The door opened to a small, simply-furnished room. Everything in it was bright and perfectly white. Three soft chairs surrounded a small circular table. Otherwise, the room was empty.
Lyra bustled over to the table and chair. “Come, come. Sit down, please.” When we had seated ourselves around the table, she resumed her animated instruction. “Now Forenica, before I get to the part you’re really interested in, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?” I shook my head. “Good. First, let me start with a little introduction. As I’m sure your guide has told you, my name is Lyra. I’m head of the archives, the Keeper of Records. Within this area of Angel Command, we chronicle the life of every soul on earth. Each life is captured in a book, like this one.” She held up the book that she’d retrieved just moments before.
“Now, you might be wondering why I’m telling you this. And why I’ve brought the book for you to see. We shall come to that shortly. First, tell me what you know about the assignment process.”
“Well,” I began, “they told us at the Academy that guardian angels are always assigned to members of their same gender.”
“That is correct—without exception. Please, go on.”
So much for Dana’s plans, I thought.
“That we would be assigned to guard the mortal for the duration of her mortal life.”
“Yes, yes, quite right.”
“And that we would be assigned to a newborn baby. That’s all, I think.”
“Very good! Now, you might have heard rumors,” she said as a sly smile crept across her face, “that there are some exceptions to the last two rules you mentioned.”
“Well—”
“It’s OK, I know all about those rumors. All the angels these days love talking about it. Forenica, they are not rumors.” The way she said this made my heart beat faster. I don’t know why it should have had an effect on me. It wasn’t as if this was shocking news. Lyra was staring at me intently now, her eyes narrowed, looking more serious than I thought her capable of. She seemed to be reading me, trying to extract some deep secret from my soul. I shifted in my seat. A notable tension hung in the air. Then the seriousness dissolved from Lyra’s face, and the tension lifted.
“Don’t worry, dear,” she said in a calming tone, “you haven’t done anything wrong. Quite the contrary. No, Forenica it’s not a rumor. But so rare are the instances that it might as well be a rumor. Nevertheless, it has happened, but seldom, very seldom. Not one in every thousand angels receives such and assignment. One angel every millennium—if that frequent.”
She leaned forward, that same grave expression returning to her face. And when she spoke again her voice was pitched low. “You, Forenica, are one of those angels.”
There was a moment’s silence. I wasn’t sure how to respond.
“So...what does that mean?” I finally asked.
“It means that you have your work cut out for you. Guarding a newborn is wonderful. But, honestly, there’s not much to it for the first few years. You’ll be starting with a grown woman. That’s a whole different story.”
“But why me? I’m just a junior guardian angel. Shouldn’t someone more experienced have this assignment? And why is this woman getting a new angel? Did she do something to the last one?”
Lyra erupted into laughter. “Don’t worry, Forenica, we’ve yet to have a mortal hurt any of our angels,” she said, still giggling. “I can’t tell you why you were selected for this assignment. Only He could tell you that. There’s nothing wrong with the mortal you’re being assigned to, or her previous angel. I’m just as surprised as you about the change, to be quite frank. There’s obviously something there that we don’t see or know. He wouldn’t pick you for this assignment unless you were the right one—you may be sure of that.
“Now, Forenica, I think we’ve had enough preamble,” she continued, not giving me a chance to further protest. “I think it’s about time you met your first charge.” Then, taking the book in both of her in hands, Lyra held it out in front of her and gently brought the book down onto the table. Instantly, the book began to glow, and a miniature figure of a woman appeared floating just above it. Her slender body was clothed in an unadorned gown of pure white, the skirt of which fell nearly covered bare feet. Her long flaxen hair cascaded off her shoulders, and fell about her lovely face, which was pierced with two eyes, blue as a cloudless sky. She could have passed for an angel.
“Forenica, meet Angela.”
“She’s beautiful,” I said.
“Indeed, but very much in need of your help.”
“What’s the matter with her?”
“Nothing you can’t help her with, dear,” she replied with a smirk. “Now, a little background about Angela. She’s thirty-six—if I recall that’s not too much older than you when you died?”
“About ten years older,” I said.
“Oh well, mortal years are so inconsequential. I could talk about the age of your soul and thirty-six would sound like less than a speck of time.
“Where were we? Ah yes, thirty-six and married. Jack’s her husband—quite a hunk, I might add. They’ve been blessed with three special spirits. Catherine, the oldest, is fifteen and a teenage girl through and through. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to learn all about that. Next comes Justin. He’s ten and good at keeping Catherine...aware of his presence, to put it kindly. And, of course, the littlest, the closest to heaven, is Kailey. Age six, a very sweet—sometimes mischievous—six. She gives us plenty of laughs up here. But that’s only the beginning. Everything you need to know about Angela you will find within the pages of this book: all her thoughts, her utterances, her deeds, recorded in perfect detail.
“This knowledge is sacred, so you must treat it with the utmost reverence. The book shall remain in our archives, but you may access it any time you have need. Do you have any questions?”
My head was full of them, mostly concerning my election for this particular assignment and why this precious being needed my help. It seemed, however, that I wasn’t getting answers to those questions anytime soon, so I held my tongue.
“Forenica,” she said, apparently in response to my thoughts, “I cannot tell you the mind of God, only that there is reason and purpose and love behind all that He does. You do not know the answers to your questions because you do not need them answered. But I have a feeling they will be answered, by and by.”
I knew she spoke the truth, so I resigned myself, hoping that I would soon solve the mystery. Lyra removed the book from the table, and instantly Angela’s image faded away. To my surprise, this saddened me slightly. Apparently my attachment to Angela had already begun to grow, though I hadn’t even met the real woman. But Lyra quickly alleviated my sorrow.
“Very shortly, you shall go down and visit your Angela. But first, I believe your guide would like to introduce you to a few angels you’ll be working with.” Lyra pointed to my little guide. “This is Anawin, your Angel Mother.”
I turned to look at Anawin. This was news. I had no idea she was my Angel Mother. “That’s right, my child. You are part of my little family. I know you very well.” She patted and squeezed my hand warmly. “Very shortly, you shall go down and visit your Angela. But first, I would like you to meet the rest of your family here. They are all eager to see you.”
“Well,” Lyra said, as Anawin and I were leaving, “come and see me anytime. You know where to find me. I suspect you’ll need my assistance soon.”
With that Lyra bid us farewell, and we headed back down the hallway from which we came. Anawin led me down more stairs and through more hallways. We finally came to a room with towering, book-filled walls, which stretched on and on above my head for miles. The room’s breadth was comparatively miniscule. An infinite series of platforms, interconnected by spiral staircases granted access to the room’s upper-most levels. Directly in front of us, near the center of the floor, sat a small group of angels on sofas. Anawin lead me towards the group, who rose to their feet when they noticed u
s approaching. One of them came forward to meet us with open arms and a broad smile.
“Forenica, how you’ve grown!” he said, as he wrapped me in a bear hug. Then he let go and stepped back. “If those boys on earth could get a look at you now...” He winked at me. I could feel my cheeks turning red. I guessed he must be my Angel Father. He was the only one of the group with an elderly appearance, like Anawin’s. Together, they reminded me of the grandma and grandpa whom everyone adores as children.
“Forenica,” Anawin began. “This is my husband, Glendor.” Then, out of the corner of her mouth, she said, “He’s a bit of a clown.” Glendor chuckled with delight.
“Come on honey,” he said, offering an arm to each of us. “Let’s introduce this special lady to the family.”
They introduced me to each of the guardians with whom I would labor on earth. Besides Anawin and Glendor, there were six others. They were an awesome sight. There was the tall herculean Glaven, who guarded Jack. Loreli, lithe and wise, who guarded Catherine. Avin, stout and strong, who guarded Justin. And Viana, sweet and childlike, who watched over Kailey, the youngest.
There were also two others. “Clairus,” Anawin explained, “is assigned to you. As you are a junior guardian angel, she will be your trainer and mentor until you are prepared to fulfill all your duties on your own.”
Clairus put her arm around me. “Ah, I’m sure you won’t need any help from me. I’ll just be along for the show.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” I muttered.
Lastly, they introduced me to Soren.
“He’s responsible for our logistics on the ground. A very useful fellow to have around.”
Soren bowed deeply.
I instantly fell in love with them all. They were so wonderful, so amazing. And despite my own weakness and inexperience, they made me feel something like a super hero. I was ready to take on the world.
Glendor’s hand touched my shoulder. “Now that you’ve met the team,” he said, “there’s just one more item we need to address before you can start kicking some devil tail.”
“Glendor!” Anawin chided.
“I’m only kidding. You knew that, right, dear? Right. As I was saying, we need to issue you your Communicator.”
“My Communicator?”
“That’s right.”
Glendor turned and grabbed a small wooden box from one of the end tables. The box was simple in design, smooth, and polished to a shine. He opened it and showed me its contents. I didn’t quite know what to expect. A gilded cell phone, perhaps? Instead, I found what appeared to be a simple piece of crystal, flat with rounded corners and beveled edges. At Glendor’s prompting I picked it up and held it in the palm of my hand. It was light and felt warm and comfortable to the touch—not quite hard and not quite soft.
“This,” explained Glendor, “is your Communicator. It is required for all descents to earth. So, I suggest you keep it in your pocket. It does precisely what its name indicates, plus a little more. It allows us to communicate directly with you, likewise you with us. Additionally, you can use it to retrieve needed information about Angela, or others you might happen to be assisting. Granted, it’s no substitute for careful study and meditation, but sometimes urgency requires its use. In fact, it can tell you anything you need to know when you’re down there.”
“How does it work?” I inquired. I didn’t see any means of operating it. No markings or buttons of any kind. Just a perfectly smooth crystal.
“Oh, you’ll figure it out. When you need to know, you’ll know.”
I inspected the crystal once more before slipping it into my pocket.
“Now, I think you’re all set. Are you ready for your first descent?”
I gulped. I had not been to earth since I was mortal.
III
THE DESCENT
Glendor instructed me on safe and proper descent protocol as we traversed the labyrinth of corridors and passageways.
“As I mentioned earlier, never attempt to descend without your Communicator. It’s not permitted. Always stay with Clairus. She’ll make sure you don’t end up in China, on the top of some frozen mountain peak. And finally, when you are ready to return, simply clap your heels together three times and say, ‘there’s no place like―’”
“Will you never grow up!” interrupted Anawin. “When you’re ready to return, dear,” she said, taking over the instruction, “contact us with your Communicator. If you lose it, pray and He’ll bring you back. But don’t worry, Clairus will be right by your side.” I felt Clairus’ arm around me for reassurance.
“When you’re down there,” Anawin continued, “you’ll notice that the strength of Father’s presence is much weaker. This will take some time to adjust to.”
I had little time to contemplate this piece of news, for we came to another room, which spread out extensively on all sides. Shafts of intense light reaching from the floor to the ceiling stood in long rows spaced throughout the room, like massive supporting columns. Everywhere, tiny crowds of angels were gathered around various columns.
“Welcome to the transportation terminal,” Glendor said. “Each one of those pillars is a portal to earth. You just hop in one of those beams of light, then off you go—it’s rather fun, like being on the Starship Enterprise.”
And just as he was speaking, I spied an angel hop into one of the beams and disappear.
“So, how do you tell it where you want to go?”
“You just tell it. But be careful not to mumble. We’ve had angels end up in all kinds of strange places.”
“Don’t listen to a word he says, Forenica,” said Anawin. “There’s no way you’ll end up in the wrong place. The portal knows where to send you. You don’t have to tell it.”
Glendor laughed. “Alright, I was only kidding. But it would be funny if that did happen, don’t you think?”
“We’re over here,” she said to me, ignoring Glendor. She’d pointed to one of the nearby portals, and we made our way towards it. A sentry greeted us as we approached, inquired about our business, and requested to see our Communicators. Finding Clairus’ response acceptable and seeing that we both produced our Communicators, he permitted us to pass.
Clairus took my hand in hers. “Ready?”
“I suppose so,” I said, unsure what to expect once we leaped into that magic light beam.
“Don’t worry, it’s fun. Here we go!”
It all happened so quickly. Jets of light shot all around me. I couldn’t make out anything. I no longer felt the solid floor beneath my feet. We seemed to be floating, or else traveling with such speed that our motion was imperceptible. I did have a slight sense of falling, but not in a physical sense. Suddenly, it stopped, and all was quiet and still. I surveyed my surroundings and recognized it instantly. Earth.
I blinked my eyes several times, attempting to adjust them to the darkness. Even though the midday sun hung over head, the difference in light from heaven was striking. Clairus was right about a shock. I felt like I was reliving a long forgotten dream―a bad dream. Though Anawin had warned me, I was shocked by the weakness of God’s presence there. If I could have vomited, I probably would have.
“Are you OK?” Clairus asked, still holding my hand.
“I think so,” I replied—not entirely sure I didn’t want to go back already.
“Just take your time.”
I closed my eyes and tried to imagine I was back in heaven with a cool breeze rushing through my hair and the mighty sun warming my face. I shivered a little and looked up.
“What’s wrong with the sun? It’s so...dark.”
“This isn’t heaven, silly. Things are going to look a little different than you remembered.” Then she directed my attention to the scene in front of us. “Well, here we are. This is Angela’s mortal abode.” she said. A little yellow house stood before us. Before I knew heaven, I think I would have called it a cute house. Now, it looked downright dismal. The lawn, however, was neatly trimmed. The flower b
eds well maintained. Cheerful curtains hung in the windows. A welcome sign on the front door waited to greet visitors. Except for a hot-pink Barbie bicycle left lying on the driveway, everything looked tidy.
Clairus nudged me with her elbow. “Shall we go see who’s home?”
“Sure...do we ring the doorbell, or just walk right in?” I asked.
“Personally, I like going down the chimney,” she said. “It makes me feel like Santa Claus. On second thought—”
She grabbed my hand again, and before I knew what had happened our scene changed. We weren’t outside in front of the house anymore, but inside a bedroom. And there, lying on a ruffled bed, was Angela.
“Ah, sleeping peacefully,” said Clairus, looking lovingly upon her.
“Should we come back later, after she’s woken up?” I asked in a whisper.
“Come back later? What are they teaching at the Academy these days? You never leave your charge, unless there’s another angel to watch her.”
“Even at night, while she’s sleeping?”
“You don’t need to whisper, she can’t hear you. And yes, even while she’s sleeping. Isn’t that right, Lina?”
“Quite right, Clairus,” answered a voice from behind us. I quickly turned to find an angel I had never met standing behind us. She smiled at me.
“Forenica, meet Lina, Angela’s night guard.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize there were night guards,” I said.
“That’s right,” Lina replied kindly, “our job is not nearly as important as yours, but somebody has to keep him from causing trouble.” Lina pointed toward the back corner of the room.
I turned to see who she meant. I gasped. There, crouched in the corner, shaking feverishly, was one of the Devil’s very own. What a miserable, deplorable creature! Thin and gaunt. A parasite longing to sink his jaws into a mortal’s soul, to sate his abominable appetite. So lurid was the thought of this demon dragging Angela down to that interminable pit of torment that I shuddered and turned my back to him. I couldn’t bear the thought of Angela willfully letting that beast fetter her soul to be delivered to the Father of Despair. Could he really have been a soul who once dwelt with God? What a sad end for those who rebel.
Diary of an Angel Page 2