Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

We r eached the end of The Fields and cut back towar ds the small Sainsbur ys. I waited
outside w hile he picked up supplies ? at his insistence, he obviously had a sur pr ise br ew ing
- and saw a small cr ow d by the station entr ance. Kids and par ents w er e gather ed ar ound a
Santa and his aw kwar d teenage elf a gr ow th spur t ahead of his costume. In his hand was a
leather leash attached to the belled collar of a r eindeer. My hear t stopped but the sight of
its velveteen antler s, the imper fect nobble of its knees and unkempt shaggy coat made me
feel deep sadness r ather than fear. I eased my way thr ough the excited kids.
?She?s fr iendly,? the teenage elf assur ed me. He gr inned in a way that suggested he
enjoyed inter acting w ith anxious adults mor e than r ambunctious kids or pushy par ents.
?Give her your hand.?
I r emoved my glove and held out my palm. My hand tr embled as the r eindeer tur ned her
beautiful head at my appr oach and w ithout hesitation, she ducked her muzzle into my
palm, her black tongue lolling over my uptur ned finger s. The w eight of her snout was the
softest thing I had touched, softer than Noah?s new bor n head swaddled in Steve?s
enr aptur ed ar ms. Her br eath was hot and gentle. She smelled of hay and sw eetness and I
wanted to hug her , cr adle her neck and feel her gentle r eindeer kisses on my face. I star ted
cr ying. A small kid in a yellow bobble hat looked up at me, his little lip w obbling, and then
he star ted to cr y, too. The teen elf ?s eyes w idened in panic.
?She w on?t bite. Her name is Cinnamon.?
I sobbed out her name and then laughed at the absolute w r eck I had become. The
r eindeer didn?t car e, she just nuzzled my hand in an act of pur e, uncomplicated
acceptance. Her blue-black tongue took a full lick of my palm and the tr ail of saliva felt like
absolution.
A few par ents clutched their kids closer as I wailed. One of the dads, a kindly man w ith a
thick bear d and tar tan scar f, asked if I was ok and then Steve was at my side. He stopped,
dumbstr uck.
?Look at you. Alex? look at you.?
He told the bear ded dad and the r est of the onlooker s that I was fine, it was just my fir st
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