The words came from a strange blue creature. It stood no more than three feet tall, a reindeer with a bushy brown coat and a white belly, a little red backpack strapped over its shoulders.

The creature’s big black eyes were watery with worry.

The straw hat boy beamed down at you. His grin was so wide it seemed to stretch from ear to ear, his dark eyes sparkling with adoration.

He said it so matter-of-factly, like you should know exactly what that meant.