(The Miracle Of…) The Christmas Star.

(The Miracle Of…) The Christmas Star.

By Stephen A Abell – Saturday 2nd January 2021

Number of Words – 297

“Do you believe in Christmas, Mummy?”

“In what way do you mean, baby?” She reached down and stroked the hair from her eyes. “Do you mean Santa or Jesus?”

“Jesus.”

“No!” She spat the words out. “I can’t believe in such a lie when there’s so much pain in the world. Not merely do men hurt men, but they’re burning the planet and poisoning the oceans. If Jesus and his Daddy exist, don’t you think they’d help?”

The girl looked up at her blankly then turned to the window. “Oh, I don’t know about that it’s just I can see the Christmas Star outside. The one those wise men followed.”

She looked through the pane, and there it was, large as life. It was dazzling; Bright enough to light the woods around the house. It was large too, and getting larger all the time.

Damn it all to hell. They had found them. How? She was uncertain.

The sound of the helicopter was starting to vibrate the rigid shell of the house. She could see flashing blues and reds of the patrol cars dancing between the skeletal trees.

Rushing to the cupboard under the stairs, she grabbed the shotgun propped up inside. They were not taking her kid without a fight.

“Mummy!” The girl screamed over the sound of engines and sirens. “What’s happening?”

“It’s okay hun,” she tried to reassure herself as much as her child, “it’ll be…”

The door crashed open, and splinters flew into the room.

“Merry Christmas Bitch!” She felt the spray of bullets strike her before she could raise her weapon. Then everything went black and silent.

“Hey, Sherriff grab the keys off her and let the kid outta that cage. We gotta get her back to her parents before Christmas Day.”

For the "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge"   by Arakun the Twisted Raccoon