• I
    The night was cold and dark. Snowy winds rushed in from the north as the moon shined in the east. A mountain sat at peace, completely content with the situation at hand, for this was not the first snow storm it had faced. A faint howl of wolves was heard in the distance. A fox was seen scurrying into it’s hole. Bears crept in their caves escaping from the chilling winds. The smell of a fire was in the air, and laughter clouded your thoughts, for it seemed that the wind was laughing at you. Only in the midst of the snow was a cry heard, for the rest of the world moved on unaffected by what would take place. Unaware that the events that happened this night would soon change the world.
    A knock was heard at the door of Jingo’s Inn. A swift silence was pushed on the laughing crowd enjoying their food and ale. Jingo walked to the door wondering who would be coming to his inn at this late hour. The door creaked and the freezing wind rushed in forcing the door to slam into the wall on the other side. Some snow flowed in but the man saw no one there. Then before he closed the door he saw a man with a black garment on with a hood over his face. He had a long white beard that went to his chest.
    “Hello, may I help you sir?” Jingo was waving to him to step inside, for he was already shaking from the cold.
    The man did not say anything, but handed him something bundled in a red cloth.
    “Protect this with your life. Don’t let yourself be destroyed by what will come to pass. This is the hope your kind needs. It’s what we have been waiting for. Life is a strange thing. People fighting over what they already have, but just wanting more. Do what you think is right. This is a gift.”
    With that the man stepped back and disappeared in the rushing snow. Jingo closed the door and loved the feeling of the warmth from the fire. He removed the cloth from the item he held carefully in his arms. Before he completely removed it, it moved and he saw that he carried a baby boy. The boy appeared to have been just born, not even a day old.
    The laughter continued as if it had never been broken, for it hadn’t. He was standing behind the bar holding the boy in his arms.
    He told his assistant to take over while he took care of the so called “gift” that was given to him.

    II
    Jingo carried the child to his room that was in the back of his Inn. He could hear the laughter through the walls in his room. He hoped that it didn’t wake the child, for he didn’t know how to handle one, and there were no women at the Inn this night.
    He laid the baby down gently on his bed. The baby only stretched out a bit as it laid there. He knew he would have to find a place to take it, but no one he knew was trustworthy enough to take of this child.
    His mind raced hoping to find a family that was able to handle this little package. Then his mind flashed a picture of a family that had come in once for a room when they first moved here. They had built a house in the country, and owned a farm. He hoped they were still there, for he had heard they were expecting a baby.
    He then made plans to head out first thing in the morning to find the family.
    He left the baby on the bed, lying so still it appeared to be dead. He closed the door and went back to work caring for his customers.
    The laughing and conversations hadn’t stopped, neither had the drinking. He saw two men sitting together arguing over something, as well as other tables talking and laughing about stuff that didn’t make sense.
    A chair flew across the room and hit Jingo in the head. His assistant rushed over and saw his head bleeding slightly. Jingo motioned that he was alright and got up to address the commotion.
    The arguing table had now turned into a brawl. Two other tables had gotten up and started fighting with the other two who had started the situation. Jingo and his assistant made their way to the fight while telling everyone to get out, for they were now closing due to the event.
    Every one got up from their tables and when some of the fighters saw some of the people leaving they stopped their fight and went out side, while the first two still remained fighting. Jingo grabbed one while his assistant grabbed the other. They held them still yelling at each other.
    “Hey! Shut up!” Jingo yelled over their arguing. This was enough to calm them down.
    “Now I want you to stop this. You are acting like little kids. Now it is time to leave.”
    Jingo and his assistant lead them to the door and they walked out. Once they both stepped out the one who had started the fight pushed the other one down in the snow and ran away, as best as he could, laughing like a little child.

    III
    Sleep didn’t come easy to Jingo that night, for his bump on the head had hindered him from relaxing. He woke up with the baby next to him in his arms, so he wouldn’t fall off. He remembered the mysterious man that came to his Inn last night. This baby had caused him a lot of trouble already. The baby cried twice in the night, not for food or a change, but for no apparent reason. He got up and held the child both of those time and the boy had stopped crying, but when he tried to sit down he cried.
    Luckily the boy was still asleep and not waking. He made his way to his clothes and put on some warmer clothes to head out to the farm with is package. He grabbed some blankets and snow shoes to head out.
    He picked up the baby and started heading out.
    The air was clear and peaceful. A bird flew over head singing it’s song to the world. There was a slight whistling wind that sent a chill up his spine, but he had his mission to achieve.
    He didn’t know exactly where to find them so he headed to the cities watchman. He was said to know where everyone lived and their names.
    The walk was a good hour, and he hoped that the baby would still sleep at least that long.
    The snow wasn’t that deep, but it was still cold on his worn boots. Snow seeped through to his toes giving him cold feet.
    He saw some deer and wolves on the way to the watchman. A white owl sat on a branch, and watched his every step as if he was the prey.
    He finally arrived at the watchman’s house and knocked to come in for now a cold breeze was cutting through his clothes. The man greeted him and let him in letting some snow.
    “What brings you here Jingo. Shouldn’t you be taking care of your inn.”
    Out of breath and cold he responded, “Yes…I should be at my Inn right now. But this here brought me away from my normal routine.”
    Jingo held up the wrapped up cloth, and the watchman took it and removed the coverings and saw the boy there still asleep from the morning.
    “What are you doing with this child. He should be in a warm house, protected from the climate outside, and in the hands of it’s mother. What were…”
    “Look” said, Jingo interruptedly, “I had a long night and there was a fight in my inn last night and I got a bump on the head. But any way a man came to my door last night, I had never seen him before and he told me something about this child being…well… important and he handed me this and I had to figure out something to do with it.”
    “The best advice I can give you is to head back to your inn. Maybe someone there will be able to assist you.”
    “No, I don’t think that is a good idea. Don’t you know someone who lives close by that would be able to keep this child as their own.”
    “Hmm… I do know of one family. They are new to this area, and they are almost ready to have their own child, but I’m sure, knowing the condition of this babies survival, they would take care of the child.”
    “That’s good, but how do I get there?”