Angel - part 1: Encounter

Angel - part 1: Encounter I had gone for my usual evening walk. The full Passover moon made it unnecessary to carry a lantern against the dark. She was sitting at the side of the road. Her small body wracked with sobs. At first I couldn't discern the reason for her deep grief - then I put my hand on her shoulder. What I though part of her strange garb moved beneath my hand and I realized it was a wing! She startled at my touch, and looked shyly up at me through eyes shimmering with tears. "Don't be afraid," I said, "I'd like to help you, if I can." She smiled a small smile and I knew she was not afraid. Slowly she stood - at full height she only reached up to my breast. Her wings unwrapped gently from around her, and I could plainly see that one hung limply - broken. Her body was covered in soft down - like a leotard - but I could tell it was part of her and not clothing. she winced again as the broken wing moved, and the tears began to flow once more. Through all this she had made not a sound other than the sobs of pain. She shivered, and I gently wrapped her in my cloak, avoiding the injured wing as best I could. Inadvertently I jostled it, and she cried out in a voice like an injured hare, then she swooned into my supporting arms. I carried her home and laid her remarkably light form gently upon my bed. While she was unconscious I examined the wing and determined that it was a simple break - easy to set. Fortunately I was well stocked in first-aid equipment - I am a volunteer firefighter for my town. I was able to set and splint the break without damaging more than a few of the gorgeous feathers. I covered her for warmth and sat with her while she slept off the effects of shock and pain. I must have dozed off for a while, for when I woke she was "perched" on the bed, preening and examining my splint. Setting the bone must have helped alleviate the pain, for she only winced once or twice as she poked at my handiwork. She noticed that I was awake, and gently reached out her small hand to stroke my cheek - a gesture of trust! I reached up and touched her hand, and she did not flinch, but allowed my fingers to caress hers. "I've never met an angel before," I said. "How did you come to be injured this way?" She looked at me understandingly. She moved her hand through the air, like a bird in flight. she did the same with her other hand, brought the two together in a collision above her head, and flopped one down to rest inverted on the bed at her side. "You collided with something while flying?" I asked, incredulous. She frowned and nodded affirmation. "Another angel? An aeroplane? What?" Her demeanor darkened, and she raised a finger to her lips. Furtively she glanced around, then put both index fingers to the top of her head like horns. -to be continued_ 3/28/2002 Written March 29th, 2002 © on Mar 28 2002 05:42 PM PST, Heinz Scheuenstuhl    0 • 10