The Second Coming

At the sound of the morning siren the night watch stood down.

Jude left the house she shared with her grandmother and collected a parcel of food from the post office, carefully prepared by the ladies in the church hall.

‘Quickly, girl’ they whispered. ‘He’s waiting.’

Jude hurried across the common, towards a field which lay at the very edge of the village. Outside an old decrepit barn she took a deep breath, turned a key in the padlock, and went inside.

He was standing in shadow – tall, robed, bearded, his clear eyes unmistakably wise. She bowed uncertainly and placed the food on a stool which had once been used for milking.

He said nothing. And because he remained obscured by darkness Jude felt unusually vulnerable. The vicar had told her she would be filled with happiness. But Jude didn’t feel happy at all.

She retreated towards the door. Once she was outside she made sure the lock was secure. That way the man would remain safe from his enemies.

As she ran home Jude thought how strange it all was. She wondered why the man had come. And why now ? All this fearfulness and deception; their lives had become intolerable. His presence was a secret only the villagers knew.

She went to the church and told the faithful ladies she had done what they asked. Some of them gave thanks; others looked at her in expectation, as if she might be concealing important news. But Jude had no news.

How selfish they all are, she thought as she reached home, keeping him for themselves! Why couldn’t everyone share in his so-called happiness ?’

Inside, the house was cold. Her grandmother, wrapped in a blanket, was sitting before an empty hearth.

Now, Jude decided, she would tell the world.