This is one of four different points of view on this night. For the full story, check back for more!

Sarah lay in her bed watching the minutes on her digital alarm clock slowly flick, waiting for morning to come. It felt like hours since she’d gone to bed; in reality, only half an hour had passed. She was 13, and anxious to hear footsteps on the rooftop. She’d missed him every year; this time, she’d stay awake and finally meet Santa Claus.

She rolled over onto her back, adjusting her blanket to fit more snugly. Winter wasn’t usually this cold, but a sudden windstorm had blown in from the north, dropping the temperature to a record low. She was only wearing a light nightdress, but had on two extra blankets. It was more than enough to keep her warm, and Sarah liked the extra weight on top of her.

As Sarah settled in for a night of waiting for Santa to come visit, she let her imagination run wild about all the different gifts she would get that year. There was that new stuffed animal she had seen a few months before that would finally complete her collection. And of course the latest DVD releases of her favorite movies and TV shows….

Her thoughts continued to wander, and eventually she felt her eyelids get heavy, and her body relaxed itself. She tried to shake herself awake, but sleep was relentless, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to fight it any longer.

But then she heard footsteps, and any chance sleep might have had vanished.

The footsteps were right outside her bedroom door! But there was something wrong with them. She realized quickly that the steps were leading down the hallway from her parent’s room, and as she listened she heard whoever was walking around their house head down the staircase. That didn’t make sense to Sarah, as their chimney led straight to the family room downstairs, and there was no way to get into her parent’s room other than the windows. Santa wouldn’t pass over a perfectly good chimney for a bedroom window, would he?

Sarah pushed off her blankets, careful not to wake her twin brother sleeping on the other side of the room. Her father had promised that she would get her own room in the new year, and she was quite anxious for it to happen. She had started bleeding a month ago, and although her mother told her it was normal, she didn’t want it to happen around her brother. Something just didn’t feel right about it.

Opening the door quietly wasn’t a problem. Her father kept the house well kept, and she’d been sneaking out of her room for years. She listened as the person walked down the stairs, trying to be silent but stepping on every creaking step. Sarah waited in the doorway to her room, and watched the silhouette of the person walk over to the family room. It was then that she saw the other person standing by the Christmas tree.

It was Santa Claus!

No one could mistake the hat with the fuzzy ball on the end. She squinted, but couldn’t make out where Santa had put his magical bag of gifts. It was then that one of the lamps in the family room turned on. Sarah had to look away for a moment, but once her eyes had adjusted, she snuck closer to the railing on the staircase and peered into the room downstairs for a better look.

She saw Santa, but he was much taller and thinner than all the story books.