The Path of Stars and Angels

Chapter 1

A breeze rustled the grass as the shepherds lay on the ground. Neriah pulled his blanket tighter over himself to the sound of sheep bleating nearby. Around him were several other shepherds, mostly family. Their bodies on the ground formed a wall which blocked the only opening to a pen of rocks corralling their sheep. This way, they could sleep peacefully with the knowledge it would be unlikely that their sheep would escape in the night.

Neriah was in a half-asleep haze. Maybe it was a sheep making some sound, or the breeze was colder than usual, but he had woken from sleep and stared at the night sky. The stars seemed to swirl above him. As he watched it, something was off, and Neriah woke fully, sitting up on his elbows.

The stars were moving. Neriah blinked a few times, trying to get them to stop, but they kept going. "What?" he said out loud. He meant it more for himself, but he must have spoken loud enough that those around him heard it, and Neriah heard a few of them move as they woke up.

"Mmhmm?" Caleb murmured from beside Neriah. Neriah wanted to lie back down and try to forget the whole thing, but he could not look away from the stars. "What's that?" said Caleb. He was still on the ground but looking up at the sky.

Now, others were starting to wake up, and more were beginning to notice the sky. Soon, they were all awake and beholding the spectacle above them. Many asked what was going on, but no one knew.

The stars swirled around the sky above them. "They're getting closer," said Neriah,

trying to be helpful as the one who had watched it longer than anyone else.

"Should we do something?" said Caleb.

"Like what?" said Ezra, who was in charge. No one had an answer.

The stars came closer and grew larger. Soon, it was clear these stars were people or looked like people.

"What is this?" said Ezra, sounding scared.

"Angels," said Caleb. "Could they be angels?"

Then the sound started. At first, it was faint, just a whisper in the breeze, but soon it was clear and loud. The sound of a choir made of the most talented singers Neriah had ever heard. "They're singing," he said.

Out of nothing, a man suddenly stood before them on the ground. Light emanated from him, lighting up the area like daytime. Everyone started yelling, and a few tried to find their weapons. The sheep, oddly enough, remained peaceful.

The man Neriah assumed was an angel, raised his hand for peace and smiled. "Don't be afraid," he said, "for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David's city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough."

The angel disappeared as fast as he had come, but the light remained. Above them now were many angels, and they were singing: "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men."

After a few minutes of singing, the angels rose higher and started moving towards Bethlehem, the village nearby. As they flew away, their singing grew quieter, and the light left.

Neriah jumped to his feet. "Let's go," he said

"Where?" said Ezra, still on the ground.

"To Bethlehem," said Neriah. "Where else?"

"Right now?" said Ezra. The night had gotten dark again as the angels flew away. However, their light was still visible as it went to Bethlehem.

"Yes, now," said Neriah. "The angels are getting away. We have to follow them."

Ezra looked unwilling, but Caleb spoke up. "I'll go," he said. A few others also murmured their agreement to go as well.

"Fine," said Ezra. "Go if you want. We'll stay here with the sheep and do our job." A couple of other shepherds grunted in agreement, mostly the older ones.

"Ok," said Neriah. His tone was deliberately ignorant of how Ezra made his statement come across. "Let's go," he said to Caleb. Neriah started walking along with Caleb and a few others.

"The angels are a long way away now," said Caleb.

"Let's run," said Neriah, breaking into a jog the others matched. They jogged through the night and soon came to a road which made their way more manageable and safer. As they ran, the angels started to get closer. "I think they stopped," said Neriah between breaths.

"Yeah," said Caleb, out of breath as well. "Do you think that's the place?"

Neriah did not answer Caleb directly but ran faster to get to where the angels were. Soon, they arrived in Bethlehem. It was a small town. Only a few buildings. Hovering over one of them were the angels. As they approached, the singing returned and grew louder.

The exact spot the angels hovered was behind a building built in front of a hill. The shepherds ran around to the back of the building, where a cave opened up. At the front of the cave were a few people. Notably, a young woman was holding a baby.

"Is this it?" said Neriah, realizing how dumb the question sounded when he said it. The woman with the baby had been looking up at the angels but looked at Neriah when he spoke. She gave a nod.