SACRIFICE - [a Christmas Story]
Isaac’s knuckles scraped across the rock, smarting. The
burden on his back shifted forward, almost sliding over shoulders and taking
his tunic with it. The tip of a rough branch dug into the nape of his neck.
“Steady, boy!” The old man’s voice was ragged as he stumbled
forward to catch his son from falling face first into the boulder. “You don’t
want to…” The voice trailed off to silence.
“To what, my Father?” Isaac looked back under his arm to
Abraham’s weathered face. It seemed
suddenly drained of color. The first glint of sunrise shone blood red in the
patriarch’s eye. He didn’t answer the boy.
