The Christmas Eve I was five, I woke my little sister, took her by the hand, and made her sit at the top of the stairs to watch our parents take our Christmas gifts out of the closet below the staircase. My objective? To prove to her that Santa wasn’t real. Why I don’t know. I don’t think I was a particularly mean sister. I can’t even remember how I knew Santa was make believe.
My parents didn’t discover us peeking, and my sister didn’t rat me out, so I went along with the Santa story for years after that night. Why? Because I believe in make believe.
Science can’t explain everything. Religion tries. Children simply believe. As we get older, we lose some of that capacity for hope against all odds, the certainty that, if we wish hard enough, it will be so. Star light, star bright …
I reserve room in my imagination for the magic of fairies, and elves, and unicorns, of ghosts, and Nessie, and Bigfoot. As a fiction writer, I think that’s only fair. When I offer you my writing, I ask you to enter a world of imaginary people, in imaginary places, doing imaginary things. I ask you to believe in my make believe.
And I’ll do my best to write it well, so no big sister will whisper in your ear and destroy the illusion.
Endnote: If you read this post and took any comment as a slight to your religious beliefs, please know that I had no such intent.
Linda Cassidy Lewis 
There is SO much more than we perceive! Plenty of room for all sorts of experiences. I believe in past lives and future lives, parallel universes, epigenetics and non-Euclidian geometry. I don’t understand advanced math or how electricity works but it all is out there for real. Fundamentally I have confidence in the benevolence of the Creator, whatever Her name, which is what Jesus tried to convince us of. For that reason we should be hopeful, and I wish you a Merry Christmas every day.
I miss your blogging. I hope you get back to it soon.
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Mary Jean, it sounds like we could have some very interesting conversations! 🙂 I’ll take that Merry Christmas every day and send the same to you. Thank you. I’m halfway back to blogging. 😉
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I can see this sentiment in the unfolding story I’m reading write now. I feel like your characters are lives lived.
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Thank you, Wendy. You’ve started my morning with a smile. 🙂
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When my granddaughters ask me if I believe in fairies, I emphatically answer YES!
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Welcome to my blog, Susan. I hope I never quit believing in fairies. 🙂
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