The Christmas gift - A Christmas story - Chapter 4

                                                       

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Jonah ran as far as he could. He was totally out of breath and he could feel a terrible burning sensation in his lungs. All the cold air made him feel light headed and he knew he had to stop to rest. He ran to get around the corner and then stopped to look around. He checked the area thoroughly. There were much more movement on the street now, and it would be easier to blend in with the crowd. Perhaps he was safe now. Perhaps he got away fast enough so  that Jack did not see him.....

Terrible thoughts raced through Jonah's mind. He knew he had to hide somewhere safe. Somewhere that Jack would never find him. 

"What about Terrence?" He had to let him know where he is. Terrence has always looked out for him and he would be worried. Everyone in the alley knew Jonah. "What if someone told Jack that he lived there?" 

Jonah had to grasp for air. He knew that it would not help to panic. He slowly walked further and disappeared into the crowd. 

He walked around for what felt like hours. He had absolutely no idea where he was, but he had to find a place to sleep for the night. He was so tired and thirsty because of all the running, and he was hungry again.  

He walked to the nearest fountain and drank water with his bare hands. His hands were freezing but it didn't matter. He was incredibly thirsty and he knew that the water would make him feel full.  

Jonah finally found a place that looked like it was safe to rest in. He went to sit behind an old dumpster in a small alley he noticed next to the last row of shops in town. No one would ever find him here. He scraped away most of the snow and curled himself up in the furthest corner. He knew it was too cold to sleep, and he would probably freeze to death if he did, but he had to sit down for a while.  

He sat there quietly, trying to regain some much needed energy, and he was just feeling cosy, when he saw a big rat staring at him. The rat stared at him with glistening eyes as if Jonah was his next meal. 

Jonah made a swift movement with his arm to try and get rid of the rat, but these alley rats were hardened rats that did not scare easily. Jonah picked up a rock to throw at him, but he missed.  He took a deep breath and then stood up and walked out of the alley. 

He lingered around the area for a while and landed up in front of a bakery because he could smell the delicious freshly baked breads.  He longingly stared inside and wished that he had money to buy himself a loaf. He was so hungry he could cry and he was so hard up for something to eat that he contemplated stealing a loaf, but his inner-voice stopped him. 

He found a fountain and drank some more water. He looked everywhere for a place to sleep and was so tired that he literally dragged his feet.  He had no sense of direction and he was cold and lonely and he felt as if he could just go sit somewhere and die. Life was hard, way harder than he could ever imagine. 

He heard someone singing Christmas carols and he walked a little faster to see where it was coming from. He knew he was getting closer because the singing became louder and when he went around the next corner he saw the church-choir standing in front of the magnificent Christmas tree.  Someone was handing out cups of coffee and he grabbed a cup and took a sip. It warmed him up just enough.  

He went to stand next to the choir and was amazed at the sounds coming out of their mouths.  To him it was magic. They sounded like angels from Heaven. 

Jonah was still fascinated by the enormous tree and even forgot about being hungry when they switched on the lights.  It was already dark and the tree lights lit up the whole area. He sat there for hours looking at the magnificent display of lights. Even after everyone had left, he was still sitting there.  

He was tired and cold and hungry. He had no food, and he had nowhere to go.  He needed to sleep but he had no blanket.  He stood up and looked around. When he was sure that there was nobody watching, he crawled into the little staged manger and he found the perfect place to sleep.  He apologized softly but then took the blanket from the baby Jesus and wrapped it around him.  He fell asleep almost instantly.

This is exactly where Terrence found him. All curled up at the feet of Mary and Joseph and he held the little baby Jesus in his arms.  Terrence took the doll and put it back where it belonged and then picked up the fragile little boy and carried him to the alley.  Jonah did not even stir.  

 

-To be continued

Chapter 1- https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-christmas-gift-a-christmas-story-chapter-1

Chapter 2-https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-christmas-gift-a-christmas-story-chapter-2

Chapter 3-https://steemit.com/story/@giantbear/the-christmas-gift-a-christmas-story-chapter-3