Chapter Two: Once Upon a Tom

In the second chapter of Santa Land, we meet Tom—the central figure in this grown-up fairytale. He's sitting at his desk, wrestling with the opening line of his next novel. A sentence that won't come. A deadline he can't meet. A silence that won't break. Tom is late. Past due. But what he's really struggling with isn't just the story—it's what the story is asking him to face. This chapter is about beginnings. Or rather, the space before one begins. ____ Each week, a story and a reflection. A grown-up fairytale unfolding one chapter at a time.