#Naughty or # Nice (The Holidaze Book 1)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What is that?" Meri asked once they'd trekked further down the trail.

She had noticed a gadget that Sander had pulled from the inside of his jacket, once they had started moving. When he had tried to point it at her covertly, Meri grew more curious. What was he hoping to glean from aiming it at her?

"Uh, nothing," Sander answered as he swivelled the gadget so it was out of view.

"Really? Then why hide it from me?" Meri raised her brows.

"Alright, you caught me," he admitted sheepishly.

"I sure did! Now what is it?"

"I invented this a while ago, after attempting the Match-a-Matic, but the Imag-o-Toy came first," Sander babbled, leaving Meri confused.

"All I understood was that you're an inventor."

Meri stared at him in amazement. Sander invented things and that fascinated her. She'd never met anyone who'd invented anything before.

"I've got to say that I didn't understand most of what you said," Meri said when Sander didn't answer her.

"Sorry about that. I sometimes get distracted," Sander rubbed a hand through his hair and stared at his feet.

"Why don't you start with the toy one, if that's the first one you made," Meri encouraged.

"Yes, the Imag-o-Toy was the first handy thing I invented. You saw them last night."

"When did I see this Inag-o-Toy?" Meri asked as she went through her memories of the previous night.

"In the workshop when I told you about my family."

"The workshop? Do you mean the factory?"

"Factory? We have no factory here. The elves come into the workshop because they thrive off giving. Anyway, the Imag-o-Toy were the big machines. They match the child with the toy they asked for. It made the elves lives much easier," Sander told her and Meri tried hard not to appear astounded.

When Meri considered that this really was Santa's Village, hearing about these inventions boggled her mind. There were elves who thrived off giving, and now machines that match toys to children. This world was a wonder that she only wanted to learn more about.

"I don't remember seeing any big machines, but a lot of the things were covered over," Meri said as she recalled the huge area that had appeared so fanciful.

"I'll have to show you them another time."

"What has the Imag-o-Toy got to do with that?" Meri pointed to the gadget in his hands.

"Once the success of Imag-o-Toy spread around, Cupid came to me."

Meri spluttered, stopped to stare at Sander for a moment and wondered if she'd heard wrong. How would the world of Santa know about Cupid?

"I'm sorry but surely you didn't just mention Cupid," Meri interrupted his explanation.

"Yes, I assure you I did. He is a part of our dimension. All of your holiday creations exist here."

Once again Meri stopped walking. All of this information had trouble coming together in her mind. Maybe this was a delusion of some kind. She pinched her arm until it hurt and determinedly faced Sander again.

"Please tell me you're not including different dimensions along with Cupid. It's taking away the relatability that has helped me overcome knowing this world is a real place." Meri exclaimed.