Over the years, Ben and Ellie never had a problem communicating. So when Ben seems distant, Ellie's confused. Her instinct tells her it has something to do with the contents of an old cardboard box his father insisted Ben take before he passed away. With the children grown, Ben's evasiveness adds to Ellie wishing the holidays were over.

But it's Christmas -- the season of hope and love rekindled -- especially when going back to a wondrous place on a winter's night in the old sleigh decorated in pine boughs and silver bells -- the very sleigh that carried a little boy and that cardboard box on a Christmas Eve journey so long ago.

Barbara Briggs Ward is a writer living in Ogdensburg, New York. Her short story "The Kitchens" was third runner-up in The Saturday Evening Post's 2021 Great American Fiction Contest. She is the author of a beloved Christmas trilogy for adults featuring The Reindeer Keeper, (chosen by Yahoo!'s Christmas Books Club as their December 2012 Book of the Month), The Snowman Maker, and The Candle Giver. Other works of fiction include The Tin Cookie Cutter, A Robin's Snow, and Velvet Snowflakes. Her short stories have appeared in three Chicken Soup for the Soul books and Highlights for Children. Her essay centered around her grandmother was one of eight essays selected to appear in Ladies Home Journal, July 1976, highlighting women who represent the "Real Beauties of America." Barbara's feature on Boldt Castle was published in McCall's. She has been a featured author on Mountain Lake PBS and Target Book Festivals in Boston and New York. For more, visit barbarabriggsward.com.