Two Strangers Knocked During a Christmas Outage. The Moment They Gave Their Names, I Knew Something Was Wrong.

corner from the living room, the blanket still pulled up to his nose, his eyes enormous in his small face. In the lantern’s soft glow, he looked like a character from an old storybook illustration.

“Daddy,” he whispered in that stage whisper children think is quiet, “are they Santa’s friends?”

Under different circumstances, I might have smiled. Instead,continue reading …