A Thanksgiving Adventure

In all the months I've been alive, I've never really thought about what to do in an emergency. It sort of never really came up. I was a doll. And a queen at that! I had no real troubles. No taxes to pay, no dangers to face, no worries about when my next meal was, since dolls can't eat or drink. The only time I had to worry was when my switch was on and then my powers would work. And my switch was hardly ever on. But the second day at the house She lived in lent me to some changes we weren't expecting. Allow me to tell you about my adventure.

It was a boring day, essential for it's gray Novemberish sky and strong winds. Olaf, Loki, and I were on the dresser where She had decided to leave us before going out for church with her family. She didn't say anything about how long the service would be, but I somehow knew that She would be home at noon. Loki, Olaf and I had kind of formed an acquaintanceship since my last post. Olaf was even telling us about his experience with the other Olaf plushies in the Disney Store where he came from. I was trying hard to listen, but I found my eyes wandering to other parts of the room. I really liked the ceiling o' snowflakes.
"And I have six brothers! Did you know that? Six!"
"Hm, really?" I asked, feigning interest.
"Yeah! Let's see...there's Olaf Number One, Olaf Number Two, Olaf Number Three, Olaf Number Four, Tom, and me, Olaf Number Five!"
"Tom?" Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Tom's kind of a weird one. He really is. One time, he tried to-"
"Okay, I think that's enough, Olaf." I interrupted. I didn't want to be impolite, but I couldn't take much more of his backstory.
"But don't you want to hear about how Tom-"
"No, Olaf, not really." I said, a little too harshly.
"Oh, okay." The snowman looked disappointed. I suddenly felt guilty.
"I'm sure Tom is just as weird as you say he is," I said quickly. "But I'd like a little peace and quiet right now, how about that? Can you be quiet for a bit, Olaf? For me?"
Olaf shrugged. "I guess. How long do I have to be quiet, though?"

"Um...five minutes. That would be nice." I replied. I looked over at Loki to see if he agreed. He was looking over towards the door. He still wasn't talkative much, but I guess that was okay, because I'm not really all that much, either. He just seemed sad, that's all. She had given me snowflakes for my hair and Olaf a thread bracelet for his right arm-stick. Maybe he just felt a little left out.
I closed my eyes and tilted my head back. Olaf was silently counting each second of each minute in his head, I knew that without a doubt. But at least he was doing it quietly, right?
But my quiet did not last long. All of a sudden there was a screechy beeping noise that made us all jump up in surprise. Olaf screamed. Loki covered his ears. My hands started to glow in warning.
"What is that?" I shouted over the annoying noise.
"A smoke alarm!" Loki yelled back. "There must be a fire in here!"
It all went downhill from there. Panic ensued. At least from Olaf's side.

"I'M GONNA MELT!" The terrified snowman yelled, flailing around on the dresser. Funny, most of the Olaf's I knew loved heat. The poor thing was afraid of it. I'm also pretty sure he doesn't know that he's a toy yet. Loki and I will melt in case of a fire, because we are plastic, but Olaf's stuffing will burn, leading him to his death.
"Calm down, Olaf!" I shouted at the snowman. He was hyperventilating And it sounded like he had asthma. Not a good sign. "You're not going to melt! See? I built a personal flurry over your head to protect you!"
I had most definitely not. My switch wasn't on. But anything that would keep Olaf calm was needed. Fortunately he believed me, and his breathing slowed down quickly.
"Huh," said Olaf, looking up at his invisible flurry. "Much better."
"You're welcome." I replied, eyes widening at the sight of smoke coming in from under the door. It smelled like burning meat.
"The turkey!" Loki cried, as if everything suddenly all made sense. "The humans are having Thanksgiving tonight! Their turkey must have caught fire in the oven!"
I gasped. "Oh no!"
"What do we do?" Olaf asked.
"Elsa!" said Loki.
"What?"

"You need to go downstairs and freeze the fire!"
I stood up in alarm. "What?!"
"You heard me! You need to go downstairs and freeze the fire so we all don't burn to death!"
I really wish he hadn't added that last part. "But...I can't! I don't know how!" I stared down fearfully at my blue hands. Could I freeze the fire and save us all? Was that even possible now?
"You need to try!" Loki yelled. "It's okay...I'll...I'll open the door and then I'll follow you!"
"Okay!" I screamed back. I watched the little elf-man jump from the dresser onto the doorknob, and grunting in a furious panic in trying to open it. I too, felt my breathing start to quicken. Not that it helped much. The air tasted thickly of turkey. Not a bad taste, but a heavy one.

Finally, Loki managed to twist the knob just right. It opened, and he fell expertly to the ground like a trained acrobatic. I jumped down after him with as much grace as I could muster, which was not a lot, considering the situation.
"Come on, Olaf!" I yelled behind my shoulder.
"Elsa! Help!" he squealed from the dresser.

"Come on, just jump!" Loki said, fanning away some of the smoke that was coming in through the open door.
"It's a long way down!"
"Jump, Olaf!" I repeated.
"You're made of stuffing! You'll be fine!" yelled Loki. I shot him a nervous glance and tried to mumble, "Olaf doesn't know he's a toy."
"What?" Olaf yelled, luckily for me. "I didn't hear you!"
"I built you a snow cushion!" I lied. "Just jump, you'll be fine!"
"Do you promise?"
"We promise." Loki said, stretching out each word.
"Um... okay," said Olaf, and he prepared to jump. "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" I groaned impatiently.
He jumped rather clumsily, but overall he seemed okay. Loki and I poked our heads out the door first to make sure there was no danger before The Cowardly Snowman left the room.

"The coast is clear," Loki determined. "Let's go."
"Okay. You lead the way." I couldn't believe that those smoke alarms were still going on in their attempt to call help. Whatever they were doing, it wasn't working.
Loki lead me to the staircase and we made our way down half of the stairs before Olaf showed up. He was hiding at the top behind a banister.

"Come on, Olaf." I waved a hand.
"Are you sure it's safe?"
"Yes! Now come. We need you."
"You need me?"
"Yes, we do. You're very important in our mission here."
I saw Loki roll his eyes.
"Well, what do you want me to do?"
"First, follow us down the stairs." I replied, hoping to coax him to come with us.

(Loki and I on the stairs)
"Okay." The snowman tumbled all the way down.
"Now we enter the dining room." I explained.
"I better check to make sure everything is safe." Loki volunteered, stepping forward.
The two of us didn't speak as Loki climbed up skillfully onto a table, lain carefully with things called placemats and silverware. The smoke alarms beeped on and on.

"Loki!" I called after a while. "Are you okay?"
"Well..." I could tell there was bad news by the tone of his voice. "I'm sort of stuck."
"What? How?" Olaf asked.
"It's a long story," he sighed. "Well, not really. It's a short one. And a stupid one."
"Just tell us where you are, and we'll get you out." I promised.
"No, no, I'm fine," he replied quickly. "Go on without me. The kitchen is right around the corner, and the oven is in there."
"Are you sure that you don't want our help?" I asked.

"No, no. I'll be okay."
"But, Loki. What if I can't freeze the fire? What if the house burns down? You'll be stuck in wherever you are when it does."
Loki stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke."Elsa, I'm going to say something now, okay? It's very important, so listen well."
"Okay." I replied, forcing the tears in my eyes back to where they came from.
"Some people are worth melting for."
Behind me, Olaf nodded in agreement, the fear gone from his eyes. In it's place stood a strange emotion I had never seen before. Acceptance.
Some people are worth melting for.
The words remained planted in my brain. A swallowed the tearful lump in my throat. Loki would melt for us. For me and Olaf. he trusted me to save us. And even if I couldn't freeze the fire, we were people worth melting for.
"Yeah. But I'm not." I replied, gaining from spunk from who knows where. I ran down the remaining steps and into the kitchen. Foggy smoke poured out of the hot and angry oven. I stood back, shocked by the heat. Could I freeze all of this? I looked inside the window. Grease was bubbling out from the turkey pan into the oven floor, but so far, no fire. Which was the best news I had seen and heard all day. But since there was no fire, it also meant that there was nothing I could do.
"Wait, Elsa. Do you hear something?" Olaf asked, who I suddenly noticed was standing behind me.
A roaring sound. Not of water or fire, but of a garage door opening suddenly, perhaps to let in a car. She was coming home.
"Everybody, run!" I shouted. "Olaf, go back upstairs! I'll get Loki!"
"Okay!" he yelled, suddenly finding some courage in his little snowman soul.
I raced to the table and climbed up with a struggle, and a panic. She would know if we were out of our places. I just hoped Loki would be easy to save from his entrapment. Looking around wildly, the first thing I saw made me laugh.

Loki was trapped in a drinking glass.
"Um..." I held back a giggle.
"Elsa!" said Loki, suddenly noticing me. "Help! I'm stuck!"
"Oh, so now you suddenly want to live?" I joked, walking over to the glass.
"That would be nice." he replied in an equal tone.
I lifted him out and carried him up the stairs. We were too panicked to feel awkward, though we did later. A giant snow queen carrying a little elf-man up the stairs. I'm sure it was a sight to see.
Olaf was already on the dresser when we got back the the room. We quickly hopped up and got into our regular positions, hoping somehow that She would come in and save us from the turkey-flavored smoke.
She did. I knew She would. She even came in to check on us.

When we were situated in our spots, the door burst open and She ran in, coughing the air out of her lungs. She walked over to the window and opened them quickly, then turned around and flopped down onto her bed, then finished her cough somewhat breathlessly. Then She addressed us.
"Well," She panted. "The turkey is somewhat burned," Pant, pant. "But everyone's okay, and we'll still have Thanksgiving dinner."
Then She left the room. We were all speechless from our adventure, so we remained still and quiet until She returned. And She did return, giggling to herself and holding something tight in her pocket.
"I have something for you, my little elf-man," She said, then showed us a tiny green fluffy blanket, the thing she had been hiding. She laid Loki down on the blanket and made sure he was comfortable, then She left the room once again in girlish glee.

And then when She did leave, I saw Loki smile a little to himself.

***

A little while later She came back- but this time with treats. A tiny porcelain tea set, just a doll's size, with a larger cup (for herself) of ginger soda. She poured us each a teacup (Olaf had to drink out of the sugar bowl since there were only two teacups) and told us that this was our "Thanksgiving feast."

I sort of laughed a little to myself, noticing several problems with this. For one thing, dolls can't eat or drink, so the ginger soda was kind of wasted on us. And another thing, we didn't know what Thanksgiving was. We didn't know the meaning of the word.

Later, when She had left and we were are smelling our teacups of soda, Loki had taken the word "Thanksgiving" apart to "giving thanks."

"So," he explained. "We should give thanks for things. At least I think that's how the humans do it."

"I give thanks for a nice new home and good friends." I said, smiling, holding my teacup in the air in a toast of "giving thanks."

"I give thanks for our lives," said Olaf with a chuckle, taking a whiff of his ginger soda. "And that none of us melted in the fire."

I decided not to tell Olaf that there never was a fire. That would ruin our happy moment.
"Courage, too." I agreed, nodding in Olaf's direction.

"What is this stuff?" Loki asked, somewhat disgusted, finally looking down into his teacup.

"It's ginger soda," I explained. "Try it, you'll like it."

He sniffed the top rim of his teacup and drew back in surprise. "Not bad."

I laughed. "It's your turn, now, Loki," I said. "Olaf and I have already given thanks for something."

Loki took a deep breath in, smelling his ginger soda. "Hm, let's see..." he looked around the room, as if he needed to search for something to be thankful for, when in reality thankfulness was all around him. "I give thanks for everything."

"Everything?" Olaf asked.

"Everything," Loki replied, finally settling. "New beginnings, the chance to change, love."

"Hm." I nodded and sniffed my ginger soda. That was some pretty deep stuff for an elf-man of few words. I kind of liked it though.

A very thankful,

Queen Elsa