The Fifth Tale - The Tale of Three Visitors - Part 3 - The Third Visitor - Day 19

The Tale of The Three Visitors (continued)

Part 3 The Third Visitor

The next morning Nicholas awoke a little later than usual. He and Rein had spent the evening with the families of the young people they had saved and there had been much feasting and singing of songs and general joyfulness and well-being. They had stayed up well past their bed-time and so were both a little sleepy in the morning. Finally, after a good breakfast and many good-byes, the two friends set out on the road again. They were hoping to make it to Myra by nightfall. 

    The events of the last few days were on their minds and they talked quite a bit about what had happened and what they had seen and done. They also wondered aloud as to who or what their mysterious visitors had been. 

    They walked and talked this way comfortably for many hours. After a while Nicholas fell silent, lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, between one step and the next, Rein found himself walking up the road to his house. Nicholas was alone and heading up the side of a mountain.

      Nicholas paused and nodded to himself. He had expected something unusual to happen. He continued on his way up the path on the mountainside. All around him was green grass and, eventually, there began to appear snow on the ground. Nicholas wasn't used to snow, as he lived by the seaside. Nicholas picked some snow up and molded it. Then he threw it at a pine tree. He began to imagine all the fun the children in his village could have with snow. The thought made him smile. 

    Nicholas looked around. He wondered where he was. He had never seen this mountain before. He had been up on hills, but this was much higher than he had ever climbed. He could see for miles around. Nothing he saw looked familiar. He wondered what was happening this time. He decided to keep walking up the mountain. 

    Now, Nicholas was wearing clothes more suited to much warmer weather, including sandals on his feet. He began to feel a bit cold, somewhat, uncomfortably cold. 

    "Here, take this." 

    There in front of Nicholas was another one of the strange visitors. This one was not much taller than his knees, had skin the color of milk, and long straight yellow hair. It was impossible to tell if they were a boy or girl because their hair covered their face. They stood on the path in front of Nicholas holding a mug that was steaming. 

    "Take this and drink. It will help warm you." 

    Nicholas was not accustomed to accepting drinks from strangers on the road, but over the last few days he had learned to listen to these visitors and follow their advice. He had saved 4 children because of them. So, in this instance, he decided to trust them. He took the mug and carefully drank. He had never tasted anything like it. It was rich and creamy and dark and delicious and he was amazed. He looked at the visitor with questions in his eyes. 

    "It is called chocolate. Hot chocolate. It is good for warming you up when you are cold." 

    The visitor took one of Nicholas' hands and they started walking back up the path. As they continued walking, Nicholas kept sipping his drink. He was impressed by how yummy it was and by how much it made him feel better. They kept walking until they reached a meadow at the top of the mountain. Here there was a picnic blanket laid out. The other two visitors were sitting there, waiting for them. 

    One of the visitors, the one with brown hair, handed him a coat. It was long and soft, fuzzy and red, with white edges. He put it on and found that it was the warmest thing he had ever worn. It was perfect for the cold mountain air and reached all the way down below his knees. The visitor was holding something else out for Nicholas. It was a pair of boots. He put them on and his feet were suddenly toasty. Even though he wasn't used to it, Nicholas thought that with clothes like these he would like living in a place like this. Cold was nice. 

    "Here, eat." The visitor with the curly hair motioned for him to sit down. 

    At this point I must interrupt the story to explain a strange thing that happened with the visitors. Each visitor was very different and distinct from the others. However, over the course of the rest of their time with Nicholas, their differences began to blur. One would start speaking, and the other would continue the sentence, only to have the third finish it. It got to the point so that Nicholas had no idea who actually said what. Eventually Nicholas began to think of them as one person, The Visitors, rather than three separate ones. 

    When Nicholas sat down, he saw in front of him an unusual sort of food. It looked like a large loaf of bread, but round and with a hole in the middle, like a giant ring. It was covered in fruits and sugar. A section had been cut out and each visitor had a slice in front of them. They were all waiting politely for Nicholas to take his slice. 

    Nicholas took it and tried a bite. It was sweet and flaky, like the finest of pastries.  

    "This is also delicious! I've never tasted a cake quite like it." 

    "Thank you" 

    They all got quiet as they ate their piece of cake. Nicholas was wondering what all this was for. The last few times they had appeared, it had been an emergency. There had been children to save and he had to run somewhere. This time they were stopping to have a picnic in a meadow on a mountaintop as if they had all the time in the world. He wondered how late it was and if he was going to make it to Myra today. He took another bite of his cake. 

    That's when something went wrong. Nicholas bit down on something hard. 

    "Ouch!" He spit whatever it was out and looked at it. It was a bean. A hard, uncooked bean. Definitely not delicious. There was no way he could eat that thing. 

    The visitors all laughed and began clapping their hands. 

    "You have found the bean." 

    "The cake has chosen." 

    "You are the King." 

    Nicholas was very confused. He had no idea what they were talking about. He slowly began to eat the rest of his cake, inspecting each bite for any more hidden things. 

    "Nicholas, tell us, what do you want more than anything in the world?" 

    That was an interesting question. There were a lot of good answers. In the end though, he felt there was only one answer that was the best. 

    "I want to love God with all that I am and to love others as myself." 

    "That is an excellent answer. What would be the second thing you want most in the world?" 

    "To teach others to love." 

    The visitors looked at each other. He didn't know how he could tell, since he couldn't see their faces, but somehow he knew they were smiling. 

    "Nicholas, we have been looking for someone like you." 

    "Nicholas, we have been waiting for someone like you." 

    "Nicholas, we now know for sure that you are the one we have been looking for." 

    Nicholas wasn't sure what to think. They had been looking for him? What was so special about him? What could they possibly want him to do? He was an old man from a small town. 

   " We are messengers, sent to bring something new into this world. "

    "We are to bring a new day, when all can celebrate loving each other." 

    "This will be a special holiday that the whole world can celebrate." 

     A new holiday? Nicholas was confused. What did this have to do with him? 

    "You speak of love to everyone around you." 

    "You speak of this love every chance that you can." 

    "You say it in a special way that everyone can remember." 

    "You say - Up, love God with all you are." 

    "Around, love others the way you love yourself." 

    "Love, just love." 

    "We are here." 

    "To help everyone hear. 

    "The message you hold dear. "

    Nicholas started to get excited. He didn't yet understand what this was all about. He didn't see how he fit in. But, he really liked the idea that they were going to help spread his message. He listened as they continued. 

    "This is not just for those in your hometown of Myra." 

    "This is not just for those in the empire of Constantine." 

    "This is for all people, for all time." 

    Nicholas stopped eating. This was what he had always wanted. A way to reach out to more than just the people in Myra. A way to spread the message of love. 

    "Bless you strange visitors. This is so good to hear. What you are saying makes goosebumps on my arms and tears in my eyes. But, how? How will you spread my message? 

   " It is not us that will spread the message. "

   " It is something new. "

   " It is not us, it's you." 

    "Me? I will spread the message? I am sorry if I seem rude, but how? I have spent my whole life in Myra. How can I possibly teach the whole world?" 

    "Once a year." 

    "On the shortest day." 

    "With the longest night." 

    "You will travel the world." 

    "And bring the light." 

    "Of love and joy." 

Nicholas was puzzled. Travel the world? Bring the light of love and joy? Why were they speaking in such riddles? 

    "You will bring gifts," 

    "To remind us." 

    "To love each other." 

    "Gifts for every," 

    "Child, mother, father," 

    "Sister and brother." 

    Nicholas leaned back. Could this be true? A day set aside to celebrate giving? A day to celebrate loving others the way you loved yourself? This was greater than his greatest dreams. A whole new holiday! 

    "You will be the bringer of love." 

    "You will be the one that they think of." 

    "You are now chosen to be the one." 

A new holiday with him as the one behind it! Bringing gifts to people, teaching them to love each other. This was wonderful! Of course, he wasn't sure he could walk all over the world in one night. He could barely make it from his house to the docks and back in one afternoon. This trip had pointed out just how tired he got these days. 

    Suddenly, Nicholas heard a jingling sound. He looked up to the sky and saw what looked like a cart. It was a strange sort of cart, pulled by strange animals. The strangest thing of course, was that it was flying through the sky. What a strange day full of strange things. As it got closer, he realized, it was pulled by the largest gazelles he had ever seen. Then he saw that the cart didn't even have any wheels, just long flat sticks. That's when he remembered, this must be a sleigh and those must be... 

    "Deer. No, no no, reindeer. I thought I would never live to see the day. I had hoped, I had dreamed, but I never thought it would actually happen." 

    The sleigh landed and Nicholas walked over to examine it. It was large, large enough for several people to fit inside. It was bright red with gold decorations. Nicholas walked over to the reindeer. They were calmer than the gazelles that he had seen around Myra. It was obvious that the reindeer had been around people. He fed them some of the fruit from the cake he had been eating. 

    "A magnificent flying sleigh. I bet that could take me from one place to another. I wouldn't have to walk there if I rode in this sleigh." Then he noticed that the visitors were speaking again.     

    "You will live in a land that's cold." 

    "You will live and love and never grow old." 

    "You will give to all, your story will be told." 

    He would live in a cold place? He would live forever? Nicholas was more confused now than ever. Even in a flying sleigh he couldn't visit the whole world in one night. And he was old now. Where would he get the energy? 

    "I still don't understand," Nicholas said. "How? How will all these things happen?"

    One of the visitors said, "Look" and waved their hand. 

    Suddenly Nicholas saw it. Nicholas saw all of it, as if it was a dream. He saw trees decorated in lights and ornaments. He saw packages wrapped and placed under the tree. He saw stockings and shoes and parties and food. He saw families coming together to show each other how much they loved each other. He saw people helping people they had never met before, because it was the holiday season. He saw it start one way in one place, and through the years, different people had different ways of celebrating this season of love. And in the middle of it all he saw himself, in this coat, these boots and this sleigh. Time itself was standing still as he sped from house to house. He was leaving presents. He was living for a very long time. He was making children happy and reminding people to love. He saw it all in a flash, and then his vision was over. 

      Nicholas tried to catch his breath. He didn't know what to say. He was so happy. This is what he wanted with all of his heart. He was going to make people happy for a very long time. He was excited, and a little scared. The visitors gestured that he should climb in the sleigh. Slowly he started to climb in. The Three Visitors helped him up into it. 

    Was this it? Was he really leaving to do this? Nicholas looked down. He realized the sleigh was already lifting off the ground, before the reindeer had even started moving. This was all happening very quickly. He had a feeling that this adventure was going to be the most fun adventure of all. The visitors started speaking again. 

    "You will have another name." 

    "It will be alike but not the same" 

    "It will bring you much acclaim" 

    The reindeer had begun moving and the sleigh was sliding along a couple of feet above the ground. 

    "Thank you visitors! Thank you for all you have done! This is the best most amazing gift anyone has ever given to me! I will be sure to be careful, to love others and to do this new job well." 

    The sleigh started to go faster. The visitors had just a few more words before Nicholas left. 

   " You will love every day without pause. "

   " You will love everyone no matter their flaws. "

   " You will love and be called,... "

Nicholas couldn't hear the last thing they said, the sleigh had flown too high. It didn't matter though. He new what his new name was. He had seen what in his vision what his name would be.  It was even  painted on his new sleigh. 

    Nicholas, who had been called Saint Nicholas, and was Sinterklaas to some, now had a new name and a new adventure. The Nicholas Tales had now come to an end. It was just the beginning though, for the Tales of Santa Claus.