Chapter 1
I never used to like to sleep, though I don't have much say in that matter anymore. I've always been a rather restless sleeper, having nightmares constantly. I'd thrash about at night, when I could sleep, and wish that sleep were not necessary for a person to live. It was on one of these nights, that I first encountered my angel.
I had awoken from yet another horrid dream, tears pouring down my face, as I cried soundlessly. This sort of thing had been happening every night for months now, but the terror always felt fresh, and the tears never seemed to cease, though I was never able to remember what it was that I had dreamed that could possibly draw so many tears. I'd tried taking sedatives, and listening to relaxing music before bed, but nothing seemed to work, and I had begun to give up on every getting a decent night's sleep again.
Feeling somewhat ill at ease, and searching for a way to calm me enough that I would once more be able to lay my head down and enter the realm of dreams, I decided to go get myself a glass of milk. That usually soothed me enough to slow my tears, and alleviate my mind of whatever had made me so frantic and scared.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I pitched my covers back and stroked my face with my pajama sleeve, soaking it with salty tears. Then, removing my bathrobe from the end of my bed and tying it loosely around my waist, I proceeded to tip toe down the hallway towards the living room and the staircase near the front door. I recall turning on my heel near the staircase on my way into the kitchen, and tripping on a shoe which had been carelessly left there by either my father or me. My weeping hadn't allowed me to see the shoe until it was too late. I felt myself begin to fall down the stairs, and I could do nothing to stop it.
I don't really remember making any noise as I fell. I don't remember crying out in fear, or anything, not that my dad would have woken up anyway. He was a deep sleeper, and once he was asleep, he wouldn't get up for anyone or anything, including my klutz-like behavior. I remember rolling and thudding down the flight of stairs, my head smashing each step with a sickening crack. I finally stopped when I hit the wall near the landing, my body lifeless on the floor. The room was spinning through my bleary eyes, and all I could feel was a dazed sort of pain. It hadn't yet registered in my mind that I had fallen, though my body ached considerably.
Lying on my back, I could feel something sticky and wet on the back of my neck. I reached my hand behind my head, and gently patted my neck. Feeling a surge of pain from the crown of my head, I continued to feel around, searching for a bump or bruise, or something of that sort. I slowly drew my hand back towards my side, glancing at it in disbelief and panic. My fingers were covered in a deep, rich, sticky concoction; blood. I painfully turned my head, and noticed there was blood pooling on the floor. Pains swept over my body in waves, pulsing from my wound and I saw the world around me begin to grow dim as I slipped quietly into darkness.
… … … … …
"Angel Connery! Wake!" a booming voice yelled in my ear, urgency radiating from every syllable. "Angel Connery! Wake!" A booming voice yelled in my ear, urgency radiating from every syllable. I raised my head sleepily from my old wooded desk. I must have fallen asleep studying again…."Y-y-yes sir?" I mumbled, slightly startled at being woken so roughly, and looking to the left where my angel academy instructor stands, hands on his hips giving me a series of disproving looks. "Angel Connery, you've been summoned to the Chamber of the Almighty. An assignment awaits you." "What?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes, sure that I had heard him incorrectly.
Spreading my wings and ruffling my feathers in an attempt to fully awaken, I slid off my chair and floated towards him till we were fact to face. "That's impossible. I haven't even passed my guardianship exams yet. I still have much time left before anyone may give me a charge of my own."
I'm not sure by what power I was made so bold as to challenge the validity of my instructor's words, but luckily he did not take offense to it. He sighed, handing me my white robe, and shaking his head as if he himself could not understand why they had selected such a daft angel to watch over a charge. "Angel Connery, you are not the brightest lad I have ever had the duty of instructing, but you have your strengths. Unfortunately, listening isn't one of them."
I pulled my white robe over my head, carefully sliding my wings through the slits in the fabric, and struggling to locate the heck and arm holes. The robe was a soft and warm, not exactly wonderful when one was attempting to snap to attention. I tied the golden sash around my waist, over my white pajama pants, which I of course had fallen asleep in. I chuckled softly to myself, thinking that perhaps there was such a thing as too much studying after all. I was going to look like hell when I arrived at the Chamber of the Almighty.
"Angel Connery!" my instructor bellowed in response to my chuckle. "This is no laughing matter. God has your assignment's information. She is a very special case, and if you don't hurry up not only will you lose the chance to watch over her and earn your guardianship, but this girl may die. Go NOW!" My instructor pushed me off my cloud and threw my sandals after me, one of them hitting me square in the back. If I hadn't been fully awake before, I was now. Flying clumsily as I attempted to strap my sandals on, I started my ascension to the Grand Assemblage Chamber, at the very top of this clouded domain.
"A girl?" I muttered to myself. "They want me, of all people, to take charge of a girl?" I thought back to my brief time on earth. I'd been there barely twenty-five years, when my life had been claimed in a car accident. I'd been a living paradox back then. My life had centered on a girl who I loved fiercely. I could always be found by her side. And yet, every other girl I had ever met had been a problem for me. They were always gossiping, never saying what they truly felt, and generally just causing problems. I'd almost come to have a natural enmity towards them…and then everything shifted without reason and at the most unexpected of times. It was almost frightening, because I'd never found the words to describe the change. And then one day, it hit me… I'd fallen in love.
Her name was Raven and she was beautiful. Young and fair skinned, auburn curls that ran from her the top of her head to the crook of her back, eyes that shone like diamonds, their crystal blue lighting up the dark as they danced merrily though her life. She'd had another side though. She'd been remarkably straightforward, almost harsh at times, but a very mothering soul. She was there when you needed her the most, and couldn't find the words to express it. She'd understood me, filling in the cracks and smoothing out my imperfections…We'd been good together… "No", I said once more, as if to challenge God himself. "Not a girl. I'd rather have no assignment till my final exams, years away, than watch over another treacherous girl." I shook my head so that my short brown locks suddenly swished back and forth, and hoped that my instructor had been mistaken. He must have meant my charge to be a boy. He must have.
I reached my destination, a white palace like place with heavy wooden doors with the bible verse"------" written on it in gold. I knocked on the door, bowed before it, and made the sign of the cross. The door opened for me, and I was given a slip of white smooth paper with my identification information printed on it.
Once I set foot inside, I was amazed by the height of the ceiling. This building reminded me of the capital building, back on earth. In America, there had been as huge dome shaped building, with incredibly high ceilings. There was a huge hole in the center, so you might look from the floor to the ceiling without having to climb stairs, and the offices and stairs themselves were set in a spiral around the inner edge of the dome walls. It was in a word, incredible, but it was nothing compared to this.
The building was designed this way to allow for maximum trafficking of flying angels as they delivered paperwork from place to place as quickly as possible. I looked around and saw mountains of paperwork every where, most 0f it documentation about the life of a particular charge, and the angel who was sent to protect them. I picked one manuscript up off the floor. It documented the life of one "Carol Fisher" from the time she was first born till present day. She was now thirty-two apparently, and she had faced a series of trials in her life. In skimming through the pages I saw that as a child, she had once swallowed a fishing hook, and her angel had had to sedate her so she would not move and possibly puncture her organs. Angel Remoras, her guardian, had then carefully removed the hook and cast it away where the child would never again be able to get it. "Nice job Miss Remoras," I whispered before dropping the manuscript to the floor again. It had occurred to me that my own future charge was in danger and all that I could think about was what my instructor had said before casting me off my comfy cloud. "She is a special case, and if you don't hurry up…this girl may die." He had said something to that effect. I couldn't remember his exact words, but I knew that my time had run out. I had to get to the Chamber of the Almighty, and fast. But I had no idea where to even begin to search in the world of endless flying papers.
"Excuse me, miss? " I said, grabbing the arm of the next angel who tried to flyby me. "Not now please sir" she said, taking off with armfuls of paperwork. I tried again. This time the angel passed in from of me and I grabbed it by the sandal. He turned his head back and gave me a nasty look. "Can I help you sir?" he asked, clearly wishing to get back to his job. "Yes I…" I began letting go of his leg. "Not now sir," he said, flying off at top speed. "Argh!" I said, shaking my head and throwing my arms up. If I didn't get to that chamber I could be in a great deal of trouble, and for what? I wasn't my fault. I flew directly into the center of the traffic, really nervous that I was too late now, and somewhat frustrated by my inability to get anyone to answer a simple yet important question. Making sure I was in everyone's way, I proceeded to bellow "Excuse me!" The deepness and seriousness of my voice stunned even myself for a moment, as I watched everyone come to a halt, the sound echoing off every wall in the place. "Would it be too much to act for one of you to just tell me where I could find the Chamber of the Almighty?" I called out, my eyes searching the room for a volunteer. "Err...yes sir," said the man who had run from me earlier. "Straight up", he said tentatively, pointing to the very top of the dome. I rolled my eyes as things returned to their normal chaotic speeds, angels whizzing by me nearly knocking me over as I fluttered in place amount. Of course it would be the office at the very top. After all, there was a reason why the earth-people always said "Glory to God in the highest." Humans astounded me sometimes. They had every answer they would ever need laid out for them in the bible. People knew so much more than they would ever give themselves credit for. My instructor had been right. Everything I would ever need to know could be found in the bible, my guardianship book, or the life story of my charge. An angel had little need for much else…except…the charge must believe in the angel who watches over them. If the charge did not whole heartedly believe that the angel sent to watch them was truly an angel, the charge had damned themselves before the mission ever began. Belief is essential. You cannot live without believing in something. Be it angels, or fairies, or gnomes or Santa Clause, you have got to believe in something. It is that belief that stimulates the mind, and has made humans the beings they are today. Now here is what I don't understand. You can be a devout Christian, or Protestant, or Jew, or whatever you happen to be, and yet not believe in angels. It's almost as if an entire species of creatures do not exist in the eyes of most humans, and those who do actually believe in our beings are often labeled as "fruitcakes" because of it. Humans have this persistent need to label things. Every person, every object, every thing from every walk of life must have a name. But even I am wise enough to know that being a "fruitcake", is not a good label to have placed upon one's self. And it's too bad, because those "fruitcakes" know of what they speak.
I flew to the very top of the dome ceiling and found myself staring at one gold encrusted door. And here I faltered. I found myself undeserving to even lay a hand upon the door, much less to set foot inside what was surely the most holy locality there was. I swept my hand through my tresses again, gripping strands tightly between my fingers. "Be a man Connery," I instructed myself, knowing that if I didn't collect up my courage and get in there presently, I'd face God's wrath for letting my charge die. God…I'd never even seen God. The concept hit me like a ton of bricks. I was about to set eyes on the creator of the world in all its glory. And still, I could not make myself touch that door. I thought about my charge. About what I was getting into. A girl. My soul would be forever bound to that of a girl, who would indubitably be my downfall. Men were contumacious, but girls were surreptitious fickle creatures. A boy, I could deal with. The hardest thing about having a male charge was convincing them that you were real. Women were more trusting…but they unwittingly ruined everything, letting their emotions get in the way of what needed to be done for their safety. I shook my head once more. I had to go in, and I had to go in now. If something happened to that girl because I didn't get there quickly enough, I'd never be able to forgive myself, and something told me God would not forgive me either. I knocked lightly upon the door, hoping it was loud enough that someone inside might hear me. "Enter Angel Connery" a voice boomed from inside. "You are expected." I gently pushed open the door, and found myself in a well-lit circular room. Across the way from where I was standing, was a man sitting on a cloud, his back to me. From where I was standing, I could see that he had massive golden wings, where as mine were white. He also had long silvery strands of hair running from the top of his head, down his back, and off the edge of the cloud, which hovered a foot above the floor. As I walked towards him, seeing that there was no other furniture but that cloud, I spread my wings, wishing to fill a bit more of the space around me. I had never liked the idea of being a small person in a huge room. The concept always made me feel as if I didn't belong.
Hearing the rustling of my feathers, the man stood up, still upon his cloud, and turned to face me. What I saw then, I had not expected. God was an old man with a well-weathered face and crystal blue eyes that were stunningly beautiful. Long strands of white hair made up his beard, which hung to the floor, just like his hair. He was not a very tall man, though he was close to my height, which was 5'9, but the lack of height was no loss to him. He had an air of calmness about him that was reflected in the way he looked at you, his eyes like crystal blue waves rolling upon sand. God looked at me, and suddenly I felt very afraid. I was face to face with my creator, and he was not at all what I had expected. This was the man who had banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden; the man who had battled Satan without fear. This was the man who could move mountains and raise the seas till they swept away entire cities. Compared to him, I was nothing. And I began to feel both weak and helpless.
"Do not be afraid of me Angel" he said, sensing my discomfort. "It is with good reason that I have chosen you to guard this charge." I relaxed a bit, realizing that God was not as fearsome as I had been told. He did however, have an aura of supreme superiority, and a deeply aged face. He had after all, seen everything in his time. He had been here when Earth was created, and he would still exist at its end. He seemed not a learned man, but all knowing, as if he could peer into the soul of any creature, be it animal, human, or angel. He had far greater wisdom than even I could imagine, and I trusted him.
Raising his palm towards a window that looked out upon the earth, he waved his hand over the glass. Suddenly I saw, not the world turning through space, but a girl, lying at the foot of a very high staircase, the floor around her soaked with fresh blood, her face contorted in pain as she tried to move. She couldn't have been much older than seventeen or so, and looking at her closely, I saw that she had the face of an innocent child.
"Angel Connery, this girl is to be your charge. You must swear to protect her at all costs, making sure that no harm will come to her. She, though she does not yet realize it, is more in need of an angel than anyone I have ever seen. She is no easy case, and the perils she will face…are far greater than those of any other of my children. But no matter what, you must see that she never gives up." He looked at this child, worry etched in each of his wrinkles.
"But what is her name?" I asked, wishing to know more about the girl who's life I was about to become a part of. "Where is she on Earth? And why is she so important? I don't understand sir…why you want as lowly and angel as myself to watch over her. I don't think I can…" I looked at the floor, knowing that there was no way I was prepared for what he was asking me to do. Couldn't he see how inexperienced I was?
He turned his focus back to me, shaking his head as if I wasn't listening to him, as if I wasn't getting the big picture he was seeing. "Angel, I have not the time to tell you everything, but I'll tell you what can be explained quickly." He beckoned me to sit on a white fluffy cloud, like the one he had been resting upon. Seating myself comfortably, he handed me the life story of my soon-to-be charge, which I leafed through as he began to speak.
"The girl is named "Hope Williams". She means more to the fate of this world than even she could imagine. Sixteen years of age, it won't be long at all before she becomes caught in an ongoing war between good and evil. Sought by evil forces, most likely that of Lucifer, the child has the capacity for great power. The choices she makes could upset the balance between good and evil, deciding the fate of both worlds. She is desperately in need of guidance and she needs an angel to watch over her. That's guidance I cannot give her from where I sit now. I cannot neglect the people of Earth to guide my daughter. Another will have to do it for me." "Your daughter? But that would make her…"I began. "Yes. She is the one they have been waiting for. The second savior." "And she doesn't know? She doesn't realize that she is the second child of God? The sibling of Jesus, their savior?" I had sop many questions shooting around in my head. There had been a grand fuss when God's only son had been sent to Earth, the prince of peace. And that had been his downfall. I understood now. She had been sent quietly so as to do the most good for the longest amount of time. She would finish the job her brother had started so many years before. "She doesn't know. When I sent her to Earth, I never dreamed that Lucifer would already have predicted her coming. He's been waiting for her, preparing to corrupt her. I have tried to send experienced angel's to break the barrier he has put around her, that we may help guide her choices, but he is well attuned to the power of a true guardian angel, and they cannot pass through to help her. This is why I need your help. You have not yet become a guardian, so you may pass through the barrier and come to her aid. You must show her the path laid out for her. The road she must lead her people down. She's still a child, but the fate of my Earthly beings rests on her small shoulders." "But why me?" I asked, running both my hands though my short brown locks. "There are angels at the top of my class who would probably be better suited for an assignment of this striking power. Why me?" God looked into my eyes for a moment, and I could see, in the depths of the crystal blue, a reflection of myself. I looked extremely serious, but my deep blue eyes showed fear and inner conflict. What if I couldn't do this? What if I let something happen to her? Why me?
God raised himself from the cloud had had been resting upon, and I did the same. And there we floated, face to face, while I waited for his answer. He glimpsed at his window, watching the Earth turn, clouded masses gently slide in over patches of blue and green. It was breathtaking. I understood now what he meant by the beauty of Earth, and I wondered if the people down there could ever truly understand what a beautiful world they lived in.
"Why you?" He repeated, twirling a strand of hair from his silvery beard, which had been dragging across the floor. "Yes sir, that's the one thing I cannot understand," I said, putting my charge's life story into my satchel. "Oh my child…there is so much that you don't understand. But trust me when I say this… Angel, you need her just as much as she needs you. Good luck my child." With that, he touched a hand to my shoulder and I found myself falling. "I'm not ready for this." I yelled out, hoping he truly knew what he was doing, and wishing he would re-think sending me. I was honored that he thought I had the potential, but there are some tasks that one cannot complete on one's own. "Please sir, think about what you're doing!" I called out, not knowing if he could even hear me. But it was too late. I was falling to Earth.
I never used to like to sleep, though I don't have much say in that matter anymore. I've always been a rather restless sleeper, having nightmares constantly. I'd thrash about at night, when I could sleep, and wish that sleep were not necessary for a person to live. It was on one of these nights, that I first encountered my angel.
I had awoken from yet another horrid dream, tears pouring down my face, as I cried soundlessly. This sort of thing had been happening every night for months now, but the terror always felt fresh, and the tears never seemed to cease, though I was never able to remember what it was that I had dreamed that could possibly draw so many tears. I'd tried taking sedatives, and listening to relaxing music before bed, but nothing seemed to work, and I had begun to give up on every getting a decent night's sleep again.
Feeling somewhat ill at ease, and searching for a way to calm me enough that I would once more be able to lay my head down and enter the realm of dreams, I decided to go get myself a glass of milk. That usually soothed me enough to slow my tears, and alleviate my mind of whatever had made me so frantic and scared.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I pitched my covers back and stroked my face with my pajama sleeve, soaking it with salty tears. Then, removing my bathrobe from the end of my bed and tying it loosely around my waist, I proceeded to tip toe down the hallway towards the living room and the staircase near the front door. I recall turning on my heel near the staircase on my way into the kitchen, and tripping on a shoe which had been carelessly left there by either my father or me. My weeping hadn't allowed me to see the shoe until it was too late. I felt myself begin to fall down the stairs, and I could do nothing to stop it.
I don't really remember making any noise as I fell. I don't remember crying out in fear, or anything, not that my dad would have woken up anyway. He was a deep sleeper, and once he was asleep, he wouldn't get up for anyone or anything, including my klutz-like behavior. I remember rolling and thudding down the flight of stairs, my head smashing each step with a sickening crack. I finally stopped when I hit the wall near the landing, my body lifeless on the floor. The room was spinning through my bleary eyes, and all I could feel was a dazed sort of pain. It hadn't yet registered in my mind that I had fallen, though my body ached considerably.
Lying on my back, I could feel something sticky and wet on the back of my neck. I reached my hand behind my head, and gently patted my neck. Feeling a surge of pain from the crown of my head, I continued to feel around, searching for a bump or bruise, or something of that sort. I slowly drew my hand back towards my side, glancing at it in disbelief and panic. My fingers were covered in a deep, rich, sticky concoction; blood. I painfully turned my head, and noticed there was blood pooling on the floor. Pains swept over my body in waves, pulsing from my wound and I saw the world around me begin to grow dim as I slipped quietly into darkness.
… … … … …
"Angel Connery! Wake!" a booming voice yelled in my ear, urgency radiating from every syllable. "Angel Connery! Wake!" A booming voice yelled in my ear, urgency radiating from every syllable. I raised my head sleepily from my old wooded desk. I must have fallen asleep studying again…."Y-y-yes sir?" I mumbled, slightly startled at being woken so roughly, and looking to the left where my angel academy instructor stands, hands on his hips giving me a series of disproving looks. "Angel Connery, you've been summoned to the Chamber of the Almighty. An assignment awaits you." "What?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes, sure that I had heard him incorrectly.
Spreading my wings and ruffling my feathers in an attempt to fully awaken, I slid off my chair and floated towards him till we were fact to face. "That's impossible. I haven't even passed my guardianship exams yet. I still have much time left before anyone may give me a charge of my own."
I'm not sure by what power I was made so bold as to challenge the validity of my instructor's words, but luckily he did not take offense to it. He sighed, handing me my white robe, and shaking his head as if he himself could not understand why they had selected such a daft angel to watch over a charge. "Angel Connery, you are not the brightest lad I have ever had the duty of instructing, but you have your strengths. Unfortunately, listening isn't one of them."
I pulled my white robe over my head, carefully sliding my wings through the slits in the fabric, and struggling to locate the heck and arm holes. The robe was a soft and warm, not exactly wonderful when one was attempting to snap to attention. I tied the golden sash around my waist, over my white pajama pants, which I of course had fallen asleep in. I chuckled softly to myself, thinking that perhaps there was such a thing as too much studying after all. I was going to look like hell when I arrived at the Chamber of the Almighty.
"Angel Connery!" my instructor bellowed in response to my chuckle. "This is no laughing matter. God has your assignment's information. She is a very special case, and if you don't hurry up not only will you lose the chance to watch over her and earn your guardianship, but this girl may die. Go NOW!" My instructor pushed me off my cloud and threw my sandals after me, one of them hitting me square in the back. If I hadn't been fully awake before, I was now. Flying clumsily as I attempted to strap my sandals on, I started my ascension to the Grand Assemblage Chamber, at the very top of this clouded domain.
"A girl?" I muttered to myself. "They want me, of all people, to take charge of a girl?" I thought back to my brief time on earth. I'd been there barely twenty-five years, when my life had been claimed in a car accident. I'd been a living paradox back then. My life had centered on a girl who I loved fiercely. I could always be found by her side. And yet, every other girl I had ever met had been a problem for me. They were always gossiping, never saying what they truly felt, and generally just causing problems. I'd almost come to have a natural enmity towards them…and then everything shifted without reason and at the most unexpected of times. It was almost frightening, because I'd never found the words to describe the change. And then one day, it hit me… I'd fallen in love.
Her name was Raven and she was beautiful. Young and fair skinned, auburn curls that ran from her the top of her head to the crook of her back, eyes that shone like diamonds, their crystal blue lighting up the dark as they danced merrily though her life. She'd had another side though. She'd been remarkably straightforward, almost harsh at times, but a very mothering soul. She was there when you needed her the most, and couldn't find the words to express it. She'd understood me, filling in the cracks and smoothing out my imperfections…We'd been good together… "No", I said once more, as if to challenge God himself. "Not a girl. I'd rather have no assignment till my final exams, years away, than watch over another treacherous girl." I shook my head so that my short brown locks suddenly swished back and forth, and hoped that my instructor had been mistaken. He must have meant my charge to be a boy. He must have.
I reached my destination, a white palace like place with heavy wooden doors with the bible verse"------" written on it in gold. I knocked on the door, bowed before it, and made the sign of the cross. The door opened for me, and I was given a slip of white smooth paper with my identification information printed on it.
Once I set foot inside, I was amazed by the height of the ceiling. This building reminded me of the capital building, back on earth. In America, there had been as huge dome shaped building, with incredibly high ceilings. There was a huge hole in the center, so you might look from the floor to the ceiling without having to climb stairs, and the offices and stairs themselves were set in a spiral around the inner edge of the dome walls. It was in a word, incredible, but it was nothing compared to this.
The building was designed this way to allow for maximum trafficking of flying angels as they delivered paperwork from place to place as quickly as possible. I looked around and saw mountains of paperwork every where, most 0f it documentation about the life of a particular charge, and the angel who was sent to protect them. I picked one manuscript up off the floor. It documented the life of one "Carol Fisher" from the time she was first born till present day. She was now thirty-two apparently, and she had faced a series of trials in her life. In skimming through the pages I saw that as a child, she had once swallowed a fishing hook, and her angel had had to sedate her so she would not move and possibly puncture her organs. Angel Remoras, her guardian, had then carefully removed the hook and cast it away where the child would never again be able to get it. "Nice job Miss Remoras," I whispered before dropping the manuscript to the floor again. It had occurred to me that my own future charge was in danger and all that I could think about was what my instructor had said before casting me off my comfy cloud. "She is a special case, and if you don't hurry up…this girl may die." He had said something to that effect. I couldn't remember his exact words, but I knew that my time had run out. I had to get to the Chamber of the Almighty, and fast. But I had no idea where to even begin to search in the world of endless flying papers.
"Excuse me, miss? " I said, grabbing the arm of the next angel who tried to flyby me. "Not now please sir" she said, taking off with armfuls of paperwork. I tried again. This time the angel passed in from of me and I grabbed it by the sandal. He turned his head back and gave me a nasty look. "Can I help you sir?" he asked, clearly wishing to get back to his job. "Yes I…" I began letting go of his leg. "Not now sir," he said, flying off at top speed. "Argh!" I said, shaking my head and throwing my arms up. If I didn't get to that chamber I could be in a great deal of trouble, and for what? I wasn't my fault. I flew directly into the center of the traffic, really nervous that I was too late now, and somewhat frustrated by my inability to get anyone to answer a simple yet important question. Making sure I was in everyone's way, I proceeded to bellow "Excuse me!" The deepness and seriousness of my voice stunned even myself for a moment, as I watched everyone come to a halt, the sound echoing off every wall in the place. "Would it be too much to act for one of you to just tell me where I could find the Chamber of the Almighty?" I called out, my eyes searching the room for a volunteer. "Err...yes sir," said the man who had run from me earlier. "Straight up", he said tentatively, pointing to the very top of the dome. I rolled my eyes as things returned to their normal chaotic speeds, angels whizzing by me nearly knocking me over as I fluttered in place amount. Of course it would be the office at the very top. After all, there was a reason why the earth-people always said "Glory to God in the highest." Humans astounded me sometimes. They had every answer they would ever need laid out for them in the bible. People knew so much more than they would ever give themselves credit for. My instructor had been right. Everything I would ever need to know could be found in the bible, my guardianship book, or the life story of my charge. An angel had little need for much else…except…the charge must believe in the angel who watches over them. If the charge did not whole heartedly believe that the angel sent to watch them was truly an angel, the charge had damned themselves before the mission ever began. Belief is essential. You cannot live without believing in something. Be it angels, or fairies, or gnomes or Santa Clause, you have got to believe in something. It is that belief that stimulates the mind, and has made humans the beings they are today. Now here is what I don't understand. You can be a devout Christian, or Protestant, or Jew, or whatever you happen to be, and yet not believe in angels. It's almost as if an entire species of creatures do not exist in the eyes of most humans, and those who do actually believe in our beings are often labeled as "fruitcakes" because of it. Humans have this persistent need to label things. Every person, every object, every thing from every walk of life must have a name. But even I am wise enough to know that being a "fruitcake", is not a good label to have placed upon one's self. And it's too bad, because those "fruitcakes" know of what they speak.
I flew to the very top of the dome ceiling and found myself staring at one gold encrusted door. And here I faltered. I found myself undeserving to even lay a hand upon the door, much less to set foot inside what was surely the most holy locality there was. I swept my hand through my tresses again, gripping strands tightly between my fingers. "Be a man Connery," I instructed myself, knowing that if I didn't collect up my courage and get in there presently, I'd face God's wrath for letting my charge die. God…I'd never even seen God. The concept hit me like a ton of bricks. I was about to set eyes on the creator of the world in all its glory. And still, I could not make myself touch that door. I thought about my charge. About what I was getting into. A girl. My soul would be forever bound to that of a girl, who would indubitably be my downfall. Men were contumacious, but girls were surreptitious fickle creatures. A boy, I could deal with. The hardest thing about having a male charge was convincing them that you were real. Women were more trusting…but they unwittingly ruined everything, letting their emotions get in the way of what needed to be done for their safety. I shook my head once more. I had to go in, and I had to go in now. If something happened to that girl because I didn't get there quickly enough, I'd never be able to forgive myself, and something told me God would not forgive me either. I knocked lightly upon the door, hoping it was loud enough that someone inside might hear me. "Enter Angel Connery" a voice boomed from inside. "You are expected." I gently pushed open the door, and found myself in a well-lit circular room. Across the way from where I was standing, was a man sitting on a cloud, his back to me. From where I was standing, I could see that he had massive golden wings, where as mine were white. He also had long silvery strands of hair running from the top of his head, down his back, and off the edge of the cloud, which hovered a foot above the floor. As I walked towards him, seeing that there was no other furniture but that cloud, I spread my wings, wishing to fill a bit more of the space around me. I had never liked the idea of being a small person in a huge room. The concept always made me feel as if I didn't belong.
Hearing the rustling of my feathers, the man stood up, still upon his cloud, and turned to face me. What I saw then, I had not expected. God was an old man with a well-weathered face and crystal blue eyes that were stunningly beautiful. Long strands of white hair made up his beard, which hung to the floor, just like his hair. He was not a very tall man, though he was close to my height, which was 5'9, but the lack of height was no loss to him. He had an air of calmness about him that was reflected in the way he looked at you, his eyes like crystal blue waves rolling upon sand. God looked at me, and suddenly I felt very afraid. I was face to face with my creator, and he was not at all what I had expected. This was the man who had banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden; the man who had battled Satan without fear. This was the man who could move mountains and raise the seas till they swept away entire cities. Compared to him, I was nothing. And I began to feel both weak and helpless.
"Do not be afraid of me Angel" he said, sensing my discomfort. "It is with good reason that I have chosen you to guard this charge." I relaxed a bit, realizing that God was not as fearsome as I had been told. He did however, have an aura of supreme superiority, and a deeply aged face. He had after all, seen everything in his time. He had been here when Earth was created, and he would still exist at its end. He seemed not a learned man, but all knowing, as if he could peer into the soul of any creature, be it animal, human, or angel. He had far greater wisdom than even I could imagine, and I trusted him.
Raising his palm towards a window that looked out upon the earth, he waved his hand over the glass. Suddenly I saw, not the world turning through space, but a girl, lying at the foot of a very high staircase, the floor around her soaked with fresh blood, her face contorted in pain as she tried to move. She couldn't have been much older than seventeen or so, and looking at her closely, I saw that she had the face of an innocent child.
"Angel Connery, this girl is to be your charge. You must swear to protect her at all costs, making sure that no harm will come to her. She, though she does not yet realize it, is more in need of an angel than anyone I have ever seen. She is no easy case, and the perils she will face…are far greater than those of any other of my children. But no matter what, you must see that she never gives up." He looked at this child, worry etched in each of his wrinkles.
"But what is her name?" I asked, wishing to know more about the girl who's life I was about to become a part of. "Where is she on Earth? And why is she so important? I don't understand sir…why you want as lowly and angel as myself to watch over her. I don't think I can…" I looked at the floor, knowing that there was no way I was prepared for what he was asking me to do. Couldn't he see how inexperienced I was?
He turned his focus back to me, shaking his head as if I wasn't listening to him, as if I wasn't getting the big picture he was seeing. "Angel, I have not the time to tell you everything, but I'll tell you what can be explained quickly." He beckoned me to sit on a white fluffy cloud, like the one he had been resting upon. Seating myself comfortably, he handed me the life story of my soon-to-be charge, which I leafed through as he began to speak.
"The girl is named "Hope Williams". She means more to the fate of this world than even she could imagine. Sixteen years of age, it won't be long at all before she becomes caught in an ongoing war between good and evil. Sought by evil forces, most likely that of Lucifer, the child has the capacity for great power. The choices she makes could upset the balance between good and evil, deciding the fate of both worlds. She is desperately in need of guidance and she needs an angel to watch over her. That's guidance I cannot give her from where I sit now. I cannot neglect the people of Earth to guide my daughter. Another will have to do it for me." "Your daughter? But that would make her…"I began. "Yes. She is the one they have been waiting for. The second savior." "And she doesn't know? She doesn't realize that she is the second child of God? The sibling of Jesus, their savior?" I had sop many questions shooting around in my head. There had been a grand fuss when God's only son had been sent to Earth, the prince of peace. And that had been his downfall. I understood now. She had been sent quietly so as to do the most good for the longest amount of time. She would finish the job her brother had started so many years before. "She doesn't know. When I sent her to Earth, I never dreamed that Lucifer would already have predicted her coming. He's been waiting for her, preparing to corrupt her. I have tried to send experienced angel's to break the barrier he has put around her, that we may help guide her choices, but he is well attuned to the power of a true guardian angel, and they cannot pass through to help her. This is why I need your help. You have not yet become a guardian, so you may pass through the barrier and come to her aid. You must show her the path laid out for her. The road she must lead her people down. She's still a child, but the fate of my Earthly beings rests on her small shoulders." "But why me?" I asked, running both my hands though my short brown locks. "There are angels at the top of my class who would probably be better suited for an assignment of this striking power. Why me?" God looked into my eyes for a moment, and I could see, in the depths of the crystal blue, a reflection of myself. I looked extremely serious, but my deep blue eyes showed fear and inner conflict. What if I couldn't do this? What if I let something happen to her? Why me?
God raised himself from the cloud had had been resting upon, and I did the same. And there we floated, face to face, while I waited for his answer. He glimpsed at his window, watching the Earth turn, clouded masses gently slide in over patches of blue and green. It was breathtaking. I understood now what he meant by the beauty of Earth, and I wondered if the people down there could ever truly understand what a beautiful world they lived in.
"Why you?" He repeated, twirling a strand of hair from his silvery beard, which had been dragging across the floor. "Yes sir, that's the one thing I cannot understand," I said, putting my charge's life story into my satchel. "Oh my child…there is so much that you don't understand. But trust me when I say this… Angel, you need her just as much as she needs you. Good luck my child." With that, he touched a hand to my shoulder and I found myself falling. "I'm not ready for this." I yelled out, hoping he truly knew what he was doing, and wishing he would re-think sending me. I was honored that he thought I had the potential, but there are some tasks that one cannot complete on one's own. "Please sir, think about what you're doing!" I called out, not knowing if he could even hear me. But it was too late. I was falling to Earth.