“Why have you come?” the figure asked in a hushed voice, clutching the bundle tightly

A cloaked figure trudged through the deep snow. A full moon glowed in the clear, dark sky and an owl hooted loudly as it peered closely across the snowy landscape. There was hardly a sound that night, only the crunch of boots against icy snow.

The marching figure held a bundle underneath its arm as it approached a small, simple home that was shrouded in darkness. The other homes showed signs of the wealth of their inhabitants and wisps of smoke floated from their chimneys. But not this house. No smoke drifted from its chimney and the front door looked like it had been patched up many times.

Silently, the figure walked up to the front door and stood there for several long moments. Suddenly there was the sound of hoofbeats and the figure whirled around. A royal carriage approached, led by two black horses. It was driven by a soldier who wore a long, black ponytail and an axe slung across his back.

“Why have you come?” the figure asked in a hushed voice, clutching the bundle tightly.

“To bear witness,” the soldier replied. “He sent me to see where you were going.”

“He knows good and well where I am going now.”

“No — where you’re going with that.” The soldier pointed to the bundle.

“Now you know.”

“Yes.” The soldier nodded.

The man bent down and cleared away the snow at the door. Then he knocked loudly and turned and fled into the night. The soldier waited a moment longer and then turned and disappeared with the carriage into the dark forest beyond the town’s borders.

The glow of a candle flickered against the closed curtains and moved across the windows toward the door. A man stepped out into the night and peered into the darkness.

“Hello?”

He looked down, saw the bundle, and bent down cautiously to inspect it.

“Chaim, what is it?” The man’s wife appeared over his shoulder, looking anxious.

“I don’t know.”

Chaim peeled back the soft blanket wrapping the mysterious object and stared in shock at the sight of a tiny baby, dressed in a well-made, pink outfit, sleeping peacefully. There was a large golden key attached to a metal chain and a black envelope resting next to her.

Hurriedly, Chaim and his wife brought the baby inside and set it down on a quilt. Chaim opened the envelope and read the letter.