Ultimate Sacrifice

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It is close to midnight when the rumours finally reach you but you don't hesitate. You immediately call Japheth, your brother, to reason with him and only end up yelling at him over the phone.

His calm response that this was some sort of miraculous event only infuriated you more. Was he that blind?

You were sure that crazy Michelle girl was nothing but a porcupine in a bunny's coat.
She must have bewitched your only brother with some strong voodoo.
This was a disgrace to the family. While completely fooling everyone that she was a sweet, innocent girl—how many of those existed these days anyway?—she'd frolicked with a secret lover stashed somewhere.
She knew that your brother, being her fiancée and a God-fearing one at that, would gobble up the fairytale once it included Adonai as the main character.
Since when did Adonai start to have surrogate mothers in ordinary mortals?

Your husband, Corban, who is a vet, sits by your side and tenderly asks what is disturbing you.

You say it's nothing.

"My love, I know when something is eating you up. I mean, just look at your hands, they are shaking. Your jaw is clenched too."

You sigh and spill everything to him while he quietly listens.

"Japheth is still young. He's just clocking thirty. I don't know why he insists that it's Michelle or none else," you say.

Corban grunts. You look into his eyes and immediately regret telling him because you can already tell you won't like what he will say.

"Keren, I know you love your brother and that's why you're reacting this way. But... What if Michelle is telling the truth?"

"Oh, wow! So I'm the unbeliever here, right? I'm the one who doesn't believe in angelic visitations, right? No problem."

"Keren..."

You rise and angrily slam the door behind you as you walk outside to the porch and look up at the stars.

Thankfully, Japheth will be coming to town soon. The global census period declared by Emperor Herienn IX is just two weeks away. He has no other relative here but you. And when he comes, hopefully alone, you will talk him out of this nonsense he is about to plunge into. If he proves as stubborn as he sounded over the phone, you will be forced to dissociate completely from him.

But somewhere at the back of your mind, a calm voice whispers: "What if it's true? What if Christos has come? Wouldn't that change everything? Make all your dreams come true?"

You quickly shake the incredulous notion out of your head.
That's nonsense! The Christos everyone is expecting is a mighty king who will usurp the current tyrannical government and establish Israel as the world power, not some babbling babe borne by a promiscuous, orphaned girl.

You stretch and head back to the warm house where your husband is now dozing on the chair where you left him. Corban never was good at waiting.

You check your one-year-old son, Noah, who is on his bed, playing with his toys, and cuddle him to sleep. Before you know it, you've slept off with him in your arms.