The Escapists

Six harried mothers, who are also of course lawyers, struggle through the holiday season with sick family members, children in need of help, meals that need to be cooked, bills that need to be paid, and clients demanding their attention.

Five days before Christmas, an elf appears to each of them. Come with me, says the elf.

The mothers are transported to a land with ocean on one side and mountain on the other. Beach chairs await them on the sand, a wooded chalet atop the mountain. In between, a complex with a large, multi-tiered library and craft tables; a kitchen stocked with prepared foods; a room full of soft couches and fluffy blankets; a large hardwood dance floor with a disco ball; and in the center, gardens filled with flowering trees, birds twittering from the branches. At the ends of the hallways are small rooms, one for each of them, in the colors they love best, with a scent that reminds them of their happiest memory. The elf explains that when they close the door to their room, no one is permitted to knock.

This is your place of sanctuary, says the elf. There is no need to return home.

Are we trapped here? ask the mothers.

No, of course not. You may leave whenever you like.

But our families, say the mothers. Our jobs and bank accounts. Our homes and obligations.

They will be fine, says the elf.

We can’t leave them for so long. We can’t spend too much time.

Here you need not spend, says the elf.

The mothers stare blankly.

Time is not spent here, says the elf. It is not used, wasted, or saved. Let it drip through your fingers. Do not seize the day or the moment. There is no urgency. Simply live.

It’s not that simple, says one of the mothers. The world is bound by time. Days begin and end. There is light and dark.

We are not in the world, says the elf. Here, you can choose light and dark. Here, there is no day and night, no week and month. Stay or leave as you wish. Your lives will wait for you.

The mothers remain until they feel soothed and restored. When they return home, the elf has set everything right. There is nothing that needs to be done. The children are self-sufficient, the family is healthy, the bills are paid, the client is satisfied, the home is clean and repaired. And under their pillows is a note from the elf, saying, You can return whenever you like.