Death Threat*

The older twin vowed to kill his brother, a rotten cheat and a liar. The swindling brother ran. He stayed away in faraway land for many years.

 

There, he himself became the victim of another rotten cheating liar. The swindled swindler wrestled with God and learned to trust him. He changed his ways. He returned home, though he feared for his life.

As soon as the older brother saw him, he rushed him with all his might. He grabbed him by the neck, and hugged him, and kissed him and cried.

 

When the way we live pleases God, he turns our enemies into friends. Proverbs 16:7

 

*This little story is based on Genesis 29-33

The Little Boy – part two

Read “The Little Boy – part one”
Part Two

Three days later, the stranger returned. The children gathered again, hands out. People watched in the distance. The stranger shook his head.

“No!” He shouted. This will not become habit. He pulled out his pouch, removed ten small copper coins, and closed it again. “Ten. No more!”

Hands out, grabbing and pressing. Ten right hands. Ten hands that found coins. Children shouted, begged, pulled.

“Go!” he stomped one foot. They ran.

The stranger wasted little time. He had come for water. He sat at the well. There was no maiden today, only the miserable heat. He lowered the bucket, drew the water, and filled his skins. He drank, then emptied the rest over his head. A refreshment.

The stranger closed his eyes and felt the wind on his wet face. “Thank you,” he said. “You do great things that we cannot understand and miracles that we cannot count. You give rain to the earth and send water to the fields.”

Opening his eyes once more, the stranger saw the little boy. He looked to the boy’s hand. His was not one of the ten. He had received nothing.

The boy was near one of the taverns eating a piece of old bread. He looked into the doorway, suddenly. His head shook as though he were answering a question. Immediately, he jumped up and ran off, just as a bottle came crashing to the ground where he was sitting.

The stranger noticed, but did nothing. “Miserable useless men,” he thought. “At least the boy will learn not to return there.”

Seventy-eight steps. Out of the gates. Gone.

The Little Boy - part one

When the stranger entered the village, dozens of children came running. Each one was holding out his hand and asking for a coin. The stranger felt compassion in his heart and removed his pouch. One coin for each right hand. This was the way he would not pay a clever child twice.

“That’s all.” He shouted with a deep timbre that dispersed the crowd instantly.

The pack of children disappeared as quickly as it had formed. One young boy in a tattered shirt and a with hole in his shorts, stopped in mid flight. He turned back and took three small steps towards the stranger. He smiled.

“Thank you, sir.” Then he was gone.

The stranger walked into the village and observed what he could.   No fine garments. A humble town. People working, so there was work to be had. A few bars and taverns, with customers… wasteful men, drinking in the mid-day.

The market, was a hot street, where merchants selling everything. He wanted nothing, except to be refreshed. He sat at the well and a young woman drew some water. She said nothing, as she set the bucket on the bench.

“Drink, sir.” She broke the silence. “You are thirsty, and you are kind. Let me repay kindness to you.”
“Kind?” the stranger replied.

“The angels are not the only ones that observe what you do.”  She smile, but looked down and away. “People watch. People talk. Everyone sees. Nothing is hidden.” She looked up briefly “Drink, sir, and fill your skin.”

The stranger drank. “Thank you.” He took water for the journey, then turned to go. He did not look back. She was right. Everyone sees. He saw too. She was beautiful.

Out of the city gates. Gone.

He would return.

Just a little story space

This blog “Café com Leitura” (if you know Portuguese you get it), is just a blank space for me to write stories or post recorded told stories. Some will be good, many will be average-at-best, and some will be just a waste of space. This should be a lot of fun.
These are my planned categories, so far:

• Short Stories – Just short stories with no particular theme.
  
• Bible Stories – Stories from the Bible, pure and unbroken as they are in the Bible, but in my own words.
  
• Bible Based Stories – Composite stories put together from several Bible passages.
  
• Bible Inspired Stories – Stories that draw from scripture as inspiration, but are not Bible stories.
  
• Told Stories – Recorded Audio stories.
• Mapped Stories – Stories with a hand-drawn map to accompany.
  
• Chapters – If I ever get to writing something longer than a short story, it will be in chapter form here.
  
• Poems – I doubt I will do much of this or be good at it, but why not try?
  
• Borrowed Stories – Stories that I’ve found here or there that I liked and had permission to repost.
  
• Portuguese – Sometimes I will post a story in Portuguese.