The Christmas Star - The Man in the Box: Short Story Series, #1

By Dan Wright

In this story, Dan Wright pulls out all the stops for his debut novelette by creating the feeling of Christmas magic. It's like the magic made in movies and, through curiosity, the same experienced by a child's imagination. In addition, the author seeks to maintain the belief that Christmas is about the birth of Christ, a savior born to loving parents.

 

A dying mother prays for the help of God to protect her babies and see that they always find their way home. She does this because family is more important than anything else, and they will be safe in their parents' arms. Through prayer, her soul is combined with the light of Christ to achieve a guiding miracle within a glass crystal cube. The cube initially comes alive when it's in the presence of her grandson. Then the cube guides her son, who was taken at birth, back to his family.

After activating the cube found in a novelty store, his son's curiosity, as in all children, drives him so strongly that others must follow the clues given by the cube. He and his family become the miracle of Christmas. When the father realizes the truth, forgiveness, and understanding are the only right things he can do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dan Wright
• Release date: Jan 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798201514792

Dan Wright

Dan Wright is a poet and writer. He has written over 400 poems, but his passion lies in the realm of writing short stories. Wright creates characters with feeling children and grownups alike can relate to, leaving all in a state of wonder at times. These emotions can be so strong that the writer feels the characters are writing the story and not him. As the reader experiences them, they might wonder how one should react under similar circumstances. Wright was raised in a Christian family and taught to respect the belief that God exists and really does perform miracles. He understands that in our world that both good and evil exist. Unfortunately, he knows brute force or kindness can’t solve every problem. The first story to be published in a long forthcoming list is THE CHRISTMAS STAR.

Book preview

Published by BeeBop Publishing Group

Georgetown, Texas

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of the publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher has no control over and assumes no responsibility for the author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2023 by Dan Wright

All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. Published simultaneously in Canada.

FIRST EDITION

BOOK 1

Short Stories from Yesterday

This novel's jacket format and design are protected trade dresses and trademarks of Sidney St. James and the BeeBop Publishing Group.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Published Simultaneously in Canada

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

COMING SOON IN PAPERBACK AND AUDIO

Dedication

For everyone who has a red line under

their name in Microsoft Word.

*Waves*

CHAPTER ONE

Looking for a Christmas Gift

It was on Christmas eve when he first saw the box. His parents took him to a novelty store looking for a Christmas gift for one of his mom's coworkers.

She didn't know whom the name belonged to; she just drew it from the box. She wasn't sure if it was for a man or a woman because it read, Chris.

How do you buy a gift when you have no idea who it's for, she asked his dad. She had looked up stores in the phone book and made a list of places she wanted to go.

The first place was a novelty store. It had lots of miscellaneous things for adults. There was hardly a toy one in the entire store. Johnny’s parents walked about looking at everything. The young boy was getting bored until he spotted a glass box between two curtains concealing a storage room.

Johnny stared at the glass box and saw it glowing brightly. Cool, he faintly said aloud.

The closer he got, the more he felt trouble was on its way, and he never looked up to see the sign posted above. None of that mattered because his curiosity got the best of him.

As he was reaching to pull the curtains back, he heard a stern voice say, Young man, that room is for store personnel only.

Kneeling behind the counter was a man putting things in a glass cabinet. It's marked on this sign, he pointed to the one hanging by a small chain. Nothing for little boys in there.

The curtains had bells attached to warn them against unauthorized entry. The man added, "Many of the