section7mfu | "Christmas in Bosnia" -Redux for day 2 of the Christmas Countdown Calendar

This story was written for one of my fans who'd asked me to create a Muslim character for her. I came up with an UNCLE agent named Goran Kovač who has appeared in several stories now. Hope you enjoy this one.

Illya Kuryakin dashed past a burning building from which black acrid smoke was billowing forth. He was heading for the forest as there was nothing left that he could do, the town was in its deathroes.

The young resistance fighters had scattered in every direction as the the first artillery shells began raining down upon them.

His partner for this mission, Goran Kovač, of Bosnian extraction was the better choice to accompany the Russian to Yugoslavia. Though Illya was fluent in Serbian, they would be in the part of the country occupied by ethnic Bosnians, most were Muslim. Goran would fit in perfectly, Illya would not...but he’d manage to get by.

At the moment though, his partner was missing, filling Kuryakin’s gut with a feeling of dread. As he dashed deeper into the mist-filled forest, carrying his carbine, a lone figure appeared, coming towards him.

He raised his gun, readying to shoot, but when the target became clear, he lowered his weapon. It was Goran.

“You do not want to go that way my friend, too much shelling. The town is a complete loss. Please tell me you have the documents?” Kovač called out.

“Zdravo...naravno da znam (Hello...of course I do),” Illya spoke in Bosnian, knowing at least those words, as there were some common to both the Serbian and Bosnian languages

The Russian looked at his wristwatch. “We better get going. I will call in once we get closer to the extraction site.”

“Illya we’re a bit far away from Sarajevo.”

“I know. For the moment we will have to do it on foot until we get a safe distance from the conflict area. Once we have done that we can commandeer a car or truck.”

It was rough going as the terrain was mostly covered with thick forest, at least giving the two agents cover. After traveling some distance, they stopped, both now unsure if they were heading in the right direction. All they had was a tattered map which was proving to be useless.

“We need to find a clearing. The stars in the night sky will help us get our bearings,” Goran nodded.

They traveled a few hundred yards and as if the their words were heard; they found themselves in a large clearing.

The sky was clear, and crisp, the stars were shining brightly, but there was one in particular that stood out from the others.

“Ah it is the north star, that is a good sign,” Goran smiled.

“Mmm, perhaps it is the Christmas star, as it is December 25th,” Illya said, most seriously. “Napoleon holds great store in it.”

“And you Illya?”

“I stopped believing for a long time but my partner helped to open my eyes. Mind you the Russian Christmas is not until January 7th. I have," he paused,"become accustomed to celebrating the secular Christmas with Napoleon, and at the moment I am regretting missing that.”

“Ahh, so you are a closet believer perhaps,” Goran laughed. “Though I am not a devout Muslim, I do know that in my faith Jesus is considered a holy prophet. He appears in 93 verses in the Qur’an, It states the virgin Maryam was told by an angel she would give birth to a "pure" son, "as a sign unto men and a mercy from us." She withdraws to a desert place to give birth, alone, under a palm-tree, then returns with the infant to her people. When they chide her, supposing she has been unchaste, Jesus speaks up from the cradle in her defense, announcing himself to be a prophet. It was not befitting for Allah to father a Son. When He determines a matter, He only says to it 'Be' and it is...a miraculous event which occurred by the decree of Allah.

“Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles which no other prophet in Islam has ever been credited with. Though appearing to have been crucified, he was not killed by crucifixion instead, "Allah raised him unto Himself." In the 19th Sura of the Qur'an Jesus was blessed on "the day he was born and the day he will die and the day he is raised alive", which clearly declares he did experience a natural death, would be raised on the day of judgment.”

“I was unaware of that, thank you for sharing it with me,” Illya nodded. “Now that I have my bearings, we go that way,” the Russian pointed. He tossed the map now as it was useless, and looked to the sky instead.

“Illya, though I do not celebrate Christmas...well, S Rozhdestvom Khristovym vas (merry Christmas to you)” He wished to Illya in Russian.“Soon you will be home and can perhaps celebrate with Napoleon on January 7th?”

“Spasibo, Goran. “The blessings of Allah be upon you for your kind thoughts,” Illya responded as the two of them disappeared again into the darkness, with perhaps a true star of wonder to guide them.