A Christmas Story, (rated 18A, for violence)

That star... What was it? Why did it draw him so? Why did it twinkle so?
Imlay didn't have much. He gathered dry wood as kindling for the village folk. He didn't have much to think about; until he saw the star...
He couldn't place it - why was it so special? He had never looked at the stars much - but now he marveled at them all - trying to figure out why it was different.
He envied it - special among all the rest - it drew him.
Some would say he didn't have much to leave behind - he was wearing all he owned - but he wanted to leave it all behind, be different, like the star. So he left.
He had no shoes, so he journeyed by day. He woke early each morning - with the star still hanging in the sky - then he'd pick a landmark to guide him that day.
Now the landmark was not the star, but it served for the time being as something to strive for. In this way, he was always pleased but never satisfied with his progress. The star always seemed just as far...

chpt. 2

It was a beautiful coastline, and the water was teeming with fish so the villagers were healthy. They had placed their village on a slight hill, so they could see him approaching from a long way off.
He was clearly a wealthy man - his entire entourage was mounted - and they moved with great speed.
'My name is Will, and I'm on a quest, but I'm blocked by the sea.' he told them when he arrived. 'Who owns your swiftest vessel?'
The fastest ship was owned by the wealthy merchant, Richard. In addition to this, the villagers knew that everything had it's price for Richard. So they led the affluent traveler to him.
Richard owned a gem of a ship. Large enough to carry several men and their belongings, but single-sailed & simple enough for one man to control. It wasn't cheap, but he knew he could make a pleasant profit with this customer.
'I rather like that ship... Why do you need it?' he began.
'I'm on a quest.' replied Will, with words as crisp as flint.
'Fine...' started Richard, glancing at the rings on Will's fingers, and the splendid clothing of his entourage... 'It's yours... For all your mounts, all your gold, all your jewelry...'
'Deal!'
'You seem to have food enough for two days...' initiated Richard.
'Yes. It shall last a week: I'm going alone.'
'The sea is vast... You'll need more than that. I'll supply you with sufficient food - for all but the clothes on your back...'
'Done!' said Will.
It had seemed too easy for Richard, but as Will stood there, strong and tall, gazing fiercely past him and beyond the sea, Richard's stomach twisted. He realised he was still without; but Richard was quick on his feet.
'Young man, you may have forgotten something...' he began. 'The sea water is not fresh... You will die of thirst.'
'I am no stranger to thirst, and she does not always lead to death.'
Richard paused. He didn't know how to ask. Finally he spoke.
'Tell me your quest... Who draws you so? In return, I will give you what you need to cross the see.'
So Will told him. He told him of this star... He told him of leaving with his family's blessing, of the many mountains they'd climbed, and of the many rivers they'd forded... He faltered as he tried to describe star in more detail - he tried to explain it, but then tensed himself and said: 'You'll see it tonight.' and that was all.
He left.

chpt. 3

Richard sat. For an hour he sat. Then he rose, had the horses and belongings returned to Will's entourage, and had them sent home with sufficient supplies. However, he neglected to say good bye.
He called for lunch, but chose not to eat it. He walked to the shore.
He sat. All night he sat, gazing at the stars, changing his perspective slightly every so often, hoping to see past them all and catch that star with his eye. Often, for an instant, he thought he caught a glimpse of it - out of the corner of his eye - he'd spin around to catch it, but the star was always twice as nimble. No - that was not it.
During the last watches of the night he fell asleep on the beach.
In a dream he woke. The first thing he noticed was that everything was different - yet familiar. He could feel the sand beneath his feet - he looked down - no shoes. The wind brushed his bare back - only a comfortable pair of tattered shorts adorned him. He looked at his belly. It was protruded, but wasn't bloated with wealth and age like on other days. Rather it protruded like that of a child. He was amazed... He woke. His sleep had been pleasant.
It wasn't a star, but he knew that it was. Indeed, with day the stars had fled and the beach was lonely. He was lonely.
At that moment, he realised that no star could ever shine brighter than Will, and he guessed the only thing that could.
He packed his richest gift, hired a ship, and left.

chapt. 4

Vincent was a fisherman by trade, but he was also a habitual gambler. To finance his habit, he had managed to get himself in a bad way with even worse characters. He would toss and turn at night, hoping his problems would disappear, but would wake up with his sheets tangled and too short to cover himself.
So when Richard asked to hire him and his fishing boat, he didn't hesitate - this toss might turn out better... Especially if Richard spent on his travels what he did on his clothes.
They were both ceaselessly pondering, but spoke only when necessary. Vincent sat at the stern, fidgeting with the rudder, as if it would help to push them further. Richard sat leaning into the bow. He would scan the horizon with eager eyes, and then examine the gift he cradled in his arms.
It was the gift that caught Vincent's eye. At first it was just a passing thought - like one he used to shake off - but as they got further and further from shore, the gift seemed closer and closer to being his. Later, he could remember little more of the journey than the time he spent planning the robbery.
It would have been so simple. Richard was midway though climbing out onto the shore when the oar hit him from behind. Vincent quickly grabbed the gift and tried to push off. It would have been so simple.
But then Richard whimpered... It reminded Vincent of a dog he had loved as a child. His stomach churned. That whimper had always made him feel guilty.
Richard whimpered again.
'Stop it!' shouted Vincent.
Once again.
'Stop it!' screamed Vincent as he leaped to shore. He hit Richard again. He kicked him and Richard rolled onto his back.
Richard tried to whimper 'I need that!'
Vincent only saw his pleading eyes.
'Shut up!' he screamed, furious yet deceptively plaintive. If only he could flee as free as his voice, echoing over the waves, alone. No.
Again and again he beat him, kicked him and scratched at him. Frantically yet deliberately, he stripped him of his fine clothes and dragged him out of the light, into the shadows of a tree.
At first, he cried as he beat him, but soon Richard was unrecognisable, dirty, bruised and formless. Then Vincent lost all emotions.
His mind was clear but void as he dressed himself in the clothing that had once hidden the now shapeless form, gathered his gift, and walked inland.
He forgot his old fishing ship, soon only the tide remembered it.

chpt. 5

Imlay was making good progress that day. He felt tired and thirsty, in a good way. It had been a pleasant journey recently, since he was flanked by the sea. He decided to walk along the coast, hoping to find a fresh water stream.
As his thirst increased, he glanced at the sea - salt water - it would never quench his thirst, but the appearance of the water gave him hope and he knew that a stream of thirst-quenching-life-giving water had to be filling it. So he did not worry, instead his eyes scanned the edge of the woods carefully and eagerly.
He didn't recognise it at first - so he walked closer. It was a man, bloodied, beaten...
He was scared. Once, as a child, he had watched a criminal be stoned outside his village... But he wasn't near his village now. It was just him and this man.
Imlay didn't know what to do. He knelt down, scared to touch the man. But! - he heard him breathe.
Quickly, Imlay tried to clean and bandage the man's wounds, using strips of his own clothing and leaves, washing him with sea water.
He then found some sturdy branches and built a stretcher. Letting one end of the stretcher drag, he pulled the man as gently as he could to the nearest town.
Finding an inn-keeper, Imlay hired himself out for a year in order to put the wounded man up for a month.
The man seemed to be improving, he was able to speak to Imlay the following evening.
First, he thanked Imlay. Then he tensed.
'Why did you stop for me? Why are you doing this for me?' He asked rather anxiously. 'What did you see in me?'
'Nothing.' answered Imlay, 'But you needed me.'
Richard relaxed. He slept.
Imlay went to see him in the morning. His face had a warm look to it, but when Imlay pressed his hand, he leaped back in fright - it was cold! His body was cold!
But why did his face seem so alive?

chpt. 6

Vincent travelled several days until he reached a city. There he sold the gift & squandered the revenue on a debaucherous lifestyle. He continued to rob people and became more and more depraved and more and more careless. After half a year, he was arrested, tried, found guilty of murder, and condemned to be crucified.
They paraded him through the streets and led him to the place called the skull. There they crucified him at the third hour, along with two others. With labored breathing, and despite the pain, he looked over at them.
The further one was cursing. He cursed the soldiers and the people who stood watching. He rained down insults and threats, almost blind to his own fate as he hung there. His mother stood there weeping... He looked at her with scorn and cursed her for giving him life. The man's character was familiar to Vincent.
But between Vincent and that man, there was another man. He was bloodied and beaten - almost beyond recognition - yet familiar to Vincent now for that very reason. The man hung there, struggling to breathe. Vincent read the written notice of the charge against him: "The King of the Jews."
The soldiers came up and mocked this man. They offered him wine vinegar and said, 'If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.'
Those who passed by also hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'Come down from the cross, Jesus, if you are the Son of God!'
In the same way the rulers mocked him. 'He saved others,' they said, 'but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said 'I am the Son of God.''
But the man gasped for breath, and said 'Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'
The other criminal mocked him too: 'Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!'
But Vincent rebuked him: 'Don't you fear God,' he said, 'since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.'
Then he said 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.'
Jesus answered him, 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'
At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' - which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'
When some of those standing near heard this, they said 'Listen, he's calling Elijah.'
One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 'Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down.' he said.
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

chpt. 7

The Innkeeper still forced Imlay to work the full year. Imlay resented it. After all, the room had only been used two days. But what troubled him most was the fact that since he had arrived, he'd never seen the star again.
He wanted to return to the road, following the star. It had been a stupid idea - trying to save the man's life - and the man had still died. Useless. Pointless waste of time.
He wasn't quite sure what compelled him to stay, he'd often considered running away - it was unfair forcing him to work anyhow. But maybe he was scared that if he left, the star still wouldn't reappear... Maybe he just didn't know which way to go without it.
So he stayed. He washed dishes, cleaned sheets, swept floors, fed the guest's horses in the stable, cleaned up after the horses. There was too much work for one man to do, so he always had to work well into the night.
One night, just over six months later, he was cleaning the stable when he heard voices.
Looking up, he saw two men standing there, talking. They were just beyond the lantern's reach. Their voices sounded warm and inviting so Imlay rose and approached them.
He noticed that they were rather old, but looked kind and somehow clean, despite their dirty shepherd's clothes. They were clearly too poor to be looking for a room, but Imlay was at a loss for a better question to ask.
'No, we don't need a room,' began one, 'in fact, we just came to see the stable. It's a fond memory of ours.'
'The stable?' asked Imlay, "I wish it held the same charm for me! Tell me, what is so special about the stable?'
The second man brightened 'Many years ago, we were still shepherds in these hills. An angel of the Lord appeared to us, and the glory of the Lord shone around us. We were terrified. But the angel told us not to be afraid. He was bringing us good news: That day a Saviour had been born to us; he would be the Christ, the Lord. The angel told us we would find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger - that would be our sign.'
'Suddenly a huge number of angels appeared, praising God. When the angels left, we hurried off to find the child which the Lord had told us about.'
'We found him here, lying in a manger.'
'We never forgot him... Later, a carpenter from nazareth named Jesus came teaching with authority. When we went to listen to him, we immediately recognised him. He was a good man. He healed the sick and spoke of a Kingdom unlike any other. He claimed to be King - very God.'
'The rulers were Jealous, and were seen as fools and hypocrites when he was near. So they killed him. He was innocent and yet punished. But death could not hold him, and two days later, he rose again - alive with a life not subject to the decay or limitations of this world.'
'He spoke of a marriage - where, if we want it - we can become one with him - like man and wife - all things shared in common. Thus, our failures, unfaithfulness, rebellion, lies and mistakes become his, truth and life become ours. Thus, he purchased our freedom, and allowed us to be adopted as children of his Father - very God!'
Imlay understood it all.