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| credit: Flora Waycott |
Now Joachim, Papa, and Mama cannot take their minds off the Advent calendar mystery; they think about it all the time. Joachim even thinks that the magic Advent calendar is like having a birthday everyday. Imagine if we can have that kind of thing 365 days in a year! But, really... I believe life is full of wonders and expectation, only if we allow it to govern our lives, instead of troubles and bitterness. I remember years ago when I had my first job. I've had a rough time to adapt to work situation. Nevertheless, I kept thinking about cheerful things when I woke up first in the morning: which clothes I'd wear today, which accessories to match it - just little things like that, but it kept me hopeful to face another rough day. Why didn't I do that anymore?
Anyway, the picture behind door number 16 is of an old castle. The pilgrims are in Croatia now in the 7th century. It was the time when old Roman Empire was divided into two: East and West, and Christian world was plundered by heathen peoples. The strange procession (and quite a procession too, containing of 16 men, girl, and sheep!) stop at an ancient ruins of a Roman imperial palace in Dalmatia. It was the old palace of Emperor Diocletian, who persecute the Christians.
It's in the year of 659 now, and they arrive at a little town called Ragusa, which was founded by the Greeks. Later on it became an important trading and shipping center town, called Dubrovnik. It is there that they meet another shepherd wearing blue tunic (just like Joshua, Jacob, and Isaac), called Daniel. Now there are four shepherd, seven sheep, two kings, two angels, and a littler girl.
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| City of Dubrovnik - today |
Their next transit is the town of Scodra, which, after centuries, will be called Albania. It's in the year 602, when Christian Church had two capitals: Rome and Byzantium. Elisabet is wondering why there must be two capitals if they believe the same things. Impuriel's answer is worth to reflect upon:
"For there was only one Mary and only one Christ-child. Since then many millions of images of mary and the Christ-child have been painted and fashioned, and none of them are alike. For even though there was only one Christ-child, every person's imagination is a little different."
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| Albania - today |
And that's where this 16th story ends. After reading the story together, Joachim and his parents are discussing about the mystery of the missing Elisabet girl in 1948. She was seven years old when vanishing, and she only left behind her knitted hat. Papa contacts the police, and even Elisabet's mother (now seventy years old), who remembers having talked to a man called John from Syria.
It gets more mysterious... but we must end here. See you again tomorrow!
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