Disclaimer: I am the Queen of Purple and Green Aliens from Africa. That I
admit. However, I do not (unfortunately) own Hey Arnold or the song My
Angel is Here.
CHAPTER 9
A/N: Warning! This chapter has a somewhat different format from the previous ones...be prepared for a long and possibly somewhat confusing ride...Oh and remember, the boy angel in the subconscious still has no name...only the boy in the real world has the name...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little hand stroked the blond hair on the sleeping girl. The boy's amber-colored eyes looked at the sweet face of the woman lying next to him, finally at peace in the sweet release of sleep. His glance drifted from the woman to the scenery, pleased to see a few shoots of grass, a few sprouting trees, an array of color begin to cover the gray landscape. Suddenly, his head cocked, as though listening to something, or someone. Suddenly a smile split his features, as though he had received the best news in his small conversation with no one. His hand ceased stroking the woman's hair, and drifted to her face, caressing it in a way designed to make the girl wake from her dreamless slumber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*They say, there's a state of heaven
Somewhere, way beyond the clouds
I know, there's a piece of heaven in every little thing that you do
'cause every time you walk in the room
My angel is here, my angel is here*
Arnold dragged his feet through the sliding doors at the entrance to the hospital. The afternoon sun blazed down upon his blond head, wreathing it in a halo of golden beams. For a week he had been making this daily journey to the bedside of his beloved, and every day his hope had faded farther. Only the otherworldly strength from his Father had kept him standing through his daily routines, the constant questions about Helga's condition, the pressing concerns of habitual movements.
As Arnold entered the ICU section, he sensed something different. After a week of his almost constant presence, he had begun to realize that there was a feel to each section of the hospital. Mildly, Arnold wondered what the difference was caused by, but brushed off the concern and continued down the hall, intent only on his destination.
When Arnold reached Helga's room, he could feel life radiating out of it. Thinking for a moment that Helga had woken up and the nurses had forgotten to notify him, Arnold pushed the door open and almost fell into the room. Unfortunately, the sight of the room was enough to draw him up short. Although not disappointing, it was a dash to Arnold's hope when he saw that the life shining from the was not from the young woman lying still in the bed, but rather, the little boy seated on the edge of the bed next to her, stroking Helga's hand and whispering in low tones to her.
"Michael! I'm so glad you could come back to visit Helga!" Arnold was genuinely pleased. The little boy whispering to Arnold's beloved had formed a bond of kinship with her after only one encounter, and Arnold was sure that, wherever Helga's soul currently flew, it could feel the love from Michael and him. He prayed that is would be enough to bring her back, but knew that only God determined which way the path of life would twist next. All Arnold could do, all anyone could do, was trust that His wisdom is all that is needed.
Arnold sat down in the chair that had been scooted next to Helga's bedside, on the opposite side of where Michael was perched. He took Helga's other hand and held it, hoping she could feel the slight human connection wherever she was, and that it would comfort her.
*Lying, saying I ain't lonely
Crying, when no one sees my tears
Dying, whenever love's disowned me
Each night I've prayed for help to get through
And when I felt you near me I knew
My angel is here, my angel is here*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helga opened her eyes slowly, unaware of the passage of time outside her mind. Her cheek was being stroked by a tiny hand, and a cherubic face was smiling at her.
"Oh, good! You are awake!" The little face brightened. "It is time now for you to understand why you were brought here, for then events will play out as God wills."
Helga sat up slowly, glancing around. A small butterfly flitted around her head before landing on her hand, and Helga shivered at the touch, strangely comforted by the feeling. The gray landscape that she remembered from before her slumber had been replaced by an array of colors – a grove of cherry trees. The strong smell of the cherry blossoms overwhelmed her, and she was almost lifted away into the scent, carried away by the breeze on which it rode. The angel's voice brought her back quickly.
"Helga, the time has come. Your soul has rested in the beauty of the Lord, and the spirit has been restored." His eyes pierced Helga's, and his voice grew softer as his hand reached out to touch her cheek. "It is now time for you to remember why you were brought here, and why you need to leave."
Helga's face filled with fear at this. "Leave? Why do I have to leave? I like it here! There is no one who can hurt me." Her emerald eyes pooled with tears, and her voice began to crack.
The little boy hugged her. "You have to leave because your work is not yet finished. This place is only a small taste of what is to come, when you have completed your work and the Father calls you home. As for people who hurt you, it is an inevitable part of loving people. No one is perfect, except Jesus, and therefore only Jesus can be depended on to never let you down." Then his amber eyes began to twinkle, and his voice brightened and grew stronger. "But you, my dear, have something more to look forward to once you leave this place. Before you are given the knowledge of what is waiting for you, however, you must remember what you left." With that, the boy's hand flew out, wiping across the sky, erasing part of it to make a window of sorts.
Helga found herself watching a scene that was extremely familiar. She was watching her room from above, and saw herself sleeping peacefully under her cotton candy pink bedspread. As time flew by, Helga watched the events of the day she had forgotten, the last day her memory had stored: the day the world came crashing down. She watched as her past self walked out of the school building, inadvertently ignoring the three people trying to flag her down. She watched the car ride, felt the terror again as the two cars careened toward each other, and heard the haunting words from the song on the radio play again, filling her senses.
And suddenly the window went black. The boy's hand wiped it away, and he turned back to Helga. She sat back in shock, emotions running rampant over her face. "Did...did anyone besides myself survive...survive that wreck?" Her voice came out softly into the cool, sweet air.
The boy looked at her sadly. "The couple in the other car...well, the woman was pregnant, and she lost her child. She is still alive. Her husband and your parents, however, didn't survive. They were all killed instantly."
Small, crystal drops made tracks down Helga's cheeks. She looked at the boy with a lost, confused look on her face. "Why did the man and baby have to die? It wasn't their fault. It was Bob's fault! Why did they have to suffer?"
"No one is told any story but his or her own. All things have a purpose – they all work together for the Lord's purpose." The cherub face brightened again, shining with the light of a star. "However, now that you understand how it is that you are here, it is time for you to understand what awaits you when you return."
All of the sudden it seemed to Helga as though the volume had been increased ten-fold. Her ears were inundated with a sweet voice that was reminiscent of the cherub's, but seemed to come from everywhere at once. Its sweet tones and sweeter words began to dry the tears on Helga's cheeks. Her heart filled with music, and her face lost its sadness and developed a look of joy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*I'm so protected and heaven's so near
When I am under your wing
My wounds are healed, and my spirit is clear
So come on angel, make my heart sing*
Michael leaned over his angel's face, peaceful in its current state of slumber. Arnold watched as his hand began to stroke Helga's cheek, and his mouth began to move, murmuring indistinct words to her. Arnold smiled, for he had often done the same thing over the past week, praying each time that his words would make a pathway to help his lost beloved find her way back to him.
Michael whispered to Helga, "You can come back now. We need you. I need my angel back, but he needs you even more. He told me how much he loves you. I saw how much he misses you. You can't go home yet, because we still need you here. Please come back, angel."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helga smiled as the words faded. She glanced over at the boy, noticing that he was watching her with a small smile on his face.
"I remember that voice. It is the voice of the angel who saved me from doing something I would have regretted." She looked him straight in the eye, slightly accusing. "It is you. The one speaking is you!"
The boy's small, round head shook in the negative. "This is merely a form I have assumed, because it is a comfort to you. This is not my real self. The one speaking the words is the real little child who saw a crying woman in the back of a church and determined that she was an angel fallen from heaven. He is one of the ones who await your return with eager hearts and hopeful souls. However, he is not the only one. There is another who, because of his patience and his trust in the Lord's plan, no matter what it might be, will be rewarded beyond belief when you awake."
Helga looked at the angel questioningly. Who was there in the world she had left behind who would care if she lived or died? Her inquiry was quickly answered by another clip of sound, only this one was obviously from some previous time, probably close to the day she had been in the accident. Helga gasped as she recognized the voice.
"Helga, you have to come back. You have to wake up. I don't want to know that I waited too long to tell you. I read your journal online, you see. I know all about you, and I love you. I love the woman who lives beneath the masks that you constantly wear to protect yourself. I love the beauty of your soul, and I want that to come back. I want to see you scowl at me, and know that you really don't mean it. I want you to come back..."
The anguish apparent in Arnold's voice made Helga's heart weep. She fell to her knees in surrender, acknowledging the great gift that her bountiful Lord had bestowed upon her. No matter how unworthy she had deemed herself, He had seen fit to guide her beloved's eyes to the only thing that would open her soul to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*So when I'm lost and alone, who will find me?
Who's there whenever I call
Show me the way to the strength that's inside me
Pick me up, whenever I fall*
Arnold stood up and moved over to stand over Helga. He picked up her hand, praying that the slight movement he thought he had seen was not imagined. He began to rub her hand, feeling the heat that indicated life still resided within the shell of her outer body.
"Helga, please," Arnold whispered, intent on staring at his beloved's shut eyelids, willing them to open. "Please come back to me. I know you can hear me. Please, I love you." Tears obscured his eyes, and Arnold was unable to see Helga's eyes flutter open, but he heard Michael's gasp, and felt the slight pressure returned on his hand by hers. He quickly blinked the tears away, and felt his heart overflow with joy as he began to drown in the deep green pools that filled his vision. "Helga..." he voice gasped out, before he fell on her, squeezing her, silently swearing that he would never again let her go.
Helga's eyes filled with tears, and she maneuvered her arms, weak from a week of disuse, but still there, around his back, clutching him to her.
Arnold pushed back so he could see Helga's beautiful face, once again radiating the life and passion that characterized her. "Helga, I am so sorry I didn't tell you before. I should have told you months ago..." He trailed off as Helga placed two fingers against his lips, silencing him.
"I should have told you years ago. Let's not waste any more time on regrets or the past. I was given a second chance, and I don't want to waste it." With that, Helga pulled Arnold's head down for a kiss, and as their lips touched, Helga sent up a silent prayer of thanks to Heaven for the wonderful gift that she had been given.
Unbeknownst to the two lovers locked in an embrace that spoke of the future that shone from their eyes, a small boy jumped down from the hospital bed and skipped out of the room, humming a little song about an angel.
*You say, love has no conditions
Each soul, is free to come and go
Stay strong, I don't need permission
'cause paradise is waiting for me
Every time I hear my heart speak
My angel is here.*
A/N: *sob* The story is almost over! *sob* Only one last chapter to go...
CHAPTER 9
A/N: Warning! This chapter has a somewhat different format from the previous ones...be prepared for a long and possibly somewhat confusing ride...Oh and remember, the boy angel in the subconscious still has no name...only the boy in the real world has the name...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little hand stroked the blond hair on the sleeping girl. The boy's amber-colored eyes looked at the sweet face of the woman lying next to him, finally at peace in the sweet release of sleep. His glance drifted from the woman to the scenery, pleased to see a few shoots of grass, a few sprouting trees, an array of color begin to cover the gray landscape. Suddenly, his head cocked, as though listening to something, or someone. Suddenly a smile split his features, as though he had received the best news in his small conversation with no one. His hand ceased stroking the woman's hair, and drifted to her face, caressing it in a way designed to make the girl wake from her dreamless slumber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*They say, there's a state of heaven
Somewhere, way beyond the clouds
I know, there's a piece of heaven in every little thing that you do
'cause every time you walk in the room
My angel is here, my angel is here*
Arnold dragged his feet through the sliding doors at the entrance to the hospital. The afternoon sun blazed down upon his blond head, wreathing it in a halo of golden beams. For a week he had been making this daily journey to the bedside of his beloved, and every day his hope had faded farther. Only the otherworldly strength from his Father had kept him standing through his daily routines, the constant questions about Helga's condition, the pressing concerns of habitual movements.
As Arnold entered the ICU section, he sensed something different. After a week of his almost constant presence, he had begun to realize that there was a feel to each section of the hospital. Mildly, Arnold wondered what the difference was caused by, but brushed off the concern and continued down the hall, intent only on his destination.
When Arnold reached Helga's room, he could feel life radiating out of it. Thinking for a moment that Helga had woken up and the nurses had forgotten to notify him, Arnold pushed the door open and almost fell into the room. Unfortunately, the sight of the room was enough to draw him up short. Although not disappointing, it was a dash to Arnold's hope when he saw that the life shining from the was not from the young woman lying still in the bed, but rather, the little boy seated on the edge of the bed next to her, stroking Helga's hand and whispering in low tones to her.
"Michael! I'm so glad you could come back to visit Helga!" Arnold was genuinely pleased. The little boy whispering to Arnold's beloved had formed a bond of kinship with her after only one encounter, and Arnold was sure that, wherever Helga's soul currently flew, it could feel the love from Michael and him. He prayed that is would be enough to bring her back, but knew that only God determined which way the path of life would twist next. All Arnold could do, all anyone could do, was trust that His wisdom is all that is needed.
Arnold sat down in the chair that had been scooted next to Helga's bedside, on the opposite side of where Michael was perched. He took Helga's other hand and held it, hoping she could feel the slight human connection wherever she was, and that it would comfort her.
*Lying, saying I ain't lonely
Crying, when no one sees my tears
Dying, whenever love's disowned me
Each night I've prayed for help to get through
And when I felt you near me I knew
My angel is here, my angel is here*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helga opened her eyes slowly, unaware of the passage of time outside her mind. Her cheek was being stroked by a tiny hand, and a cherubic face was smiling at her.
"Oh, good! You are awake!" The little face brightened. "It is time now for you to understand why you were brought here, for then events will play out as God wills."
Helga sat up slowly, glancing around. A small butterfly flitted around her head before landing on her hand, and Helga shivered at the touch, strangely comforted by the feeling. The gray landscape that she remembered from before her slumber had been replaced by an array of colors – a grove of cherry trees. The strong smell of the cherry blossoms overwhelmed her, and she was almost lifted away into the scent, carried away by the breeze on which it rode. The angel's voice brought her back quickly.
"Helga, the time has come. Your soul has rested in the beauty of the Lord, and the spirit has been restored." His eyes pierced Helga's, and his voice grew softer as his hand reached out to touch her cheek. "It is now time for you to remember why you were brought here, and why you need to leave."
Helga's face filled with fear at this. "Leave? Why do I have to leave? I like it here! There is no one who can hurt me." Her emerald eyes pooled with tears, and her voice began to crack.
The little boy hugged her. "You have to leave because your work is not yet finished. This place is only a small taste of what is to come, when you have completed your work and the Father calls you home. As for people who hurt you, it is an inevitable part of loving people. No one is perfect, except Jesus, and therefore only Jesus can be depended on to never let you down." Then his amber eyes began to twinkle, and his voice brightened and grew stronger. "But you, my dear, have something more to look forward to once you leave this place. Before you are given the knowledge of what is waiting for you, however, you must remember what you left." With that, the boy's hand flew out, wiping across the sky, erasing part of it to make a window of sorts.
Helga found herself watching a scene that was extremely familiar. She was watching her room from above, and saw herself sleeping peacefully under her cotton candy pink bedspread. As time flew by, Helga watched the events of the day she had forgotten, the last day her memory had stored: the day the world came crashing down. She watched as her past self walked out of the school building, inadvertently ignoring the three people trying to flag her down. She watched the car ride, felt the terror again as the two cars careened toward each other, and heard the haunting words from the song on the radio play again, filling her senses.
And suddenly the window went black. The boy's hand wiped it away, and he turned back to Helga. She sat back in shock, emotions running rampant over her face. "Did...did anyone besides myself survive...survive that wreck?" Her voice came out softly into the cool, sweet air.
The boy looked at her sadly. "The couple in the other car...well, the woman was pregnant, and she lost her child. She is still alive. Her husband and your parents, however, didn't survive. They were all killed instantly."
Small, crystal drops made tracks down Helga's cheeks. She looked at the boy with a lost, confused look on her face. "Why did the man and baby have to die? It wasn't their fault. It was Bob's fault! Why did they have to suffer?"
"No one is told any story but his or her own. All things have a purpose – they all work together for the Lord's purpose." The cherub face brightened again, shining with the light of a star. "However, now that you understand how it is that you are here, it is time for you to understand what awaits you when you return."
All of the sudden it seemed to Helga as though the volume had been increased ten-fold. Her ears were inundated with a sweet voice that was reminiscent of the cherub's, but seemed to come from everywhere at once. Its sweet tones and sweeter words began to dry the tears on Helga's cheeks. Her heart filled with music, and her face lost its sadness and developed a look of joy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*I'm so protected and heaven's so near
When I am under your wing
My wounds are healed, and my spirit is clear
So come on angel, make my heart sing*
Michael leaned over his angel's face, peaceful in its current state of slumber. Arnold watched as his hand began to stroke Helga's cheek, and his mouth began to move, murmuring indistinct words to her. Arnold smiled, for he had often done the same thing over the past week, praying each time that his words would make a pathway to help his lost beloved find her way back to him.
Michael whispered to Helga, "You can come back now. We need you. I need my angel back, but he needs you even more. He told me how much he loves you. I saw how much he misses you. You can't go home yet, because we still need you here. Please come back, angel."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Helga smiled as the words faded. She glanced over at the boy, noticing that he was watching her with a small smile on his face.
"I remember that voice. It is the voice of the angel who saved me from doing something I would have regretted." She looked him straight in the eye, slightly accusing. "It is you. The one speaking is you!"
The boy's small, round head shook in the negative. "This is merely a form I have assumed, because it is a comfort to you. This is not my real self. The one speaking the words is the real little child who saw a crying woman in the back of a church and determined that she was an angel fallen from heaven. He is one of the ones who await your return with eager hearts and hopeful souls. However, he is not the only one. There is another who, because of his patience and his trust in the Lord's plan, no matter what it might be, will be rewarded beyond belief when you awake."
Helga looked at the angel questioningly. Who was there in the world she had left behind who would care if she lived or died? Her inquiry was quickly answered by another clip of sound, only this one was obviously from some previous time, probably close to the day she had been in the accident. Helga gasped as she recognized the voice.
"Helga, you have to come back. You have to wake up. I don't want to know that I waited too long to tell you. I read your journal online, you see. I know all about you, and I love you. I love the woman who lives beneath the masks that you constantly wear to protect yourself. I love the beauty of your soul, and I want that to come back. I want to see you scowl at me, and know that you really don't mean it. I want you to come back..."
The anguish apparent in Arnold's voice made Helga's heart weep. She fell to her knees in surrender, acknowledging the great gift that her bountiful Lord had bestowed upon her. No matter how unworthy she had deemed herself, He had seen fit to guide her beloved's eyes to the only thing that would open her soul to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Subconscious Sequence~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*So when I'm lost and alone, who will find me?
Who's there whenever I call
Show me the way to the strength that's inside me
Pick me up, whenever I fall*
Arnold stood up and moved over to stand over Helga. He picked up her hand, praying that the slight movement he thought he had seen was not imagined. He began to rub her hand, feeling the heat that indicated life still resided within the shell of her outer body.
"Helga, please," Arnold whispered, intent on staring at his beloved's shut eyelids, willing them to open. "Please come back to me. I know you can hear me. Please, I love you." Tears obscured his eyes, and Arnold was unable to see Helga's eyes flutter open, but he heard Michael's gasp, and felt the slight pressure returned on his hand by hers. He quickly blinked the tears away, and felt his heart overflow with joy as he began to drown in the deep green pools that filled his vision. "Helga..." he voice gasped out, before he fell on her, squeezing her, silently swearing that he would never again let her go.
Helga's eyes filled with tears, and she maneuvered her arms, weak from a week of disuse, but still there, around his back, clutching him to her.
Arnold pushed back so he could see Helga's beautiful face, once again radiating the life and passion that characterized her. "Helga, I am so sorry I didn't tell you before. I should have told you months ago..." He trailed off as Helga placed two fingers against his lips, silencing him.
"I should have told you years ago. Let's not waste any more time on regrets or the past. I was given a second chance, and I don't want to waste it." With that, Helga pulled Arnold's head down for a kiss, and as their lips touched, Helga sent up a silent prayer of thanks to Heaven for the wonderful gift that she had been given.
Unbeknownst to the two lovers locked in an embrace that spoke of the future that shone from their eyes, a small boy jumped down from the hospital bed and skipped out of the room, humming a little song about an angel.
*You say, love has no conditions
Each soul, is free to come and go
Stay strong, I don't need permission
'cause paradise is waiting for me
Every time I hear my heart speak
My angel is here.*
A/N: *sob* The story is almost over! *sob* Only one last chapter to go...