Angel of Mine

by Jessica Louise

  Ever so lightly, I graze my finger along her neck. “Don’t move. There’s a spider on you.”

  She starts to thrash about and shrieks, “Get it off. Get it off me!”

  Mimicking the movements of a spider, I tap my fingers lower on her shoulder. “It’s on the move, hold still.” I run my hands up her sides then start tickling her like crazy. “Gotcha.”

  She writhes above me, giggling like mad. “Stop! Stop!” Tears of mirth are running down her face, and I release her. After she gets her breath back she complains, “Crap, you scared the hell out of me.”

  “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” Only I’m not sorry. I love getting a rise out of her. It’s downright cute.

  “You’re so not sorry.” She can read me like a book even though she hasn’t known me long, and I love and hate it at the same time.

  “How about I make it up to you with some fairy floss? It’s an experience that can’t be missed at a fair.” Her eyes light up and all is forgiven.

  Satisfied after a full round on the Ferris wheel, we go grab the sugary treat just as the fair is winding down, and then I offer to escort Ally home.

  We are walking back from the fair hand in hand, and hers feels so tiny engulfed in mine. I rub my thumb in circles over the top of the smooth skin at her wrist. I smile at the reaction I have on her as I see tiny goose bumps rise along her arm. She shivers and I pull her close, sweeping my nose over her hair and breathing in sweet scents of vanilla.

  The wind is whipping around us, and strands of her wavy chocolate hair cover her face. I stop walking and turn towards her, reaching across and carefully tucking it behind her ear. I know another storm is approaching, and we should keep moving, but she is so beautiful that I just want to stand here and study her angelic face forever.

  Her skin is flawless, milky, and tinted with the perfect rosy pink blush from the cool of the wind. Her cheekbones are high, and appear as though God sculpted the perfect face just for her. Her lips are full and pouty, tempting me to nibble on them. I save those deep blue eyes for last, but they are… alarmed? I do a double take.

  Her eyes dart to somewhere beyond me then back to me with a pleading expression. Realizing that I probably overstepped the mark since I only met her a couple of days ago, and remembering how skittish she was then, I drop my arms and begin to apologize and give her some space.

  She surprises me by gripping my shirt and looking me square in the eyes, determination taking over the alarm in her gaze. “There’s something I have to do. Please, keep an open mind and don’t freak out. Afterwards, I’m going to need your help. I’ll need you to take me to the hospital and say a branch fell on my head during the storm. Please, stick to this story.” I’m absolutely baffled. What on earth is she talking about?

  I raise my eyebrows, but before I get the chance to question her, she pushes against my chest and takes off. I whirl around and run after her.

  She crosses the road, stopping at a lady who is lying unconscious on the ground with a massive gash across her head. Beside her is a pram with a baby in it, completely oblivious that anything is wrong. Holy crap!

  My hands are shaking, and I feel jittery as I pull my phone from my pocket. I look around for street signs so that I can give the emergency operators details when I call them. Ally knocks the phone out of my hands to the ground. What the hell has gotten into her?

  As I go to pick it back up, Ally crouches and holds her hands over the woman’s head. I freeze. Her hands are emitting a glow, and the gash on the woman’s head is disappearing literally before my eyes. What is going on? The woman’s eyes flicker open as Ally collapses to the ground, blood oozing out of a fresh gash on her head.

  What I just witnessed has me a little freaked out. Did that seriously just happen? I take a closer look at the mother on the ground, and then at Ally again, and I know it did happen. Somehow, Ally has fully healed this woman, and in the process, she has hurt herself. She wasn’t even scared. I didn’t see her hesitate, not once.

  I’m in awe, but also terrified for her at the same time. Exactly how far would she go to help someone? I have so many questions going through my head in the seconds that follow this event, but no time to dwell on them.

  My hands are still shaking as I call emergency services. What on earth am I going to tell them? I’m not sure. I do know that there is no way that I want this secret to get out. I feel a strong need to protect her, so I have to think of a believable story, and fast.

  My eyelids are heavy, and everything seems foggy as I hover on the edge of consciousness. I hear muffled voices far off in the distance as they try to break through. Concentrating hard, I try to figure out what they a saying.

  “Ally. Ally. Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me dear.” A soft female voice I’m not familiar with coaxes me out of the fog, and I open my eyes to bright glaring lights.

  Blinking several times, I glance around and take stock of where I am. Bland white walls, machines all around me, an uncomfortable bed with that horrible combination of stiff white sheets, a hard pillow and rails. There are strong smells of disinfectant in the air, and it dawns on me. I must be in the hospital again. This hasn’t happened in a while. My heart sinks because Mum won’t be pleased at this discovery.

  At least I’m in my own private room this time. With no one else around me, I won’t have to worry about my hands glowing. Even though the hospital is full of sick people, my body only reacts when I get close and can see what is wrong with them. As long as I don’t pay attention to any of the patients I come across, I should be safe, and no one will figure out my secret.

  As I slowly become more alert, scenes of a lady, motionless on the ground with blood running from her head and a baby by her side, come back to me. My head is throbbing more with each second. I lift my hand to feel dried blood and stitches. Jolting upright and pulling at tubes attached to my arms, I call out, “Theo?”

  In my panic, the nurse soothes me, rubbing her hand over my shoulder and gently pushing me back down to the bed. “It’s okay love, he’s just outside the door. He popped out while I came to check your vitals and will be back in just a minute.”

  This revelation does not calm my rattled nerves though, and the beep, beep, beep of the heart rate monitor starts going crazy. He saw everything. What must he be thinking and how am I going to explain my way out of this one?

  My alarming thoughts stray to the lady I healed. She must be freaking out. What if she told people? What if she rang the news channels? I don’t know what’s racing faster, my extreme anxiety or the beeping of the heart rate monitor.

  The nurse must take this as a sign that I am unsettled and need Theo back in the room with me. She peers towards the door and calls out, “Theo, can you come back in here please hun?”

  My heart is thumping hard and feels as if it might burst out of my chest at any given second. As Theo enters the room with a look filled with nothing but concern for me, it starts to slow down.

  He reaches my side, and the smell of a disinfectant is replaced with a new one that is all him, a mixture of wood, musk, and sweet spices. It overwhelms me as he leans closer, and I want to drown in it.

  Running his hand through my hair, he places a feather light kiss in the middle of my forehead, but I still notice how silky his lips feel against my skin. His eyes command my attention as he discloses, “I’m glad you’re finally awake. I was so worried about you.” Then he whispers the last line so the nurse won’t hear, “Don’t you ever do that to yourself again.” The gesture is so affectionate it makes me melt.

  This was his way of subtly letting me know that he understands something strange occurred, but that he is also content to let it go for now. He rises and pulls a chair to the side of my bed as the nurse states, “That was quite a knock to the head you took sweetie. You need to make sure you get your rest, but first, since Theo here informed me you were only seventeen, is there a number where I can contact your mum?”

  I give the nurse my mum’s
contact details before she leaves the room, and then turn to face all of Theo’s questions. “So, I guess you want an explanation, yeah?”

  “I do,” he answers, “but it can wait till you are feeling better. I’m not going anywhere.”

  I nod my head, grateful, but still need to find out what happened to the lady I helped. “The lady, the one on the ground.”

  He places his hand firmly over mine and assures me, “She is okay. The ambulance checked her over at the scene and cleared her to go. I explained to her that we found her unconscious by a tree branch, and it must have hit her. There were more branches nearby, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to tell her you also got hit while checking her over and weren’t so lucky.”

  I let out a quivery breath, relieved to know there are no news stations or government agencies out to find me. He must sense my fears and lets me know. “Your secret is safe with me Ally. Whatever you did out there was so selfless. I admire you, although I hate the fact that it brought you harm at the same time. So yes, we are going to talk more about this later, but for now, just rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.” His promise reassures me, and I am able to drift back into sleep.

  The slender hand that I feel on mine when I wake again is smoother than before. “Mum?” I query, opening my eyes and looking up at her. She looks at me with equal amounts of concern and worry.

  “Hey pumpkin, you’re awake. How are you doing?” Tenderly stroking her hand by my stitches, she waits for answers. I am so thankful that she is not in her usual frenzy, lecturing me and rushing to leave town. I assume that, for once, she must trust my judgment on what needs to be done.

  “I’m okay Mum, just a little knock to the head. There was a baby who needed his mother, she needed help, and I had Theo there to look after me.”

  She looks at me quizzically before asking, “The boy that was here by your bedside when I arrived?”

  Her curiosity to know who he is shines through. I can tell it’s killing her to find out, but she doesn’t want to push me while I lay here in a hospital bed in my current state. “Yes. Where did he go?”

  She looks hesitant as she replies, “To the cafeteria. He said he would be back in a little bit.”

  Satisfying at least part of her curiosity, I tell her, “I first saw him at the park about a week and a half ago. He just moved here, and we have run into each other a couple of times now. I bumped into him on my way to the mall, and we went for coffee.”

  My cheeks heat as I think about how close we literally came to bumping into each other, and just the thought of how close we were sends tingles through my body once again. Get a grip Ally; you’re in a hospital bed, for heaven’s sakes, talking to your mother. You’re getting all hot and bothered over a boy. So not appropriate.

  As I cough to mask my discomfort my mum asks, “Did he see?” I need no clarification to understand what she is asking me. I instantly know because we have been through this enough.

  “I trust him. He even went to the lengths to tell the lady I helped a cover story so that she wasn’t suspicious. He says he won’t tell, and I believe him. Everything is going to be okay.”

  She looks at me trying to decide whether I’m telling the truth. I must have convinced her because she nods her head and responds, “Okay honey, I believe you. I’m still not happy about it, but I do trust your judgment. Get some rest and later we will talk some more.”

  Just then, Theo pops his head back in the room to let me know he doesn’t want to intrude and is heading home. He seems nervous as he looks back and forth between my mum and me. “Um, I ah, I wrote down my number for you. Would you call me when you are up to it and let me know that you have recovered?”

  Taking the small piece of paper from his hands, I smile and tell him I will. Mum must pick up that he feels awkward, and I could hug her when she relieves his unease by saying, “Thank you for taking such good care of my baby.”

  He lets out a jittery, “Anytime,” and with a small wave of his hand, he steps out of the room. Mum settles back down beside me, and I close my eyes once again.

  The next morning, I wake up in my own bed feeling much better and decide to give Theo a call. I owe him an explanation, and a massive thank you at the least. He seemed eager to see that I was okay with his own eyes, and I agreed to meet him at our spot at the park.

  I dress in a cute little yellow sundress that Mum says brings out my eyes, and try to brush the hair over my forehead in a way that will hide the nasty looking mark there.

  As I approach, I spot him under the oak tree where I first met him, watching me as I make my way over. He reaches for my hand as I get near. I take it and let him pull me into him for a quick hug. “Hey you.”

  I step back and look up at him, “Hey. It’s great to see you. Thank you so much for all of your help the other day.”

  He looks at me intently, “Of course, you didn’t even have to ask.”

  Deciding not to leave him in suspense any longer, I declare, “I have something I need to show you.” He looks at me expectantly as I gather my thoughts and try to work out the best way to explain.

  I survey my surroundings, trying to find something that will help do the job. Dry leaves crunch under my feet after a summer of minimal rainstorms. Autumn colours litter the landscape as far as the eye can see. Finally, I find what I am looking for. Although a little shrivelled, this little flower is the one rare spot of colour and beauty standing out against its dismal background.

  “Pass me your water bottle please.” Dutifully he passes it over, and I unscrew the top to get it ready. Already knowing the outcome of this little experiment, I want that water available to me straight away.

  “Don’t take your eyes off the flower.” He nods and looks to where the depleted lily is situated. Slowly raising my hand, I crouch and move it over the petals in deliberate circles.

  Tingles start travelling through my fingertips as they heat up. A slight glow illuminates around my hands, and that familiar blissful feeling flows through my veins. A smile creeps over my lips, and I am enraptured as the flower comes back to life before our eyes. With no more brown edges taking over the petals, they are now full of colour and perfect. This never gets old to me.

  Hearing a gasp beside me, I am helpless to pay it any attention yet. My lips tighten as they begin to crack, and dryness overtakes my throat. Unable to swallow, I cough weakly and lift the water up to my mouth, drinking it in greedy gulps.

  “Ally, what just happened? Are you okay? Did you do that?” He fires question after question, and I lift my hand up to halt him.

  I give another cough and attempt to speak, my voice coming out raspy. “I’m fine, just a bit dehydrated after healing that flower.”

  His eyes are wide, but I can tell it’s not from fear; there is a look of pure adoration in them. “Wow. How? Why?” He stumbles over his words.

  “I’m not sure how or why. I’ve just been able to do it ever since I was little. The first time we discovered it was when I was about five years old. A family friend fell off the swing at the park. It gave Mum and her friend the shock of their lives when, all of a sudden, it was me with the broken arm instead of him.”

  Shaking his head, he looks unbelieving even though he has seen it with his own eyes twice now. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me, every time you somehow magically heal someone, you get all their problems?”

  “Yes, I’ve never been able to find a way around that part of the gift.” It feels strange to be able to talk to someone other than Mum about this after all these years, but for some reason unbeknown to me, I trust him.

  “Why do you do it then? I mean if it keeps hurting you, doesn’t that hold you back?”

  “There’s a feeling I get inside that compels me to help. I don’t even think about how it will affect me. I think it’s just a part of having the ability.” Theo is quiet a minute as he scrutinizes the flower and sorts through his thoughts.

  After a minute, he plucks the flower and tucks it behind my ear. P
icking up my hands in his own, he lightly massages them. He then lifts them up to his lips, placing a brief, soft kiss on both of them before letting me know what’s on his mind.

  His sweet words come out in hushed tones right beside my ear. “Not only are you caring, but you’re also selfless. Your love knows no bounds even to complete strangers. You are phenomenal, like a beautiful angel sent from above, to make this world a better place.” He pulls back to look at me before continuing, “But who looks out for you Ally? I didn’t like seeing you hurt yesterday.” His words completely endear me to him.

  My pulse is hammering away in my chest, and my sight locks on his lips, mesmerized by them. I can’t believe a boy just kissed me, even though it was just on my hands.

  He lifts one hand to brush the hair gently away from the stitches on my face. “I don’t want something like this to happen again. I won’t let something like this happen again.” He skims his lips across the spot just above the gash, and I melt into him.

  He doesn’t hesitate in wrapping his arms around me, and I nuzzle in, breathing the clean scent of his shirt. “Thank you,” I whisper, swaying on my feet. I’m a little dizzy and not sure if it’s from his flattering comments or if I just need more rest after my ordeal yesterday and the extreme dehydration that I just experienced.

  Pulling me tighter to him and holding me up right, he orders, “You’re dead on your feet after all you’ve been through. Come on. Let’s get you home.

  My phone ringing from my bedside table wakes me this morning. Annoyed that I forgot to put it on silent before bed, I roll over and glare at it. The ringing stops, saving me from throwing it across the room. My sight moves to my alarm clock that reads 8:00.

  Sitting up, I rub the sleep from my eyes. My hot pink walls irritate me, and I wonder why I ever thought this colour was a fantastic idea. The mural of the sun and sparkly butterflies mock me even further. It is way too early to be looking at something so bright, and I realize that I seriously need to redecorate.