One Magic Night, Part 2 Poem by Audrey Loveland

I stirred from sleeping, dazed, having suffered quite the fall,
-and through my plight devoid of light I couldn't see at all.
The black abyss that swallowed me, produced an eerie feeling,
-I tried to push up off the ground but my head was reeling.
"Could I be dead? " I asked myself, "might I have succumbed? "
My heart was in a panic and my head throbbed like a drum.
It was not until I heard a pop followed by a spark,
-that I spotted in the distance a glow within the dark.
I saw a figure in the glow, and all at once it grew,
I felt a shift about my feet, a stir of voices too.
Faces started coming through, upon each candle lit,
-all the children small and tall a light within their mitts.
I gazed about quite cautiously and saw from where I stood,
-what looked to be a plain old barn with splintered walls of wood.
A room of age that creaked and moaned, walls that longed to buckle,
Beams that held the roof up dressed in dried-up honey-suckle.
Stacks of hay in every corner, tools hung up on hooks,
-the shutters latched, still brought in air, they rattled when they shook.
Many dazed and frantic faces grimaced from the sleigh,
-an empty cart deprived of life, the horses gone away.
"What is this place? How could this happen? How did we all get here? "
-but all my pleas and questions seemed to fall onto deaf ears.
No one had an answer, a wave of shrugs commenced,
It seemed as though we all lost time, but that did not make sense.
Murmurs grew in quantity but no one had a clue,
I turned to someone closest me and asked him, "how 'bout you? "
"I do not know, " he stated, "for the last thing I remember,
-was holding on for dear life through the cold winds of December."
Then the softest jingle and the door began to rattle,
And we all began to panic like the sight of frightened cattle.
I reached out for those nearest me and hopped into the sleigh,
"Quickly, blow out all the lights, " I heard some voices say.
The two large doors pushed opened and a gust of air gave rise,
I looked within the snowfall and saw a pair of eyes.
Like buoys in the frigid sea they swooned from side-to-side,
-gazing all about the room before they came inside.
Not much taller than myself, I thought it was a child.
It held a lantern in its hands, the flame was meek and mild.
We watched it as it hung the lantern high up on the wall,
And just within the dimming light, I gasped at what I saw.
The figure stumbled backward and cried out, "Who is there? "
The voice was low and husky trembling with fear.
It reached out for the light, the lantern rocked from side-to-side,
"I know that you are in here, there is no point to hide."
"No one stand at first." I whispered, stepping off the sleigh.
The figure held the light up, in a most suspicious way.
I just made out a silver brow and two beady eyes below,
-but the most amazing feature on him had to be his nose.
It stuck out far into the air, and came down to a tip,
-like a beak, the surface sleek, it swooped over his lip.
Eye-to-eye, I stood and watched this rather smallish man.
He squinted in the candle-light the dim glow in his hand.
"Why you are just a little girl. How did you get in here? "
"I could not tell you sir, you see, for that part is unclear."
I heard the floorboards creaking, his eyes began to coast,
Judging from his face you would have thought he saw a ghost.
"Sir, if I may, " I stated. "We do not mean you harm,
-we even have no memory of arriving at the barn."
The small man watched us closely, he squinted in the light.
He did not take his eyes away, we never left his sight.
"This has never happened, children being brought right through."
He began to pace while muttering, "what am I to do? "
Then stopping in his step, he turned and recomposed himself.
"Please forgive my manners, the name's Sebastian and I'm an elf.
You children can come with me now to a warm and cozy place."
He walked back toward the doors, the lantern swayed in his embrace.
Outside in the cold a brand new layer caught my eye,
-heaps and mounds and hills and pounds of winter piled high.
The evergreens were freshly trimmed and blazing lanterns shown,
-a walkway cleared of snow and ice and made of cobblestones.
A small brick house appeared beneath the blazing winter moon.
A building followed after with a sign that read, "Saloon."
A few more buildings afterward, lined with holly wreaths,
Large signs bearing, "Market, " "Books, " and "Diner, " hung beneath.
Homey-looking structures grazing in the veil of night,
And lastly, straight in front of us a building of great height.
A castle-like structure, its stones a polished sheen,
A tower in the back of it, gave quite the honest lean.
On each sill of every window a small white candle sat,
-holding on each little wick a flame, magnificent.
Red ribbons tied in big red bows hung beneath the ledge.
And finally vines of holly leaves dangled near the edge.
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