Penny and her baby sister laid out their cookies and milk on the table. 

“And these, Audgie, these are for Santa’s reindeer,” Penny placed the carrots beside the plate. “They get hungry flying all night, and not everyone leaves them food like they do for Santa.” Audrey stared at her older sister, her eyes wide, clapping and smiling at everything she was being told.

“All right lovebugs, time for bed!” Penny’s mom and dad come over, swooping both of them up into their arms. 

“Already?”

“You want Santa to come tonight, don’t you?” 

“Yes! I really need to talk to him.”

“Well, baby, he won’t come unless you’re sleeping,” her dad said to her. 

The four of them sat on the couch as they read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Audrey falling asleep silently in the arms of her mother, Penny’s head resting in her father’s lap, their dog Sadie, cuddled up beside her. As the story came to a close, their parents picked them up, and as they carried Penny and Audrey to their rooms, Penny peaked over her dad’s shoulder. Sadie followed them close behind, staring up at the girl. Penny knew that the stockings that hung just over the crackling fireplace were going to be filled, and the space below the tree would no longer be seen, but she was wishing for something else. 

With Audrey asleep, both Penny’s mom and dad came to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. 

“Don’t wake up too early, we want to sleep too you know!” said Penny’s mom, laughing.

“I know Mom, I promise I won’t,” Sadie cuddled close beneath Penny’s arms. Her parents took turns kissing her forehead; they walked out, shutting off the light and closing the door as they went.

Penny laid still for a while, waiting for the sounds of her parents to slowly cease, and for the light in the hallway to be turned off. Sadie stood up then, cocking her head at Penny, “I can’t sleep, Sadie. I need to ask Santa a question.” She rubbed her hand across the soft fur of the dog’s head. 

Penny stood, turning on the light in her room. She crawled onto the end of her bed to the window, where the soft snow continued to fall, blanketing the ground. The city was quiet, people were with their families, tucked in their beds, the visions of the sugar plums dancing about in their heads. Penny closed her eyes, whispering out loud, “Please let me stay up. Please.”

Penny was unsure of what to do, knowing that if she were to lay down she would fall asleep within seconds. Instead, she pulled out a stack of cards from her bedside table, “I may not know how to play solitaire, Sadie,” Penny said to the brown, long-haired dachshund laying on her bed. “But I do know how to play fifty-two pick up.” And with that, Penny dropped the cards out of the box onto the floor, and began to collect them, one… By one… By one…. By one. 

“Almost done?”

Penny jumped, startled, dropping the pile of cards she had already collected. She looked around the room, “Who was that? Santa?”

As Penny’s eyes grazed around the room, she saw nobody but herself and Sadie. Penny’s brow burrowed, “Sadie?”

“Hi Penny.”

Penny was startled, surprised, but also full of an immense amount of joy.

“I knew it all along! I saw the way you would look at me! You knew exactly what we were all talking about! Why are you only talking now, huh? Why didn’t you talk to me when I whispered to you under the couch that time? Have you just been ignoring me? Is that it?”

“No, I wasn’t able to talk then, but I am now.”

“What do you mean you couldn’t talk then?” Penny was curious. 

“Look at the time, Penny,” Sadie said calmly. 

Penny glanced over at the clock on her bedside table, 12:01. “It’s Christmas Magic, Penny. It only lasts for the first two hours of each Christmas Day, but this is the first time that any of you guys have ever been awake for it. Usually I’m just talking to myself, and to Santa when he comes.”

“YOU’VE MET SANTA?” yelled Penny, the excitement clear across her face. 

“Shh… don’t wake your parents! They’ll send you back to bed.”

The light on the hallway turned on just then, and in one swift motion Penny quickly turned off her own light and got underneath the covers of her bed. When the door of her room opened, she laid still, unmoving, not breathing, until it shut again. Penny let out a huge breath. “Let’s go to the living room, it’s further away from your parents’ bedroom.” 

The two of them moved quietly from room to room, making sure to stay close to the walls to prevent the creaking of the floorboards below them. When they got to the living room, Penny sat on the couch as Sadie jumped up and snuggled beneath her arm. “I can understand you all year long, sometimes I try to talk back, but it’s usually just a bark.”

“This is so crazy, Sadie,” Penny said as she grazed her hand alongside the fur on her head. Penny was getting tired, Sadie could tell. Her legs curled up on the couch as she rested her head on the armside. Santa wasn’t going to be there for another thirty minutes, and Sadie knew Penny wouldn’t be able to stay awake. 

“What did you have to tell Santa?” Sadie got close so Penny could whisper it into her ear. They laid together after that, Penny’s eyes fluttering as she struggled to stay awake.

As her eyes slowly closed, the last thing she saw was a man in a red suit, slowly filling the stockings that hung above the fireplace. He turned to the side, to begin placing the presents under the tree, as Sadie stood beside him, telling him everything that Penny never had the chance to.