The Elf's Christmas Miracle

"Miranar, you have to tell me . . . uh . . . what am I supposed to do?" said Kaya, eager for information.

"Well," said her friend, moving back to her station. "There's not much to tell. You just step on that platform, and I send you to your destination. I don't know what your task is any more than you do, but . . . I will be the voice in your ear, here, put this in your ear." The blond elf handed her a tiny plug, which Kaya pushed into her right ear. It did not impede her hearing, but a second later, she could hear Miranar speaking into her ear.

"Hear me? Good. With this, you can talk to me any time, and I to you."

"Will you be able to see me?" said Kaya.

Miranar shook her head. "No, hon, but I can hear you and what's going on around you. And with this screen, I can see the Christmas magic. It's very vague, but I can get hints about what you should do. I should be able to guide you, help you figure out how to complete your task."

"Okay," said Kaya, a bit disappointed that her friend couldn't see her. "What about clothing and things, what will I need down there?"

Miranar shook her head. "When you step on that platform, and I start it up, it will send you to your destination. I can't control that. And the same Christmas magic will provide you whatever you need, clothes etc. We won't know until you arrive, it's all part of the mystery." Then she giggled. "And don't worry, it'll change your ears to human ears."

Suddenly there was a flashing red light on Miranar's projection, and the tall elf began stabbing the screen with a long slender finger. Then she turned quickly to Kaya. "Go hon, get on the platform, it says we have an ideal window coming up in 10 seconds!"

"Uh, but . . ." stammered Kaya, moving reluctantly to the blue platform, which was now glowing brighter and flashing. She looked in alarm at her friend. "Really, that's it? I . . . Miranar??"

Suddenly the air began to swirl around Kaya's body, as if the blue platform was the center of a tiny tornado. Her hands flew down to push her skirt which was flying up, and then her vision turned to a rainbow caleidoscope of colors. "Miranar!!" cried Kaya, feeling terrified.

"It's . . . all . . . normal!" shouted her friend, stabbing her fingers at her projected screen. "Good . . . luck!"

There was a white snap, like lightening, and then Kaya felt like she was floating, the tornado still whirling around her, though she no longer felt her skirt billowing around. She looked down and screamed, for she was naked. Then everything went black, and she felt like she was falling. Suddenly her foot landed on something hard, and the blackness dissipated, and she saw faces, many faces. She put her other foot down, and it kept going. Kaya screamed suddenly, and then something hard hit her on the side, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Kaya groaned at the pain in her side, and then she heard the noise. It was a loud roar, mixed with metallic sounds, and she opened her eyes, to see a row of people looking down at her. They were dressed in winter coats, suits, dresses, but none of them Christmas-y, just drab grays and blacks. The roar was getting louder, and she saw heads turning, and she followed their gazes.

"Ohhh shit!" exclaimed Kaya. She could now see that she was laying on a set of train tracks, lined on both sides by a concrete platform, and barreling toward her were three bright lights, the source of the metallic road. "Oh god, I'm going to die," said Kaya, sitting up and staring transfixed at the roaring lights, getting closer and closer. She looked up pleadingly at the row of faces, realizing that they were all Japanese, like her. Yet none seemed to want to help her. The train was nearly upon her, it had already entered the station, and she could hear a screech of metal on metal, but the three lights kept barreling toward her.

Kaya closed her eyes, accepting her fate, when suddenly something struck her on the side again, and she was rolling on something hard and painful, the tracks she realized. Then there was a massive gust of warm, oily wind, buffeting her, along with the deafening sounds of screeching metal and roaring air. Kaya screamed, clutching against whatever was on top of her. A person, she realized, she could feel the arms around her, holding her away from the roaring train. As the train slowed, the noise and wind subsided, and Kaya, trembling, realized what had happened. Someone had jumped down on the tracks and tackled her, rolling both of them into the space below the platform, just big enough to escape the train. She opened her eyes to see a face looking at her. It was a man's face, a young Japanese man. He had beautiful brown eyes, and a warm face, and Kaya smiled.

Suddenly there was a chorus of shouting, and she could see the row of faces peering down through the small crack between the train and the platform. They were shouting, in words that sounded familiar.

"Nani shiteru-no, baka no onna-no ko?" said the man laying on top of her. Kaya blinked at him in confusion, the words familiar but not quite making sense.

"Thank you," she said, finally. "You . . . saved my life."

"Eigo hanashiteru-ja? America-jin?" said the boy. "Nihon-jin miteru ja nai?"

Suddenly the words seemed to change, and like a switch going on in her mind, Kaya suddenly understood him. She answered him in Japanese.

"No, I am Japanese. I . . . am . . . studying English, I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's ok," said the man. "Your accent . . . Hokkaido?"

"Yes!" said Kaya, smiling. "I am from . . . very far north!" Her upbringing made it very difficult for her to lie, but she couldn't exactly tell him the truth, so she did her best to compromise.

Kaya jumped, for the train started moving, slowly. Instead of speeding up, it continued its slow movement for a minute or two, until finally there was a bright light as the train moved past the two of them. Kaya squinted, looking up to see an even bigger crowd of faces looking down at them.

"They're alive! He saved her! So brave! Why didn't you save her? Uh, I was about to," came the chorus of voices. The young man rolled off of Kaya then, and stood on the tracks, before reaching down to help Kaya get to her feet.

"She's dressed like an elf!" came a voice, followed by laughter. Kaya looked down at herself in alarm, expecting to see her frumpy gray outfit, but instead, she realized she was dressed in a red, form fitting velvet coat with white trim. It hugged her narrow waist and came down to just above her knees, while up top if squeezed her breasts together into a lengthy cleavage, and covered her arms down to her wrists. She wore matching red boots as well, and tan stockings. Strangely enough, she looked at her side, which had landed on the dirty, oily track bed, and it was perfectly clean, not a spec of dirt. Then she realized it made sense -- her outfit was put on her by magic, so the outfit itself must be magical. Suddenly she gasped. What if it disappeared by magic, with all these people watching?

Two men dressed in blue uniforms were lowering a short ladder into the tracks, and the man guided her to it, telling her to climb up first. Kaya went up the ladder, blushing when she realized the man might be able to see up her skirt, but when she glanced back, he was looking down, like a gentleman. Kaya felt strangely disappointed, but then she smiled as the man climbed up the ladder, and took her arms in his.

"My name is Markus, what is yours?" said the man. Now that she could see his face well, she realized he looked different, a handsome mix of western and Japanese features.

"I'm Kayako," she said, smiling up at him. "It's nice to meet you, Markus." Now vertical, she realized he was tall, and she only came up to his chest. Which she noticed was broad, and probably muscular, for it filled out his coat nicely.

"Where were you going, Kayako?" said the young man, concern in his eyes.

Kaya frowned. "I . . . I don't know."

"Well, where do you live?" continued Markus. "We should get you home."

"I . . . I don't know that either," said Kayako. Then she remembered her task. She had to get going, to figure out what that was. "I . . . I have to find something, but I . . . I don't know what . . ." said Kaya, looking up at him with confusion.

The young man paused to think. "You must have amnesia! Umm, I live a few minutes away, why don't you come to my apartment and maybe your memory will come back?"

"Uhmm, I don't know . . ." started Kaya. "I really should be going . . ." Markus suddenly had an almost comical look of disappointment, and Kaya felt a pang of regret. "Umm, of course, that's a good idea, thank you," she said, forcing an apologetic smile. The man's face lit up then, and Kaya smiled warmly. Making someone happy always warmed her heart.

The crowd parted as the young man took her hand and guided her through the throngs and out of the station. She'd heard a rumble inside the station, and when they exited the main doors, they saw why, it was raining heavily.

"Let's hurry, before it gets worse," said Markus, taking her by the hand and hustling up the street. Kaya couldn't stop staring as the young man pulled her through the endless crowds. Everywhere she looked, there were bright neon signs, or tall gray apartment buildings. There was not a spec of grass, or a single tree, anywhere she looked, it was like someone had built a city on the moon. Suddenly she felt a buzzing from her coat, and she looked down, seeing a pocket on her side. She reached inside with a frown, and pulled out a small rectangular device with a glass screen. A phone! Excited to be holding one for the first time, Kaya held it up to her ear, like she'd seen people do.

"Kaya!" came a voice from the phone.

"Miranar!" exclaimed Kaya, "Mitsuketta, to omou!"

"What? Speak English, Kaya!" laughed her friend. "By the way, the phone is so you don't look like a crazy person talking to yourself. Use it when you're around other people."

"Ok," said Kaya in English. The young man turned to look at her, but continued guiding her, now turning right to take them up a steep hill lined with three-story apartment buildings. The rain was getting worse, and Kaya's red velvet coat was starting to soak through, not being waterproof. Still, she was too in awe of the big city to care. Even in winter, Kaya noticed clothes hung out to dry from small balconies, and lots of small gardens at every unit. She smelled the wafts of delicious food, coming from the windows. It was all so new and exciting.

"What's happening, Kaya? There's always a blackout for a few minutes after an insertion."

Kaya quickly told her friend about what happened, and how a young man had saved her. After listening to her story, Miranar sounded excited, but she kept her voice low.

"Kaya, this Markus could be your mission; your task could involve him! That's how these things work, it's probably no coincidence you landed there when he just happened to be there, to save you!"

"Really, you think so?" said Kaya. She looked up at the young man with a different perspective. He looked about her age, and was terribly handsome. She hoped he was her mission.

"Well, it could be," said Miranar. "See what he wants, heck, why don't you ask him what he wants for Christmas? Maybe it's a curvy little elf in a red costume?"

"Mira!" gasped Kaya, blushing and looking at her phone like it had bit her ear. She could hear her friend laughing. Kaya put the phone back up to her ear. "Ok, I'll see where it goes. I better go, thanks Mira!"

Kaya put the phone back in her pocket, and at that moment, the young man turned up a narrow road. It was really pouring, so he ducked under an awning and turned to look at her.

"Your English is so good, at least as far as I can tell," he said, an unspoken question.

"Oh, I, um . . ." said Kaya.

"Tell him you majored in English in college, but don't tell him where, stick with the amnesia thing." It was Miranar, speaking in her ear.

"I majored in English in college," she blurted, smiling awkwardly.

"Oh really? Where'd you go to university?" said the young man. Seeing her blank expression, he sighed. "Oh, right, you don't remember. It's ok, it'll come back to you. Anyway, my place is just up the hill, but it's really raining, do you want to run for it?"

"Yes, let's go!" said Kaya, smiling up at him. Then they ran into the rain, and up the hill. It was raining so hard the water was splashing off the pavement and soaking her legs, while the driving wind was soaking her torso and hair. Kaya didn't care, in fact it was exhilarating, she just wished the water wasn't so cold. In a couple minutes, Markus stopped at a three story building.

"This is my place, on the 3^rd floor," he said. Looking at the soaked girl at his side, he apologized. "I'm sorry about the rain, I . . . don't usually bring an umbrella."

Kaya couldn't remember ever using an umbrella, since it never rained at the North Pole, it snowed. She followed him up to the third floor, hearing her boots squishing on the steps. It seemed they weren't waterproof either. Her costume seemed more for indoors. When they reached the top of the stairs, they found a tall, beautiful Japanese girl standing in front of Markus's door. She was dry, and Kaya noticed the umbrella.

"Michiko!" exclaimed Markus in surprise. "W-what are you doing here?"

The girl turned to look at them, and her eyes instantly went to Kaya, looking her up and down with an expression like she found something gooey stuck to her favorite shoe. Then she turned to look at Markus. "I came by to see you, dummy. I thought we could go Christmas shopping. Maybe go to my favorite lingerie store. But . . . maybe you're busy. Who's your friend?"

Markus looked at Kaya. "Uhmm, this is Kaya, she . . . she fell into the train tracks, and I . . ."

"He rescued me, when all the other people just stood there watching, waiting for me to die," said Kaya, smiling at the woman. She couldn't believe how beautiful the girl was, young, but sophisticated. Like Markus, she seemed to have some Western blood. She was quite a bit taller than Kaya, and looked stunning dressed in a lovely checkered pattern coat, dark pleated skirt, white designer sweater and knee-high leather boots. Kaya could identify every children's toy on the planet, but they never made clothing for adults, so the brands were a mystery to her.

The girl was looking at Markus. "Yes, he's very brave. And handsome. I can't say if he's good in bed, unfortunately. Maybe you'll find out, when he gets you out of those wet clothes?" Then with a dirty look at Kaya, the woman turned and moved past them, heading for the stairs.

"Michiko, wait, it's not like that!" exclaimed Markus, but the woman was already halfway down the stairs, and she didn't look back. He ran to the railing to look down, but the lithe woman was already hustling down the street, her umbrella disappearing among the sea of umbrellas. When Markus turned around, Kaya was afraid he'd be angry, but instead he just looked sad. It was all her fault.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. I should go," said Kaya, turning to head down the stairs.

"No, please," said Markus, reaching out to gently grab her arm. "It's . . . not your fault, and you have amnesia. You can't go walking around out there. Come inside, please."

Kaya was thrilled that he still wanted her around, but she hid her emotions, and instead silently nodded. Markus quickly opened the door, and held it open for her. The apartment was quite large for Japan, with a living room with separate kitchen, and she could see a large bedroom. Kaya removed her boots and stood on the welcome mat in her wet stockings, hearing herself dripping on the floor. She didn't want to get his floor wet. Then she sneezed.

"We have to get you out of those wet clothes," said Markus, his expression looking apologetic. "Don't worry, I can give you some of Michiko's clothes to wear."

Kaya pictured Michiko, so stylishly dressed, and she smiled, though she was now shivering. "That . . . would be nice," she said, her teeth chattering. Markus nodded, quickly guiding her to his bathroom, and giving her a towel.

"You can take a shower if you like, to warm up, I'll go find Michiko's clothes for you." Then Markus closed the door behind her, and Kaya turned around. The bathroom was small and cramped, typical of Japan, but her eyes lit up. A real shower. Kaya had only heard of them. The elf cabin only contained basins of cold water for bathing; she couldn't wait to try the shower.

"Kaya?" came the voice of Miranar in her ear.

"I can't talk now," whispered Kaya. "I'm in his apartment."

"I know, I can hear everything, you know, through your ear piece. Anyway, just listen," said her friend. "I'm handing you off to Erik for the rest of the mission. Erik is an expert on Japan, he can help you figure out your mission."

"What? No!" whispered Kaya. "Mira, I need you!"

"You'll be fine, Kaya, I promise. They're sending me home to get over my cold. Look, Kaya, I think this boy is your mission, find out what he wants, it could be you have to get it for him, ok?"

"Ok, I guess," murmured Kaya. She'd liked having her friend speaking in her ear.

"Ok, I'm going to get Erik, I'll be right back," said her friend. "Good luck, girl!"

With a frown, Kaya rolled off her wet stockings and then peeled herself out of the soaking wet velvet coat dress, placing them neatly on the toilet seat. Then she stepped into the shower. There was a knob with red and blue markings, and she guessed the red was warm, so she turned the knob to red. Kaya smiled as water gushed out of the shower head, and then she screamed as the freezing cold water struck her in the chest. The shower stall was so small she had nowhere to go to escape the freezing water, so she stepped back out onto the bathmat. Just then, the door burst open.

"What is it? Are you ok? Oh my . . ." said Markus, taking in the sight of the soaking wet, naked girl in his bathroom. He couldn't help notice her large, round and bouyant breasts, topped with lovely pink nipples enlarged by the freezing water no doubt. Kaya shrieked, her arms moving to cover herself when she saw the young man staring at her.

"It's . . . so . . . cold!" she chattered, shivering with her arms around herself.

"Uh, . . . did you set it right? Yes, you did, so . . . uh . . . just wait a second, it'll warm up," stammered Markus, unable to tear his eyes from the sight. While she now covered her breasts and her dark crotch area, he could see perfectly her perky and shapely bottom, and her finely toned legs, which had no hint of the bowlegged look so many Japanese girls had nowadays. With difficulty, he tore his eyes away and reached past the trembling girl to feel the water. "It's warm now, you can step in, and . . . uh . . . maybe you should draw the curtain?"

Markus stepped back, placing his hand to shield his eyes, and Kaya stepped into the shower and drew the curtain. She heard the door close, but leaned past the curtain to make sure. She couldn't believe she was so stupid, of course the water would be cold at first. And now she'd exposed herself to Markus; he must think she had no brain! Yet Kaya's worries were quickly assuaged by the jet of warm water, which felt so good on her skin. Her shivering disappeared almost immediately, and she began to relax and enjoy the shower. Kaya's parents had had a shower in Japan, but she had been too young to remember, and she'd never had the luxury once they'd sent her to the North Pole. But she didn't want to waste Markus's water so once she felt nice and warm she reached for the lever to shut if off. Then she noticed the hose going to the shower head and she followed it up. Kaya yelped, for the shower head came off when she grasped it. Oh, it's removable, she thought, laughing at herself. She'd thought she'd broke it. Another marvelous invention of man, she realized, for she could move the water jets around as she liked, to find those hard to reach places.