His story begins sometime during the early Middle Ages, between 750 and 1000 years after the birth of Jesus. In a small, isolated village comprising about 10 Jewish families, located on a plateau along the west side of a stream fed by a long, narrow lake with high rocky cliffs on either side. It was early on a spring morning before the sun came up, and the village was sound asleep after a long day of celebration the day before. All except for a young girl named Deborah, who was about 12 years old. Deborah liked to wake up early and climb the hillside to the west of the village to watch the sunrise over the hilltops on the other side of the stream. As Deborah was enjoying her morning, waiting for the sun to crest the hilltops, something terrible was about to happen at the far end of the lake. There had been some early spring rains in the hills at the head of the lake, on the opposite end from the village. An enormous amount of rock and dirt—an area almost the size of Deborah’s village—came tumbling down the hillside, dumping into the lake below. When the huge amount of rock and dirt hit the lake, it displaced a tremendous amount of water, forming an enormous wave that started speeding toward the village. When the wave hit the village, it destroyed every building and took the lives of all the villagers, who were still in their beds. Deborah witnessed the wave approaching the village and was horrified by the destruction it caused. Once she recovered from the shock, she climbed down the hillside to her village. In a mere minute, everything had changed; the houses were no longer there, and mud and debris covered everything. Deborah stayed around the village the entire day, looking for something or someone in the mess, but eventually gave up as she needed to find something to eat. She didn’t know where to go, so she just followed the edge of the debris field downstream to see where it would go. It took more than a day of walking to get past all the mud. When she got past it, she was finally able to find crawfish in the stream to eat and could dig up roots of cattails that grew along the stream. She also picked some spring berries she knew were safe. She followed the stream for so many days she stopped counting. One day, she came around a bend in the stream and saw a man fishing. He immediately recognized, by her tattered appearance, that the young girl was in need of assistance, and by the carved Star of David that hung by a string around her neck, that she was Jewish. He belonged to a much larger village than Deborah was accustomed to, and it was made up of both Christians and Pagans who lived in harmony. He had a partial loaf of bread in the pouch that hung on his shoulder and offered some to the young girl. They did not speak the same language, but they shared a few words, and he did his best to communicate to her that she was safe and could come with him back to his village. The man lived in a small house at the edge of the village, and although he was only 27, the villagers treated him as an elder because of the wisdom he always showed, his calming demeanor, and his many skills that benefited life in the village. He possessed the knowledge to work with soft metals like tin, lead, and copper because of their lower melting temperatures and was skilled at casting these metals, making candles, and raising a few cows and chickens. He had a young son who was just shy of 2 years old. His wife had difficulties during birth, never fully recovered, and sadly passed away just before her son’s first birthday. He introduced himself as Herald Klaus, and his son was Nick, a young man who would grow up to be St. Nicholas. Deborah immediately felt welcome in Herald’s house, and his young son reminded her of the younger sister she lost in the flood, along with the rest of her family. She settled into life in the village. The villagers warmly welcomed her and saw it as an act of God that Herald had found her at a time when he needed someone to help take care of young Nick while he was working. Even though she was the only Jewish person in the village, the villagers did not see it as a problem because the village already consisted of Christians and Pagans, and Herald believed a person should be allowed to talk to God in whatever way they chose. As time passed, Deborah settled into life in the village. She also became very comfortable helping to take care of Nick, and became fond of him as he also became fond of her. While playing with toys his father made for him, Nick brought her joy as she played with him. She would tell Nick stories about her life back in her village and ones she heard as a girl growing up. Months turned into years, and one day, when Nick was 6, he surprised everyone when he called Deborah “Mom.” Hearing him say it, she was taken aback and suddenly grabbed Nick in her arms, giving him a big hug as tears of joy ran down her face. Herald laughed at hearing Nick say this and said it was about time. By now, Deborah had grown into a beautiful young lady, and Herald asked Deborah if she would like to truly be Nick’s mom and be Herald’s wife. Deborah was overjoyed, and within a few months, they were married in a fall wedding. Deborah could not believe the joy she was feeling. After that terrible morning 4 years ago when she lost her family and village, she never thought she would be this happy. Nine months after that day, another miracle happened. Deborah gave birth to a little boy. Nick was so happy to finally have a brother. Herald and Deborah had been discussing names, and Herald suggested that to honor her Jewish heritage, they name him Hanu Klaus. Copyright Aug 2024