Beyond the Sky
Written by:
Lynnea Ann Velasquez
Dedicated to:
All of my family and friends for always being there.
I love you guys!
© Beyond the Sky Lynnea A. Velasquez 2006
Outer space, it has captured our interest, tested our knowledge, and posed us with questions of whether we are really alone in this universe or not. The blanket of stars laid out over us, displayed every night for us to enjoy, is sadly overlooked or better put, taken for granted. As for those of us who have wondered, "Are we really alone here?" "Is there another being out there that we still don't know of?' Many of us can say, we don't know yet; but at the same time, we know there is someone out there in a place beyond our wildest dreams, watching over us. He loves us unconditionally whether we want to believe it or not.
This is a story of a normal teenage girl, whose life is transformed from dark and full of despair, to bright and full of happiness. But it didn't all happen as quickly as some may think. All of us must persevere through trials, all of us must face what seems to be the impossible. But we find once we reach victory, in the end it was all worth the while.
"Haru." A voice called, echoing like thunder among the clouds.
"Yes my Lord." A young man's voice replied, as an angel appeared kneeling before Him.
"I have an assignment for you, Haru."
"An assignment?" The angel said, a smile arising on his face.
"Yes." The Lord said, rising from his throne and beckoning for Haru to come. "Please, follow me."
Haru rose and fallowed the Lord as he entered into Heaven's garden. They came to a bridge over a small steam. It glistened as pure as crystal itself, the wind, a gentle caress. The perfectly green leaves shone with the small glitter of morning dew. The sun, spilling through it's intricate branches giving the grass new life. Waving His hand over the water, the Lord revealed an image of a young teenage girl, her long blond hair gently blowing in the wind. Her blue eyes danced with excitement and anticipation. Haru could see she was a very upbeat, cheerful, easygoing person. Turning to God, Haru questioned. "Is she my assignment?"
God nodded, "Yes, she is."
Haru returned his attention towards the girl. He tilted his head somewhat perplexed. She looked like a happy enough girl, so why did she need to be helped? He was about to ask when he was cut short.
"Why does she need help?" God laughed some. "This girl wears a smile on her face,
but her exterior betrays what she is feeling inside. Her heart is tormented with the burden of
her parents divorce. Not to mention she has been taken out of her safety zone and hurled
in a place she is completely foreign to, physically and spiritually."
"How did you-"
"-know what you where going to ask? I am God you know." The Lord laughed.
Haru couldn't help but laugh at his forgetfulness. "Yes, you do know everything." Looking back at the girl, Haru continued. "How long must I stay by her side Lord?"
"As long as she may need you."
God's response implied that only he was going to know when Haru would return to Heaven, and Haru would eventually find out.
A grin appeared on Haru's face as he turned to God. "Once I finish this assignment…" He put on a pleading face. "…can I earn my wings?"
God laughed as he patted Haru on the head. "Oh, could those eyes get any bigger?" He smiled down at him.
"Of course, you may."
Haru's face filled with delight as he bowed his head with gratitude. "Thank you my Lord!" God smiled as he called Haru with outstretched arms. "No need to be so formal my son, come here. " Haru's smile broadened as he felt the warm embrace around him. He couldn't even begin to describe the overwhelming joy he felt. Gently letting go of Haru, God gestured to the gateway, the way Haru would leave Heaven to Earth.
"You should be on your way now. The dark forces are sure to be moving into action as we speak." Haru nodded and began on his way…
"Damean!" A sinister voice echoed through the dark abyss, the fiery pit of hell.
"What is it now?" A demon said, emerging from the eternal lake of fire.
"I have another victim for you." Satan grinned. "Another one, eh?" Damean smirked. "Go on." He wanted to hear more about this victim of his. Satan stretched out his hand, an image of the girl appeared. "Her parents just got a divorce and she just moved from Tokyo to California." Damean nodded. "Oh yeah, I remember you sent out a couple demons to work on her father earlier." Satan laughed, "Yeah, he was an easy target! Only took so long for him to fall away." Damean snickered. "And her mom really though that becoming a Christian would help her! Ha! It only served to make her leave her country in shame, being that she left the Shinto religion."
"Yes, yes, that's right. Turning your back on your beliefs is turning your back on your nation." Satan added.
"Heh, how pathetic." Damean shook his head. "Unfortunately, that's another soul we lost master."
Satan clenched his fist. "Which is the reason we will not let her daughter make the same mistake! Keiko's soul will be mine!"
Damean nodded. 'Her soul is as good as yours master!"
"Ha-ha! That's the attitude I like Damean! That's why I chose you for this job. You're not only persistent in your work, but creatively devious!" Satan exclaimed, slapping Damean on the back. 'At this moment in time, Keiko is a fairly easy target. Her heart resonates with nothing but pure misery. And…" An image of her unopened Bible appeared before them. " She's completely unarmed." Damean chuckled. "Well that's good." He folded his arms firmly in front of his chest. "We gain more souls that way. The more they don't know." He gave a sinister smile. "The easier they are to take down."
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Monday First Encounter
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Here it was, Monday morning, Keiko's first day of school and she had already ruined her new shoes in a puddle of mud, fallen on the pavement and scuffed up her knees, forgotten her lunch, and lost five dollars! It was a safe bet that today would be one of those days when everything that could go wrong would, and
when everything that could go right wouldn't. With a sigh, she sat at her desk, glancing up when the teacher waved a pop quiz paper in her face. Perfect.
Keiko Hamasaki was one of those people who always had an upbeat personality, but today, she just felt like running home to hide under her covers for a week. 'Could this day get any worse,' she asked herself, filling in the answers to questions she did not understand. When her pencil snapped on question 2, she just about lost it.
Heading home with a hung head and a heavy heart, Keiko tried to absorb the beautiful scenery around her. Cherry blossoms twirled and danced all around like graceful butterflies. The sun spilled itself between the trees and glittered on the concrete sidewalk giving it a new life. Children laughed in playgrounds and adults greeted each other on the street. It was another beautiful day in San Francisco. Climbing the steps to her house, Keiko decided that she would take a nice, long bath when she went inside. Then, she would watch TV for a bit, do her homework, listen to music and eat something she loved. The rest of her family was gone for the evening, so she had the place to herself.
Facing the front door, Keiko fished around in her bag for the key, then froze. It wasn't in the pocket where she had left it!
Not to far from where she was, Haru stood on a nearby tree branch watching her. Looking up to Heaven he asked.
"How do I approach her on this?" The wind blew gently on his face as he shook his head. "I know….but." He looked at Keiko. "She isn't going to be easy to convince." The wind continued to blow as he sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll give her the keys but where-" The wind howled as he reached in his pocket. His eyes widened as he heard an all to familiar jingling sound. Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he unclenched his fist and smiled up at the Heavens.
Frantically, she searched the rest of her bag but had no luck. Then she noticed a tiny hole in the bottom of the key pocket. Keiko fell to her knees and began to cry. Her only house key was gone and no one else had one! How would she get inside without breaking a window?
Her blond hair curtained her face as she cried. This was one of the worst days she had ever had! She never asked for this! She just wanted a fresh start at life since her parents divorce back in Tokyo; she just wanted this nightmare to be over!
"What did I do to deserve this? I can't get in my own house! I wish Mom, or... or ANYONE was here to help me!"
"Psst... hey."
Keiko's head jerked up at the sound of a male voice hovering near her head. Her eyes met with the oddest looking boy she had ever seen.
Silver, shoulder-length hair blew in the wind wildly and a slight grin lit up his golden-amber eyes. He was actually quite handsome, with a strong, and slightly lanky build. Broad shoulders gave way to a strong chest, then tapered down to his slim hips and long legs. The stranger was attired in all black, which gave him a
sophisticated and mysterious air. Not to mention he was dangling her house key between his fingers.
"Looking for this?"
His voice had a sincere tone, wrapping around Keiko and making her dizzy.
"Yes, that's my key! Thank you for finding it for me!" She snatched it from his hand and inserted it into the lock, relief flooding through her at the echoing click.
"Ahem."
Keiko turned back around to face the strange boy who was watching her with a smile.
"Um... yes? May I help you?"
"No, no, the question is, may I help YOU?" His teeth glittered in the sunlight.
Keiko frowned, not knowing what the stranger was getting at. "I don't think I understand.." 'America sure is a strange place, full of strange people.' She pondered to herself.
"Well, you DID ring, and I came. Just as asked."
"What do you mean 'I rang'?"
"Let's see, how shall I put this... you called, I answered? You sent an invite and I R.S.V.P.'d? You summoned and I appeared? You wished and it was granted?"
"Ok, ok I get it! But, I still don't understand.."
He smiled, hands on his hips. "Why, Miss Hamasaki, it's your lucky day, because I am your very own guardian angel."
SLAM!
"Hey, c'mon now, that's no way to treat your heavenly guidance counselor. Open the door."
"No!"
"You don't believe me, eh?"
"No," Keiko yelled through the door. "You could be some kind of a psycho! Go away before I call the police!"
An unexpected moment of silence occurred…
"I don't think there's any point in doing that."
Keiko slowly turned to see the boy from the front door standing in the kitchen doorway, leaning against it in a casual manner.
So she did the next logical thing that came to her mind…She screamed her lungs out. Reaching for the phone she glanced at him, watching to see if he was going to stop her.
"You know if you call the cops you will only embarrass yourself in the end. I'll just disappear as soon as the police arrive, and reappear when it's convenient, just as I did when you closed the door on me."
She looked up at him with only marginally frightened eyes. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.
"See? I'm not hurting you. I'm not stealing from your house. I'm not kidnapping you. So please, just calm down and let's talk."
Reluctantly, Keiko sat in a nearby chair as he sat in the one opposite from her. Palms on his knees, he leaned forward and gave her a serious look.
"Now, I am your guardian angel. When you asked for help, I was sent down to give ya a hand. You may not know it…or want to believe it. But there are many things that are going to occur in your life…and there is a greater power that cares for you and wants to help you." Leaning back into the chair, his eyes never leaving hers
he continued. "He sent me here to help and walk you through the hard trials of life that you are about to encounter."
"A 'Greater power?' There's no such thing as 'guardian angels', everyone knows that! Are you crazy?"
He smiled with a kind of 'I told ya so' look while lifting his eyes up to the ceiling, like he was looking at someone up above. He acted as if heard this sort of thing day in, day out. Shifting his attention back to Keiko he laughed some.
"Then how did I do the door trick?"
Taken back, Keiko suddenly realized that she had no clue how he had done that. It had happened too quickly for him to have come in through a window.
"Exactly," the boy said, "I was able to do it because I am an angel. I can do those kind of things"
"If you're an angel, then are you dead?"
"Well….not necessarily. I am alive, but in a spirit form." Looking out a nearby window he continued. "The only reason I am able to have physical characteristics, is cause God wanted me to."
'God...heh there is no God...or is there?' She inquired to herself. "You helped me, so why are you still here?"
"Man, you are 'Miss Twenty Questions' today, aren't ya?"
"Just answer me please." She said, growing tired of his ability to irritate her.
"I'm going to stick around for a while, until He tells me my job is done, and help you out. I know you've been under a lot of stress lately, and now that you have the house all to yourself, you have tons of added responsibilities. So, that's where I come in."
Keiko stared. "You came down from Heaven to help me clean the house."
Another shrug. "If ya want."
"You'll do dishes, sweep floors, wash windows, and cook meals for me."
"If that's helping you, sure." He said this out of his own generosity, he was always open to helping in any way possible, even if he wasn't assigned to.
A thought suddenly entered Keiko's head. "You'll... stay in the house all day?"
"Naturally, unless you want me to come with you anywhere."
"Where will you sleep?"
The angel laughed. "I don't technically have to sleep, but I'll stay on the couch when I'm not helping out."
Keiko stood perplexed. How would she adapt to this? An ANGEL in HER house, helping HER! Did she forget to mention the fact he was an ANGEL?
With a sigh, the boy got to his feet and stretched his arms above his head, giving Keiko a kind smile.
"Any other questions, Keiko?"
"Yes... what's your name?"
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Monday 6:17 pm
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Keiko ran through the house cleaning like crazy. "Aw—I don't have time for this!' As she frantically washed the table, she continued to speak to herself. "Man, I still have to go to the store, vacuum the carpet, do the dishes, dust, mop, and clean the cat's litter box!" Running over to the counter, she picked up a small piece of
paper. Written on it was a list of things she needed to buy. Catching her breath and slowly wiping her brow, she let out a sigh. "I'm going to the store." She turned to Haru. "Just try to keep things in shape here kay?"
Haru laughed a little. "I offered to help but-" He was cut short. "Never mind. I'll be back." She closed the door behind her and headed towards the store. While walking, she bowed her head slightly, pondering the previous events. She never meant to seem rude. It wasn't normally her nature to be like this. But this 'Angel' thing made her stomach turn. Was this all really happening?
When Keiko headed back from the store, she wanted him to PROVE that he was the real deal. No door tricks, she needed real proof.
However, the sight that lay before her when she opened the door rendered her completely speechless.
The blue vacuum cleaner whizzed past at a frantic pace, sweeping the carpet of its own accord. A lone rag was wiping the windows clean, then rewetting itself in a nearby bucket. Pictures were dusted by a floating duster and plants were being watered by a flying watering can. Books and magazines rearranged themselves in shelves and on tables, and Keiko could have sworn that she could see dishes in the kitchen sink cleaning themselves.
The ringmaster of the parade was nowhere in sight. Never the less, Keiko knew where to find him.
"HARU," she yelled, storming into the living room and glaring at the 'innocent' angel form lounging comfortably on the couch watching television and ignoring the vacuum cleaner now sweeping in front of him.
"What's going on!"
Laughing, Haru looked up at her with a sarcastic smile. "I'm trying to watch TV."
With a frustrated groan, Keiko went to the TV set and switched it off.
"Hey!"
"I want to know why these things are moving by themselves!"
"Cuz I told them to?"
"That's not an answer!"
A sigh escaped Haru. "Look, it's part of my helping around the house. I'm cleaning, is that so hard to understand?" He laughed rising to his feet and dusting of his pants. "I said I would help you in any way possible; If it relived you of stress."
Stunned, Keiko collapsed onto the recliner.
"Then... it's all real... you really are an angel..." The enormity of the situation overwhelmed her.
"In the flesh, so to speak."
Keiko glanced over at him as he laid back down on the couch, his form stretched out, a cocky grin on his face. This was the real deal, and nothing could have prepared her for it. She had no idea what to do next.
Chuckling, Haru jerked a thumb in the vacuum's direction. "Much better than fancy door tricks, don't ya think?"
A couple minutes past before Keiko regained consciousness. She sprung forth in her chair, eyes wide.
"What is it?" Haru asked.
"Didn't you hear that?" She said turning back to look at the front room door, a knock was finally heard.
Haru shrugged. "Someone's at the door. So what? Why are you all panicked?"
Keiko slapped her hand on her forehead. "No one can see you! No one can know you're here!" She flinched at the sound of another knock.
"And why not?" Haru said placing his hands on his hips, smiling proudly.
"Cuz! People might think I'm crazy if I say, 'Oh, this is Haru. He is my guardian angel!'" Another knock at the door. Keiko groaned. "Oh! Stay in here!" She said quickly shoving him into the nearest closet. "Gah!" He fell inside with a thud.