The next morning, the hawks landed gracefully in a snow-covered park by Lake Michigan. Shana hopped down with Elisa, her breath catching—hundreds, no thousands, of squirrels in Santa suits bustled around Christmas trees strung with lights—big squirrels, little squirrels, grey squirrels, black squirrels, red squirrels, and brown squirrels.
“Elisa, we found them!” Shana’s eyes grew wide. “The Christmas squirrels!”
A cheerful-looking organizer approached. “Hi there! I’m Amanda. You must be new.”
“Yes! I came from Puerto Rico to New York City and then the hawks…” Shana blubbered.
“Puerto Rico? You mean … the island?” Amanda hesitated, her brow furrowing.
“Yes, down in the Caribbean!” Shana perked up. “Blue water, white sand, hot as a blaze, you know the one.” Her words slowed as she spoke.
“Yes, I know it, but…” Amanda nodded.
“Is there a problem?”
“No, no problem, but…”
“Uh huh?”
“Well, technically, there aren’t any squirrels in Puerto Rico.” Amanda winced, unsure of Shana’s response.
“There aren’t?” Shana froze, her jaw dropped. “But I’ve always been a squirrel. I mean, everyone calls me a squirrel, like ‘hey, squirrel, here’s a nut’ and ‘what a cute squirrel you are.’” Shana giggled. “So, if I’m not a squirrel, what am I?”
Amanda cocked her head. “Well, I don’t know, but let’s see. Puerto Rico’s got lots of cute, cuddly creatures, right?” Shana nodded. “Umm, like, iguanas, no, that’s not it. Bats, mmm, probably not those either.” Shana shook her head trying to imagine herself as an iguana or a bat. “But you’re neither of those, don’t be silly. Oh, I know! You’re a bird. I saw you fly in.”
“But I can’t fly.” Amanda’s hopeful gaze faded.
“Well, then, maybe you’re a mongoose,” Amanda ventured. “Yes, that’s it, you’re a mongoose!”
“A mongoose?” Shana whispered, rolling the word around in her mouth like marbles. “I’m a mongoose? Not a squirrel?”
Coming to her senses, Amanda placed a comforting paw on Shana’s shoulder. “Listen, Shana, it doesn’t matter what you are. What matters is who you are and who you want to be.”
“I want to be a Christmas squirrel,” Shana responded hopefully.
“If you’ve got the spirit of a Christmas squirrel, Shana, then that’s exactly who you are!”
“Really?” Shana’s voice trembled with hope. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course!” Amanda placed her arm around Shana’s shoulders. “Welcome to the family, Christmas Squirrel,” Amanda winked. “And here’s a Christmas cupcake for you!”
Shana’s eyes widened and her heart lifted as she finally bit into the hazelnut cupcake.
“Thank you so much, Amanda! And Merry Christmas!”