The snow drifted softly to the ground outside my window, flakes landing on the ledge outside and merging together to form a huge lump of snow. Watching the snow fall, watching as it became something almost indescribable, was memorising to me. It made me forget what I was doing, allowed me to pause, think for a moment. It almost made me change my mind.

Almost.

I knew the moment I had started packing that there was a lot I was going to miss about home. The snow which fell constantly, no matter the time of year, the cold chill in the air and the sounds of utter silence. Peace that could only come from an abandoned landscape. But despite all that, despite the things that made me want to stay, I knew I couldn't. I needed to find out whether I belonged in the North Pole, or whether there was something beyond it, something better. Finding out where I belonged was far more important than the little things that made home, well, home.

When I made my ultimate decision to leave, I was re-evaluating my entire life, wondering whether or not this was just a place. A place I grew up in, that a new. It didn't feel like a home anymore and, to me, having a home was much more important than just a place. Just being in the moment rather than going through the motions. I wanted to live in the moment all the time, I wanted to have the experiences I would remember for a lifetime, rather than events that occurred that I didn't think twice about. Events that had little to impact on my life.

So, as I packed up the last of my stuff, my T-Shirts and jeans, I ignored the snow that fell outside, I ignored the cold wind as it wiped through my room, and the silence that fell around me became unnoticeable. Like they were never there. Forgetting about these things, if only for a moment, made it easier for me to concentrate, easier for me to remember the real reason why I was going. The road ahead was going to be a tricky one, but it was the path I needed to take. Who knew what would have happened if I didn't.

With the last of stuff packed up, I struggled to close the zip on my suitcase, resorting to lying across the top in an attempt to pin it down and close it properly. The first suitcase hadn't been that hard to close because I hadn't exactly gotten my planning right when it came to distributing my clothes. There were more in the second suitcase than in the first. I should never have been allowed to pack by myself, things were going to go wrong from the get go.

"I don't get why you're going," Nick said, leaning against my door frame and watching me struggle. He could have come forward and helped, but no, Nick wanted to watch me struggle. Great little brother he was.

"You wouldn't," I said, peering through the curtain of white-blonde hair that had fallen in front of my face. Maybe tying it up would have been better, at least that way it wouldn't be plastered to my forehead with sweat.

"Why not? I'm only five years younger than you!" he protested, slamming his foot down the ground.

"Look, Nick, I'm not saying you wouldn't get it because of how old you are, you wouldn't get it because you have a place here. You are destined to take over from papa when he retires, I've got nothing going for me. This is the one chance I'm gonna get to look at things from a new angle. To decide whether or not I come back. Who knows, maybe there is something out there for me," I shrugged, forcing the zip on my bag shut.

"You're right, I don't understand." With that, Nick turned on his heels and ran downstairs, probably to play on his games console or something.

I stepped away from my suitcase, blowing hair our of eyes and stared at the spot my brother had stood in only moments before, trying to understand just what had happened. Normally Nick had some kind of comment to make, a sarcastic, unfunny remark that would resort to me chasing him away. Instead, he just left. Ever since I had announced my decision to leave for a few months, everything was different around the house. Nick no longer made jokes at my expense, papa left me alone and barely spoke two words to me and mama looked like she was going to burst into tears whenever she looked at me.

Honestly, I had expected papa to yell at me, tell me that I shouldn't go, that I had no right to abandon the family, or whatever. Only he didn't. Papa just ran his fingers through his beard, stared at me and then nodded his head before leaving the room completely without so much as a word. Papa had never been one to keep quiet, he always expressed his opinions, even when they weren't necessary. For him to keep quite like that was pretty alarming, if not extremely alarming.

In the days since my announcement, mama had tried to talk me out of going. She had used every single trick in the book, but I wasn't going to change my mind that easily. No one understood just why I had to leave, they all thought I was abandoning the family like I could have stayed but I was leaving because I was being selfish. The truth was the complete opposite. None of them understood what it felt like to be the odd one out, to have a purpose. If they understood, then I wouldn't need to go away, but they didn't and I did.

With my stuff packed and me more ready than ever to begin a brand new adventure in my life, I knew it was time to go. Papa said that it was up to me when I left and I had delayed enough as it was in packing. Starting my new life as a normal teenager was going to be a great experience and help me decide more about my future, my life when Nick takes over and I'm left with nothing. Finally, I was going to find out where I truly belonged.

"You all packed?" Mama asked, suddenly appearing in my doorway like a shadow, soundless.

"Yeah, I think," I replied, furrowing my eyebrows together. Knowing me, I had left something hidden under my bed or under a loose floorboard, but if they were hidden it was unlikely I would ever need it. Still, I did a quick standing glance around my room, making sure there was nothing obvious that I had missed.

"Good, let's get this stuff downstairs." Mama smiled and grabbed the box closest to her whilst I battled with my two suitcases, heaving them downstairs. They bounced off the bannisters and even the walls, leaving dents and marks all the way down. Not a positive note to leave on I must admit.

Still, between mama and I, we managed to carry everything down to the living room, stacking it up as we went. Boxes were balancing precariously on top of each other whilst two bin bags and my suitcases stood on their own away from the chaos of stacked boxes. By the time we were finished, my arms ached and I had sweat plastering my hair to my forehead and the back of my neck. Mama looked as though the effort or carrying everything unfazed her, she wasn't even sweating. Either she had some kind of magic going on, or I was really unfit. Hopefully, it was the former.

"Right, looks like you're all ready to go!" mama said, her voice sounding both enthusiastic and a little upset.

"Yeah, looks like it," I said, brushing the hair off my forehead with the back of my hand. I knew mama was likely to get emotional about me leaving, but I knew I couldn't let it get to me. If it did, there was no way I would be leaving, I'd probably just stay at home and be miserable for the rest of my life. Mama had that effect on people.

"I wish you weren't going, Kenzie. I know your Father can be tough at times, but I'm sure he'll come around," mama said, trying to change my mind.

"He won't, he never does. Papa is a stickler for tradition, even if does break it and hope no one notices. You can beg him to change his mind, but it'll never happen. I need this. I need to find out where I belong because right now, it feels like I don't belong anywhere."

"You know, there is a reason I didn't tell you the story. I hoped that you would find a way to change your Father's mind without having to leave. I was holding onto the belief that I wouldn't have to say goodbye to you, not yet anyway. You see, the people who go on these little excursions don't make a habit of coming back. I just couldn't bear to loose you Kenzie, you're my daughter after all," mama said, trying to blink back the tears that fell silently down her cheek.

Ever since AJ had told me about the break in tradition, I wondered why mama had never told me. Why for all these years she kept quiet and never told me that I had the chance to break out of this constant cycle. Now I knew why. She had hoped that I wouldn't go and stay gone, that I would never come back. Maybe, she had a reason to be worried, if what she said was true, and that there were more stories of people staying gone, then her fear was understandable. But at the same time, I'm not like those who decided to stay gone, I should have the right to make my own mind up once and for all.

"Trust me, mama, even if I decide to stay gone, it wouldn't be the last you heard of me. I'm not just going to abandon you like that. I just need the opportunity to see what else is out there for me, whether there is a life beyond Christmas and the North Pole," I smiled.

I stepped away from my stuff and walked towards mama who pulled me into a hug. I nestled my head into her chest and breathed in her scent. The gingerbread smell lingering on her skin and clothes. That was the last time I was going to be able to hug mama until I had made up my mind until I knew where I truly belong, and I never wanted to let it go. For in that moment, everything felt right, everything felt like it was supposed to. Only it wasn't. There was more for me to discover.

"So you're really going," papa said, sliding into the room, the bells on his belt sounding through the comfortable silence. Mama and I broke apart, the moment we were having together shattered by the arrival of someone who really didn't care that I was leaving.

"I am," I said, clearing my throat and trying not to sound like I was about to cry. Truth was, in that moment with mama, I felt like crying was the one thing that would make me feel normal, but I had to remain strong. It was what I wanted, what I needed, Nothing could break my focus.

"Let's get you off then!" He didn't care that I was going, of course not. Papa had one less thing to worry about, one less problem to deal with. That's what I was to him, nothing but a problem.

Papa waved his hands at me to back up so I was stood amongst my stuff, the boxes swaying slightly as I nudged them with my elbow. My eyes went directly to mama as papa prepared everything for the journey. Mama's eyes were shining like she was going to cry at any moment and I had to look away from her. Saying goodbye was always hard, but for someone who had never had to do it before, for someone who had never left home before, it was an impossible task. It was like asking someone to staple jelly to a tree, pretty much impossible unless you've done it before.

Saying goodbye was never going to be easy.

I took a deep breath, feeling my insides contract as papa passed me a worn out bicycle bell. The metal was cold to the touch like it had just come from outside, but I knew it had been kept in a locked cupboard, away from Nick. I ran my fingers along the chipped bronze paint, some of it flaking off on my fingers. It was strange to look at the bell and know that this was the thing that would take me away from my family and into a different life. My future rested on this one little bell working its magic and getting from one place to another unharmed. Hard to believe I had to put my faith into a bell.

"You know what to so?" papa asked.

"Yeah," I replied. Papa nodded and took a step back, closer to mama.

My fingers clenched tighter around the bell as I pictured the location I wanted to go. The image being my one focus point, the one thing I could not forget. With the picture solidified, I could not say I proper goodbye to mama in case I lost concentration. I didn't get to say the word I needed to. Instead, I clicked the bell once, listened for the chime and felt my feet lift from the ground.

It was as though I had been sucked into a giant tornado. My hair was wiping around uncontrollably, my eyes struggling to stay open as the force of the movement grew stronger and stronger. Keeping the picture in my mind became a lot harder when there was so much going on around me. I felt as though I had gone up into space, where gravity no longer mattered. Even with the force of the winds, my body still floated around in this empty space, weightless. Everything was on its head and nothing made sense anymore. Not that anything had ever made sense in the first place.

When I eventually came to a stop, my feet slammed onto a carpeted floor, my knees almost giving out from under me at the force. The stuff I had travelled with, that I hadn't seen since I was home, was stacked neatly around me like it hadn't just made the trip I had. Blinking several times, my surroundings became clearer and I was finally able to see that I had done something right. I had not forgotten the image in my head and had arrived at the location I was supposed to. My granny and grandpa stood off to the side, huge grins stretched across their faces.

"Mackenzie! You made it!" granny exclaimed, approaching me with open arms. She was the only one who could call me Mackenzie and get away with it, other than the elves of course.

"Nice to see ya, Ken!" grandpa said, smiling at me whilst granny pulled me in for a hug. A strong smell of cinnamon and ginger filled the air, it reminded me of home but I knew that the one think I couldn't do was get wrapped up in memories of home. It would only end badly.

"It's great to have you staying here, Mackenzie! Your room is ready for all your furniture as well as your bits and bobs and you will be attending a school nearby as of tomorrow!" granny said, stepping back and holding onto my arms stupidly tightly.

School. I had completely forgotten that to be normal, I would have to go to school. Mama had taught me pretty much everything since I was a kid, but learning everything at home compared to being around others was a little different. At home, mama let me eat snacks and junk food whenever we worked, but I knew that sort of stuff wasn't allowed in school as it was 'rude' or whatever. Life was going to be so different.

"Let's get all this stuff upstairs, shall we?" grandpa asked, rubbing his hands together in a mischievous way. I didn't expect granny and grandpa to be able to carry all my stuff upstairs so I had little to no idea just what he meant by that. Grandpa had been known to say some pretty odd things but his actions tended to be even stranger. "Stand back, Ken!"

Granny and I stepped back, her arms still wrapped tightly around me, like she never wanted to let me go. Grandpa wiggled his fingers, small silver sparks firing from his fingers. After several seconds, he stopped the wiggling, which was completely pointless and nothing but showboating, and clicked his fingers. A string of sparks erupted from his fingers, showing my stuff in a silver haze. It was like the glitter trick all over again, only this time the sparks weren't just going to decorate the living room, they were going to do something way cooler!

If you didn't know what was happening, it would look as though the sparks were eating the stuff as it very slowly faded to nothing and it was understandable, but it wasn't the case. The sparks worked like the bike bell, like a transportation device. They moved my stuff from the living room without having to go anywhere at all. Once all my stuff had gone, they just vanished, like they had never been there. The joys of North Pole magic knew no bounds and I have to admit, it was impressive.

Although we weren't in the North Pole, the magic worked just as well and given how grandpa was Santa Claus only a few years ago. I always thought that the moment they left their role, the magic went as well, but I was wrong. North Pole magic isn't based on your role or whatever, it's based on whether or not you believe, whether or not you acknowledge it being there. If you don't you loose it. Belief is just as important as anything else.

"That was fun!" grandpa chuckled, placing his hands on his hips.

"I wish I could do that. It would make life so much easier," I laughed.

"You can do it! You just need to acknowledge magic in its entirety, the little things rather than the whimsical nonsense that we enjoy so much," granny said, pulling me into her side.

She was right. I always thought that magic consisted primarily of the whimsical, outlandish stuff that is written in story books and shown on TV. But magic isn't just about that, it's about the little things. The little bits of magic people experience on a day to day basis, but don't see it, don't acknowledge it in any way. I suppose, magic is something you need to have an open mind to see and not everyone is willing to accept it's existence.

"Right, why don't you go upstairs and get your things unpacked and I'll start dinner, how does that sound?" granny said, looking at me.

"Sounds good," I replied.

"Great, you are up in the spare room, I'm sure you'll be able to find it on your own." Granny released my shoulders and ushered me to the staircase, poking me along the way. I couldn't help but squirm whenever she poked me, I was stupidly ticklish and hated it when people poked me.

Whilst granny and grandpa went to the kitchen, I threw myself up the stairs, practically crawling my way up them until I reached the landing. Granny and grandpa's house was going to be my home for the next few months and I was going to treat it like it was my own. They were always saying to Nick and me whenever we went to stay that we had to treat the place like our home and that was exactly what I was going to do.

The room hadn't changed one bit. It had been a good few years since Nick and I had stayed with granny and grandpa and, other than the occasional dust, the room hadn't changed at all. The blanket was still folded neatly at the end of the bed, the pale blue rug lay in the centre of the room and the little elf doll sat amongst the pillows on the bed. All my stuff was stacked in the corner, placed neatly and stacked high, the same way it had been downstairs.

Even though packing was difficult, unpacking was a lot easier. When it came to actually packing, it was a chore to figure out what to pack first and just how to put everything away so you could find it later. Unpacking was just a case of finding a place for everything and as this room was a lot like my old one at home, the same furniture placement, the same size, unpacking was a lot easier. I just put everything in the same place it had been at home.

Simple.

Or at least, I thought it was. Turns out unpacking was a lot harder then it appeared to be. Everything about packing and unpacking I hated. End of.

 ~~~

A/N - Two updates in less than a week! Aren't you lucky?  So, Kenzie has made the ultimate decision to leave the North Pole and move in with her grandparents elsewhere! She finally gets to experience a life of normalcy! Exciting times

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Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to Barney_Armey who is working on their own Christmas story!!! I think ya'll should follow them and check it out!

First Published - October 30th, 2016