EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Chapter 7 of a 12-part fictional Christmas tale. Parents are encouraged to read aloud with their children.

It hadn’t been hard to find Rosie’s cherished little stuffed dog. He’d been right where they’d last seen him — slightly squashed from being shoved behind so many boxes, but no worse for wear.

Anna wanted to return Scruffy in person, but Tyler convinced her to turn him into the customer service desk.

“Think how happy she’ll be to get that phone call,” he said. “If we tried to return it ourselves, how would we ever explain how we knew it was hers?”

“Magic?” Anna quipped, but she knew Tyler was right. The woman behind the desk had promptly called Rosie’s mom, and even across the desk Anna could hear Rosie’s squeals of happiness in the background.

Now, Anna and Tyler stood yet again in the storeroom of The Book Secret, looking up at the shiny black door. Every time they came here, she worried the door would have disappeared forever. But clearly they still had joy that needed to be spread, so she reached up and clicked the fancy knocker against the door.

When it opened, they stepped through into a winter wonderland. Fluffy white snowflakes drifted from the sky, blanketing the ground in a shimmering carpet of white.

“It’s Misty Creek Park,” Anna said, spinning around to take in the sight of the small park in the center of town, decorated in all its holiday glory. “But I don’t know when this is … when it snowed the other day, it all fell overnight.”

Tyler shrugged. “Never mind that. How in the world are we supposed to know who we’re looking for?”

Anna frowned, glancing around the crowded park. Dozens of people were skating at the ice rink on the far end of the park, and kids were running around throwing snowballs, building snowpeople, and sled riding down the hill next to the skating rink. In the center of the park, a small gazebo was beautifully decorated with green garlands and poinsettias, and a man sat alone inside.

Something about him was familiar, and she took a few steps closer, drawn to him in a way she couldn’t explain.

“I think it’s him,” she said, pointing the man out to Tyler.

Tyler’s eyes widened. “Old Mr. Banks? Anna, I’m pretty sure he’s the person who coined the phrase ‘get off my lawn.’ He hates everyone and everything, he can’t be the one we’re here to help.”

Anna just shrugged, heading across the snowy lawn to the gazebo. Now that Tyler had said something, she wasn’t sure how she hadn’t recognized Mr. Banks. It was true that he hated kids getting near his house; they’d all learned early on that if a ball was accidentally kicked into his yard, it may as well be gone forever.

He seemed to spend most of his days here at the park, sitting in the gazebo or during the warmer months, on one of the benches along the pond feeding the ducks. People tended to keep their distance from him, and it always seemed he encouraged that.

Even though she knew he couldn’t see her, she was nervous walking up to him. She took a seat next to him as he pulled out a crumpled, well-read letter.

Mr. Banks softly ran a finger over the letter, not reading it but seeming to find comfort from simply holding it. Trying to erase the twinge of guilt she couldn’t help feeling, Anna leaned over and glanced at the letter.

“Oh my gosh,” she said, her eyes widening. “Tyler, he had a family! This letter is from his wife. And a kid! He has a son! Wow… I wonder what happened.”

Curious as she was, she realized it didn’t matter what exactly had happened to his family; the fact was, he was all alone and had been for as long as she could remember. And judging by the careful way he held the letter, she suspected he wasn’t as happy about being alone as he liked people to think.

Mr. Banks folded the letter back up and stuck it in his pocket. With a small, wistful smile that she had never before seen on his face, he looked out at the crowded park. Folding his hands in his lap, he seemed content just to watch the people around him. This close to him, though, Anna could see something in his eyes she’d never before suspected: sadness.

Tyler was watching her watch Mr. Banks. He gave her a quick smile. “I have a feeling old Mr. Banks isn’t going to know what hit him now that Anna Sanders has decided she’s going to be a part of his life. Am I right?”

She gave him a grin. “Well, you aren’t wrong!”

They made their way back across the park to where the black door loomed. She marveled at the way it stood there in the middle of the snow-covered grass, all by itself and totally out of place; she was sure she’d never be able to fully comprehend the magic and wonder of it.

After stepping back through the doorway, Anna and Tyler rushed back to her house, where she put the beginnings of an idea into motion.

Read Chapter 8 in Wednesday’s newspaper.