Val's story - OR - Meet me at The Lamppost

For Val, who picked "lamppost".

The man had spent all night working on it, crafting it out of spare bits of metal tubing and the glass from the medical supply case. He took a step back to admire the end result. It looked liked something that had been thrown together in about eight hours (which pleased him, as he had only been working on it for six hours), but it would have to do. He went out into the lush tropical jungle and tried to find the Perfect Spot to place it. After an hour or so, he finally found just the spot - a small clearing amongst the many trees. He planted the item firmly in the ground then lit the wick on the top with the torch he had brought with him. Now all he had to do was wait about an hour or so to show it to her.

The man went back to his house and pulled on a sweater, ear muffs and scarves, and took another scarf from the old cardboard box in the closet. He kept checking his watch until, finally, it showed the time of 11:55. He then crept out of the house, and walked the short distance to another, seemingly identical house. He picked up a small rock and threw it gently at the window. Nothing happened. He tried again, then again, but there was still no response from the house. Finally he whispered loudly:

"Annie!"

This (somehow) did the trick, and a lovely, though sleepy, woman appeared at the window.
"What on earth...?"

"Just come follow me," he replied.

The woman was curious, so she threw on some jeans and came outside.
"What is this all about?"

"You'll see," he replied, handing her the scarf.
"Here, put this on."

She looked at him as though he was crazy, but she wrapped the scarf around her graceful neck anyway, and followed him. The Perfect Spot was not very far from their houses, and they were soon there. She stopped as soon as she saw it - a lamppost in a clearing.

"Oh," was all that she could think of to say.

"I know this isn't Narnia, and I couldn't find any snow," he explained, "but I do believe that this is an ideal spot to watch for fawns."

"It's perfect," she whispered.

"Merry Christmas," he replied.

~fin