GABRIEL
Nazareth.
Lots of people will spit on the ground when they say the name, disgusted.
Fifty families, dilapidated houses, rags for clothes.
A joke, not fit for decent company.
They even have a saying: "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"
And yet, here I am,
long after midnight,
hearing the hot breeze moaning over the baked earth,
listening
to a young girl sleeping so peacefully.
I've been here for hours
waiting
not wishing to disturb her dreams.
When will she sleep like this again?
I'm Gabriel, messenger of God.
I should just deliver the message and leave.
But tonight I hesitate.
Where this will end, I do not know. Maybe no-one knows.
But after millennia of watching this planet,
Beyond a shadow of doubt
I know
The words on my tongue will turn her world upside down
I know
fear will grip her heart
I know
she will suffer greatly.
her family will suffer greatly
that upright young man on the other side of town will die
a thousand deaths
because of the word entrusted to me
I never question the tasks laid on me,
but tonight I wonder:
Why this girl?
So young, so innocent ... so pure?
She will rise tomorrow,
and her world will be changed
She will be changed
Everything will be forever changed
Gently, I touch her hair and look into her suddenly wide-open eyes.
"Greetings," I hear myself say. "You are highly favoured. The Lord is with you."
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