Of Christmas bones and jaysome wishes
The morning Christmas songs on the radio sound slightly strained, which would be silly if the world didn’t contain warnings if you pay even a small amount of attention. This close to the holidays, the tension in the world could be cut as easily as fruit cake. And taste almost as foul.
I pour myself a coffee. The wandering magician is already wandering the town, doing small magics to help places and people before the season made it too difficult. There are no texts from him yet about needing anything, so I’m considering options and what gifts to snag for him when Jay bounces into the kitchen of the hotel suite from his room.
“Oh! I’m totally going to be busy today Charlie just so you know!”
I pause, mid-sip of coffee. When an eleven year old from Outside the universe tells you he’s going to be busy, there are several responses. The sane one would be asking when and where and being as far away from the resulting adventure as possible. Adventures are one thing; busy adventures are very much something Else.
“Busy doing what?”
“I’m helping Rudolph,” Jay says proudly.
I set my coffee down. “And Rudolph is –?” I ask, because last week Jay was making friends with a virus he said was named Dave.
“The reindeer, Charlie. Because because because! Santa knows if you’ve been good or bad, so Santa knew the other reindeer were mean! And they shouldn’t be like that, so I’m going to help Rudolph have an extra jaysome time!”
Jay vanishes with a huge grin.
I finish my coffee and text the magician a warning before leaving the hotel.
The staff are polite and wary-friendly, which means rumours about Jay have spread. Most hotels have jaysome insurance, which Jay is convinced is a hug and a very good thing. I’m just glad this hotel doesn’t have memory foam mattresses.
It isn’t snowing yet but the air is a pleasant chill as I walk outside. Most of the shops are opening up, their gods working the morning shifts. Chain stores seldom have a god, but local places tend to even if no one realises that. Some nod when they see me. A few try to hide as the created gods hide as normal employees. I let the latter think they succeed, as I’m not remotely here to deal with anything weird that I know of.
I get a few nice shirts for the magician, a couple of pieces of clothing I’m certain Jay will enjoy wearing and the day seems almost sane before I catch movement in an alley and a skeleton girl walks up to me. She is wearing a redsatin coat over bones and her eyes contain bright stars that dance and play together.
No one else is noticing her, but people tend not to notice things they know can’t be real.
I don’t have that luck or luxury these days.
“I think we might have met before?”
The skeleton girl considers that, her head cocked to the side. She nods once.
“If you’re looking for Jay, he’s busy helping a reindeer.”
She smiles, and I know that in the same way I know that Jay is eleven. The god inside me stirs protectively.
I let out a breath. “You came to me for help instead of Jay?”
She crosses her arms and nods, and this time her silence speaks volumes.
“Fair enough.” I can do more than eat troublesome gods. Thanks to knowing a magician, a lot more than other god eaters. Thanks to being friends with Jay, sometimes far more than that.
I reach, opening a direction I have no name for. The moment stretches, my ears pop, and another skeleton is simply here. The snow keeps falling, and shoppers move around us as if unaware we are here. This one is taller, somewhat like a tree except not being a tree at all.
“You’re cruxymox’s skeleton?” I ask, the knowing a slow dawning realisation. The new skeleton nods and smiles almost shyly.
I have questions, and even more worries, but the skeletons touch hands, bone flowing into bone in a gentle fractal pattern.
They walk away, talking in a way that hums through bones and is not words at all. A sharing. An understanding. Making a story as wind whistles like music through their bodies.
I don’t listen in. Knowing things is one matter; knowing what not to learn is even more important sometimes.
I head back to the hotel, wondering about the bones of trees and garland but not enough to be foolish about it. The wandering magician is in the hotel suite, his eyes dark shadows. This is a rough time of year for magic, needs and desires acting as demands more than gifts.
I offer a light hug, which he accepts with a soft laugh.
“This is part of your holiday gift -.” I begin.
Jay appears. His eyes are wide and worry radiates from him.
“Kiddo?” the wandering magician asks.
“Uhms! I think an oops happened cuz Rudolph said something about Santa being the CEO of Christmas and got all kinds of mad-face before eating Santa!”
I exchange glances with the magician. Gifts can wait. A worried Jay cannot.
“Let’s go,” the magician says, and we vanish into an adventure that is probably Jay’s secret gift to us.
Sometimes even jaysome works in mysterious ways.
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Download PDF NIV, Bible for Kids, Leathersoft, Pink, Red Letter, Comfort Print: Thinline Edition -- Anonymous
Download Or Read PDF NIV, Bible for Kids, Leathersoft, Pink, Red Letter, Comfort Print: Thinline Edition - Anonymous Free Full Pages Online With Audiobook.
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A conveniently-sized Bible with readable text for children.The NIV Bible for Kids is perfect for those looking for a Bible with readable text for children. Including the bestselling New International Version (NIV) translation in a colorful Leathersoft™ binding, this Bible makes a perfect gift for holidays, graduations, or confirmations; to commend other special achievements; or simply as a beautiful new addition to your children’s library. The NIV Bible for Kids is set in the exclusive Zondervan NIV Comfort Print® typeface, making it easy to read for children.Features include:Complete text of the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV)Presentation page for gift givingWords of Jesus in redSatin ribbon markerColorful Leathersoft™ coverExclusive Zondervan NIV Comfort Print® typeface in a readable 9-point print size Using the accurate, readable, and clear New International Version (NIV) text makes the Bible accessible and easy-to-read for kids. The NIV is the result
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