This story was written for the 2017 Advent Calendar – Day 9<\/p>\n
Summary:\u00a0 On this of all nights, an unexpected voice offers comfort to an weary traveler.<\/p>\n
Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (1,460 words)<\/p>\n
“and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths,<\/em> \u00a0 ~~by Patina<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMust be an earthquake,\u201d Adam thought as the ground moved beneath him.\u00a0\u00a0A sound caught his ear and pounding in his head made him think a confused woodpecker was testing out his head.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything\u2019s dark,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n A puff of hot breath against his cheek was followed by a snort.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOpen eyes,\u201d said a voice.<\/p>\n At that moment Adam realized the earth wasn\u2019t moving, he was, and that sound was his teeth clacking together in an effort to seek warmth.\u00a0\u00a0He obeyed the voice and a clear but ink-black sky strewn with silver pin-points filled his gaze.\u00a0\u00a0Then a horse\u2019s face blocked his view.<\/p>\n Adam fought his shivering body to lift an arm to his throbbing head.\u00a0\u00a0His finger traced the path of a furrow above his temple.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s my coat?\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n \u201cGone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s there?\u201d asked Adam.<\/p>\n \u201cMe,\u201d said the voice.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t belong to a woman.\u00a0\u00a0Too high for a man but too low for a child.<\/p>\n More hot air blew against his cheek.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou up.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam didn\u2019t see anyone, or anything, but his horse.\u00a0\u00a0He rubbed the back of a hand across his eyelids and looked again.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hallucinating.\u201d<\/p>\n The horse nudged his rider.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou up.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam swung an arm for the reins but missed.\u00a0\u00a0Sport put his nose against Adam\u2019s side and pushed until the man was lying prone.<\/p>\n \u201cUp.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam drew a knee up and pushed against the snow-covered ground until he had a foot underneath him.\u00a0\u00a0He reached again for the reins and succeeded.\u00a0\u00a0The horse stepped back, pulling Adam to his feet.<\/p>\n \u201cCold,\u201d said Adam as his teeth chattered again.<\/p>\n \u201cWalk,\u201d said the horse.<\/p>\n Adam took a few steps but had to stop and rest against the saddle as the world swam around him.\u00a0\u00a0He scrunched his eyelids together and breathed as deeply as he could against the bite of the wintry air.<\/p>\n \u201cNeed to build a fire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, walk.\u00a0\u00a0Home.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s giggle built to a full-blown guffaw, which briefly warmed him.<\/p>\n \u201cHorses can\u2019t talk.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOnly one time animals talk,\u201d said the horse.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNight of the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t make any sense,\u201d said Adam.<\/p>\n \u201cAnimals help keep baby warm.\u00a0\u00a0Let baby sleep in food.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat baby?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWalk.\u00a0\u00a0Home,\u201d said the horse.<\/p>\n Adam took a deep breath and obeyed.\u00a0\u00a0This time his vision remained steady as he took several steps while holding onto the saddle horn.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you go home?\u201d Adam asked.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou could have left me out here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTwo-legs might not find.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s feet tingled as the cold penetrated his boots.<\/p>\n \u201cGot to ride,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sport stopped and patiently waited for his rider to climb aboard.\u00a0\u00a0At a gentle pressure, the horse began walking.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s get back to the baby,\u201d said Adam.\u00a0\u00a0His breath created warm, puffy clouds in front of his face.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo two-legs come to animal home.\u00a0\u00a0One two-leg have baby.\u00a0\u00a0Other two-leg put in food.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, a woman had a baby.\u00a0\u00a0What food was the baby put in?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnimal food.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam snorted in frustration.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat kind of food?\u00a0\u00a0A bin of oats?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, food in wood box.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not making any sense.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Adam\u2019s eyebrows drew together for a second.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhy am I arguing with a horse?\u201d<\/p>\n Sport snorted in the equine equivalent of frustration.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWood box hold food for horse, cow, goat, and sheep.\u00a0Baby put in food.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam pulled his horse to stop with a brief tug of the reins.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMy God\u2014it\u2019s the Gospel!\u201d he said in an awed whisper.\u00a0\u00a0When he\u2019d regained his composure, he asked, \u201cHow do you know this story?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPass down from mother.\u00a0\u00a0Not all animals know.\u00a0\u00a0Only animals in home where two-legs have baby.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam thought on that for a moment.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMakes sense,\u201d he said with a shrug.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe have the same story.\u00a0\u00a0Mary and Joseph, the two-legs as you call them, were traveling home.\u00a0\u00a0Mary was heavy with child and needed to stop for the night.\u00a0\u00a0They were told there was\u00a0no room for them in the inn<\/b>\u00a0so they took shelter in the barn where the animals were stabled for the night.\u00a0\u00a0Mary had her baby in the barn and laid him in the straw in the manger.\u201d<\/p>\n Sport nodded against the martingale.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThen sky-fliers come.\u00a0\u00a0Make music for baby.\u00a0\u00a0Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shivered as a frigid gust of wind attacked his thinly-clad body.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI take it sky-fliers are angels.\u201d<\/p>\n Sport picked up the pace but kept his stride to a walk.\u00a0\u00a0He sang a few bars of a song.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was that?\u201d asked Adam.<\/p>\n \u201cSky-fliers\u2019 song for baby.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam launched into\u00a0It Came Upon the Midnight Clear<\/i>\u00a0but his voice gave out and a fit of coughing took him before he made it through the first verse.\u00a0\u00a0Looping the reins around the saddle horn, he crossed his arms and rubbed his hands against his sleeves to warm himself.<\/p>\n A sudden lurch into a trot jolted Adam back to awareness.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhat was that for?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo sleep.\u00a0\u00a0Home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m cold.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSing,\u201d ordered the horse.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d said Adam in a muzzy voice.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI wanna sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSing with sky-fliers,\u201d Sport said.<\/p>\n An odd sound caught Adam\u2019s ear and he turned his face up to the sky.\u00a0\u00a0Faint streaks of green danced among the stars.<\/p>\n Adam cleared his throat and launched into\u00a0Silent Night<\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0Except for the sound of the man singing and his horse\u2019s hooves crunching through the snow, it truly was silent.<\/p>\n Midway through the final verse, a distant shout caught the ears of man and beast.\u00a0\u00a0Adam gripped the saddle horn with one hand as Sport galloped in the direction from which the shout had come.\u00a0\u00a0The whinny of a horse encouraged Sport to pick up his pace.<\/p>\n The cheery glow of a lantern emerged from the darkness.\u00a0\u00a0Adam\u2019s hoarse shout was cut off by a cough.<\/p>\n \u201cPa!\u201d Adam said through a smile as Sport slid to a stop in front of a group of riders.<\/p>\n Ben draped Adam\u2019s yellow jacket around his son\u2019s shoulders and placed a thick blanket atop that.<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019d you find me?\u201d asked Adam before his jaw clenched in a bout of teeth chattering.<\/p>\n \u201cRoy came by the house with your coat and said he\u2019d arrested the man wearing it.\u00a0\u00a0Fortunately, Sam recognized your coat and sent one of the girls for Roy.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When Roy brought your coat home, he said the man had confessed to shooting you and stealing the payroll.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid Buck tell you where to look?\u201d asked Adam.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cOr maybe Chubb?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben and Hoss traded a glance filled with curiosity.<\/p>\n \u201cHorses don\u2019t talk,\u201d said Ben.<\/p>\n Adam settled into his blanket cocoon and said, \u201cHome.\u201d<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Adam stretched and rubbed his eyes as the light of Christmas morning flowed through the bedroom window.\u00a0\u00a0His head still hurt but the nausea had faded.\u00a0\u00a0He took a deep breath and wondered if he\u2019d imagined Sport not only talking but also about the birth of Jesus.<\/p>\n He flung back the covers and resigned himself to getting out of bed.\u00a0\u00a0After dressing and tugging on his boots, he headed downstairs.<\/p>\n Joe stirred up the embers and added a few pieces of wood to bring the fire roaring back to life.\u00a0\u00a0He sat down on the coffee table and picked up his coffee cup.\u00a0\u00a0Studying his oldest brother for a few seconds, he finally blurted, \u201cHeard you got a little squirrely out there.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam gave Joe a \u201cbe serious\u201d look and reached past his youngest brother for an apple.\u00a0\u00a0He took a bite and shoved the piece of fruit into his cheek.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m not the one who shares morning coffee with a horse,\u201d he said in a hoarse rasp.\u00a0\u00a0With that, Adam headed for the door.<\/p>\n Joe shook his head at the idea of Sport talking to Adam.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cProbably traded poems,\u201d he said with a giggle.<\/p>\n Adam stepped into the warmth of the barn and offered Sport the apple.\u00a0\u00a0The horse gently took it and Adam patted the animal\u2019s neck as juice trickled from its mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you really talk last night?\u201d Adam asked softly.<\/p>\n The only response was a snort as Sport nosed Adam\u2019s pockets and hands in hopes of receiving another apple.<\/p>\n Adam shook his head.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMust have imagined it after all.\u201d<\/p>\n Once Adam\u2019s back was turned, Sport tossed his head and his lips drew back in what looked like a smile.<\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n
\nand laid Him in a manger,<\/em>
\nbecause there was\u00a0no room for them in the inn”<\/b>.<\/em><\/p>\n
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