Chapter 1 – Advent’s Way to the House of Bread: Marcel and Gabi Go to the Mountains

Marcel and Gabi Go to the Mountains

Gabi was finishing packing her backpack. She kept putting in and taking out a few last things before finally being able to calmly zip it up. Everything was necessary for this several-day trip to the mountains. Finally, she managed to squeeze in her favourite sweater and zzzziiipppp—the largest pocket was closed. Twirling swiftly around the bed like a ballerina, she grabbed her white plush sheep in one hand and slung the rather heavy backpack over her shoulder with the other. Pleased, she ran down the stairs.

Marcel was already sitting in his seat in the car. His backpack wasn’t as bulky as Gabi’s, but unzipped it lay under his feet. Gabi spread out on the seat next to her brother, pushing a large pillow toward the center. She accidentally brushed Marcel’s hand, who was writing something in his favorite notebook. Of course, it immediately got noisy. Dad started the car, and at the same time, Mom arrived carrying the last bags. She closed the trunk and then the car doors. The kids made up too. Marcel put his notebook and pen into his backpack and fastened his seatbelt.

They set off on their long-awaited November trip to the mountains. They had been waiting for it for weeks, and finally the weather had improved enough to go. Soon, they were on the highway outside the city. The day was waking up at the speed of the car. On the horizon, clouds blushed in broad bands of warm shades of pears, oranges, and rosy apples.

The children watched the landscape, which for now was dominated by fields of dried grass. Its longer blades danced gently in the wind. Occasionally, large flocks of sheep appeared, clustered into one fluffy patch. Rocked by the car, the children quickly closed their eyes and fell into a deep sleep...

Advent’s Way to the House of Bread 

And suddenly, they found themselves in a completely different place. They were still swaying, but now on the back of a camel. They were lying curled up in blankets in a special basket. They moved along a valley beside a river. At one point, the camel stopped abruptly, and Marcel woke up with the jolt. Confused, he rubbed his eyes, thinking he was still dreaming.

In front of them stretched a line of various animals loaded with sacks and crates. Strange-looking people walked beside them. They seemed arranged in families and walked alongside donkeys and mules, on which women or younger children were sitting. Most animals carried different supplies. Sacks of flour, water, and olive oil bounced at their sides. Here and there, sheep and goats ran. When Marcel looked back, the view behind him was similar. He had seen such images in books and on TV, but now he felt uneasy.

He couldn’t understand what was happening. He looked at Gabi, who was still sleeping soundly in the basket, her head resting on the soft little backpack, clutching the sheep in her hand—just as he had last seen her in the car before he closed his eyes.

“Ah…” he sighed enviously. “She always sleeps well, even in my dream—she sleeps like a little dormouse!” He even thought it was some strange kind of very realistic dream. He looked around and listened carefully.

“Where are Dad and Mom? Where’s their car, and what does all this mean?”

He didn’t like the situation. There were too many physical sensations for him to still think it was a dream!

Beside him, on the left, a strange man with a sunburned face and strong, wrinkled hands was holding the camel by a thick rope and silently listening for a message from the guide. He looked at the fidgeting boy from under his brows, as if to check whether he was awake.

From a distance, the city gates were visible, so the entire caravan stopped. They had to pass through a narrow space between the walls before they could continue south.

Marcel felt his heart beat faster. Just a moment ago, he had been driving in the car with his parents and his sister two years younger, and now he was somewhere completely unknown—in the midst of strangers, dust, little bells, and the smell of camels, donkeys, or horse-like animals, not even sure what to call them...

This was exactly how Advent’s Way to the House of Bread began, full of mysteries, surprises, and extraordinary encounters.