Angel

She landed with a thud on the pavement, bruising her amply padded bottom.  She struggled to her feet, reaching behind to rub the soreness, hoping nobody saw her.  So much for graceful landings.

She had landed somewhere at dawn, and the sun was slowly rising, casting a pinkish orange glow into the sky.  It looked different to her from this angle.  Still beautiful…just different.

Homes were quiet on the tree lined street.  Nobody seemed to be stirring yet.  She stood under an oak tree and waited.  Slowly the street lights began to turn off, replaced by the sun.  Light began to turn on inside the two story homes, and she could see people stirring inside.

She smiled, wondering what her assignment would be for the day.  She hoped it was a better one than yesterday’s.  That crotchety old man had made her wish more than once that she was a visitor from a different place.  Not only did she want to give him a piece of her mind, she wasn’t feeling the least bit nice about it. But she had behaved herself, and at the end of the day… everything turned out as it was meant to.  Mission accomplished.

Hers was not a job given to just anyone.  Certainly not anyone who was weak of heart or easily intimidated. 

She took a deep breath of the fresh air, reveling in the beauty of the morning.  She looked as one of the houses took on a special glow, and she knew that this was the house she was assigned to.  She noticed someone stirring inside.  Moving closer, she could see that there was a little girl standing in front of an upstairs window, crying.  She had her nose pressed against the glass, and tears were streaming down her face.  It was almost as if the child was pleading for help.

In an instant she knew what she had to do, and it was all she could do to keep from crying.  Somewhere deep inside she was hurting for this little one.  Her pain seemed so real.  Instinctively she knew she had to reach out and protect her.

She walked up to the door, not bothering to knock. She floated through with ease, knowing nobody could see her.  In a flash she was up the stairs, wiping the little girl’s tears from her eyes.  She formed a protective barrier around the child that that nobody could cross, and even though she remained unseen, the little girl seemed to feel better. 

She stayed with the little girl all day and all night.  When her father came to the door that night and tried to slip in unawares, the door would not open. 

The child slept all night long without fear.  She dreamed of fairy princesses and ice cream.  She dreamed of running and playing and falling asleep without being scared of monsters in the dark.

Most of all, she dreamed that she had a guardian angel who would come to her and keep her safe.
The dream was so real…that when she woke up, she wondered if it was just a dream.