Wild's First Christmas/Part 5

Meanwhile, back in the outskirts of the human village, in the house that Gustav and his wife Elise were living in, Elise was snuffing out the candle on the table beside her bed. "Oh, please put out the light and come to bed, Gustav," Elise called out. "Christmas Eve is over."

"Ja, Elise," Gustav replied, moving around the logs in the fireplace in order to snuff out the fire. "And tomorrow you will be healthy again...I hope."

And with the last light in the house turned off, Gustav entered the bedroom and rested beside his wife. He remembered when things were much happier in the early days of their marriage, how there was much love and joy and happiness because of his toys and her enthusiasm and encouragement for him to follow his dreams. Now it seems that the best years of their lives were behind them, and that he may have to live the rest of his life without the woman that made his own worth living. Now the only thing left he could put his hope in is for a miracle to happen.

He remembered hearing from the village preacher that with God all things were possible, and that His Son could heal people just by speaking a word or touching them. It sounded too much like a fantasy, and yet now he couldn't pull away from the possibility that the preacher may be right, that it may be time for him to put his hope in something much greater than fairy tales.

"Oh, dear God," he whispered as he laid back on his bed, "I know how undeserving I am, and that I haven't been much of a believer in You. I don't ask for much, except that you would look upon my dear wife Elise and give her the comfort and healing that she needs. Anything that you want, I would gladly give to You, if that would mean I would have more years with my wife, for whom I am grateful. If this is to be her last Christmas, please take her home with You and may she know the peace and joy of being with You forever. In the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen."

And after the prayer, Gustav closed his eyes and fell asleep. - Meanwhile, in another house in the same area, the hooded figure seen earlier peeked out from the door of his hideout and looked around, seeing how quiet everything is with the snow falling and everyone else gone to sleep. Everyone, that is, except for some possible travelers in the night.

"Ah, nothing like a good Christmas evening for some purse snatching," the hooded figure said to himself. "Rich people hurrying home with their presents, too busy to guard their gold." He set out to walk through the empty streets, rubbing his hands together as he delighted in the thought of finding easy prey.

As he was doing this, Papa Smurf and his sled full of Smurfs being pulled by Puppy had just entered the village outskirts. "That village smurfs much bigger than our own, Empath," Wild commented.

"That's because it's a human village, Wild," Empath explained. "We'll have to travel through it in order to reach our destination."

"We should be careful not to let the humans smurf us, Papa Smurf, if we're going to smurf to the toymaker's house safely," Grandpa Smurf cautioned.

"I agree, Grandpa Smurf," Papa Smurf said. "I'll direct Puppy to smurf through the alleyways."

Puppy then made a turn into a nearby alleyway. "These houses are just as tall as the trees, Empath," Wild mentioned as they traveled through the alleyway.

"Everything in a human village is so big, Wild," Empath said. "This is their world, and we're the strangers who are entering into it. Just stay close to us, and you'll be fine."

"I hope these humans are friendly, Empath," Wild said.

At that moment, Willem was walking home carrying a stack of presents. "These gifts will surprise Hans, and he will so happy with them that he will forget whatever toys those peasants can make," he said to himself. He found himself shivering from how cold the weather is, and then looked toward an alleyway that was next to him. "I think I'll take his shortcut home."

Willem walked down the alleyway, passing by a turn where the hooded figure was waiting. He peeked out when he heard footsteps passing by him and saw a bag of gold that was hanging on Willem's belt. He smiled as he saw his first catch of the night and stepped out in order to take it.

Willem didn't notice anything happening until he felt his belt getting lighter, and then he stopped and looked to see that his bag of gold was gone. He then caught a glimpse of the hooded figure as he slipped off toward another alleyway. "Stop! Thief!" he cried out.

At the same time, the sled with the Smurfs had entered the same alley as Willem. "Uh-oh, there's a human straight ahead of us," Grandpa Smurf warned.

"Faster, Puppy," Papa Smurf coaxed. "Let's smurf between his legs before he even smurfs us."

"Hang on, laddies and lassies," Duncan cried out.

Every Smurf held onto the sled as best as they could as the sled passed under Willem's legs. Willem felt himself losing his balance and fell to the ground, causing his stack of presents to fly in the air. One of them landed on the sled and knocked Hefty and Brainy off it.

"That was a close one, Grampy," Sassette said after they passed by the human.

"But we lost Hefty and Brainy," Wild said, ready to leap off the sled. "I've got to smurf after them and find them."

"Hold it, Wild," Empath said, grabbing Wild before he leaped off. "We can't let the humans see us, even if we lost some of our fellow Smurfs. Besides, Hefty is able to look after Brainy and make sure that he doesn't get himself into any trouble."

Wild sighed. "I just want to help my fellow Smurfs, Empath. I don't want to lose them."

"This smurf knows how you feel, Wild," Empath said. "But Hefty would want us to continue on with our mission regardless of what happens to him. This smurf trusts in his abilities to know that he and Brainy will know how to find us."

"But you know that they're still alive?" Wild asked.

"If Hefty and Brainy have both perished, this smurf will know because this smurf can sense their life force," Empath said. "So far this smurf detects that they are still alive. Just trust this smurf to know what this smurf is doing."

"Yes, Empath, I will," Wild said, watching as they continued to ride through the alley.