Made Pure

A light gale moved the small tree branch as a snow covered cardinal perched. Daress sat on a bench as he continued to gaze at the creature. His tall father sat beside him.

“Do you remember the observance we have once every seven years, son?”

“Umm…”

Daress’s father chuckled. “It reminds us of the blood of God’s Son who washed us white as snow that covers the cardinals in winter.”

Daress thought. “Why is it every seven years?”

“That is the number of years that all the Hebrew owned slaves were set free.” Daress’s father peered at the pale sun in the grey sky. “Let us go home. It is almost supper time.”

Daress followed his father down a snowy path that crunched beneath them. In the distance stood the snow-covered Ivory Castle where the head priest was to deliver his oration from the castle wall the next day.

Daress smiled as he spotted his friend, Nithose who took up snowball and threw it at Daress. He stooped to pick up a snowball but was stopped by his father. “You can play tomorrow. We must get home.”

Twenty minutes later they arrived at their timber house and sat at a table.

“Hello darlings,” said, Thiera, Daress’s mother as she placed two bowls of porridge before the two.

Suddenly a strange tiredness overtook Daress, and head nodded slightly as he closed is eyes halfway.

“Hon, you look very tired. Are you alright?” said Thiera.

“I don’t know. Can I go to bed?”

Daress’s parents glanced at each other.

Thiera sighed. “Very well, son.”

Daress stood a bit wobbly. He held his head and made for his room and collapsed on his bed. That night he had a peculiar dream.

A man in shining, white robes stood before Daress.

The gleaming being spoke with an echoing voice. “Hello, child of God. I am Gabriel. I come to give you a warning. Tomorrow something unspeakable will occur. But I have given you a blessing to set things right.” The angel touched Daress’s forehead and he felt a resonating power within himself but was accompanied by a stillness.

“Now I leave you.”

Then Daress awoke to the sound of commotion outside. He ran out and people held what appeared to be stone cardinals.

Daress saw his father and darted for him. “father, what has happened?”

Daress’s dad looked down in sadness. The cardinals…they have all…turned to stone!”

Daress, saw the high priest conversing with someone and darted for them and hid by a tall well and listened.

“…and this wizard said we must give it up or the curse will stay. From this letter he lives on a cavern on the other side of the castle. But we cannot trade the holy Logos stored in the main cathedral.”

Then, a puzzling inclination fell over him. It was the need to go to this wizard in the cavern spoken of. Daress spotted a horse drawn carriage pulling a wooden bed of vats of wine mixed with straw.

When it made its way towards him, he hopped into the carriage and buried himself in the straw. Then he waited as he felt the bumpy, cobbled paved road under the wooden wheels.

He waited nervously for twenty minutes until the cart entered the castle. He peeked over the bed of wine vats and hopped off once he saw a place with no one around.

He knew just were to go, though he had never been inside the castle. Rather than go through the castle, he would skirt around the outside perimeter because almost all the rooms, halls and chambers had doors with locks.

Daress made for an open corridor, leading to the stables beside the castle. He found the back of the castle where no guards were present. And there at the middle of a shallow treed valley was a cave mouth.

He entered and felt an ominous presence. Daress made his way to stone-hewn stairs and at the top was a man standing in front of a smoky cauldron with his back to Daress. He snuck up behind the man and he spun around to face Daress.

“How did you find this place, child! Flee at once!”

“You’re the wizard who made the cardinals stone.” said Daress calmly.

“Indeed. And why would you be here, then?” said the wizard.

“I have come to stop you,” said Daress.

“How amusing. I suggest you leave-now!”

Daress took some steps closer to the sorcerer. He gnashed his teeth and he stretched forth his hand and a stream of lightning erupted from his palm.

The lightning struck Daress’s chest but he was unharmed.

“What power is this!”

“The power of the Logos of God!”

The wizard backed off and threw balls of fire from his fists but it had the same, futile affect.

Daress neared the vile man and touched his forehead. He began to convulse and shrieked and started to turn to a purple mist that drifted of into the air.

In a flash of light he was back in his house. Suddenly, he noticed a man beside him that was strangely familiar. “Go outside, Daress,” he said.

Daress barged outside and saw trees filled with chirping, fluttering cardinals with children his age run about in laughter.

Daress heard a bell and everyone in town went to the castle wall as the high priest came to the balcony.

Silence filled the wide space.

“Today, a miracle has happened. We do not know why God allowed the cardinals to be tuned to stone. Indeed, I wizard tried to impede our celebration of our Lord’s grace. But somehow, He restored things to normal. So today we remember the blood of God’s son who shed his blood that we may be made pure and white. In the same way the snow covers the red feathers of the cardinal.”

Daress never told anyone of his experience and the dream, not even his parents. All that mattered is that all was made well.