Rodger's Close Encounter

“I hate these missions. Every time some Operations Manager wants to poke around the universe they call me,” said an angry asteroid and planetoid locator, Roger Terrane.

Roger had been in space for months, but it seemed like years. Lately, he’d been thinking about home. Roger was headed back home when a message came through for him to check out a planetoid that had appeared out of nowhere.

“What’s this?” Roger said, looking at his radar scope.

There was a sudden change in normal space.

Suddenly, Roger’s spaceship was tossed about as if in some kind of whirlpool.

Roger hits his head on something and passes out.

Roger’s spaceship crashes on the very same planetoid that he’d been sent to check out.



Coming to – Roger looks around his spaceship. Everything was torn apart. The instrument panel was destroyed. Looking out the porthole of his spaceship, it looked like the Rocky Mountains in the United States during winter. Roger remembered vacationing there many times during the time he was on earth.

Putting on his spacesuit, Roger took another look around his spaceship.

”Sure hope it looks better on the outside!” he said, climbing out onto the rocky, snowy terrain.

Walking around his spaceship, things didn’t look good. There was a tear along one side and the nose was almost sheared off. It looked bad, real bad.

“I sure hope the emergency beacon still works?” Roger said, walking back to the door of his spaceship.

Once back inside: “Oh No! I was afraid of that,” Roger said.

In his hand was an emergency beacon, designed to withstand the rigors of space; now, a piece of junk.

Roger checked his emergency equipment. The food canisters were intact, but much of the equipment was not.

Roger decided to stay inside the spaceship for the night; he’d begin exploring the area in the morning.

Roger slept a restless night, filled with dreams of home. How he missed home.

A new day came, if you could call it that, since there was only blackness, broken by the dazzling light of millions of stars.

Once again Roger put on his spacesuit. Climbing out of his spaceship he started to explore this bleak, barren, little world. Everywhere it was the same. Rock and snow. Snow and rock.

On and on Roger walked, his legs beginning to feel very heavy. It was the restless night catching up with him.

On top of a hill, Roger looked down into a valley and saw a small cottage with a chimney and smoke rising from it.

“Someone else is here!” Roger said with renewed strength.

Slowly, he walked toward the cottage.

How far was this cottage? He felt like he had been walking for hours and the cottage still looked far away. He decided to sit down and rest.

Staring at the cottage in the distance, the last thing he saw was his eyes closing. . . .





“Ooh! Ooh! My head. Where am I? What happened?” said Roger, reaching up to his head and feeling a bandage there. He thought: “The last thing I remember is looking down at this funny, little cottage in the distance, and sitting down to rest.”

Looking around, he’s in a cozy, little room. The walls were decorated with gaiety; toys and stuffed animals everywhere. Suddenly, the door opened and in walked a strange creature with something in its hand.

Roger studied the creature. It was short with bright eyes; a large, flat nose; a funny, toothy grin; and the ears – long, and flattened against a squat round head, and the tops were pointed! It had on a woolen cap and its clothes were of a wintery kind.

“Must hurry! Got to hurry! Can’t be late! Can’t be late!” said the little creature as it came nearer to Roger.

Setting the cup it had in its hand down on the nightstand beside the bed; the creature looked at Roger and said, “Here! Hot cocoa for you.”

The creature turned and hurried out the door.

“How odd?” thought Roger, picking up the cup and smelling it. He put his finger in it and touched it to his mouth. Sure enough, it was hot cocoa. He sipped the cocoa and thought: “How will I get anyone to help me? How will I get home?”

Roger didn’t know where he was; or, who these curious creatures were? He tried to get up and couldn’t. Lying there in bed, he heard a faint singing coming from somewhere, as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Waking up, Roger was very hungry. He wondered where he was going to get something to eat, when suddenly, the door to the room swung open. In walked the very same little creature that had left the cup of hot cocoa; this time it had a tray in its hand.

“How are you feeling?” asked the little creature, handing the tray to Roger. “Here is some food for you.”

“Is there anyone I can talk to about my ship? I crashed just a little ways over there,” Roger said, pointing in the direction he thought his spaceship was in.

“I’ll tell the Boss. He’ll want to talk to you anyway. He’s really busy right now. We all are. Can’t be late!” said the little creature scurrying out of the room.

When Roger was done eating, he tried to get out of bed. He stood up and began to take a step. Suddenly, dizziness came over him and he fell back onto the bed.

Lying there, he could hear singing. It was so sweet, so happy. The words! What were the words? “You better not shout; you better not cry; ‘cause I’m telling you why!” Was that it?

Again, Roger tried to get out of bed. He stood, took a step, then another, and another. Soon, he was walking.

Leaving the room, Roger entered a hallway. Then he came to a large kitchen with a dining table and all. At the counter was a very cheery, little old woman, singing as she baked and cooked.

Sitting at the table, Roger asks: “Excuse me, Miss? Is there anyone I can talk to about my ship that’s wrecked out there?” Again, pointing to where he thought his spaceship was. “Where I am and how I might get back home?”

“Oh my, yes! Poppa will be here soon. You can ask him. He knows so much more than I,” said the little old woman, giving him some fresh pastries and a cup of hot cocoa.

Before long, a funny, roly-poly, little old man with long white hair and a long white beard came in and sat across from Roger. He was a jolly man with a large toothy grin; dressed in red pants held up by a pair of suspenders; and shiny black boots. He was carrying a piece of paper with writing on it.

“Got to double-check my list. Time is running out. Can’t be late. That just won’t do!” the jolly, little old man said.

Roger asked, “Can you help me repair my ship so I can get back home?”

Looking at Roger, the jolly, little old man said, “Don’t know. Don’t know. Got a schedule to keep. Can’t be late. Can’t be late. Tell you what, I’ll have some of my helpers go look at your spaceship and I’ll get back to you.” With that, the jolly old gent got up and left.

Roger sat there, stunned. “Is everyone here in such a hurry all the time?” he thought.

“You’ll have to forgive Poppa. This is a very important time right now. It’s that time of year, you know?” the little old woman said, going back to her cooking.

Feeling tired, Roger went back to the room he woke up in. He laid back down on the bed and thought, “Heck yeah! I remember this time of year.” Roger soon drifted off to sleep.

Roger felt relaxed when he woke up, more relaxed than he’d been in a long time. He dressed and went back to the kitchen. He sat at the table and the old woman brought him some brownies and hot cocoa.

“Who are these curious creatures?” Roger asked.

“Oh, they’re Poppa’s helpers,” said the little old woman. “They were here when we arrived. As far as I know, they have always made toys, dolls, stuffed animals, and the like. I’m sure you have noticed the elfin-like features of these creatures. We even call them ‘elves,’ and they don’t seem to mind.”

In walked a tall elfin-like creature, with a narrow face; tired-looking eyes; a haggard smile; and the same pointed ears the earlier creature had.

“The Boss wants to talk to you. Something about your ship,” said the tall elfin-like creature.

Walking with the tall elfin-like creature, Roger went through a door next to the kitchen and entered a very large room.

“How can this be possible?” thought Roger. He remembered being on the hill looking into the valley at the small cottage in the distance. He had to be inside that very same small cottage. How can these rooms be so large? This has to be impossible! Everywhere he looked; these elfin-like creatures were working on one thing or another. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry.

Up walked that funny, roly-poly, little old man, talking with one of the elfin-like creatures. The creature nodded his head and scurried off.

“Hi, Roger! Hope you’re feeling better?” asked the jolly, little old man. “Some of my helpers went out and looked at your ship; don’t think we will ever be able to fix it. It must have been a real rough landing, my boy!”

The two walked back to the kitchen and sat down with hot cocoa and cookies.

“I was sent to check out a planetoid that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. On my way, my radar scope picked up a change in normal space. Suddenly, my spaceship was tossed about violently. I was knocked unconscious. When I came to, I was on this little world. My ship was badly damaged, so I set out on foot and spotted this small cottage,” Roger explained and asked, “I presume that I’m in that same cottage?”

“There is only one cottage, no others,” began the jolly, little old man. “Your spaceship crashing here is partly our fault. Let me explain. This world isn’t in normal space and time. It only appears in this space every December 20th, your time. It will disappear on December 25th, your time. The change we caused in ‘normal’ space to be in this space and time caused your ship to crash on our little world.”

“If you can be in your spacesuit and ready in the morning, I will give you a ride back to your world,” said the funny, roly-poly, old man.

“I’ll be ready,” said Roger.

“Fine. Relax. Look around. I’m sure you will find our little world quite interesting. Since it doesn’t exist in normal space and time, nothing is as it should appear,” said the jolly, little old man.

Roger had less than twenty-four hours to be ready. He began to wonder. He hadn’t seen a spaceship of any kind nor a building to house one, just this small cottage.

After packing his things and checking his spacesuit, Roger went back to the large room next to the kitchen. It was easy to find the tall elfin-like creature that seemed to be in charge. Roger walked up to him and asked, “What type of spaceship does the Boss have?”

The tall elfin-like creature started to giggle. “A very unique one, you’ll find.”

“What type of propulsion system does he have?” asked Roger.

The tall elfin-like creature burst into laughter. “The Boss has a very unusual propulsion system. As a matter-of-fact, I think you’ll find the whole thing very interesting.”

“Follow me!” said the tall elfin-like creature.

Roger did, and they walked past the large room where everyone was hurrying about, busy gathering what was done into bundles. They finally came to a large open area, and in the center was a huge sleigh – that was the only way to describe it. Roger began to chuckle.

“How are we going to get off the ground in that? Where are the engines?” Roger asked.

“The Boss will let you know when the time is right. Just don’t be late!” said the tall elfin-like creature.

Going back to the room where his things were, he thought about everything. How much time was left now? Hours, perhaps. Rogers mind drifted to the tales he had heard as a child. Everything seemed to fit: the roly-poly, jolly, little old man with a red suit; the little old woman singing and baking all the time; the elfin-like creatures working in a toy shop; that magnificent sleigh. Roger hurried back to the sleigh.

Everyone was busy now, hurrying and scurrying about. Reaching the sleigh, Roger stopped. It was full. There was no room left. He found the tall elfin-like creature hurrying about.

“Say,” said Roger, trying to keep up with the tall creature. “Where am I going to fit?”

“It’s been worked out by the Boss,” said the tall elfin-like creature. “Better get ready. The Boss leaves on schedule.”

Roger went back to get his things.

Roger thought he had heard a loud “Ho, Ho, Ho.”

Quickly putting on his spacesuit, he grabbed his bag of things and hurried toward the sleigh. Rounding the corner, Roger froze in his tracks. What he saw was beyond belief. In the room were elfin-like creatures, like a ground crew, preparing a craft for take-off.

One of the elfin-like creatures was going through a checklist with the funny, roly-poly, little old man whose cottage Roger was in. This time he had on a stocking’d hat and big furry coat, all red with white fir round the fringe; the same red pants Roger had seen him in earlier and black boots. Everything shiny and bright.

Seeing Roger, the jolly, little old man walked toward him. It hit Roger like an explosion – This is Santa Claus; this is his workshop; the elfin-like creatures, his helpers.

No! No! He was just lying somewhere, and this was all a vast hallucination. That’s right; he was suffering from a severe concussion in his spaceship and would come out of it soon.

“Roger!” said the jolly, little old man, interrupting his thoughts. “Ready? We’ll be leaving soon. I’ve got a long way to go and a lot to do. Can’t be late.”

“I’m ready, but where will I ride?” asked Roger.

“Listen carefully,” said the jolly, little old man. “Do you think you can hold onto the bars on the back of my sleigh and keep your feet on the rails? If you can, I’ll have you home in less than an hour after we leave.”

To be home in less than an hour from this desolate, isolated hunk of rock and snow – Roger could do anything.

“I’ll be able to hold on,” Roger said.

“How’s this going to get off the ground?” thought Roger. He still hadn’t seen any engines.

Suddenly, Roger heard such a clatter. Startled, he spun around and stared unbelieving. Tiny Reindeer. A group of elfin-like creatures were singing and laughing as they harnessed a group of tiny reindeer to the sleigh.

Roger asked one of the creatures, “Will the reindeer take us to a spaceport somewhere on this tiny world?”

“No. No,” said the creature, “You’ll see. You’ll see.”

“Well Roger. I’m sure this has been difficult for you,” the jolly, little old man said. “Put on your space helmet, my boy, we’ll be leaving in a few minutes. It’s time. Hurry! Hurry! The door will only last another twenty-four hours.”

“Door? What door?” thought Roger, putting on his space helmet and hopping on the back of the sleigh. Time had run out. The sleigh lurched forward.

Once outside, the sleigh began gliding over the frozen, snow-covered ground with a sudden quickness. Roger felt like he was flying, but he didn’t feel any wind. As a matter-of-fact, he didn’t feel anything.

The stars were brighter now, as he gazed toward the sky. Looking down, he almost lost his hold on the sleigh; he was flying. Roger could see the small cottage becoming a small dot.

“We’re going into space. But How?” thought Roger.

Roger saw the planetoid shrinking beneath him, getting smaller and smaller.

Looking around the edge of the now flying sleigh, his eyes widened. He could see it.

It was like a round hole, a whirlpool, with a large, uncluttered center. Through this center he saw the earth. The blue, the green, the misty swirls of clouds. Larger and larger it became the closer they came to it.

It was December 24th and here Roger was hitching a ride home, with Santa Claus, bringing joy and peace as the many folktales had foretold. This time, he was bringing something else, HIM, home to his family.

Roger remembered a line he had heard a long, long, time ago. Roger smiled as he said it, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”

Roger thought he heard a bellowing “Ho, Ho, Ho.”

From this day on, Roger always remembered and believed in Santa Claus.

As he held on to the back of the sleigh, he wished all a very Merry Christmas and to all a good night with peace on earth and good will toward all.