Scene of the Crime

Trinity and Tamara marched up to the doors, as if on some sort of mission. Or maybe warpath was more accurate, Serena mused. Whatever it was, they were determined and none too happy.

“It’s awful!” Tamara wailed, heart full of distress, as Trinity crossed her arms in her immense displeasure.

“What happened?” Serena inquired. She couldn’t possibly fathom what could have occurred this early in the morning to set the pair of sisters off; they couldn’t have been awake that long—it was 6:30 in the morning after all.

Tamara howled, “Peppermint and Jack were slain!”

“Their magic was stolen—everyone knows that you can’t touch elves or else they lose their magic, and someone touched them!” Trinity grumbled. “Now their magic is gone!”

Ah, their Elves on the Shelf, Serena surmised. She had heard quite a bit of them since the month began. Last week Peppermint and Jack had gotten into quite a deal of shenanigans and even baked a birthday cake for Trinity and Tamara’s brother. Serena didn’t know too much about the elves, as she had never had one, but she knew they were important.

“That’s a shame,” Serena empathized. The sisters were quite distraught about Peppermint and Jack.

“We’re going to get their magic back, no matter the cost!” the sisters declared.

“That’s great that you can restore their magic, but how do you know they were touched in the first place to lose their magic? Did you see it happen?” Serena questioned, looking for clarity.

“We know exactly how it happened!” Tamara proclaimed confidently.

Trinity nodded before adding, “And we’ll tell you precisely how it transpired.”

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Trinity and Tamara padded into the kitchen, eager for a snack. The sisters unknowingly stumbled upon the scene of the crime. They stopped dead in their tracks, stunned at the sight before them. They couldn’t believe what they were witnessing; it couldn’t be true. What lie on the kitchen floor had to be fake—some kind of forgery.

They lay there on the cold, hard, tiled floor, listless. Sapped of all their magical essence, they were mere empty shells of their former selves. Lifeless husks, they might as well not even been there at all. They had practically been murdered.

Trinity clenched her fists, sharing a knowing look with Tamara. There was only one individual who could have been the culprit of this heinous crime. Only one person would have been so selfish to do such a heartless offense. They peered around the corner, spying the callous fiend.

He lay there in faux innocence, but they saw through his dreadful trick. No, his ruse of pretending to be asleep couldn’t deceive them one bit. They knew better. Their eyes narrowed. Danny.

They couldn’t believe his nerve! They knew their younger, 4 year-old-brother could be a brat, but they hadn’t imagined he would sink this low! That two-faced, little fraud! Sure, his face looked sweet and innocent now, but it was merely a façade. He must have run out of the room, refusing to be caught in the act, and now was acting as if he had never moved from his spot on the couch in the first place! Wanting to keep the elves for himself in order to get more presents! His sisters wanted to growl at his audacity! They wanted to stomp over to Danny, call out him out for his sham, and demand recompense, but they had more important matters to attend to now.

Trinity and Tamara marched into the kitchen, prepared to get straight to work. If they didn’t work quickly, Danny would have doomed them all! Peppermint and Jack were like family, anyhow, and didn’t deserve this blatant disrespect. The pair of sisters rummaged around the kitchen cabinets, searching for the necessary items.

“Aha!” Trinity declared in victory, “I found the cinnamon! Did you obtain what else we need, Tamara?”

“Of course!” Tamara exclaimed. “Here are the silver bowls we need! One for Jack, and one for Peppermint!”

The sisters nodded at their handiwork, pleased with their progress. Peppermint and Jack should be back to normal in no time. Trinity poured cinnamon into each of the metal bowls before handing them to Tamara. Eager to help their elves, Tamara placed Jack and Peppermint onto the table, ensuring they were comfortable, and positioned the small bowls of cinnamon before them.

Cinnamon offerings complete, they continued the magic restoration process. The sisters joined hands and began to sing. They knew that elves loved Christmas carols, but they were unsure which carols held the most power. Trinity and Tamara settled on singing “Jingle Bells” and then “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

They didn’t want to overwhelm Peppermint and Jack, so they tucked the two into their tiny beds, securing the bowls of cinnamon underneath the elves’ beds. They took a step back, anxiously awaiting some sort of sign. Nothing happened. Disheartened, they left the room, pondering if they would need to practice immense patience while waiting for the elves’ magic to finally return.

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“And that’s what happened! Danny touched them yesterday after school—I can’t believe him!” Trinity complained.

“Well,” Serena began, “how do you know for sure that he did it if you didn’t see him actually do it?”

“Because he just wants to get all the presents for himself!” Tamara declared, feeling vindictive. Trinity nodded her head fervently in agreement.

The sisters were quite convinced, but Serena wasn’t so certain. She knew that they had two cats, so their feline companions could have easily knocked over Peppermint and Jack. Or maybe the two elves fell due to gravity—the sisters had informed her that Jack and Peppermint had been dangling from the ceiling last week, so anything was possible. Serena considered voicing her suspicions, but one look at the pair told her that they wouldn’t be having any of it. They were convinced, swept up in the sea of their emotions, and wouldn’t be swayed otherwise. Maybe if they calmed down some, they could be persuaded of Danny’s potential innocence, but right now they judged him as guilty on all accounts.

“Even though he wants to be greedy, he still won’t get all the presents!” Tamara insisted.

“Exactly!” Trinity added. “Besides, we’re the ones being considerate and compassionate, ensuring that Jack and Peppermint’s magic is restored through the power of cinnamon and Christmas carols! Danny didn’t even do anything to fix the problem—he just left!” she huffed, furrowing her brow and moving her bangs with an exasperated puff of air.

“It’s great that you two are willing to persevere and problem solve. How will you know if your efforts are working?” Serena inquired with a curious tilt of her head.

“Oh, that’s easy!” Tamara proclaimed triumphantly.

The sisters shared an excited look, beaming from ear to ear. For the first time in their conversation, a happy sheen lit up their eyes, and the sisters began to bounce up and down in their eager enthusiasm.

“We got confirmation that it’s already working this morning!” Trinity announced.

Tamara nodded vigorously, cheerfully adding, “We saw a magical snowman this morning on the way to before care!”

“A magical snowman?”

“Yes!” Trinity exclaimed. “A magical snowman that glowed! It was riding in a car with someone!”

Oooohh, Serena mused as a lightbulb went off; it must have been the inflatable snowman she had seen earlier in the week. The snowman was illuminated from interior lights and rode in the passenger seat with a man in a black truck. Serena had thought it was an amusing sight when she witnessed it, but she could surmise why the girls believed it to be a magical snowman. Its hearty glow, especially with how dark it remained in these winter months, did give it an almost other-worldly quality. She hadn’t observed such an occurrence previously, either, so it didn’t seem like too far a stretch to call it magic. It was unusual, without a doubt.

“Now Peppermint and Jack will be saved for sure!” the sisters cheered. “Their magic will return, meaning we saved the day and Christmas!”