I stopped. A sound from behind me disturbed me.

I had heard nothing since that, as I wandered through my forest, in the snow. My footfalls crunched against the snow that lay shallow on the ground between the well-spaced trees, and I was aware of the absence of other noise. No birds acclaimed my arrival, no wind blew chill through the wood; it was silent, silent as I had ever known it.

Then that one sound again – I was sure there was someone there. "Hello?" I called out.

There came no reply.

"Is someone there?" I called again.

It had gone dark quite suddenly; common for the area and time of year. Yet it was not cold. I felt a warmth I had not known for many years, and I did not feel the sharp frostiness of the air.

It was Christmas day – not a month since the funeral of my once-best friend, Alicia. Much had changed since then; Michael had regained his memory, Rachel had attempted suicide, and the vicar had had a nervous breakdown and moved to Australia.

Quiet music came to my ears. It sounded close. So close, in actual fact, that if I had not known otherwise, I would have believed it to be right next to me. Or was it?

Light from the dark night sky illuminated the whole forest; a white light not like the sun, nor the moon.

Now I heard the sound of wind, rushing through the branches above me, and they began to sway, as if in time with the music that still played.

A voice began. "What is your name?" asked the formless voice.

I looked in the direction from which the voice had come. I saw a figure walking towards me through the forest, clothed in white. "I am Jon," I replied, unsure of the event.

"Jon, have no fear. I come from a place a long way from here. I bring a message for mankind to hear." He had a face like a statue of an angel I saw once.

I could not break my gaze from his visage.

"Peace," he said, "Goodwill to those on whom God’s favour rests."

"Who is God?" I asked.

"God is, He was, and He will be. He is the everlasting creator, the eternal Lord."

"And what is the message?"

"In a stable, many miles away and many moons ago, lay a baby. His name was Emmanuel, and He was the Son of God, and the Son of Man. Tonight, I come to remind you of His birth, to revive the memory."

"Are you talking about the Christmas story?"

"You may know it as what you will; the choice is always yours." The figure turned, and began to walk away.

"Wait," I said.

He stopped, and looked back over his shoulder.

"Who are you?"

"I am a servant, one of the Most High."

"Where are you going?"

"Back," he said.

"Can I come with you?"

"Where I am going, you cannot follow. But you will come later. If it were not so, I would have told you."

"Are you going to heaven?"

"Are you?" returned the stranger. "But it is not yet your time." He seemed to be thinking. "Come," he said. "I will show you something before I return."

The forest was no more. I had not noticed it leave, but we now stood in an area of dry ground, not far from what appeared to be a small town.

"Behold Ephrathath."

"What?"

"The town. That is where I have brought you. The city of David, Bethehem."

I fell to the ground, stunned.

"Come," he said. "Follow." And he set off in that direction.

I had caught up with the visitor, and we now walked side by side on a road that led to the town.

"Wait," said the other, and an eagle cried high above.

A clinking sound told us someone was coming. I looked behind, and a donkey was lurching along not forty feet away. As it drew nearer, I saw a man and a woman both sat upon it. They seemed to be talking in a foreign language.

"Who are they?" I whispered to my companion.

"Joseph, Mary. Behold."

I watched, and as the donkey walked past, the woman I had been told was Mary looked at me, smiled, then looked away again.

Swirls of mist seemed to surround me, and in an instant, time had moved forward. I was stood outside of a small barn. The glow from a single oil lamp lit the scene, and a baby cried.

Low voices came from behind us, and four shepherds passed. Ignoring us, they entered the stable, above which hung a bright star.

Then one by one, the people disappeared. And the building. And finally the desert and town. We were back in the forest where I had begun.

"Do you understand the message?" asked my companion, who was still with me.

I nodded.

"Then I shall leave." And with that, a flash of burning light engulfed him, and I saw him no more.

That night, I wrote the story. I sealed it, and marked it with the word "Truth". With that, I went to bed.

So I awoke, at the dawn of man’s eternal day. And I never slept again.