Editor’s note: This is the 11th chapter of a 12-part fictional holiday tale that is running daily until Christmas. Parents are encouraged to read aloud with their children.

Katie sat on a bench under the candy cane arch, watching all the children playing outside in the Village courtyard. In the short time that she and Kellan had Juniper in their lives, Katie had started to feel a sense of excitement and joy about Christmas that she hadn’t even realized was missing.

Now she worried it would leave her again when she woke up tomorrow with no memory of Juniper or the magic of Christmas.

It was all going to just disappear, and that left her almost unbearably sad.

Yesterday had flown by way too fast. They spent the morning making homemade vanilla ice cream from fresh snow.

In the afternoon, Katie judged a snowman contest while Kellan was busy in Santa’s workshop, now inhabited by the very normal, very human Santa played by Mr. Murphy.

Juniper begged to participate in the snowman contest and ended up wowing the crowd with her very lifelike sculptures of herself and Jasper riding polar bears.

Katie smiled at the memory, and she couldn’t help but think that they probably really did ride polar bears at the North Pole.

Fresh snow was falling, and she watched Juniper and Kellan roll snowballs, preparing for the snow-tag game that would be starting soon.

“It’s the Christmas spirit, you know. What you’re feeling again inside.”

Katie jumped and looked up to see Santa Claus rounding the bench. He was dressed in normal clothes — jeans, winter coat and boots, with a beanie over his white hair.

“Mind if I sit?” he asked.

“Please.” Katie moved down and watched him watching Juniper and Kellan.

“Why are you here? Aren’t you busy? It’s Christmas Eve.”

Santa continued watching the kids all around and instead of answering her, he asked “Do you remember when you stopped believing?”

Katie let out a big breath and stared at her gloved hands.

“When I was about 9 or 10, I think. There was this awful boy at school who made fun of me for bringing my letter to you to recess. He told me you weren’t real and that parents buy all the presents. Kellan let him have it for making me cry, but on the way home I begged him to tell me the truth. I guess he had already stopped believing, and I knew even then he would never lie to me.”

She looked over at Santa and smirked. “At least not knowingly. Obviously he was mistaken.”

Santa chuckled. “But a small part of you continued to believe. Didn’t you?”

“I’m not so sure.”

“I am. I can remember all the little things you did throughout the years. How you would still search the sky every Christmas Eve.”

“There was a star,” she said softly. “It was so bright. And I could see it every year. I was convinced it was connected to Santa’s sleigh, a light to guide you to my house.” She blushed. “But one year it wasn’t there and I never saw it again.”

“The Star of Hope,” he answered.

“It appears on Christmas Eve, but only for those who truly believe with all their hearts.”

“Oh.” She supposed it was around that time she started with her doubts.

“But there were other things too. The way you would always leave a single cookie on your nightstand.”

“I figured at the very least it would be a delicious breakfast,” she said with a shrug.

“My favorite was your Santa journal,” Santa continued. “How you wrote a single Christmas wish in it every year. You still do if I’m not mistaken.”

His eyes twinkled as he grinned at her, and she smiled back. “I suppose I do,” she admitted.

Santa’s expression turned serious.

“You and Kellan showed such kindness to Juniper. You were a great help to her, and I know she will be grateful to you for the rest of her life. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“She’s so sweet and so much fun. It was easy,” she said as Juniper and Kellan headed their way, both looking shocked to see Santa casually sitting next to her.

“Katie,” Santa said in a conspiratorial whisper, “I’m going to grant that Christmas wish of yours this year.”

Confused, she thought about what she had written in her secret Santa journal and gasped. But before she could ask Santa all the questions she had, Juniper plowed into her legs, wrapping her arms around her waist.

Read tomorrow’s newspaper for the final chapter of this Christmas tale.