A Dead Body Was Discovered in the Undergrowth

Written in Year Nine English over two lessons, on the theme of, well, what the title says - a dead body being discovered in an area of undergrowth - though not necessarily a human one. But don't worry, I did not go the alien route, or even the contemporary route. In the original writing, I did not divide the story into paragraphs, though it should be. Therefore, it remains in the original format, though I did place a divide between lesson's writing.

Monday 27th June 2011, and onwards. Unfinished and incomplete.

A dead body was discovered in the undergrowth. But it was not of the holy prophet. "What has happened to my son?!" shouted Joseph. The pilgrimage had not been going well for him. Having left Jerusalem, he approached a trader, gave him a few coins, and bought a camel to ride on his journey. He had packed bottles of water, too, as the trip required a trek through the hot, stuffy desert, where there were no residues of water for miles. The journey had been promptly prepared, having had the news of the passing of his adoptive son only just spread into the city of Jerusalem. Bethlehem had returned to its silent night, and the Roman armies had begun to spread closer. When walking to the inn, amidst the silent citizens and deceptive centurions, he began to hear whispers from a woman. "Jesus has returned to his father..." she had said to her friend. Initially confused by this, Joseph soon realised she was referring to God. His cheeks reddened up with shock. He then asked of her "You mean he has died?!", to a reply of yes. She soon added "Who are you?". He was surprised that she did not recognise him, but then she appeared to be only in her twenties, and would not have lived through the nativity. "But I am Joseph Carpenter - the one chosen by God to father his son Jesus, and to stay by the side of his surrogate mother, and my wife, Mary.". The woman was shocked, and suddenly felt incredibly sympathetic for the man. Having noticed the darkness, Joseph thought it would be too late to ride off on pilgrimage to visit his resting place. Instead, he parted from the helpful woman, and went off to sleep at his bedlam - the inn. That night, as his head rested on the hay, a vision came to him. It was mother Mary, speaking words of wisdom.

"Let it be," she repeated several times over. "Let it be.". Joseph was confused. Was that her? Was that my wife? "Mary?" he asked. "It's going to be alright," she said, calmly. "Alright... Alright..." "But our son is dead!" responded Joseph with a slight anger. "He is with his father now," said Mary. "And not on Earth! His body may be, but his soul is in heaven!" Joseph shouted. As soon as he said this, chickens clucked. Mary faded from his mind. The innkeeper knocked on the stable. She wasn't there. He slumber'd back to the hay, and drifted off to sleep. The next morning, he rose early, and rushed off on to pilgrimage. Placing himself on the camel, the hooves clunkered across the roasting grains of sand at a brisk pace. The journey should be faster than I initially thought, contemplated Joseph. An hour of trekking later, the camel was tiring, and as was Joseph. He removed his bag and took out a bottle of water, stopping near a palm tree. He unscrewed the top, and placed it under the camel's mouth, who, with the aid of Joseph's steady hand, drank the entirety of the contents of the bottle fairly quickly. But Joseph was alright with passing on the water for now. He was not the one using the energy, after all. When he placed himself back on the camel's saddle, and rode a little further, he found a lake just over the sand dune. Well, that was annoying. He paused to refill the bottle and then continued the journey. Across the journey, he found himself passing a few groups of Romans. One of these people was riding a camel, and chanting "My camel! My camel! My kingdom for a camel!". The second group of Romans he passed a little later were interested in his camel. This small group of thugs pushed him off, forgetting to take his back pack, and rode off with his camel. He would have to walk the rest of the journey. Two hours later, with five more miles covered, he passed a legion of Roman centurions, carrying staffs and shields. But he had to finish his pilgrimage and visit his son for the last time. It was getting dark, and he was getting tired, so he reached a place of moderate concealment, and set up camp. This time, mother Mary came to him again. "You are doing good, my love," she said. "You are almost there!" she said, reassuringly. "But I have no camel!" replied Joseph.

© 2011 Peter Webb