📝 Day 98 — Outside Inquiries

Today the questions came from outside the room.

Not accusations. Not demands.

Inquiries.

That’s always worse.

📬 The Messages

They arrived mid-morning.

Neatly worded. Respectful. Concerned.

Each one asked a version of the same thing:

“Are recent fluctuations intentional?”

No sender names were listed.

Only jurisdictions.

Plural.

🎄 Santa Reads Carefully

Santa read every message twice.

He did not smile.

He did not frown either.

He asked me to log the time and origin of each inquiry.

I noticed he did not ask me to respond.

That task went to Cupid.

💘 Cupid Drafts the Response

Cupid chose his words carefully.

He used phrases like:

• “Routine collaboration”
• “Seasonal alignment”
• “No cause for concern”

He avoided specifics.

He avoided timelines.

He avoided admitting that anyone was watching anyone else.

Santa approved the drafts without edits.

That should have been reassuring.

It was not.

🎃 Jack Marrow Is Already Absent

Jack Marrow did not attend today’s briefing.

No explanation was offered.

No one asked where he was.

Which tells you how much they already knew.

His chair remained empty.

The room felt larger because of it.

🐰 The Easter Bunny Hears a Rumor

The Easter Bunny asked if other holidays were aware of the Alliance.

Cupid said,

“Awareness is relative.”

That is not an answer.

The Bunny whispered that someone in his territory mentioned “draft issues” and “early signals.”

I added a note:
Leak confirmed. Source unclear.

So here we are.

The Holiday Alliance exists.

The Unlikelies meet behind closed doors.

And now other places have noticed the doors.

Tomorrow, someone will ask whether the Alliance was meant to be internal…

…or whether it was always going to be seen.

Still documenting,
– The Petty Elf 🧝‍♀️

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Still judging,
– The Petty Elf 🧝‍♀️