The Hand of an Angel

LIFES PATH – AN ANGEL

The rain falls on a little cottage that stands by the sea the lady of this little home is thankful for the tin which serves as her roof although the sheeting is old a little rusty and bears a few holes here and their it’s all just a sign that helps marks it’s age. She knows that some of the rain will drop in for a visit, but the problem is easily fixed with a bucket here and pot there…. tink, tink , tink ,tink

The rain is always welcomed as the lady loves to hear it fall upon her roof and it feeds her vegetables and herbs that grace her gardens. She knew it was coming in by the evening as she could see the clouds drop lower and lower over the canvas of the sea she had watched the sky repaint it’s surface taking away its shimmering sparkle leaving deep dark ripples were the sun had danced earlier in the day. Her friend the sea eagle had already headed to the other side of the island to take refuge from the winds no longer wanting to play on the breeze.

Looking out into the distance she could see already where the rain had been falling and when she looked up to the skies the clouds had moved in quickly blanketing her island community. So wood had been brought in from outside and she had said a silent thank you for the thoughtfulness of friends who had sent their son over to check that she had enough wood keep her warm for the week to come. Her body was aging and it would have taken days for her aches and pains to subside after a couple of hours swinging an axe.

When the atmosphere had grown heavy around her, along with the sweet the smell of the rain she had gone indoors and set to building herself a fine little fire. She had struck her match and crouched down to lightly blow at the flames to help it catch with the kindling that she had provided, and the fire had slowly come to life. Knowing when the fire was ready to dance into full flame she had added a few larger logs and a new warming life was born.

So now she sits listening to the rain fall upon her roof and she stares into the fire. A fire she thinks; life, death, rebirth. It is created with love and care with the stacking of kindling and paper just so, then it is given life with a strike of a match and is nurtured with a soft breeze to help it to grow, then it is fed to help keep its strength so that it may provide warmth to those who share her hearth. Then slowly, much more slowly than it took to for it to be given life it will die burning down to glowing embers which will glow in the night until nothing is left, no warmth only ashes. The little fire place will then sit and wait for another life to be created.

Looking now around her home she looks at the candles she has lit as they dance along with the flames from the fire, no need for bright lights as she sits warming herself, she smiles, the rain falls, the wind blows and the waves can be heard crashing at the foot of the cliff. She loves her little cottage by the sea, her little home has a life of its own filled with memories and she knows every creak in the floor boards and the places where a draft may sneak under doors and through windows. Her eyes scan along the top of the mantle above her fire place, it is a rather long mantle one that she is thankful for as it carries many different photo frames of different shapes and sizes all containing pictures, the time line of her life.

There to the left in an old wooden frame is grandfather Alf sitting with a little dark haired girl having a tea party, she finds it hard to believe that she can still recall those tea parties with the pots of water and make believe sugar and milk and she knows that he had enjoyed every mouthful. Photo’s of her own children when they were very little all smiling and laughing at the camera, her angels. A black and white picture taken at a Christmas function of three very close women, faces of a grandmother, mother and daughter. A wedding photo, her own, scattered shots of her girls at gymnastic competitions along with their many medals hanging above them on the wall, a large silver frame holds a picture of the Lady’s Acrobatic Sate team, she sighs as she remembers the hard years of work, coaching and training. Her mother and stepfather Jim look down at her from the shelf, the corner of her mouth turns into a smile as she can still hear his encouraging words “Kiddo you are one of the strongest people I know”. A skewbald horse stands under a tree with a dark haired teenager sitting on a beautiful ornate Mexican style saddle, oh how she had loved that horse, and there I am standing with my best friend in front of a frangipani tree outside the family home which is still there today.

She moves her head to the side and sees a small frame, just a corner peeping out from behind a large photograph of her great grandfather dressed in his kilt with bag pipes in hand. Curiosity gets the better of her and she leaves the comfort of her chair to inspect the hidden memory and there she finds a picture of her self around seventeen years of age dressed in jeans a check shirt and riding boots standing next to a young man sitting on a red dukati motor bike. The lady of the sea smiles as a tear rolls down her cheek and she turns to take the photo back to her chair. She closes her eyes as she holds the frame close to her heart and rocks as another reel of film is pulled from her memory and it begins to play like a re-run in her mind …a time long ago
Tink, tink, tink , tink

Driving to work one morning in the rain windscreen wipers going backwards and forwards before her eyes she tries to wipe away the condensation from the inside of her window the blasted de mister had never worked properly. It was a dark and heavy day and she awoke feeling very down in the dumps which was unusual for her as she loved the rain, well not driving in it with a broken de-mister but the sounds and the freshness that rain always brought was something in nature that she cherished. The maiden of the sea catches the end of an announcement as she drives along warning people not to travel along one of the main roads leading into the city there had been a collision a motor bike had lost its grip on the road and slid under the back of a truck, the road had been closed off. Time seemed to stop she knew who it was, no one had to tell her, she knew that this is what she had been sensing all morning. Her heart sank. On arriving at her place of work she knew she had to make the phone call. May be she was wrong, maybe she was over reacting but she knew by the sound of the voice on the other end of the line that what she had felt was true.

The next few days went along in blur as our small group of friends the Crew as they had been named and Ronald’s family talked, cried and laughed at the goings on that they all would get up to. Looking at photo’s and laughing at his pride and joy, his hair. Ronald had long straight black hair that reached down to his waist, the group and his mother were always trying to get him to cut it they would all make jokes that he was no Sampson. They were sure he thought his strength came from his long dark shiny hair.

The funeral came and was for many of the young Crew the first person within family and friends that they had lost. The group clung to each other for support.

Then life moved on with one empty space.

The young maiden of the sea slowly moved away from her friends as the group started to travel along their own paths in life, she worked six days a week and now had a steady boyfriend.

Eight months had passed since that dark day when she heard the announcement over the radio and she was struck hard with a case of asthma something she had been clear of for nearly five years. Two weeks holidays were taken so she could rest up and try to get control over the symptoms. Feeling a little better around the second week she decided to go with her friends on a river cruise after all what could go wrong she would have her medication and her boyfriend with her and his mates were all Life Savers as was he and she would be well looked after. It was a lovely night with calm waters and the girl was having a good time even though she was not drinking she was having fun watching everyone else around her making fools of them selves. She remembers heading out to the bow of the ferry for some fresh air and that was all she remembers until….

She could hear sirens lots of sirens loud but she couldn’t see anything, feel anything where was she what was going on? Then she could see two ambulances stopped on the side of the road with their lights flashing, was that her best friend Mary-Anne, she’s cuddling Jeffrey and why is she crying? She looks up and sees a long entrance a lighted pathway, strange, then she sees a hand reach down towards her and a face that has long black hair falling down around the arm that is outstretched reaching for her. The maiden of the sea smiles, feels light, peaceful and she realizes that this is Ronald looking down upon her, how happy she is to see him. She reaches her hand up to try and touch his, she sees him shake his head as his hair sways from side to side, how soft his hair was, and then his hand seems to get further and further away from her. A feeling of loss consumes her she wants him to come back.

The maiden opens her eyes and there leaning over her she sees her friend Mary-Anne, she’s crying, her mascara has ran all down her cheeks and the girl thinks gee she looks a mess. Her friend reaches down and wraps her arms around the girl and cuddles her like she had never cuddled the girl before. She looks around the room and sees her mother who quickly rushes to her side, she smoothes the hair away from her daughter face. The girl is confused how did she get here she was on the ferry, had she really heard sirens and wow she saw Ronald he had been with her but she couldn’t reach him. She tells her mother that she had seen Ronald and he had reached for her. Normally her mother would have said oh don’t be silly but she goes on to tell her daughter that they had lost her twice that night. What does she mean by lost…oh…. She knew then… it all came back so clear the sirens the ambulances, Mary-Anne and yes Ronald’s hand.

The lady of the sea opens her eyes and sends of a pray to her friend with the long dark hair her Sampson and thanks him for sending her back. Her life had changed dramatically after that experience not only her own life but her mothers and her friends started to look at things a little differently. The Lady gives a little laugh as she remembers her friends saying “there she goes again off with the fairies again” How close they were I have traveled for a small space in time with an angel.

© 2007 Stormeagle13

AS THEY WILL IT, SO MOTE IT BE

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