This is the final story of the Loud Loud Christmas Tales 2, I had fun doing this, but I think this is a good point to stop (why not 12? anyway?) Between this one and one I've done last year I've done 35 Short Christmas Stories! I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year! I have future stories to make and will be around. Thanks for the suggestions and ideas, they were fun. Now's here story 14. It's one I had tons of fun making.
Story 14: The First Christmas
Prompt/Premise: Luna, Benny, Lucy, Lincoln, Lisa, David, Luna, and more are traveling to Bethlehem to be taxed , but are about to experience something else more amazing.
Benjamin, his wife, Luan, son, Lincoln, and daughter Lucy were traveling on the backs of camels to the city of Bethlehem. They had to go there to be taxed, Benny's family came from there and families had to go back to places they were associated. There amongst the crowds were others having to do the same thing.
"Couldn't they just send someone out to tax us, instead?" Luan complained.
"They also want to count us," Benny said
"Couldn't they just something out and we write how many people we have and send it in?" she asked.
"What?" Benny asked.
"Eh… It's hot, and I'm tired," Luan said.
Lincoln looked at his sandals, his feet were covered with desert sand, he rather be home and not going on some family trip to be counted. His friend Clyde, had to go with his family as well, but they weren't from the same tribe so, they had to go somewhere else. Lucy was quietly riding on her camel, waiting for them to rest and finally make it to wherever they were going.
"Are we there yet?" Lincoln asked.
"Almost, my white-haired son," Benny answered.
They weren't the only ones traveling by group, of course, in the cluster before them was a shepherding family. The patriarch being a man named David, named for the city of David, with him was his wife, Lisa and their 38 children. The eldest being a boy named Liam.
"We should be there in 500 miles," Lisa replied.
"Good, what's a mile?" David asked.
"I've thought of a new measuring distance length, 1 mile is 5,280 feet," she said.
David looked down at his feet and shrugged.
"Good thing we only have to go 500 miles, not 500 more," her eldest daughter, Luna said.
The daylight turned into dark and the travelers rested their wary bodies. There was an interesting development going on with the stars, Lisa looked at the sky and wondered if a new star was forming somewhere. Down the line, there were a couple of teenagers, the female was pregnant. The girl was quiet and relaxing her body on the blanket on the ground, they had a small donkey with them. It was a contrast to everyone else traveling with oxen and camels, and stuff.
"We're almost there, Mary," the man said.
"It's alright, I know we'll get there," Mary replied.
But back to Benny and his family. His daughter was a night owl, by nature, she liked the darkness the night sky, the quietness of it all. The rest of the family was sleeping, she was up taking watch. All was calm. For some reason, she felt she needed to take a walk somewhere, and see what was going on. There was nothing going on, but she felt something weird. The girl walked over until she saw a light, the color was hard to tell, was it yellow? There a figure appeared, she looked like a human girl with fair skin and blond hair.
"Hello, I'm like an angel, named Leni," she said.
"Ugh. Hello," Lucy said.
"There's no need to be afraid," Leni said.
"I'm not," Lucy said.
"Well anyway, your journey is to be a special one," Leni replied, "For the place you will be staying will be sacred, the new king shall be born, and you and your family will be one of the first to see him," Leni said, "Like totes cool huh?"
"The new king?" Lucy questioned.
"Yes, the one that has been promised for the ages, through time, the savior," Leni replied.
"I would think a king would be born in a palace, like most future kings," Lucy said.
"I know it's hard for humans to process, but you shall see, and you will be guided on your journey," the angel said.
Then she disappeared into distance and the darkness returned. But something again, helped Lucy get back to her family. Was that really an angel? She had heard about them but didn't think such a thing existed.
The next morning, Lisa woke up she was an early riser, and she took in the sight of the beautiful sunrise. Her mind being the way it was, couldn't process it as beautiful, she knew why the sky looked like that it was all clinical and scientific. But there was something else she noticed, it was a ball of white light in the distance, it wasn't a star or the sun. She felt an urge to move towards it. The further she went, the warmer it felt.
"Do not fear," an angel with light brown hair in three braids, wearing a gold and blue dress said.
"What is going on?" Lisa questioned.
"Ah, the girl who likes science, can't explain what I am; I am an angel a, servant of the Lord, and I'm here to tell you good news," she said.
"I must be having a dream," Lisa said.
"You are a strong willed one aren't you, but this is true life, I'm Jordan, an angel to tell you good news from God," she said.
"This is unprovable, this doesn't make sense," Lisa replied.
"Ah, your scientific mind is unprovable, yet you are able to go beyond what is normal comprehension," Jordan said.
The light got brighter causing Lisa to stumble to her knees.
"Like I said, do not fear," she replied, "You are part of history, yet to be made, when it happens you shall know, and you shall spread the news about the star."
"The star?" Lisa questioned.,
"Yes, the star you've been wondering about, that's been forming, it is truly forming, the announcement of newborn savior it brings."
The angel then disappeared, Lisa returned to her family and it was time for the caravans to start moving once again. Both Lisa and Lucy were told important news that the thing that had been foretold for centuries was about to happen. In the city of Bethlehem there were merchants selling their wares and masses of people were trudging through to find places to stay.
There was an Inn keeper his name was Lynn, he had a daughter he also called Lynn, since he had not any sons, he pretended the girl was a son for her benefit and to have an heir to his family. Business was coming up strong thanks to the taxation and census. There was gold, silver, and more being brought into like he'd not seen before.
"Lynn, I shall make my return," he said.
"Father, where are you going?" the girl asked.
"I'm going to have to get more drink for our multitude of guests," he said.
"So, you want me to check people in?"
"You are thirteen now, it's time you had that responsibility, I only wish your mother was alive to see how much you have grown," he said.
"Or long enough to provide ye with a son?"
"I told you before, I love you, that is why I'm trying to make sure you get to keep control of this inn after I perish."
The man didn't know how he was going to do such a thing, but he wasn't going to give up. Anyway, he left his daughter to manage things as he went to find a merchant to get some drinks. The girl was adorned in red male's clothing, her hair was cut short, and was wearing sandals, she leaned on the wooden desk waiting for someone to check in; it was a strange lull in the day.
Then a man with 40 women and bunch of kids walked up to Lynn.
"Hello, are… there…" he tried to ask but his crowd were over talking each other, he turned his head and yelled "Shut up! I'm trying to do something here!"
He turned his head back to Lynn, "Sorry about that, 40 wives and 29 kids are a lot to deal with," he said, "I was wondering if you had any room here?"
"Yes, we do," Lynn replied.
"Good I'll take 7 rooms," he said.
"Uh, are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Alright what's your name?"
"I am Chandler from Nazareth, if you are worried about payment, worry not, I have tons of money." He showed her sacks full of money that he placed on the table, "That'd be enough?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, which wife wants to lay with me tonight?" Chandler of Nazareth asked.
All the women raised their hands.
"Cookie, you laid with me last night, Stella, the night before, any wife I laid with this month, put your hands down!" The guy said, the women listened leaving 10 wives' hands up.
"You? You're my wife?" he asked a girl.
"Yeah, I was your first wife, too," she said in a bitter tone.
"Mollie? How could have I forgotten you? You provided me with the most sons, you shall be with me tonight."
Lynn rolled her eyes and had the harem man follow her to find their rooms. Chandler looked Lynn before he closed the door for her to leave.
"If you were a woman, I'd ask you to be 41," he said.
"Good thing I'm not then," she said and walked away.
Mary and Joseph had made it to Bethlehem it was crowded, and they needed somewhere to rest. They saw some of the people they'd been following before again as they finally caught up. There was a woman adorned in blue she was yelling about something.
"The promised one is coming, repent, literally repent, or ye shall be destroyed for your actions against the true God!" she yelled.
She overheard Mary and Joseph looking for somewhere to board. There was something about those two that caught her heart, and something made her want to reach out to them and touch them, not literally. She walked over.
"Hello, I'm Lori, and I heard your pleas; something tells me you are blessed ones and thou art in my meeting space for a reason," she said.
"We are looking for an inn to stay at, my wife here is pregnant," Joseph said.
"Ahhhhh!" Lori screamed, "A baby, going forth and multiplying as literally planned, a blessed babe, I can tell, I have met the chosen one!"
This yelling caused a girl adorned in all purple to come out from her tent.
"I must apologize for my sister, she's not been the same since she was hit by lightning," the girl said.
"Oh, sorry to hear that," Mary said.
"How may I help you, the name is Ronnie Anne," she said.
"We are looking for an inn to stay in for the census and my wife is very pregnant," Joseph said.
"Oh, there's Lynn's inn on 34th street," Ronnie Annie replied.
"Thank you so much, may, God bless you," Mary said.
Luan and Benny made to Lynn's inn. Lynn Jr. looked the couple with their kids standing there. She was happy it wasn't a large crowd.
"Is this your entire party?" she asked.
"Yes, it's just me Benjamin, my wife Luan, and kids Lincoln, and Lucy," he said.
She shrugged and asked if they had money, he gave her a sack full of silver and she had them follow her to a room that would work for them. Just when she thought she could have a break, there were more costumers she started to check them in. When that that ravel was over, she looked at the ledger; there were only 2 rooms left. Then another crowd showed up, she squirmed, it was going to be some bad news.
"Hello, I am here to procure a living space to reside in for the census counting period," the woman said.
"Ugh, we speak Hebrew here," Lynn said
"My wife means we need a room for us and our children," David explained.
"These are all your children?" Lynn asked.
"Yes," Lisa replied.
"Oh well this fine, we have two rooms left, so I guess you were lucky," she said.
It was quiet, darkness of night was coming, and Lynn could relax, she just remembered that she forgot to put up the "no vacancy" sign. Before she could, her father came back and asked for help with bringing the stuff in.
Mary and Joseph walked to the inn on 34th street, they saw and hoped it was the right one, many others they had seen had no vacancy signs. With hope, they entered the inn. The Lynns just finished their work, younger Lynn noticed the couple walk in., she noticed the girl was with child and looked like she was about to have it any day.
"Dang it, I forgot the sign," she said, "I'm sorry, there's no room in this inn, we're packed."
"Are you sure?" Joseph asked.
There was something about the couple that made Lynn Jr. feel warm inside, like there was something special about them more than anything. She would have gladly told the man with the 40 wives to leave, if he hadn't paid so much, just to flip a room to have these two in one.
"I, you don't have any money, do you?" she asked.
"We have some, it's not much but," Joseph said.
Lynn's heart felt funny, she wanted to help them, there was no room, her father and her were already forced to share a space. She couldn't let them go, the woman was pregnant, she sighed.
"You know, I'm sorry, we don't have room, but we do have a stable, and it's better than nothing, if we're booked, then the rest of the town is way booked, and it's free," she said.
"Oh, bless you, sir," Mary said.
"Come with me," Lynn replied.
The night sky was clear of clouds, the stars twinkled. Lisa was looking at the sky, the words of the angel in her mind, running in a loop, she wondered when the new star would appear. The promised one she had read about in scrolls was coming soon. In the night she bumped into Lucy who was enjoying the dark sky and peaceful evening.
"Pardon me," Lisa said.
"I thought I was the only who would be out at such a time," Lucy replied.
"It is harder for me to study stars in the daylight," Lisa said.
"Hmm, yeah, hey, do you know anything about angels?" Lucy asked.
That question was surprising, it was something that Lisa wasn't expecting to be asked.
"Angels?" It was a leading question.
"Yes, I believe I saw one last night, she told me that promised one was coming," Lucy said.
"Hmm, I saw one too, she told me about a star forming and it was related to the birth of said child," Lisa replied.
"I hope you aren't mocking me," Lucy said.
"No, I mean what I am saying, I saw one," Lisa said.
The next morning, Lori stood in the corner she always stood. It was where she would give her sermon. Every day until her sister would pull her back inside. She stood proud holding a scroll and began to sing an old song, the same song she would sing every day. Some ignored her, some mocked her and called her names, others were slightly intrigued thinking it was performance. With so many travelers in the city, there was a new audience.
"Tonight, literally tonight, the promised one shall be born to this world, he will be born! All ye shall know that he will be born!" she yelled.
Ronnie Anne was about to get her older sister but noticed that Lori had never said that before.
"A great star shall form, he won't be born in a palace, but with the animals of the land," Lori sung.
Luna was thinking of something to do, while she was there at the inn, her parents were in line getting counted for taxation, it would be all day. The world to her was a song. She saw the stable and a couple folks inside. That was strange it looked like they were spending time there not working, was that where they were placed? Even though, she didn't want to disrupt their privacy she felt a reason to walk over.
"I'm sorry to be intruding, brahs, I'm just surprised to see people living in a stable," Luna said.,
"It's quite alright," Joseph said.
"Are you alright, sis," she said to Mary, using an affectionate term,
"Yes, it feels like this baby is coming very soon, though," she said.
Hmm, a baby being born, that'd be a good song. Luna sat with them and listened to their story. Mary said that the baby came from God and that this was going to be a special child. It was a strange story, yet some how it made sense to her.
"Ohh," Mary started to cry.
"The baby is coming?" Joseph asked.
She nodded. Luna and Joseph went into action to help. Both knew nothing about how to birth a child, but Luna knew someone who did. She ran to find her mother. Then she face-palmed, Lisa was still out getting counted, but there she saw a woman who was returning to the inn from being counted.
"Excuse me," Luna asked, catching her breath.
"Yes?" the woman asked.
"Do…you…know…how…to help deliver a baby?" Luna asked.
"Yeah, I have done it for my husband's other wives, you are giving birth?"
"No, come with me!"
They saw the stable where the couple was staying.
"Hey, I found…"
"My name is Stella,"
"Stella, she can help."
It took some time, but a newborn baby was born, and they wrapped him in swaddling. The 4 of them smiled at him. Eventually, people started to show up from far and wide to see the baby. As day turned into night more and more of them.
Lisa and David showed up, after Lisa saw the big star right above the stable. For once, she was more amazed by something else that wasn't the thing in space. The parents and couple of their kids stood next to Luna and admired the child.
"He's so silent." David said.
"Silent?" Luna repeated, "Silent Night, Holy night, all is calm, all is bright…" she had figured out a new song.
Lucy and her family had shown up, this was the moment the angel had mentioned. They were one of the first to see the birth of the new baby boy. She saw Lisa standing there and walked over. They exchanged glances. Chandler and his 40 wives and their children showed up, he was so moved he had tears running down his face and hugged each of his wives.
In the sky the large star shown, Lori smiled,
"It's time!" she yelled.
She ran, following the star, Ronnie Anne wondered where she was going and chased her. They ran to the inn and to the back where the stable was and the crowd.
"He's here!" Lori yelled.
Mary noticed the woman and rose her hand to say she could over. Lori smiled and pointed at her sister as if to ask could she come along? Mary nodded. Lori grabbed Ronnie Anne's arm and pulled her over to the manger.
"You are truly here, I literally repent for my doings, and know you will do something great," Lori said.
Ronnie Anne was moved to tears and fell to her knees.
"Fall to your knees..." Luna thought of another new song.
They had just witness, these random folks, the very first Christmas.