was truly amazing that imperfect, wretched creatures of this Earth could make such a pure, soaring sound…

Against her will, she felt her mouth open and the lyrics start pouring out. Once she started she couldn’t stop, and she sang Saba’s part with growing strength and joy. Suddenly she heard Saba stop singing, and she was all alone in the second soprano part.

Dakota whipped her head around, still singing, to see Saba’s wink and reassuring nod. Dakota faced the crowd again, her heart pounding in her ears. Without Saba’s voice covering her own, she could be heard by one and all. She listened as if from outside her own head to her flowing voice rise and fall, and watched as others took notice of the new voice in the band.

Her eyes found her brothers Dingo, Kodi, and Kenai near the front. Dingo and Kodi wore identical impressed looks, while Kenai simply gaped at her like a fish out of water. Her gaze swept the room, and fell on her father.

Her throat tightened, and her voice quivered on the brink of going flat. She tried to take a deep breath, and a few seconds later the song was over.

For applause, the dogs stamped on the dusty floor, and a few dogs even whistled in appreciation as wagging tails whirled the risen dust in spirals in the air. Dakota stood stunned for a moment, then turned and pulled Saba to the side.

“You got me into this, don’t leave me to do this alone!” she hissed, pleading.

Saba was silent, but then she nodded. “All right. Sorry. It’s just, when we both sing, Dad can’t hear you! And the whole reason you’re up here is for him to hear you, right?”

“Saba!” Dakota whispered desperately, “Please. I’ll freeze up soon, I know it. And, I’m starting to think this isn’t such a good idea. It’s…it’s too pushy. If Dad finds out, I’ll look so pathetic and desperate.”

“But you are desperate, correct?” Saba asked quizzically.

“Well…”

“Yes, you are. Why do you think you’ve been beating yourself up so much over a little missed attention? But…okay, I’ll give you a break. We’ll sing the first half of each song together, then you’ll sing the rest by yourself.”

“What?” Dakota squeaked, but she couldn’t argue anymore. Jenna had started counting off the next song, and the two sisters had to scramble back to their places.

The rest of the concert swept through ‘O Holy Night’, ‘Jingle Bells’, and ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’. Dakota watched her father’s face the whole time, and started to relax when he looked right back at her. His eyes sparkled with pride and happiness, and there was no mistaking the spirit behind his unwavering grin, as if hearing her sing was some kind of magic. Dakota suddenly knew what she should do, and when the last note had died from her lips, she dove into the roaring crowd and pushed her way towards Balto. She shoved and heaved her way through, and fell at his feet when she finally reached him.

She pulled herself up and looked into her father’s face. His eyes were flooded with concern. She took a deep breath, so much like the breath she took before every song, and spilled over. “Dad.” That word. The word she hadn’t said in so long. “Dad, when I was little, I loved to sing. I practiced your mom’s lullaby until I knew every note, every word, every rhythm. I sang it to you one day. Do you remember that?”

“I do,” Balto said slowly, “How could I ever forget it, Dakota?”

She swallowed. “You smiled. You were going to hug me to show me how much you liked it, but then Aleu…Aleu got in the way, and the hug never happened.” She noticed how quiet it had become, but that wasn’t important now. “I admit it. I was jealous. Aleu was special to you, because she looked like a wolf, like you. I was just a regular pup, and I was jealous of the extra attention Aleu got. I guess that time Aleu ruined that hug was…well, the last straw for me.” She took a shaky breath. Here came the blow. “That’s why I’ve hated you all these months.”

Balto flinched as if she’d slapped him.

Dakota felt a pang of guilt, but he needed to know how she felt.

Could the silence get any louder?

“Because of jealousy. But, now I understand.” She heard Saba make a noise somewhere between a cough and a sigh. “Aleu was different. You needed to give her the extra attention. I was just too jealous to understand, or care. But, I do want that moment back. I want it to end up like it was supposed to.” She couldn’t look at him anymore. Balto’s face was too full of fighting emotions for her to sing without crying.

Dakota closed her eyes, and took a breath. One note touched the air like a melting icicle. “Deep…” Yes, she had to dig deep, past all her thoughts, feelings, instincts, down until her heart opened, and a spurt like the first lick of dawn set her soul on fire. A ray of happiness sang through her, and her eyes opened as she opened herself up to the song in her heart. “In the night, the winds blow cold…”

She sang with her eyes open, but she wasn’t seeing what was in front of her; she was seeing memories she had long since forgotten: rolling with Balto in the cool green meadows of summer…Balto’s warm breath on her forehead as he kissed her goodnight…shaking with sickness, and then Balto’s voice wrapping around her warmer than any blanket…her paw inside Balto’s pawprint in the wet sand on the beach…Balto. Her father. How could she have let her hate make her forget all the love he had shown her?

The memories gone, she looked up to see Balto’s eyes misty with wonder. She did have a gift for him, she realized. Her voice, her song, her love in return for the love he had shown her as a child-that was her gift to him.

A flash of color from behind made Dakota turn around, and through the window she saw Jenna up on the hill, the Northern Lights shimmering in a heavenly cloud behind her. Dakota smiled happily at Balto, whose eyes were shining as she sang, “There’s no turning back…Your destiny is calling…” Her voice dipped and wove, and flew high above the Northern Lights as she ended the song. “Yes, reach for the light.”

Balto gazed down at her, shaking his head, a quivering smile on his face. His fur colored pink, then green, then pink again as the Aurora shone down on them through the window. Dakota knew her fur looked the same, and suddenly a wave of understanding broke upon her. She was washed with a crazy kind of calm that gave her the peace she had missed for so long.

She waited as Balto became still, and said quietly, “Dakota, I’m sorry if I ever made you feel second-best. I know how that feels, so I shouldn’t have made that mistake…And now, I have to say, you sing as beautifully as your mother.” One diamond tear like a star flowed down his face, but his smile grew wider. “Even now, you’re still my sweet little bell.”

He drew her into a hug, and as Dakota rested her head on his shoulder, a tiny star like Balto’s tear danced inside her heart. Now she knew the special nickname Balto had given her: his little bell, because of her love of music.

She was full. She didn’t need anything else. Balto felt like her father again, and she felt like a daughter who was loved. She was whole.

A small sigh ran through the crowd at the bewildering scene that had just played out before them. Saba was smiling triumphantly, Dingo wore a slightly uncomfortable expression, Kodi looked slightly in awe of what had just happened, and Kenai was still gaping like a fish out of water. As Dakota pulled away from Balto and observed her brother’s open-mouthed expression, she wondered for a second if maybe he was stuck like that.

“After all that’s happened,” Jenna said suddenly, trotting in and showering the floor with snowflakes by shaking her coat out, “Maybe it’s a bad time to reveal my surprise. It might be too much for one night.”

“WHAT??” Sylvie screeched, forcing the dogs around her to cover their ears.

Shaking his head, Balto said, “You might as well say it, Jen, since some of us are dying to hear it.” He chuckled, and Sylvie stuck her nose in the air. “C’mon, what’s the big surprise?”

Jenna’s eyes seemed brighter than usual as she smiled mischievously, her cheeks pink beneath her fur from the cold and excitement. For a moment she looked surprisingly young and girlish. “I know this might come as a shock to some of you…but I can feel it. I know it. This is my Christmas gift to you, Balto: I’m expecting puppies again.”

There was an audible gasp from Sylvie, followed by, “I’m speechless.”

Dixie let out a little squeal of delight, and she galloped over to Jenna, shouting, “Congratulations and felicitations, Jenna!”

All the females seemed to go all motherly at the mention of pups, and swarmed around Jenna with congratulations and stories of their own second litters if they’d ever had one. The males surrounded a stunned but happy Balto, cracking jokes about maternity and pups and being a father a second time round.

Dakota couldn’t say a word. She was caught in space. The perfect world that had been built up around her only seconds before came crashing down. She felt like glass shards were flying towards her face. These new pups would put more distance between her and Balto than ever. He would be so busy taking care of his new kids that she doubted