Black clouds powered across the late dark afternoon sky. The student with short sandy hair rising up in rows, shifting out left and right, gazed up at the high grand blue stained glass window in the shape of a towering spear with several ridges at the top. His solemn, intense gaze drifted slowly down the dark blue marble wall, his blazing eyes searching, searching across the smooth, glossy surface where only shadows of students reflected. Pale blue criss crossing lights turned dark blue fading into falling shadows over the wide silent classroom. When the reflections disappeared instantly, the student sharply looked away. He sighed before turning back to his game hidden by his math book propped up open on his desk. He flicked a small paper ball across the paper. Another sigh slipped out as the paper ball just missed the small circle drawn in the corner. He glanced up nervously at his teacher droning on at the chalkboard about some kind of math puzzle. The student turned back to his game, his eyes dancing as he energetically scanned the paper. He set up the “ball,” then did a curving flick. It spun, moving right, then slowly, slowly spinning back left, landing right in the center of a small blue circle. “Yes,” he whispered. More dark shadows fell across the silent classroom. He gazed up at the empty blue wall under the window, and his smile quickly faded. That’s when he heard singing coming from the street outside.
It’s Christmas time in the Kingdom of Cadendas, City of Heyvas Caradames. Something dark and mysterious is happening in the schools. The aliens’ power has grown strong, and a final sinister plan is in motion. But the DadeStar Revolution is on the move as well, and Casey Cardade is working on something secret. Can you figure out what it is? Can you figure out what it will do? Leave a comment below if you have a guess. Tell us if you figured it out. The clues will be there. Click on the link if you want to check out the author’s facebook page and read the top pinned post of a bible study showing the mysterious story of Christmas:
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.sanborn.100/
Now, let’s get back to Cadendas on a cold, dark night before Christmas Eve.
Down below, on the dark blue marble street under the deep gold lamps holding out in the darkness of the late December afternoon, a small crowd of citizens stood at the edge, under the shadows of massive deep blue shimmering glass towers with grand blue stained-glass windows casting soft gold flickering lights from candles set across the bottoms. Dressed in all black, holding small dim gold lit candles, the citizens began to sing slowly and solemnly, the song, Ring Christmas Bells. They sang the eerie song slowly, with the melody rocking back and forth, but falling sharply. Their angelic voices echoed between the gloomy dark towers lit only with small candle clusters in the windows. The song had a somber mood, a haunting sadness about relentless loss. But deep within, was a strong sense of urgency, as they sang it faster and faster, their voices rising between the towers, echoing throughout the City of Heyvas Caradames in the Kingdom of Cadendas. Their voices sounded a warning, yet deep within, the song had a mysterious hope, waiting, waiting for someone to arrive, waiting for a light to appear out of the deepest dark…
Dim gold light flickered to the rhythm of Ring Christmas Bells outside in the far corner. “Ready for this Josh? Ready…” The light suddenly went out, crushed by a flying soccer ball. Josiah looked sharply away as the light crashed to the glossy blue floor.
Josh ran a hand through his sweaty sandy flattened rows flashing a concerned look that rolled over ending with a casual shrug. “Oh well.” He sprinted past Josiah appearing and disappearing in the dark orange filtered lights moving right and kicked the soccer ball around the long black marble table, cutting around Casey sitting at the corner. Josiah flashed around the other corner.
“That’s the third light we’ve broken in the last thirty minutes,” said Josiah.
“We just have to be more careful.” Josh dribbled over to the shimmering right corner of the table by the window. Gloomy dark orange moonlight splashed through the three towering grand blue stained glass windows as the solemn mysterious singing continued outside. Josh faked left, cut right, slid, then shot back left and kicked it up past Josiah. The ball flew across the table knocking over the blue flower pot holding several bright red roses. Josiah buried his head in his hands. Josh watched as the ball bounced off the table and just missed the space under the far left window. Then he hung his head. “We just have to find a way to avoid breaking things,” said Josh.
“There has to be a way,” Josiah echoed solemnly.
“You could just stop playing soccer in the room,” said Casey, still staring down at the project he was making.
Josiah and Josh exchanged sharply confused looks.
“What’s he mean?” asked Josh.
“I have no idea,” answered Josiah. Just then, David and Callie entered the room. They stopped for a moment, shaking their heads at the broken glass at various corners of the room, now dimly lit by two clusters of dark gold candle lights.
The four of them sat down at the table joining Casey. Josiah greeted them brightly, but his smile faded as he took in their grave expressions. “We’re going to lose more of them aren’t we?”
“I’d like to say a prayer,” David began, “before we get ready for the show. Join in if you want to.”
The mysterious angelic singing continued rising outside the dark blue windows casting stretched dark orange moonlight into the cold room. The gold candle clusters in the windows barely lit the city falling under heavy cold darkness.
“Dear God,” David began, “our students are struggling more than ever. They feel so much pressure to succeed, but when they do, no one notices. They sit quietly in the darkness while their friends just pass by. They succeed, but then their teachers and their parents just want more and more and more. They don’t know where to turn so they reach out, but they are turning to the bright promises of the aliens, to the secret paths to find great prestige. We ask you to be with us here in Cadendas, to be with us tonight. We also ask you to be with Cade, Blake, and Drew on their mission. We ask you to give us the power to show them the light. Help them to find hope. Help them to see their true worth, like the shepherd watching over his flock in the field at night, away from the city lights, taking care of his field, in the heavy darkness, the only place where a light can really shine, to be seen by a great, dedicated witness. Help them to have the vision they need to see the way in front of them, instead of going for the secret paths. Help them to see the light. Thank you for this night. Thank you for bringing us together.”
Later that night, Josiah, Casey, Josh, David, and Callie stood out on the balcony, gazing across the stadium-shaped city of dark blue towers lit only by dark gold candles in the deep blue windows. Josiah glanced at his pocketwatch: 11:59. “It’s almost time,” he said quietly, shuffling his shoes up and down, then out sideways, dancing under the fiery dark orange moonlight. Fiery gold lights reflected in the deep blue river running down the center of the city far below. Casey sighed as Josh kicked the soccer ball over and over against the balcony wall. The five of them gazed up solemnly. A slim triangular neon blue alien ship blazed across the sky. Intense dazzling gold dust spread out across the dark orange haze. Josiah’s bright eyes shot left and right. His gaze fell as he noticed the many students standing out at various balconies, staring up intensely at the alien lights.
He sighed heavily, turning to David and Callie. “There are even more of them than before.”
“What we do now?” asked Josh. The dazzling gold lights across the sky formed brilliant stars. All the students stared directly at them.
“How do we get them to stop staring?” asked Josiah.
“With this,” Casey answered, pulling out the finished project. He put up a large dark blue shimmering stained-glass window.
“What will that do?” asked Josh.
Josiah smiled. “It will magnify our voices so they will hear us.”
As the chaotic lights blazed across the night sky, David began singing Silent Night in a strong yet still voice. As he sang, the intense rush of the alien ships flying over began to fade out. In the second verse, Callie started singing with him, but in an echo. He sang the words Silent Night followed by her angelic, calm voice singing the word Silent in three higher notes, each one falling slightly, then one note lower with the word Night. Her echoing gave a mysterious power to the song, driving the hope within the stillness. Later on, David nodded to Josiah who sang with them, adding a strong, bright vibrance, combining youthful hope and faith with the strong determination holding out strong through the darkness, with a slow burning fire that glows bright through the deepest dark. Josiah smiled when he saw all the students turn away from the intense overpowering lights and turn to their song, listening to their voices, and seeing the gold streaks of light reflected across Casey’s window as Josh kicked the ball back and forth in front of it, creating the visual of a single strong shooting star. Their singing rang out through the cold, dark night, as a strong fire that burns brighter shaped and sharpened by the heavy darkness, and like shooting stars, they lit up the dark corners that had not been seen before. Their shooting stars showed a new way through the cold darkness, blazing a trail of stars not putting on a show, but showing the way…
