A guardian angel’s work is never done, I mumbled to myself as I
perused my most recent assignment and stuffed the paperwork in my pocket; there
are so many opportunities to provide comfort and interaction with the minerals
that make up mortal bodies, the containers of God’s breath. I peered down
at the globe miles below my feet I and searched for my destination.
Once the destination was located my next task was to decide
on my wardrobe. What was I in the mood for today? It would help if I knew what
season it was down there. Blowing some
of the haze away from my feet and peering downward I could see flowers in
bloom, bunnies bouncing, butterflies flitting, bees pollenating, bear cubs
exiting dens with their moms. Spring. Oh, I would never be seen but still I had
panache for glitz and bling, a reputation to maintain. Of course there was the
standard issue glowing white robe, that couldn’t be changed but it could be brilliantly
accessorized, anything I could imagine would blend in well with basic
white. I pushed my head inside by closet, a hovering cloud that appeared
much smaller on the outside than it was internally,(similar in affect to Dr.
Who’s Tardis, an example of trans dimensional engineering originally
conceived by my Boss, the Big Guy himself) and scrutinized its contents. Ah,
perfect. I reached for a wide brimmed all coral colored cocktail hat complete
with intricate flowers, feathers and veil netting accents. It was a bit gaudy
but was also definitely a statement piece. Oh, if I could only be seen for just
a few seconds down there…but never mind…I must be an example to my coworkers.
As it was they tended towards …friendly jealousy. After all not everyone had my
flair but we all had special skills that complemented our teamwork. I grabbed a
pair of leather strappy sandals that extended up the calves, also in coral,
with layers of rhinestones. I had to hike my glowing white robe up just a
teensy wee bit; however, to show off the foot wear. Picture-perfect. Not
that we can be photographed, though some have tried unsuccessfully ending up
with at most only a bright glare on their cameras.
I headed to the takeoff platform where I meant the Boss making his
rounds, shining bright as the sun…er…son. He glanced at me once then snapped
his head back for a redo. One eyebrow raised and a lip corner started to
quiver. I bowed ceremoniously sliding my hat down over my eyes, no, not on
purpose. I could hear some giggles in the room but being blinded by the coral
brim I could only assume they were giggling at something I couldn’t see. They
wouldn’t dare be giggling at me…would they?
“Are you forgetting something?” Boss queried while obviously
attempting to keep a straight face behind the nail scarred hand obscuring his
mouth.
I did a mental check list. Hat. Shoes. Glitter. No, couldn’t think
of anything. Oh, Oh. Smacking my
forehead I blinked out (an angelic maneuver, don’t try this on your own) and
returned with the missing items and got in line for launch off. Boss gifted me with one of his enigmatic
smiles and continued on his rounds. No reprimand offered. None ever were.
Whoosh and I was off…. holding on tightly to my bonnet with my two charges in
tow.
I found myself on the back seat of a small vehicle, a PT cruiser I
think, traveling along a freeway in Fort Worth, Texas. It was a tight fit for
me, being somewhat above average height of, oh say…fifteen feet or so tall with
a very expansive wing spread, and don’t forget the wide brimmed cocktail hat
that got slightly scrunched up in the car. Thank God (literally) however that I
was composed of material that adjusted to its surroundings with considerable
ease, I thought after I pulled my upper torso down through the roof and
squeezed my wings inside. One of my two charges landed in the passage seat up
front and the other next to me. It was an extremely cozy fit but our human felt
or sensed nothing, even though she was engaged in an animated conversation with
….I’m guessing with the memories of my two companions, if not them then she was
a tad…peculiar to say the least and that info wasn’t passed on to me in my
database.
Human was speaking about the landmarks she was passing,
remembering days long gone when she visited each place; bank, home, mall,
bookstore, VA clinic, nail salon, movie
tavern, restaurant, and lastly hospitals, with either her father or daughter
who were now in the company of the other numerous departed souls in heaven but
at present sitting next to her in this
small square box of a car, brought down for a temporary field trip to see
her because of the strong emotions wafting up to HIM allowing for the departed souls to visit Human, though
they were unable interact, they were
just there to provide support and a sense of presence.
I tried to stretch my
gigantic cramped wings out just a teensy bit and ended up knocking Father out
onto the freeway. No problem, I reached out and grabbed him back in before he
hit the pavement but not before a motorcycle whizzed through him. Daughter
turned around to chuckle at the back seat commotion and I nodded towards Human
so she’d refocus her attentions. After all we wouldn’t be here long and they
both needed to be attentive.
Human was in a distraught frame of mind to put it mildly, feeling
all the loneliness from the loss of her dwindling family circle crushing her
soul. The unrelenting memories that popped up at every corner were overwhelming
her, causing immense grief. It has been more than several mortal years since my
charges had arrived upstairs but the pain for Human wasn’t lessening at the
rate it should due to the constant reminders of her bereavement. She passed by
to many landmarks daily to be able to forget her losses. Memories were
consuming her, nibbling and eating at her core.
Father and Daughter exchanged glances, unable to process pain
anymore they couldn’t have any empathy for Human, after all, they were happy
and in their state of celestial being and living at the feet of Jehovah
Almighty. What more could Human want for them? She couldn’t possibly want them
to come back to this corporeal existence. Oh no. It seemed she was about to
join them in their realm….by my
calculations about….thirty years too soon.
Human went on an on about her reminiscences, talking to the Daughter
and Father as though they were really there,
admitting she was angry with them for leaving her, as if they had a choice. Beginning
to weep she reached out for a book that was lying on the passenger seat, under
Daughter who Human’s hands went through as she grasped the leather book in her
hands and clutched it to her chest for
comfort. It was a well-read book with many of her hand written notations. I
could recite every word in that tome by heart. Human was hoping to leech some
comfort from the pages of promises and hope.
Human was so emotional she was no longer concentrating on her
driving. Tears were blinding her vision and the vehicle was serving awkwardly
about the four lane thorough fare, car horns were bellowing loudly and
persistently. And I could hear, with my exceptional hearing, the profanities
the occupants were spewing at us.
I looked out the front window and saw the sharp turn up ahead.
Come on….come on, I whispered to Human, start to steer the car to the ………Bang.
Metal and concrete met; loudly. The road vanished from beneath the car as we
soared up and over the side rail; air was all around us….then splash. I mean a
capital SPLASH. It was now water that was all around us filling the car
replacing the air. Daughter, Father and I floated out of the car and stood
outside looking in. We were at the bottom of a large river with a swift
current; the top was even above my
head, and remember I’m at least fifteen feet tall. Human was strapped into the
driver’s seat struggling to release the latch, bubbles jetting out of her mouth
and eyes wide with fright, lungs briskly filling with dirty water. I reached
in, undid the seat belt, wrenched open the driver’s side door, grabbed human
under her arms and pulled her to the surface.
I don’t believe I’ll ever get used to the expressions on mortal faces
when they see the incredible me, no matter how briefly, usually right before
they die, I am pretty awesome after all. No, I’m not bragging, but I’m not
blind either.
When I got Human to the bank, she staggered up the hill, sputtering
and shivering, leaning (unknowingly) on Father and Daughter as people came
scrambling down the incline amazed that there was a survivor of this horrific
mercifully one vehicle accident. Human collapsed on the ground. Ambulance, fire
trucks and police sirens wailed in the distance getting shriller and shriller.
Paramedics appeared and lifted Human on a gurney, examining every inch of her
for a concussion, broken bones, and lacerations. There was no sign of external
injury and her vital signs were stable, but they administered some IV
medication to sedate her the moment she tried to raise herself up and started gibbering
about a colossal angel with a feathery coral colored cocktail hat rescuing her.
I was offended she didn’t even mention my enormous wings; they are my best
feature after all. The paramedics rolled their eyes and exchanged glances over
Human’s head just as she drifted off. The things some people see when they’re
facing death, they’ve heard it all.
Bystanders were exploring the bank looking for other survivors
because they swore they saw three sets of prints going up the slope before the
gathering crowd had erased them. A bystander ran up to the ambulance before it took off with the
leather book that Human had been clutching earlier . One of
the paramedics accepted it and laid it on snoozing Human’s ribcage but not before a
coral feather floated out. He reached down and replaced it inside Human’s bible
and fingering his cross necklace in incredulity he looked upward just in time to see three
streaks of light shoot upwards; he swore that one streak, larger than the other
two, had a coral glittery tint to it. He
looked over at his partner to say something but on second thought decided against
it as the flying evidence had vanished out of the galaxy. And this is why our existence is questioned and dubbed
hallucinationary (not sure that’s a word but I’ll use it anyway.) It’s also
where faith comes in.
Meanwhile back upstairs Daughter and Father met with their
expanding heavenly family circle of aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings to
report on Human’s condition and to await her arrival which would be in a few
seconds Standard Eternity Time but thirty five years Gregorian calendar time.
Glad they had been there to witness the prevention of her way to early demise,
after all it wasn’t HIS plan for her yet and HE always gets HIS way.
Standing in front of HIM with my river drenched, enormous wings drooping,
sprig and leaf adorned gown clinging to my body,
dirty water pooling at my feet on the gold brick cobblestones, my shoes filled
with pebbles and river grit, my wide brimmed bonnet sagging down around my ears
and resting on my shoulders I handed Boss my sopping assignment sheet stamped
“Mission Complete” while my coworkers gathered around tittering. So much for my
panache for glitz and bling. One
commented that a swimsuit might have been a better choice for the day’s
activities. Boss kindly however asked no questions, after all, being a know it
all; literally, he knew all the answers and circumstances. He just
congratulated me on a job well done, silencing my coworkers with the look as the gathering separated for
HIM to pass. Wait, did I see a smile cross HIS face also? HE was trying to get
away before I noticed it. Oh Heck, I did have to admit I must look a comical
sight. I couldn’t control myself any longer; my face started to twitch and I broke out laughing in
uncontrollable merriment joined by thousands of my closet friends.
Finally in my room I squeezed the river water out of my robe,
sending a little spring shower downward, shook out my soggy all coral colored cocktail
hat complete with intricate flowers, feathers and veil netting accents (minus a
feather or two) and returned it to my closet, slipped out of my sandals,
extended and retracted my wings, (ooh, that felt good) and leaned back in my
soft cloudy chair with a glass of nectar; drained, me not the nector…yet. I
certainly can’t wait for the redemption of all mankind and the full occupancy
of heaven finalized. This guardian angel gig is rough on us millennial aged
creations and our wardrobe.
