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Despite the snow, the town had been busy. As darkness fell, the street once bustling with shoppers, became deserted.
The evening drew to a close, and the The Cross Inn’s guests left the restaurant and bar, and headed upstairs to their rooms. John turned out the lights after another profitable day.
From a window he saw a star, the brightest star he’d ever seen. For a moment or two he relished the silence. But a split second later there was a loud banging on the door. He reluctantly opened it.
Shin deep in the snow stood a young man, alongside him a lass heavy with child. “We can’t get home”, he said, “the roads are closed and the trains aren’t running, do you have a room we can use? Please?”
There were no rooms for them at the Inn, it was fully booked. However, John sensed how desperate they were. “Come inside”, he said, “you can stay in the storeroom, there’s a mattress and some blankets in there you can use”.
That night a baby boy was born. Hours later several people appeared, each bearing a gift. A gold bracelet, scented candles, and sweet smelling flowers.
That was long ago, but the townsfolk talk about it to this day. The street still looks the same, as does The Cross Inn, but something feels different about the place.
Something wonderful happened there that night.
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Image credit; Deep Doshi @ Unsplash
*My initial thought was to come up with a tale about the person staring at her phone, then I noticed the pub behind her and recalled something I wrote many years ago, a modern take on the story of Christmas. That wasn’t it, but it ran upon similar lines!
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Thanks to Sadje for hosting What Do You See?
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Keith's Ramblings 
Aww, how lovely! ✨
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Thanks so much, Chris.
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I think we used to call that, Human Kindness. Lovely tale, Keith.
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We could do with more of it today. Thanks, Jodi.
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A very beautiful story Keith. Thank you for joining my friend.
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Thank you so much, Sadje.
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You’re most welcome my friend
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I love your modernized Christmas story, Keith!
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I’m pleased, thanks so much.
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Your beautiful story gave me chills, dear Keith. We need to be reminded of this more often.
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Indeed. Thanks, Nancy.
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A mattress in a storeroom, with blankets. I love this.
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He knew they’d come in useful one day! Thanks, Mimi.
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aw, a śweet take on a very old story
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Thanks so much, Beth.
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The spirit of the old tale brought into a new focus by it’s modern context/setting. Very effective re-telling!
(imo, a successful updating an old oft-told story is way more difficult than it appears.)
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