Short Story The Warmth of the Son

The Warmth of the Son

By Amber D. Schamel

He sat there, leaning against the side of a hard, cold concrete building. His teeth chattered as he rubbed his hands together feebly trying to warm them. His tattered clothes offered little warmth in the dampness of the morning. He hugged his knees to his chest and rocked back and forth. He glanced up at the building towering over him and wondered how much longer until the sun would rise. A newspaper blew across the Chicago Street and somewhere, a dog howled.  His rigid face tried to smile. “He must be cold too.” Then he sighed, “Try to think about something else.”

His thoughts drifted to his life before this Great Depression. He had been the manager of one of the leading banks in Chicago and had a grand apartment downtown. But when the banks failed, so did he. And now, here he was, on the street, with nothing to call his own other than the rags on his back. He had even lost his hat at the river when he had nearly lost his life.

The sun was beginning to come up now. The sad, angry red haze that rested over the city seemed to be appropriate for the circumstance. As the sun rose, the shadows began to appear. A ray of sunlight rested about three feet from where he was sitting, curled up against the icy cold building. He could see the puffs of his breath as he struggled to get his stiff frame to move. He moved into the light. Immediately the warmth of the sun encompassed him like an affectionate embrace from a loved one. Slowly his stiff fingers began to thaw and it seemed his mind was thawing as well. Energy & strength accompanied the warmth returning to his body.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He looked around and noticed that, besides his ray of sunshine, shadows enveloped the rest of the alley. Everything around him was still in darkness and was cold and damp. The darkness of the shadows seemed stifling. But none of that affected him, for he was in the sun.

His heart leapt with joy. “My heart is the same.” He thought aloud. “I once was stiff and cold, but now it has all changed. The darkness and shadows around don’t affect me, because I have stepped into the sunshine of God’s Son.” He smiled peacefully and dwelt on that a moment.

Yes, today something would change. Today something would be right. Because no matter what shadows lurked about him, he would walk in the warmth of the Son.

© 2010 Amber D. Schamel 

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