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Previous Challenge Entry (EDITOR'S CHOICE)
Topic: AUTHORITY( 04/14/22)

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TITLE: Under a Dark Sky | Writing Challenge By Marilyn Borga 04/20/22

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As the last rays of sunlight were fading behind the western hills, he strutted through the rocky yard once more and surveyed his tiny kingdom. His golden-brown eyes scrutinized each dusty corner as his harem began to settle in for the night. He lunged at a lone straggler still scratching in the dirt; she scuttled meekly to her nest. Low murmuring and occasional clucking quickly ensued in the yard. No hungry dogs or foxes prowled the grounds. Nor were there predators flying overhead. Serenity reigned in his domain. He should have been able to relax.

He hopped onto a stone wall and nervously strolled the length of it. In the sky, wide swaths of crimson and gold silhouetted his proud profile. He stretched his head far back and preened his gleaming plumage, then stood tall and gazed at the increasing activity in the neighboring courtyard. Acrid smoke burned his nostrils as people lit small fires and huddled around them. The soft rise and fall of human voices drifted to his ears.

Something unusual was afoot, but he saw no clear reason for alarm. His hens still roosted peacefully. Still, a sense of unease caused him to stay on the wall rather than perch for the night on a low-hanging branch. He focused on those who kept watch there by the firelight. Except for an occasional outburst, their voices remained low.

In the dimness, the need for sleep began to overpower him. He sank to a squat and fluffed his downy feathers. He twisted his head until it rested on his back, nuzzled his beak under the feathers, and allowed his eyes to drift shut. He must have rest if he was to perform his duty of alerting the world at the break of dawn.

He awakened in confusion to an inky-black sky. No rays of light yet peeked over the eastern hills. Nor did a morning glow illuminate the horizon. There was only darkness. But at that moment, an invisible holy hand lifted him to his feet. The Divine Authority compelled him to stretch out his neck and open his mouth wide. His throat convulsed with a long ear-piercing crow.

The exhausted cockerel fell back into a deep slumber, oblivious to the small role he’d played in the sacred drama that has impacted all of eternity. Below him, at the foot of the wall, the man called Peter began to weep bitterly.

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Luke 22:54-62 (NKJV)
54 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance.
55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.
56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”
57 But he denied Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
58 And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!” Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

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