Christstarrgirl

 A soft hiccupping broke the night's silence. At once, a dozen figures dressed in ceremonial robes knelt, forming a circle around the tiny bundle of rags lying on the alter. A single voice took up the chords of a prayerful song, and the rest soon joined. Their voices rose and fell with the rhythm of the hymn, as the swathed creature began to fight free of its cloth prison. Then it began to wail, desperately crying out for freedom and salvation. Not one of the gathered figures faltered in their song, and the cries went unanswered. With every elevation in the volume of wailing, the singers responded by raising their own voices. Yet they did n