Ultimate Sacrifice

🎄 5 🎄

As she breastfed the beautiful baby, Michelle realized she might never recover from the unbelievable saga that transpired the last night.

Japheth was surprisingly helpful. He cleared out a clean spot for her to squat and push. It was gruelling but Japheth held her hands, prayed over her, spoke the words of Adonai over her and made jokes to keep her mind occupied in her lucid moments.

The baby came and he looked so natural that Michelle almost began to doubt. What if what she thought was an angelic encounter was just an illusion to shield her from the reality that she had been raped?

However, when Japheth began to weep and praise Adonai and she stared into the warm brown eyes of the baby she held in her hands, she felt it. The same wonder that had overtaken her in her dream and when she was at Lizzy's. This was undoubtedly, the Christos, the son of Adonai.

For a moment, the weight of this child's destiny dawned on her. She was to mother, at least for a while, this radical specimen the world was not prepared for! The thoughts of how unbalanced this equation was haunted her. Her only solace was in the fact that Adonai was not One to make any mistake whatsoever.

However, the strange visitors they had that very same night solidified the fact that this was no ordinary baby.

First, it was the unexpected arrival of Corban, her brother-in-law. Japheth had done a lot of explaining. It took her all her restraint to not stick out her tongue at her fiancé and say, "I told you so."

Corban said he had a supernatural encounter that led him to them. He had held Immanuel reverently and looked at him with wonder.

Then came the three expensively dressed high officials after Corban had gone.
At first, Michelle was scared, thinking they had committed a trespassing offence or something. After all, it was the census period and these people looked important enough to send them to jail for a lifetime. Their speech was heavily accented and their dressing style was not the usual kind around here. They said a star led them here to meet the newborn king and deliverer, all the way from the Eastern Coast.

It was weird seeing these high-ranking personnel walking into the stinking, poorly lit space. For Corban, it was understandable because, after all, his profession was to take care of animals. But these people looked like royalty.

Michelle was at a loss for words when they bowed before the baby she held and presented expensive gifts—Three bags of gold coins, a jar of myrrh and aloe, and an alabaster filled with the most delicious-smelling frankincense she had ever come across.

They left almost immediately, saying they had to be on their way.

Throughout the night, Michelle could hardly sleep. She spent most of the night watching her baby's face and thinking about multiple things at once.

When Japheth woke up, he had a troubled look etched on his face.

"What troubles you, my love?" Michelle asked, yawning.

Japheth sighed deeply and looked into her eyes.

"I had a dream, and the urgency of the warning still lingers over me."

Michelle frowned and turned better to face him. She should take all his dreams seriously because it seemed that was the way Adonai chose to communicate with her husband-to-be.
"Really? What was it about?"

"I saw the same glowing man in my dream again. He told me that evil powers are after Immanuel's life and we have to flee to protect him."

"What are you saying?"

"I know this sounds random and maybe a little crazy right now but we have to leave immediately, to Egypt."

Michelle gasped and her mind spun. Was this a joke? She hadn't even recovered from the toll of the labour she underwent last night.
"Egypt? But what about our marriage? We can't get married without a blessing from our families."

"Don't worry. God will make a way. I have friends in Egypt. There's a monastery that sends antiques to me for resale. That's the only place I know where it's safe for us."

He drew Michelle who was slightly shaking nearer and rested her head on his chest.
"Don't worry, my dear. God is with us. Literally."