NEW FICTION.

Two canoes came rowing along the shallow water of the river. One boat had three people in it, the other only two. This was weird though because the river had been dammed at some point and only puddles remained in the river bed.

The five people had cut out holes in the bottoms of their boats and would walk a few paces around, drop the boats down so they could sit and pretend to row in the muck for a bit.

Confused, Bleach ran up to them and started to walk in the muddy river bed towards them.

“Do you see what I see?” shouted one of the men in the two-person boat. He was small, wearing a black pointed hat and a blue robe. The robe was dirty. He was dirty. And his overall look was funny-looking.

The much larger man sitting in the boat with him struck him very hard, knocking his hat from his head and sending him backwards into the muck behind the boat. “Damn you, Tinli, I wanted to be the first to say that line!” He began to fiddle his fingers on a gold chain he wore around his neck.

Tinli didn't say anything: he was out cold.

“TIRSK!” shouted an older man with a bald head and grizzly-looking gray goatee. He wore a gray robe. The man he named was wearing a red robe. They exchanged angry looks and shrugs.

“Praise be The Lord!” shouted a mannish thing in a brown robe. Then she tore her fake beard off along the robe, revealing a dirty light gray dress she wore underneath. At some point when it were clean, the dress might have been white. “He walks upon water!”

Tirsk growled again, but didn't dare hit the woman as well. “Great. I knocked out the third wise man because he angered me!” he groused. He slapped Tinli's face, causing him to stir a little but still he remained on the ground unconscious. “We bring you ---” he began.

“GIFTS!” shouted his companions in unison. Again the man in red fumed.

A third man wearing yellow tossed a wrapped package at Bleach and it bounced off his head before he could duck away from it. “I am your father!” squeaked the man in yellow robes. He also wore a necklace but his was made from a leather string.

Rubbing his head, Bleach noticed that they all five wore similar amulets. They were red jewels encased in gold.

The oldest, the one of the gray robes, shook his head. His necklace was made of silver. He sighed. “I am a servant of God, Oh who art Christ!”

“What is a Christ?” Bleach wanted to know.

“A Christ performs miracles, Lord Jesus!” yelled the woman. “I am your mother, Mary, and my... husband... is Joseph!” She very carefully kissed the yellow robed man on his bearded cheek. Neither one looked happy about the kiss.

“Yosef!” he corrected.

She hit him in the crotch with her fist.

Yosef gasped. “Call me Joseph, please,” he said weakly.