Charlotte watched his face, illuminated in the moonlight that lit the clear night. What would he say? Would he tell her he thought she was crazy?

‘Maybe you did,’ he said at last.

‘What? You really think so?’

He shrugged. ‘I think there’s room for a little magic in the world, isn’t there? And who am I to question what you believe? If you believe you saw Father Christmas that night, then maybe you did.’ He pointed up to the sky. ‘See those lights? Maybe that’s him now. It’s about the right time, isn’t it?’

Charlotte looked up at a set of lights moving across the night sky. ‘That’s probably James’s helicopter.’

Jacob smiled and shook his head. ‘No, I think that’s Father Christmas. But talking of James … what was it you wanted to tell me?’

Charlotte squeezed his hands and leaned close. ‘Well, it is Christmas, isn’t it?’