It's a Small World

Geoffery stood naked, staring in the full length mirror that hung in his hotel room. Well, the lower half of it. It was December Twenty-seventh. Christmas was over. All the presents delivered to the good little boys and girls all over the world. To those that still believed anyway. And the sleigh was parked, the workshop clean and quiet, all of Missus Claus's huge Christmas dinner eaten well after everyone else had finished theirs.

And Geoffery was no longer an elf...a managing elf in fact. He was what he had been all his life. What he had been before Santa found him drunk by the road after a nasty hazing at the fraternity he had rushed in college. He was nothing more today than a dwarf. A little person. A midget. Did it matter what horrible name you called yourself when life was one joke, one cruel comment after another?

Oh sure, as always, there were a few...famous actors, reality television stars that raised the profiles of their medical condition. But the hard cold truth as he saw it was that they were no different really than the Medieval court jesters or side show freaks. They simply made themselves fodder for the curiosity and comic relief of others. It was something Geoffery had never wanted.

He held the Christmas cookie that Missus Claus had baked. She baked them every year. Hers and Santa's special present for all their elves. The cookie was magical. The same magic that could turn the medical condition of achondroplasia into one of Santa's little elves. But this magic was different. It could grant your wish. Just one mind you, so you better make it a good one. But it was a special treat that all the elves looked forward to during this time of year when they had a break, a holiday, a vacation. When they went home to visit family or simply just got drunk and disappeared into themselves.

This year Geoffery had begged off his family's huge Christmas celebrations that always made him feel like he was the odd man out, which he was in his family of athletes and beauty queens. Each year it was harder as he watched his brothers and sisters find what he never would...love. To make it worse, each year more and more of his nephews and nieces grew taller than 'Little' Uncle Geoff.

No, this year, he knew what he wanted. That one magical wish whose promise would last only a few hours, but whose special gift would be held close to his heart all the year through...perhaps until his dying breath. He had thought this one through. He was going to wish to be...normal. Just for one night. One brief moment in his life, he was going to know...what might have been.

He closed his eyes. He bit the cookie. It always tasted the sweetest imaginable...sugar, spice, chocolate, orange and everything nice. He tasted the magical way that the workshop smelled all the year long.

Then it hit him. Pain. Blinding, gut wrench pain much worse than the time that his parents had risked the corrective surgery that would break his legs in hopes of lengthening the bones. It burned. It felt as if someone had him on a Medieval rack...or that was what he imagined anyway. It felt as if he were being torn limb from limb. It was more than he could take. And he fainted.

Geoffery came back around slowly. The cheap carpet in his hotel room was scratchy and itchy against his cheek. His mind was fuzzy. Where was he? What was he doing here? Then slowly the memories came back. A hotel room in Anchorage. And he had eaten the magic cookie. He stretched tentatively then. His body still ached a bit when he tried to move, but it was not as bad. He supposed this was what his brothers complained about after a work out, maybe? It was not that bad. Not after the other anyway.

He sighed heavily and sat up. He looked in the mirror and his mouth dropped open. The man staring back at him was...beautiful. No misshapen features. No shortened limbs. No thickness in the body. He was a man's man. Like one of those male models from the old Seventies cigarette commercials. He slowly came to his knees, wincing a bit at the burn in his muscles. Then using the dresser to steady him, he stood up. He was at least six foot two. And every bit as athletic as any of his half a dozen brothers.

Geoffery reached for his cell phone on the dresser. He took half a dozen pictures. He flipped through them all several times. Quickly at first, then taking the time to carefully examine each one of the funny poses he had made like a body builder at a competition. He wished with all his heart that he could show those pictures to someone, anyone. But that would break the magic spell. It could even jeopardize his job with Santa. And he would never do that...it gave meaning to his life. Santa had given him the most precious gift of all...purpose. And not even vanity could tempt him to risk that.

He shook his head as he grabbed the clothes that he had purchased for this occasion. He had not known what exactly to expect so he had gone with a loose fitting sweat suit, but even that stretched taut across muscles that bulged in all the right places. He enjoyed a moment of vanity, snapping a few more pics. He hoped that the magic was not stronger than technology. Even if he could never show them to another soul, he hoped the pictures would not disappear from his phone the way that he knew this body would...shortly. Too quickly in fact.

He reached for water-tight moccasins that he knew would stretch enough to fit his feet. He did not have time to tarry. This transformation was only the first step in his plan. The most important one for certain. There would be no magic to help with the other. That would be all up to him. But he had a plan for that too. He had watched enough chick flicks late at night to learn how to romance a woman. Because tonight he wanted it all...he wanted to taste love. Love that he had never known before. Love that he never would again.

He pulled a thick parka around him and rushed out of his hotel room like it was Christmas Eve and they were running behind schedule. He looked around for the first bar that he could see. It was just a short walk from the hotel room. Nothing special. In fact, he wanted to laugh when he walked in to the sound of a famous country singer bragging that he loved this bar. It was as cheesy as any of those late night movies on the women's cable television channel.

He looked around the place and was a bit deflated. He was not sure what he had expected. This was Alaska after all. Men outnumbered women four to one. But in this place it seemed more like twenty to one. And the ones that were there, well to be polite, had seen better days.

Except for her. She sat at center stage on the bar. And half the men in this place were gathered around her. She was like some Scandinavian dream girl, a pin-up poster or super model. In fact, her Icelandic blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and rosy pink cheeks against snow white skin reminded him of one of the most famous of the super models though her name escaped him at the moment. Hell, words escaped him when he looked at her.

He knew he stood no chance at the dozens of more experienced men that played courtier to her every whim. But he also knew one thing...she was the only woman he wanted. Sure he might have left that bar, tried a dozen more before the cookie wore off, but he knew in his gut that it would all be futile. She was the woman for him, he would find no other.

And he was not going to give up that easy. He had used his one wish to get this far. He had watched hundreds...thousands...of hours of crappy chick flicks. He was not just calling it a night and walking away from his dream.

He pushed through the crowd to the bar next to her. She was talking to another guy, a couple in fact, but he held out his hand and cleared his throat, "Hello," the sound that came out almost gave him away. His voice did not match his body. But that too was not going to stop him when he had come this far. He concentrated very hard, cleared his throat and tried again for a deeper tone. "Hello, I'm Jeff. Can I buy you a drink, pretty lady?"

The voice was better but he cringed at the worst opening line he could imagine. He probably sounded much worse than all these more experienced schmucks. But that was just it, they were much more experienced in meeting women, dating...love and sex.

"Thank you, but I have a drink," she rolled her eyes and smiled. "Too many of them in fact." Then she did something that Geoffery would never forget: she blushed and looked down at the ground, innocently, shyly. "But I'd love a dance it you don't mind."

He swallowed hard as if maybe just maybe he had a chance with this angel, this dream, this woman. As if for one night all his dreams might just come true. He bowed at the waist and held out his hand like a chivalrous knight or a modern cowboy. When her fingers touched his...it was a magic that not even Santa or magic cookies could transcend.

They moved onto the dance floor to a slow song with a distinctive country twang. The words about 'waiting all my life' could have come directly from his heart. He held her close and did his best not to trip and fall, taking them both to the ground. It was heaven, more magical than the workshop or Christmas Eve. For three minutes.

When the song ended he feared that she would draw away. In fact, she did pull back to stare up at him. This woman stared up at him. That alone was a dream to treasure. A moment to cherish for a life time. And when she smiled, his life was complete. But she made no effort to pull away as the next song began and the spell remained unbroken.

They danced a few more songs as the crowd around the bar drew tired of waiting for her return and reluctantly drifted away, figuring that the game was up. The game was up...and he had won. That thought was confirmed as another song began...a famous one that even he knew the words to...'Cowboy take me away,' she sung sweetly into his ears. And he grew from an elf past a simple man into a giant at the tender break in her voice.

As the song came to an end, he did not need a second invitation. This one was more than he could ever hope for as he wrapped his arms about her, drawing her tight, perhaps still a bit afraid that he would awaken from this dream come true.

But he did not as they returned to the bar for her coat and bag. It did not even in the cold, crisp night air outside as they walked to his hotel room. It did not as he fumbled with the damn cardkey. Or pushed the door open.

When the door was closed it seemed that this angel, this dream, was as anxious as he was. She practically ran into his arms. Their lips found one another's. The kiss was hot and searing. Better than any of the fake ones he had watched on television. He tasted her...woman, real life woman, sexy and sweet.

Even as they kissed hands were exploring. Her tiny fingers grasping his shoulders, finding the buttons and practically tearing them off. But his hands were just as busy, tugging and pulling her dress over her head. It was living hell to break their kiss even for that brief moment. But a necessary one as he took in the breathtaking beauty of this woman naked...naked beneath that dress. It was another magical moment to cherish for a lifetime.

They stumbled to the bed, falling onto it together. He knew he should take things slower...chick flicks was not the only thing he had watched...a few soft core porns as well. Not the trashy, wham bam kind but the stuff that truly qualified as erotica. The classics. But as much as he wanted to seduce this woman. She seemed to be in as much of a hurry as he was.

They came together quickly. Her tiny hands wrapped around his cock was almost his undoing as she poised it at the gates of her heaven. And when it touched the warm, wet, tightness that promised even more, he was certain he would explode. Only sheer will allowed him to hold back as he plunged into her. His mind shattered as surly as the frail barrier that proclaimed her innocence. He would have felt shame then had it not been for the way that her body was moving and arching against his. He was no longer setting the pace, she was. She was seducing him. Loving him. And he did what any wise man would...he gave over the reins.

His only regret was how quickly it was over. But damn, the northern lights had nothing on the show they put on as both reached their peak seconds apart. Truly coming together as one. There was so much he wanted to say to her. To do with her. But it was as if they were shooting stars burning up in the atmosphere of their lovemaking as they drifted off to sleep locked in one another's arms, their bodies still connected.

***

The gut wrenching scream awoke him. He looked down at the woman beneath him as she pushed and shoved, trying to get away, run away. He did not know what to do or say. Should he call an ambulance? Her face was contorted in pain as she clutched her mid-section. She tried to speak but not a sound came out. Finally, with tears she turned away, rolled onto her side into a fetal ball.

He watched as the magic wore off. Her body convulsed and thickened. Her limbs shrunk. And all he could do was watch helplessly. As she quieted, as the contractions seemed to lessen, he heard the gut wrenching quiet sobs. He pressed his hands to her shoulder and turned her to face him. He stared into the familiar face of his friend, "Clarisse?"

Then the pains began to take him as well. If it had been horrible growing as bones grew and muscles stretched this was worse. Perhaps this was how a genie felt when it was forced back into those tiny bottles...perhaps this was why they hated the damned things. Willing to grant three wishes to any who would free them. But he did not have three wishes...just one. And it was over. And with that ending came pain.

When he came too, she was lying next to him. "Are you all right?" she asked with genuine caring of a true friend.

And in that moment Geoffery's eyes were open to things that he had been too blind to see. Things that transcended mere friendship. Things of which true beauty are built. He saw Clarisse as she truly was. A beautiful woman just as she was. A woman worthy of love. His woman.

This time they were not rushed. Neither faced the sands of time slipping through the hour glass, carriages that would turn back into pumpkins at midnight. They could talk and laugh and love until their hearts content. They had time...all the time in the world. A lifetime of love and happiness in a place where magic still exists. Where medical conditions can become magical elves, who makes dreams come true for all the good little boys and girls.

Over the years, Geoffery and Clarisse shared many more magical cookies. Yes, sometimes they even became their other selves locked inside their bodies by a genetic condition over which they had no control. But they did not need to to be happy. It was just a game, role play, icing on the kick like all loving couples share.

But the true magic was in the every day moments...coming home together after a hard day in Santa's workshop. Laughing at one another's jokes. Talking late into the night as they watched the northern lights dance or the eternal daylight of summers. Making love and falling asleep in one another's arms...knowing that they would awake to the same person in the morning. And the best magic of all id when two people see that not as a curse, some cross to be borne, or a mistake...but for the special blessing that is more precious than even magic.

Over the years, the couple served along side that other, more famous pair who made dreams come true. They welcomed little elves of their own...and a couple of 'normal' children too, but they loved them all the same. And the best thing of all...Geoffery and Clarisse truly did...live happily ever after in a land of magical workshops were best friends become lovers. Because...it's a small world after all...in more than one way.