GENESIS (GODS CHAIN) (77 page)

‘Merry Christmas
,
Scott, I love you so much!’ his mother came across from the window and hugged her son.

‘Mum. Merry Christmas!
Cool!’ Even though he was sixteen
,
the boy still got a “Santa sack”
.
A
fter all
,
it had always been the tradition inside the Hrycuik family
—n
o matter what age!

Later on
, at
about two o’clock in the afternoon, Mrs Hrycuik was preoccupied
with
making the Christmas dinner.
Scott thought that his mother had made a bit too much
food, considering it was
only for two.

At the front of their house was a garden with a short hedge about three-f
ee
t high
that
surround
ed
their sizable home; their driveway opened onto the street and the village cross was about half a mile away. Other houses
on Scott’s
street were built in “Miners
’
rows”.

Gradually
,
Scott could hear the sound of an approaching automobile or something heavier
—
like a Jeep engine
,
which
turn
ed
into the street and c
a
m
e
up fast.
By the sounds it
was
a large four by four
,
and it
skidded to a halt right outside his home
.
Preoccupied
,
the boy did not bother
to check
who it was
until
the door bell rang
.

‘Mum, mum!’ Scott shouted in a deep voice
.
‘
M
um, that’s the front door!’ his voice had broken earlier that year.

             
‘You get it then
,
son; it might be your friend,
Cammy
!’
T
he kitchen was hot,
but
Mrs Hrycuik moved around like
a
professional
, too busy to answer the door
.
Juggling numerous pots, pans and hotplates,
she
shouted back, ‘
H
urry up
,
Scott! Get that
door!
Scott
—
right now!
’
She knew that Scott was quite spoiled
and shouted
again at her assuming son
as she
hear
d
the door ring more urgently
.

At last
,
Scott jumped up and ran through to the hallway
,
quickly unlocking the front door.

‘Skoosh! Skooshy
...
Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas
,
little brother!’

A young man stood on the doorstep for a moment and then stepped inside; a cold draught surrounded him as they stood in
the
small hallway.
The man hugged tightly his younger brother, still fee
l
ing that same strong bond between them
.

Scott’s eyes quickly blinked a couple of times in complete disbelie
f
.
It really
was
Christopher
—
he’s come home!
Scott
revelled
a
t the miracles of
Christmas
.

‘Happy Christmas, Chris
,
’ Scott tapp
ed
his brother’s back affectionately and
was,
for once in his young life
,
speechless
as
his brother then gave him a vice-like bear hug!

‘Hey, you have grown this past year and look
—you’re
just as big as me now
,
Skooshy!’ Pushing his younger brother back a little
,
Chris looked
long and hard at his young face.
The older brother’s mind suddenly
seemed to
change direction
.

             
‘Where is Mum?’

‘Happy Christmas, Christopher!’ the kitchen door opened suddenly and she shouted in delight, running across to meet her oldest son
. She
held
him close to her
.

‘Hi
M
um,
M
erry Christmas!”

‘What happened to your face?’ a look of concern
passed over her as
she anxiously inspected the almost broken skin
of Christopher’s
reddish scar.
She c
aressed carefully the side of his face opposite the red abrasion
.

‘Shaving.’
H
e smiled with a soft voice.

His mother scoffed.
‘Dressed for the weather
,
I see
.
C
ome in son, take your coat off and sit down over there by the fire, dinner is nearly ready
.
’
S
he was
finally
happy again
—
it was a dream come true
to have Christopher back home for Christmas
!

However
,
before
his
older brother could
settle in,
Scott unexpectedly jumped onto his back and both boys fell to the wooden floor and were soon rolling about in fits of laughter!

‘Ok, ok
,
Skooshy! Show me what you got for Christmas!’

‘Christopher
,
your own “Santa’s sack” is sitting ther
e,
as well.’
Mum
point
ed
to the long sofa.

He is not too old yet!
s
he thought
,
looking at his delighted face
.
I
t was obvious that Christopher still loved Christmas and this time of year
and
everything!

The boys played together for awhile before enjoying one of the best Christmas dinners
their mum had ever made
.
Mother was a great cook
, and dinner consisted of
roast turkey, her own stuffing mix, chipolatas sausages, vegetables and gravy
—
the lot
!
Afterwards,
Mrs Hrycuik and Christopher sat together and talked about what he had been getting up to lately
.

‘What happened to your face
,
Christopher?’
Mum
asked again
,
looking at the short reddish scar
.
‘It looks sore.
Can I get you some ointment for it?’

‘Don’t fret
,
Mum, it
’
s fine
.
’
He
look
ed
at her warmly
.
‘
I
t is not painful,
I
just nicked myself shaving
,
that’s all.
I do it all the time. So what’s been happening in this little place?’ The young man changed the subject, mixing her news with some details of his own strange exploits from around the world.

Christopher had come prepared
.
From his large cylindrical leather “kit bag”
,
he
softly handed his mother a gift
-
wrapped box about eight inches square. Then
he
took out his own silver crucifix, placing it on the sofa for a moment before giving Scott two presents, each distinctly different in size and shape.
One was a smaller box
,
and gift wrapped.
The other was also wrapped up and
was
as long as a short golf umbrella
.

‘Leave opening the smaller gift for now
,
Skoosh, it is
a
very special gift and a real secret
—
don’t unwrap it until I say so
...
for now
...
.
’

Scott was mystified
.
Not allowed to open a Christmas present
on Christmas
?
The younger boy stared at this smaller gift for a moment
.
I
t looked so insignificant and
he wondered
with
a
puzzled expression,
what could it be?