JACK BATSON AND THE HOLY GRAIL

by Georgekutty Adappur

  “Can you imagine, you stay alone without your parents in a dark fort in the middle of a forest? You see many devils, hearing blasphemies and curses against God. Besides you live in total darkness where there is no happiness. No people there to love you. You feel hatred towards the other people, and other people also feel hatred towards you. A horrific fire from which no light emits out, tortures you- from your inside to outside, and from your head to toe. The Satan, devils and other souls come to you, not for consoling, but to beat you up, torture you and make you suffer. You don’t like to see the sun rise and the dawn; you hate to see the shining moon and the glistening stars. In that state, you will be totally unhappy and hate others, hate the friendship, hate to love and to be loved. In such terrible situation, you realize that you are doomed; so you strongly wish others also to be doomed. Can you imagine such a state and such a place? That is Hell.”

  “Oh, Santa, I understand it fully.” Jack said, as though he got a fair idea of Hell through his simple narration.

  “Then what about Heaven?” Jack was more curious.

  “Heaven is a place where you are in complete happiness in the presence of God. Imagine a life where you have no pain and fear of death in your life. A place where you don’t need to face any troubles, where you have complete freedom and happiness. That is the place where you know that you are totally safe from every dangers and snares of the evil spirits. It is like you stay with your parents and see that everything around you are great and beautiful. Then you would think everybody is being considered as equal without caring of their religion, colour, wealth, education etc. Everyone is equal in Heaven. Heaven is such a great state of the soul. You will be always with your parents and see God directly as you see your parents and your siblings. In Heaven you know that God loves you more than everything in the universe, even than His life, and you love Him back more than all the fellow human beings, all the worldly pleasures and everything in the universe. Such a beautiful unexplainable state of the soul after death is known as Heaven.”

  Jack was thinking deeply about what Santa had told him. It seemed like Santa has refuted his earlier notion about Heaven. While thinking about this Santa continued his conversation:

  “My dear Child, Heaven is a truth when we are in the presence of God. Also Heaven is a great lie without the presence of God. IF YOU FEEL HAPPINESS AND TOTAL SATISFACTION WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR ENEMIES AND TREAT THE PEOPLE WHO HATES YOU AS YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THEN YOUR HEART IS A HEAVEN. JESUS WITH ALL HIS SAINTS AND ANGELS WILL LIVE IN SUCH A HEART. THEN YOU DON’T NEED TO DIE TO GET HEAVENLY EXPERIENCE. WHEN YOU ARE IN SUCH A STATE THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU.”

  While they were continuing their conversation Saint Francis was heeding carefully like a nursery school child listening to his teacher. His face was shining like an Angel and he raised his hand. At the same time, Jack moved his hand and touched the moving image, and he really felt as though he was touching a human figure.

  “Dear brother Francis, I have heard many things about you. You are really a miracle worker and saint. Even a terrible wolf became a humble lamb in front of you and you kindly called him brother Wolf. I heard this story and many other stories about you. You were raised to sky and levitated in the air out of your purity which is compatible with God’s Holy Angels. When I heard all these miracles, I wished to become a saint like you. It was not to become famous like you; but to serve the same Lord Jesus Christ you served. I had tried hard, but failed!”

  “My dear child, I am not a saint, I am the worst sinner ever lived in the world. The miracles, what you think as being performed by me, was performed by Our Lord and God Jesus Christ. I am a worm like every human being. It was His Holy Spirit who helped me to perform all these miracles. If you want to become a saint, pray to God and He will help you. If you possess wealth in this world and don’t deposit treasure in Heaven, it can’t help you after your death. So, keep your whole treasures in Heaven where the thieves never dare to come to steal it. Remember, you can see many people perform miracles in this world. Never consider all of them as saints. You should be aware that some of those tricks are performed by Satan, as he was an Archangel once. We can discern the saints from the wizards because Saints will be humble but wizards and witches won’t. When Jesus bless you with His Holy Spirit, you are capable to perform miracles, not for your fame or for your personal profit, but for the honour of Jesus. IF YOU WANT TO BECOME A SAINT, PRAYING A LOT IS NOT ENOUGH TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL. YOU MUST BE HUMBLE AND WILLING TO SUFFER A LOT WITHOUT ANY COMPLAINTS. IF YOU DO GOOD THINGS FOR OTHERS AND THEY TORTURE YOU, REMEMBER, YOU ARE GOD’S FAVOURITE CHILD. SUFFER ALL THOSE PAINS PATIENTLY AND GIVE EVERYTHING TO GOD YOUR FATHER. THEN GOD WILL COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN TO RAISE YOU UP, AND MAKE YOU THE RULER OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO CURSED AND TORTURED YOU. WHEN GOD ELEVATES YOU TO HEIGHTS DO REMEMBER TO KILL THE PRIDE FROM YOUR LIFE.”

  “How can I kill my pride; can you help me?”

  “No, it is not me, but your best friend in the world will help you!” Saint Francis of Assisi answered without hesitation.

  “My best friend, who, Arthur? how can he help me? He is just a youth of 26 years like me! How can he?” Jack asked dubiously.

  “No, not, him; do you remember the one who is always praying for you, the one who is ready to die for you and the one who wishes to live with you forever.”

  “Oh, my God, Nova…my dearest Nova. How could I forget to tell her name!”

  “I thought that…even if you forget to tell your parents name, definitely you would tell her name!” Saint Francis laughed.

  While they continued all these interesting talks, Matt returned from his room carrying a candle in his hand.

  “Here is the candle Santa, could you please tell me, why do you need this?” Matt asked while he handed over it to Santa.

  “I need it, I need it. Say good bye to Brother Francis and let’s go to somewhere.”

  “To where?” Jack asked.

  “It is a suspense, we want to come back before dawn, Good bye Dear brother Francis of Assisi, we have a journey to go.”

  “Good bye dear brother Saint Francis of Assisi. See you again.” Jack and Matt gave farewell. The moving image of Saint Francis in the parchment disappeared like the letters vanished before. At the same time, the light of the parchment also vanished.

  CHAPTER- 7

  THE STRANGE MAN IN THE DARKNESS

  Santa opened his mouth and blew up the air on the candle stick. Within a second, a small tongue of fire appeared upon it as though a spark from his mouth caught on it. The flame started to flicker in the air. Santa looked around the room, grabbed two jackets from the opened wardrobe and threw them on his two adventurer friends.

  “Hurry up and put on these jackets quickly. Don’t forget to cover your heads with the hoods, because it is too cold outside.” Santa advised them.

  “Santa, why should we go now in this dark and would you please tell us where to go?” Jack Batson asked a little reluctantly.

  “There is no time to waste or speak about it. Let us discuss the matter on the way. Hurry up, let’s go now.” Santa rushed towards the windows and opened them slowly but carefully, without making any noise. As he opened the windows the moonlight peeped down through it and the granite floor in the bedroom flooded in the moonlight.

  The windows in the room were very large and protected by strong steel bars across it. Santa raised his right hand, and made a Sign of the Cross in the air against the window. Suddenly, the iron rods disappeared, as though they were melted in the breeze that came into the room from outside.

  “Please come and stand by my both sides.” Santa advised.

  Jack and Matt approached him and stood beside him on either side. Their minds were anxious to know about the next course of action. They didn’t get any clue as Santa was always mysterious in his deeds. Anyway, they were ready to follow him as they gained full confidence in him.

  “Now give me your hands.” Santa requested.

  Jack stood on the r
ight side and Matt on the left. Santa grabbed firmly around their wrists and asked them to close their eyes. They obeyed him…...After a while he asked them to open their eyes and he released his hold.

  When they opened their eyes, they were standing in the middle of a thick forest. It was pitch dark; darker than in Danger Forest.

  “Where are we now? Why did we come here?” Jack Batson asked doubtfully.

  It was very cold and they could see the candle that Santa lighted up standing above their head floating in the mid-air. That was the only light in the vicinity. Their faces were gleaming in the candle light.

  “Why did you bring us here?” Matt was astonished.

  “Do you have any idea about the place we stand?” Santa asked.

  “No?” Both replied instantly.

  “Have you heard about the garden of Gethsemane where our Lord Jesus Christ prayed many times, especially after The Last Supper?”

  “Yes Santa, we have read about it.” Matt replied as though he felt a little bit irritated. He felt Santa was taking a boring class about the subject which everyone knows.

  “We are in the same place; we are standing in the middle of the garden of Gethsemane, but no time to spend here. We must go now, no time to waste…Come fast!” Santa said.

  Santa didn’t wait for a reply from his fellow travellers. He started to move swiftly. Jack and Matt couldn’t understand, why he is rushing like a mad man. Yet, they didn’t say anything about it. They couldn’t get a clue about their destination. They felt angry inside about Santa’s sole decision to take them for an unwarranted ride in this severe cold weather. Yet, they followed him like a flock going behind their master.

  Chilling wind started to blow from somewhere. They started to shiver in the cold even though they were wearing thick woollen jackets and their heads covered with hoodies.

  “Do you have any idea about where he is taking us to?” Jack whispered to Matt.

  “No idea! I think he is a crack to put us into these troubles in this midnight, depriving our sleep.” Matt replied angrily.

  “I think he would have some other plans for us. Let’s be patient Matt, everything will be alright soon...be cool.” Jack didn’t lose hope.

  “Alright, I got annoyed, because he is taking us in this midnight. If I get a bed here amidst these thick trees, surely I would sleep without any trouble. I don’t care about the cold wind or horrible weather. What I need is just a place to nestle.”

  “Don’t think of yourself Matt. Look, he is very old; even then he took such a venture in this cold midnight only for our benefit. I hope there is a great news waiting for us at the end of this journey.”

  While they shared their thoughts, Santa was moving swiftly in front of them and they followed him at the same pace. Santa was very focused about his destination and never heeded to their conversation. Above their heads the candle light moved in the air, at the same pace as they moved. When they paused to take a gasp, it also paused. After twenty minutes they came out from that thick forest and came out into a deserted land.

  They realized that they were standing on a cliff when they looked downwards. They could see some yellow lights hither and thither in the distance, coming out from the houses in the valley. They had to travel another one hour to climb down the hill to reach the valley. The moon shone over them from the sky most of the time, but sometimes the dark clouds obscured it. They could see their surroundings and an unsealed road in the moonlight.

  “Let’s move further through that way.” Santa pointed to the mud road and increased his speed without any hesitation.

  They heard the church bells resonate in the distance as it swung in the wind. As they moved further they could see vegetation on both sides. They were wondering, how come it is lush green everywhere even though it was an arid zone. While they moved on, dust carried by the wind was blowing against them making their journey difficult to enter the valley.

  They moved further and further and reached the valley. It was wheat fields everywhere. As the wind passed through the wheat plants, they danced and bowed their head, as though they were showing respect and a warm welcome to Santa and his fellow travellers.

  “Do you know the speciality of this wheat field?” Santa asked, but didn’t wait for their answer, as if he knew that they didn’t know the answer:

  “It was through the same wheat field our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles passed through to go to the garden of Gethsemane, to spend their night in prayer and meditation. It was from here on the day of Sabbath, the Pharisees could see the Apostles as eating the wheat and questioned the Lord, why His disciples were eating food instead of fasting. It was then the Lord commented that Sabbath is for men but men are not for Sabbath.”

  While Santa narrated this incident from the Holy Bible, he increased his pace more than before and this time it was not easy for Jack and Matt to cope up with his speed. So they had to literally jog to match with his pace. They heard the sound of a stream flowing somewhere far, and sharpened their ears to detect its direction.

  Still it was dark, but Santa didn’t seem like cared about it. The candle continued glowing above their heads and floated in the same pace that they moved. With the help of the candle light, the roads were very clearly visible for their easy night walk, without any fear from stumbling down. Besides, the moon which peeped out occasionally from the blanket of the dark rainy clouds also showered light upon their path, as though to pilot through the right way.

  Jack looked at the watch, the time was 1:33 AM. Santa didn’t speak anything now, and he seemed like increasing his walking speed at every moment. Now Jack also felt irritated; so he asked angrily:

  “Where are you taking us? Open your mouth and tell us the truth, otherwise we are going back!”.

  “Dear children, please calm down. I shall tell you everything. Now, it is not the time to speak, they are waiting for you.”

  This time they heard the flowing of water more clearly as they passed through another wheat field. They passed that wheat field and reached beside a stream.

  “Drink the water from this stream if you are tired. It is one of the tastiest water, I ever drank. Do you know the origin and end of this stream? This stream flows towards the river Jordan and merges into it.” Santa paused for a while and then continued:

  “As we all know the river Jordan is very famous through the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ by Saint John the Baptist. The water from this stream is the very water which purifies river Jordan’s water, and make it good to drink. This stream is known as the ‘Stream of Hope’. The people who know about the mystical powers of this stream come to drink from it. When the people are tired or distressed, or affected by any types of diseases, they come and drink from it and get cured. People who come with hope have never left unanswered. What they wish, exactly happen to them. That is why it is called ‘Stream of Hope’.”

  In the beginning, Jack and Matt were hesitant to drink from that stream. When they heard Santa saying about its magical power, they knelt down, bend over to the stream. Even though cold, both hurriedly drank some water, as they were very thirsty.

  “Wow! It is sweet like honey and very delicious.”

  They looked at each other and amazed. They couldn’t express the happiness that filled their hearts when they drank that Holy Water. The water had the sweetest fragrance of Rose Flower!

  “Do you know the origin of this stream? It starts from the beautiful valley of Sharon- where we find the most beautiful Rose flowers in the world. And you should see the people lives in Sharon valley. In my opinion, they are the most beautiful people in the world because they are drinking this magical water every day.” Santa said and resumed his walk at the same fast pace as he did before.

  “Santa, do you mean that we are inside the country of Israel.” Jack asked.

  “So, I think…. We…. are going for a…. pilgrimage to…. Golgotha?” Matt stammered.

  “No…Not so, my dear children. We are inside the country of Israel, but n
ot yet ready for a pilgrimage. You can do it later. Come fast, they will be waiting for us.”

  While Santa said this, a wind blew and put off the candle light. Suddenly darkness spread over them. At the same time the clouds had obscured the moon for a while, so they planned to wait until the path is clear. For a while they didn’t hear the voice of Santa, so they felt as though he had abandoned them in that darkness in the country side of Israel.

  “Santa, are you with us?” Jack asked.

  “Yes, I am.” A voice echoed in the darkness.

  Again, when the moon appeared over them in the sky they could see the place clearly like it was before. They couldn’t hear anymore words from Santa. He was not speaking at all, instead he was just leading them through the muddy road in the moon light.

  They walked and walked and finally reached under a Sycamore tree. They could see that it was a huge tree with heavy trunk and long branches. Its branches stretched out towards all directions and made a big roof, as though to give cool shade for the travellers in the daytime from the scorching sun. Besides, the tree seemed very old. They could see something written on a wooden board with glowing ink and was stuck upon the lower part of the trunk. Jack and Matt could read the following words inscribed on it: