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Jack had never seen so many present boxes in his life, as he watched North load up his sleigh with billions of presents, for all of the children around the world. Tooth, Bunny and Sandy were there too, helping North load and the yeti’s make the final toys needed. He was on time-out, told to go to the kitchen and help the elves as they thought he would be “too distracting”. Jack scoffed, he knew when a good time for pranks and fun was, and he could be serious when needed, but now he gets to bake cookies at least.
After the presents were delivered, Jack was sitting on a frozen cardboard box in the living room with the other Guardians, he didn't want to get too warm, and the topic of how each one became a spirit came up. One by one, the Guardians shared their stories, North being a bandit king once, Tooth being a fairy queen, and Bunny being the last of his kind. Sandy had no stories as he has always been here. Jack listened quietly, adding jokes every once in a while, but mostly observed the others.
When Sandy finished telling a tale about Mother Nature, and her favorite tree. A beautiful willow that lived long ago, and still does because she wills it too. It’s Jack's turn now, and everyone is looking at him, he gives a small grin then tells his story.
“So, 300 years ago, I lived in a small village near my pond with my little sister and my parents. It was a cold, but bright day so we went ice skating on the pond. We were able to skate for a little while, when the ice started to crack underneath my sister.”
Jack pauses for a moment, and looks at his friends, his family , who look back with concern and fear lingering in their eyes, and Jack looks down into his empty cup and continues on.
“I needed to get her to safety quickly without panicking her, so I told her we were gonna play a game. I took three steps toward my staff and grabbed it firmly, and as she took three steps forward, the ice broke more. I used my staff to push her onto safe ice and me onto the cracking ice and for a moment everything was calm and happy.”
The Guardian’s faces relaxed, and Jack noted that they thought the story was over, except Sandy, who signed slowly asking for the rest. North boomed a big laugh and as he was about to answer Jack said:
“And then the ice broke beneath my feet, and I fell into the pond. I drowned or froze to death; I don't know which one. Then the Man in the Moon brought me back and made me a winter spirit.”
The room was dead silent, as Tooth fluttered her iridescent wings that were tinged with purple, green, and blue nervously. North and Bunny had looks of shock and horror on their faces and Sandy seemed sad but not surprised at the ending. Jack nervously chuckled and said “Yeah, I’m a walking corpse, a bit freaky I know, but I’m alive and that's what matters right?” Sandy floated over to Jack and gave him a big hug, which broke the silence and the others out of their shock, and they came to give Jack a big hug too. It eventually ended up as a cuddle pile, but no one cared. The feeling of joy, happiness and family love came back into the room and soon everyone was laughing and having a good time with some good jokes and bad puns.
Slowly, everyone moved back to their original spots, save for Sandy and Baby Tooth, who stayed near Jack for comfort. This time, the Guardians wanted to hear more of Jack’s stories and his adventures travelling for 300 years. Jack did gleefully, telling of past fights, pranks, and his escapades from angry spirits. His tales brought love and joy into all of their hearts, and everyone was filled with laughter and happiness as they smiled and laughed the night away.