A simple road curved around big Pine trees. Winter was harsher this year. Heavy snow fall had changed the landscape into a monotonous white blanket. Birds were silent and some of their tribe had gone in search of green.
‘What a cold weather! From where can I get some bread and warmth?
The stranger wondered within himself.
He took staggering steps through the whitened path leaving a trail of blood from his bruised feet. It appeared as red flowers in a white background.
He looked around and his eyes searched the horizon. His searching eyes gleamed at the smoke that came from the chimney of a small house.
He walked to that house.
‘Ah! I can’t walk any further! He exclaimed. He sat down on the verandah of the house. He peeped through the glass panes of the house. A groaning sound came out through the small opening in the window. The stranger knocked at the door.
‘Hey, is anybody in?’
There was no response. His ears caught the groaning sound again. He knocked at the door a little louder but to his surprise he found that the door was not locked. He closed the door behind him. A candle lit up the room modestly. A dining table was there in the middle of the room. The flowers in the vase were almost dry.
Again the stranger heard the groan.
He saw an old man shivering in acute cold. The fire in the hearth had almost fizzled out. The old man gestured to the stranger. He wanted to sit up, but could not make himself do it. The stranger put some logs into the hearth and helped the old man to sit. The fire warmed the room. The old man walked towards the hearth and sat on a chair. He invited the stranger to sit near him. They shared a little bread that remained with him.
The stranger was happy. The problem of cold and hunger had vanished, at least temporarily. The old man shared a blanket as well.
Now the stranger wanted to go. His journey was still on. The old man shuddered at that.
He begged. “By Jove, are you sure you want to go?”
The stranger smiled. “I have so many people waiting for me”
The old man applied some medicine to the stranger’s feet.
The stranger put the blanket over the old man’s shoulder and started walking.
The old man tried to interrupt. “Please, save me from this loneliness, at least for this day.”
“How will you believe me? Am I not a stranger to you?” the stranger asked.
The old man touched the stranger with his withered hand. Tears were trickling down through his cheeks. His heart was filled with joy.
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
God. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.’
The old man saw wounds on the hands of the stranger. He kissed those wounds. His heart was swept by tides of happiness and comfort which he had never tasted.
“How could you love me so much?” the stranger asked.
“If I had not believed you I would not leave a moment happily. Somehow he felt that he wanted to go with the stranger.
The stranger patted his shoulders. Blood oozed out of the wounds of the stranger. His eyes were full of compassion.
“The wolves and the lamb shall feed together and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt and not destroy in all my holy mountains”
“Son, I am coming for you. I knock at every door. Those which are not locked will open.”
“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat, I was thirsty, ye gave me drink, I was a stranger, and ye took me in, naked and ye clothed me. I was sick you visited me and ye came unto me.”
Suddenly light enveloped the stranger. In fact it seemed to emanate from him. The old man bent his knees and prayed. The light suffused all over him. The light immersed his spirit in joyous tides. He saw broken logs and open sepulchers.
The stranger floated out through the door. The old man stood with staggering legs and followed, his heart rejoicing in ecstasy.
The smoke from the chimney died down. The old man did not need it anymore.
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