Scarlet Salazar could just see the top of the hill from her bedroom window.

She could barely make out the shape of the largest hill in Esterbrook against the nighttime sky. The hill was outside of their small town, down the snowy road and past the locked gate of the town’s limits.

Every year, a few days before Christmas, snow would gather near the golden gate. Scarlet and her twin sister Ivy had never been outside that gate. The closest any kid had been was looking out between the golden rods until one of the town shopkeepers — usually Mr. Johnson — shooed them away.

They weren’t supposed to go past the gates. Ever. No one was supposed to go over the hill, not if they wanted to stay on the Nice List.

Santa Claus lived just over the hill.

There, he would prepare to pass out presents on Christmas. Tomorrow night he would set out into Esterbrook, laying presents under everyone’s tree. Just like he did every year.

He never got one of Scarlet’s presents wrong. On Scarlet’s twin bed near the window sat a blue teddy bear with green eyes. She wished for it last year. That was after Ivy got a green teddy with blue eyes for their eighth birthday.

Santa got Scarlet a toy doctor kit when she was six and wanted to be like their dad. It now sat in her blue toy chest, mixed in with other toys. Some were from other birthdays and trips to the toy store with Ivy and their mom.

The bedroom door opened and Ivy slipped into the room. Her curly brown hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her hairstyle was the only thing that helped other people tell the twins apart. Scarlet liked to keep her hair down. It was a much easier way to hide her face.

“They’re asleep,” Ivy whispered.

Scarlet had hoped so. It was well past midnight. That was one less thing they had to worry about. Now they just had to worry about getting home before their parents came to wake them up in the morning.

“Did you get Mom’s keys?” Scarlet asked.

Ivy held up the key ring and shook it. Its jingle seemed louder than usual in their dark, silent room. She tossed them to Scarlet, who fumbled to catch them before they hit the floor. Scarlet turned the keys over in her hand. Mom’s key ring carried every important key between the house and the mayor’s office.

Their mom had been the mayor for about four years. Lately she was busy preparing for a reelection in March. She spent so much time going back and forth to the mayor’s office that she combined her two different sets of keys into one. The keys were usually kept deep in their mother’s purse. There, the family cat, Tobias, could not reach them.

If Ivy or Scarlet lost those keys, sneaking out would be the least of their worries.

“Are you sure we have to go?” Scarlet asked as Ivy stuffed her bed with pillows to look like a body. Scarlet’s bed was already made. “He might get it for you this year.”

“Well,” Ivy said, turning to her sister. “This way, I make sure it happens.”

Out of all the presents Ivy had gotten over the years, there was one Santa always missed: a sleek, black horse. Never mind that their backyard could barely fit the massive playhouse Ivy asked for years before. Never mind that their parents had already said no. She wanted the horse.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” Ivy’s voice was softer, almost sad.

Scarlet wouldn’t leave Ivy to go out there by herself.

“Of course I’m going," she said. "I was just making sure it's what you want to do.”

“Come on, then,” Ivy said.

Ivy grabbed her backpack from the top of her green toy chest and slung it across her back. She pulled on fuzzy green gloves and tugged down the sleeves of her parka. She peeked out the door before slipping into the hallway.

Scarlet put the keys in her coat pocket. She picked up her bag and followed Ivy out the door. She pulled it closed softly. Still, the green and blue plaques with their names rattled a little.

The hall was dark and quiet. The two girls tiptoed down the long hallway to the kitchen.

They passed their parents' room. The door was ajar, open just enough for Scarlet to peek through the crack. Both of their parents were asleep. The only light and sound in the room came from the TV.

Scarlet and Ivy went through the kitchen to the side door. The front door made too much noise, a high-pitched squeak that would echo through the house. And even if they got past the door, the front porch was a dead giveaway. One step on the porch could be heard throughout the house. The sounds of the porch would certainly wake their parents.

The family tabby cat, Tobias, meowed softly from the kitchen table. The green, Christmas-themed placemats were out of place. The red candles they never lit were knocked on their sides as Tobias lay there comfortably.

Scarlet thought Mama was going to go a little crazy when she saw the mess in the morning. Maybe she would be too distracted to be mad at Ivy and Scarlet.