Nathaniel Swifter was supposed to be completely alone during this Christmas. His wife passed away three years ago and his only daughter was spending Christmas with her newly-wed husband in Pennsylvania, United States. Completely alone in Oxfordshire – the place which was usually full of life but mostly for students as it was an academic city – Nathaniel felt really depressed. He decided to buy a large amount of alcohol to go through it easier and not to feel so down in the dumps. As a hard-working guy he had managed to buy a small farmhouse where he kept a chicken coop, few pigs and two horses. He was proud of his house as well as of his animals. He always remembered to feed them but he treated his animals as a source of income only, nothing more.

Although the atmosphere of Christmas was all around, for Nathaniel this day was not a different one from the day before. As usual, he woke up at 5 a.m. to feed his farm animals. He used to feed them at the same period of time as it was advised by the most supreme farmers. As every day, Nathaniel drank a cup of extremely strong coffee and smoked a fag. He couldn't imagine his life without these two life pleasures. He also couldn't imagine the life without reading daily news – he was the man who liked to know what was going on around in the world. He grabbed the newspaper and looked through the headlines.

'What bullshit it is' – he thought when he noticed that all the headlines were connected with the celebration of Christmas, Christmas traditions and Christmas charity. He was not going to read all these banana oil nonsense and he prepared a shot of whisky instead. Whisky made him even more pensive and in a flashlight he saw his past life – his much-loved wife by his side and a charming daughter nearby. He felt dispirited and grabbed for another shot of whisky.

'Nope, this day is not going to be a typical one' – he thought. He decided to drink more not to think about things which used to make him completely crazy. Shot after shot and Nathaniel fell asleep. He didn't even remember about preparing a meal for himself, not mentioning the starving animals...

Nathaniel was woken up by a colourful fireworks display and a shouting crowd of celebrants. At the beginning he had no idea what was going on. Still under the influence of alcohol he recollected that it was this fucking Christmas day. He didn't feel like getting up or doing anything. He kept lying with wide open eyes and listening to the excited voices.

'Yeah – the new era is just beginning' – he thought – but so what... I don't have my wife, my daughter is far away... I hate this fucking life.' Sipping whisky again he suddenly heard something strange. Among all the thrilled voices from the street he seemed to hear the voices coming from his own backyard.

'The alcohol is really strong' – he concluded. 'What is more, it doesn't help at all. I wish I could fall asleep and wake up in two days when everything is over.' The voices were becoming more and more intense.

'What the fuck is that?' - Nathaniel was on his feet in an instant. He decided to check what was going on in his backyard. He didn't perceive anybody but he could hear voices from the chicken coop. He was moving quickly and when he was at the coop door he started to listen carefully. These were doubtlessly female voices.

- 'I can't believe it... He's not a human but a monster. He deserves it'

- 'Don't be so cruel. He was young and immature then. Haven't you noticed how much he loved Martha?'

Having heard the name Martha, Nathaniel became more alert. It was the name of his adored wife so he became really curious about who the women were and what they were talking about. He decided to linger a while before opening the door and discovering the truth.

- 'Why are you defending him up to the hilt? Have you forgotten that fatal Christmas day? He raped you... He destroyed your whole life...

Nathaniel couldn't believe his ears. It was the story of his life. All the years he attempted to forget about the terrible event which happened during Christmas time thirty seven years ago. As a young boy he used to drink a lot of alcohol and attend all kinds of drinking bouts. That Christmas wasn't different. He was present at one of those drinking parties together with some of his friends. It was a New Year party. He really desired the girl who appeared there... slim, attractive blonde with long legs wearing a short and extremely provocative dress. After few more shots he had enough courage to invite her for a drink and ask to dance. The girl agreed and he couldn't understand why... He was not a handsome guy so she probably must have been under the influence of alcohol as well. After few more drinks she even agreed to go out for a walk with him... And it happened – he wasn't able to control his desire any longer. The next day when he woke up, he could slightly remember what he had done. The girl disappeared from his life like a ghost and feeling guilty he drank more and more... Few years later when he met Martha he decided to make his life better, for her. He strived to drink less alcohol and create a happy family. Two years after their marriage Ann was born, their only and daring daughter. Although he tried really hard, he could never forget what he had done to the girl from the party. He would have given everything if only he could have put the clock back.

Now the only thing that Nathaniel wanted to find out was what was going on... He was aware that he was still under the influence of alcohol but he was also sure that he was not dreaming. He attempted to open the door slightly but it appeared to be locked from the inside which made him really astonished.

The conversation inside didn't cease but it went on:

- Has he ever found out that he had a daughter? Did he do anything about the fact?

- No sweetheart, he had no idea that you were born... but I am sure he would love you as much as he loves Ann....

- You are again on his side... Well it's no use talking about it any longer... We both know that it must be done anyway... Destiny is unavoidable...

Nathaniel kept listening with more and more interest... He was not sure whether it was a dream or if he could really hear the story of his own life... Was it possible that the girl from the party was in his chicken coop talking about him? It's unbelievable but it all happened so long ago and he couldn't remember her voice, he couldn't recollect her appearance... He knew only that she was beautiful. The thoughts were running in his head like flashlights... Did he have another daughter? Why didn't she tell him the truth? Why did she disappear from his life? Maybe his life would be completely different now... What was the unavoidable destiny? He really had no idea what to think about what he had heard... Trying to unlock the door he started to shout: 'Let me in, please, I need to see you, I need to talk to you...' The voices became quieter and quieter... for a while he still heard some whispering and then the only thing he could hear was hens' noises. He discovered that the door suddenly became unlocked... He ran into the chicken coop as quickly as he could but the only image he saw was a wild crowd of hens jumping on his head and attacking him. He slipped down and an angry crowd of hens went on with pecking his eyes, head, face...

A day after New Year Eve Nathaniel was found in the pool of blood with the massacred face... He was identified by his only daughter who recognised him by wedding ring and everyday clothes he used to wear while working on his farm... His farm animals were found to be in the starving condition... Nathaniel was buried next to his wife... Not far away there were two other graves – one was of a young woman who had died giving birth to a beautiful baby girl and the other was a grave of the baby who lived three days only...