There was a baby in their stable. That’s what Abba told Eli after he woke to the sound of strange screaming and yelling coming from outside. For hours it seemed, the loud noise went on and on until finally it stopped. That’s when Abba explained that a lady and her husband had become an abba and ima tonight in the inn’s stable.
Eli loved babies, their cute faces and oddly tiny hands and feet, even though they could be awfully loud at times. He’d seen dozens or hundreds of them come through the inn over his long five years of life. Perhaps he liked them as much as he did because he had no baby brother or sister of his own. Ima had had one in her belly once, but for some reason that he couldn’t understand, the baby never came. And now Ima was gone, the fever last year taking her away from him. There would be no babies now.
Eli hooked his fingers on the edge of his window, the shutters that should be blocking it for the night pushed away so he could see outside. Earlier, a group of shepherds smelling of grass and sweat ran past his window on their way to the back of the inn. A long time later, they had left again, their faces happy. What made them so happy? Was it the baby?
Restlessness tugged at Eli’s arms and legs. He would not be able to sleep like this. Abba said he was more curious than what was good for a boy, but Eli wasn’t quite sure what that meant. He just knew he liked to know and learn things, see things that were interesting to him, and if he couldn’t know, learn, or see them then it would bother him forever.
“Surely Abba won’t mind if I go see the baby.” Suddenly excited, Eli pulled his sandals onto his feet. Ima always hated if he ran around barefoot then tracked mud and dirt into her house. He moved quietly, not wanting to wake Abba, who slept on the other side of the dark room. Slowly, he opened the door just enough for his small body to slip through. There were at least some advantages to being such a little boy.
Tiptoeing through the house, he moved as quietly as he knew how to, not stopping until he reached the stable. It was silent inside. Was the family asleep now? The gate, which he was finally tall enough to see over, squeaked on its hinges as Eli pushed it open.
Their cow lowed, shuffling her hooves in the hay. A new donkey Eli had never seen before slept beside their own old one. In the back right corner of the stable, the man and woman lay curled in the hay. The man’s arm encircled the woman’s shoulders, her head resting against him. Both their chests rose and fell in the slow, steady way of sleep. But where was the baby?
One of the animals’ wooden feed troughs had been pulled close to the couple. Hay filled the inside, poking up around the edges. How strange… He had helped Abba feed their donkey earlier in the day, and watched as she ate. There shouldn’t be any hay left in the trough.
Eli tiptoed over to the manger and knelt beside it on the dirt floor. He’d found the baby! It lay nestled amongst the hay, its small form wrapped snug in rough cloths. Round, squishy cheeks framed small lips. Dark wisps of curls covered the baby’s head. A boy, he thought. At least, he hoped it was a boy. Boys were so much more fun than girls.
The baby squirmed, His arms working free of His wrappings. He yawned, scrunching up His face. Then the baby’s eyes opened, coming to focus on Eli. He didn’t cry, didn’t make a sound, just stared up at Eli in silence, tiny eyes blinking slowly as if He didn’t know what to make of this stranger leaning over Him.
“Hello, baby. I had to meet you. I hope you don’t mind.” Eli huddled closer to the wooden manger, resting bony elbows on the splintering edge. “You are a cute baby. Maybe one of the cutest I have seen. And I’ve seen a lot, You know.”
Eli eyed the baby’s ima, sleeping just paces away. “You are lucky to have an ima. Mine is gone.” Eli sighed and rested his chin atop folded hands. “She died last year when I was four. I miss her very much.” Warm, unwanted tears filled his eyes. Eli swiped at them, embarrassed—never mind that the baby didn’t even understand what tears were yet. “Abba takes good care of me, but I know he misses Ima too.”
The baby squirmed again, rustling the hay that cushioned His body. “I wish you and your family did not have to leave soon. You are fun to talk to. And I don’t have many friends.”
“Hello?”
Eli jumped, losing his balance and falling on his backside in the dirt. He scrambled to his feet, heart beating like a drum.
It was the baby’s ima. She sat up in the hay, her pretty hair in a dark braid that hung over her shoulder and dangled by her waist. She didn’t look mad as he expected her to. Her eyes were wide, surprised, but kind. They reminded him of his own ima’s eyes.
“Hello, little one. What is your name?”
“Eli.” He scuffed his toe in the dirt.
“And what are you doing, Eli?” She leaned forward, folding her legs beneath the fabric of her tunic.
“I came to see the baby. Abba told me about Him.”
“Oh really?” She smiled. “Is he the innkeeper?”
“Yes. We run it together. I am a great help to him.” Eli’s chest puffed and he crossed his arms, chin lifting.
She nodded seriously, clearly understanding his importance. “I am sure you are. You are quite grown up, I can see.”
He beamed, his cheeks strangely warm.
“Here.” The pretty lady rose on her knees to move closer to the trough where her baby lay. She gathered him in her arms and sat back on her heels. “Come sit next to me, Eli.”
After a moment’s hesitation, he complied, sinking to the ground beside her. She angled the baby toward Eli to give him a full view of the baby’s face. “Does He have a name yet?” The baby wiggled His feet inside his wrappings. Eli smiled and fingered the bottom of one cloth-covered foot.
“His name is Jesus.”
“Jesus,” he said slowly, testing the name on his tongue. “I like it. It is a good name.”
The woman laughed. “Yes, it is. And I like it too.”
Eli reached forward to touch Jesus’ hand. Baby’s hands were the best part. They were so small. It was hard to believe he had ever been this small once. Jesus clasped Eli’s finger in His chubby fist, sharp baby fingernails digging into his skin. Eli laughed. “I think He likes me!”
“And I think you’re right,” the ima laughed again.
Eli sobered and cocked his head. Today was Jesus’ birthday. Everyone should receive a present on their birthday; Ima had always made certain he had a new toy for his, many of them made by her own hands.
No. One couldn’t have a birthday without a present.
“I will be back. I need to get something.”
Eli pushed to his feet and rushed out of the stable. Back in his and Abba’s room, he knelt in front of the wooden box that held his toys. Eli dug through them in the dark, glancing back at Abba who grumbled in his sleep and rolled over on his low cot. Eli’s fingers closed around a small wooden figure. No bigger than his hand, it was simple and roughly carved but clearly recognizable as his favorite animal. It was one of his treasures, his last gift from Ima, but somehow, he knew it was the one he should give Jesus. The baby deserved a good gift, the best Eli could give Him, for His very first birthday present.
Afraid Abba would wake up and stop him, Eli hurried back outside to where the lady and her baby waited. “I want to give Jesus something.” He knelt in front of her, clutching the tiny figure in his hands, against his chest. A pleasant sensation filled his heart, something like the way he felt when Abba squeezed him tight and told him he loved him. Happy, full, and warm.
Eli smiled and offered up his prized toy, placing the wooden lamb in Jesus’ tiny, outstretched hand.
The baby’s ima smiled, her eyes watery, and Eli felt that somewhere, somehow, his ima was smiling too.
