When Chris went to the police station, only one cop, Officer Dean Miller, listened to him. The boy wanted him to find Santa and deliver his urgent letter. Officer Miller promised to do his best and cried when he read the boy’s words. Then he enlisted his friends’ help for a big surprise.

“See, Mom? I told you Santa was real, and the cops would find him!” Chris bragged to his mother as they all celebrated in their house. The older woman looked down at her son, smiling slowly, and then focused on the policemen around her house.

“You were right, honey. Santa is real,” Chris’ mom agreed and grinned at Officer Miller, too, thanking him for everything with one look. Only a few days ago, Chris had a different experience with the police. “Please, someone help me! I need help!” Chris shouted as he entered the 24th precinct of the NYPD a few days before Christmas.

“Hey, kid. Come on. You can’t scream in here. We’re all busy,” an officer told Chris, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulders. The 8-year-old child, too agitated to calm down or lower his voice, asked the cop to help him with his task. However, the older man just laughed.

“Please, kid. Tell me your mom’s phone number, so she can come to pick you up,” the officer added after laughing over the boy’s request. Even at his age, Chris knew he was being dismissed and turned around, exiting the precinct.

Just then, Officer Dean Miller walked in and stopped the boy. “Hey, where are you going? Where’s your mom?” “She’s home. I needed something urgent, but no one here will listen to me or help,” Chris pouted, his eyes looking down in defeat.

Officer Miller felt sorry for the kid and didn’t want to let him go outside now that snow had picked up. “Okay, tell me, and I promise to do my best.” “I need you to find Santa and give him this letter. It’s urgent! It’s a matter of life or death!” Chris said and handed Officer Miller the envelope addressed to the North Pole.

The policeman almost laughed, but the kid was so earnest that he decided to play along. “Okay, kid. I’ll make sure to find Santa and hand him the letter. Now, let me drive you to your house because your parents must be worried,” the older man suggested, guiding the kid to his cop car.

Chris’s mother thanked him profusely for bringing back their boy, as he had snuck out when no one noticed. Officer Miller waved goodbye and forgot all about Santa’s letter until that night when he got home and started to remove his jacket.

“Oh, right. The letter. I wonder what kind of presents are ‘life or death’ for this kid?” Dean mused as he opened the envelope and continued taking his uniform off. But he froze with one hand on a sock, and his eyes watered.

Chris was not asking Santa for any gifts. In fact, he didn’t want anything for himself. The kid wanted Santa to bring a new hearing aid for his sister, Sandra. Her old ones were outdated and barely worked anymore. But there was one part of the letter that struck him the most. The letter read:

“My dad lost his job, and they said the aid is too pricey. Please, help us, Santa. Sandra is the best sister in the world, and I want her to play with me. Here’s our address, phone, and my mom’s name if you need to call her.

Thank you, Santa!”

Dean placed the letter on his bedside table and wiped his eyes. He got into the shower and did the rest of his nightly routine. But his head wouldn’t stop spinning. “What can I do about this family predicament? Can I help them get a new hearing aid for the girl?” he thought while trying to focus on the evening news.

It was hard to sleep that night, so his partner, Officer Henning, noticed his fatigue the following morning. Dean apologized and told him about the boy’s letter. “I’m wondering if I can do anything to help. I don’t know how much that hearing aid costs, though. I bet a cop’s salary might not be enough. But it’s almost Christmas,” he explained, feeling frustrated about the whole issue.

“You know what? I have an idea,” Officer Henning offered. “I know it might not be the best use of police resources, but hey, maybe this year we’ll do something different.”

They entered their precinct and talked to a few other cops. Everyone agreed to help, and the resident I.T. guy was able to find Chris’s sister’s medical information. After talking to the girl’s doctor, they discovered what kind of hearing aid she needed and pooled their resources to get it.

It was pretty expensive. The one Sandra needed was around $4,000, but everyone at the precinct was excited to donate to the cause. Early Christmas Eve, they acquired the aid, and the doctor was willing to install it pro bono. Now, they just needed to tell Chris’s family.

“Ok, let’s go to the girl’s house and surprise her,” Officer Henning said, but Officer Miller stopped him, placing a hand on his partner’s shoulder.

“Wait. Almost everyone at the station helped, and they deserve a chance to see this family’s happiness, too, right?” Dean commented, scratching his chin in thought. “So what do we do?” Henning replied

“Do you still have that Santa costume from last year?” Dean suddenly asked with a cheeky smile. Officer Henning laughed and shook his head at the audacity of his partner. But then, he nodded, and they went to find it.

A few hours later, Officer Henning strolled through the family’s front door in a Santa costume when Chris’s mother answered his knock. He ho-ho-hoed and called out to the kids. Dean was right behind him, and several other officers too. They brought donuts, coffee, soda, snacks, and cheer to celebrate.

Chris’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Petersen, were stunned. But the boy was jumping around, holding his sister’s hand and telling her that the cops had found Santa.

“They did it! They did it! Officer Miller, you did it! You found Santa!” the kid cheered, and Sandra smiled too.

“Yes, we did, kid. And we have a huge surprise for you, little Sandra,” Dean revealed and showed the girl a box. It contained the hearing aid she desperately needed. Chris and Sandra yelled in excitement and went directly to thank Santa while Mr. Petersen talked with some of the other officers.

At present, when the initial shock of their visit subsided, Officer Miller took Chris’s mother aside and explained everything. “When I read the boy’s letter, I thought I had to do something, ma’am. Your doctor has already agreed to install the aid pro bono. I hope it wasn’t too intrusive,” Dean explained, hoping that the woman was not offended.

“Of course not. I just, I have no words to express how grateful I am. Chris told me about the letter when you brought him back that day. We had to sit him and Sandra down and clarify that Santa doesn’t exist. Because there’s no way we could afford that this year. They both cried terribly. This, well, seeing my kids that happy about Santa, and the fact that my daughter gets a new aid, it’s magical. It’s like Santa really visited,” the woman mumbled, her voice trembling from emotion.

Dean grinned at the woman, and his eyes watered once again. This situation was definitely not part of his job description. But he learned that helping people sometimes means doing more than you’re required.

What can we learn from this story?

Good people go above and beyond. Officer Dean Miller decided to go beyond his job description to help a little kid at Christmas. If everyone thought like him, the world would be a better place.
Let kids believe in Santa. Sometimes, adults need to believe in him too. Unfortunately, Chris’ family had to tell him the truth about Santa because they couldn’t get Sandra a hearing aid. But someone brought the spirit of giving back into their house, and even Mrs. Petersen started to believe again.
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