The First Valentine For a very long time, there has been a lot of mystery surrounding the creation of Valentine’s Day. Although there has been much hearsay, no one has yet to solve the riddle. Until now. A short while ago the truth was finally uncovered. It involves an Angel, and this is her story. Valentine, the beautiful young Angel and Teacher’s Aid of the cherub class, was having a long day. “Class, since we only have a few minutes left before the end of the day, we’ll hear the last of the entries for the competition. Ariel, I believe you are the last one. You may present your idea now.” In the back row of the classroom, Ariel hung his head. He had been dreading this all day. He had hoped to escape giving his presentation, but as he watched the clock tick on, his luck, not time, ran out. He rose and walked to the front of the room, and wondered how he had gotten into such a mess. It all started a week ago. Gabriel, Angel-in-Charge, made an announcement from God. God was looking for a gift. He wanted the people of heaven to create something special for the people of earth. From the moment they heard the news, all of Heaven was a buzz with activity. There was to be a special prize for the winner. No one knew what it would be. God never says when he does these things. And nobody ever asks. No doubt it would be wonderful. Rumor had that God was spending night and day just making the prize. This one must really be good. Most of the entries for the competition were already in. The Academy of Angels had created “The Golden Harp”; one child in each country would be given the special talent of music. That child would be able to play any instrument with perfection. St. Peter’s Guardians had forged “The Enchanted Sword”; one noble knight would be given the sword to protect his fellow man from evil. Venus, the principle of the Cherub School, wanted three cherubs to suggest entries for the competition. As Ariel was well liked, many of his classmates had chosen him as one of the cherubs to present an entry. He wanted to decline. He didn’t think he could do better than either the Guardians or the Angels, much less his fellow cherubs. In the end, he accepted. He did not want to let down his friends. Little did he know what he was getting into? The other two cherubs, Elisia and Oric, had worked really hard on their entries. Elisia had suggested the “Arrow of the Heart”; a special arrow, that when shot, would instantly give the person it hit a huge, wonderful sense of love and understanding for everyone. Oric, being the most mischievous of the cherubs, suggested the “Charmers Mouth”; this gift would give someone the ability to flatter another person with the most beautiful words and phrases, whether they meant it or not. Ariel had planned to work very hard on his gift, but he had a little problem. Love. Love, you might say, is not a problem. It isn’t, except if you are a cherub. The first thing they teach you in cherub class is “not to fall in love”. When they fall in love, they really fall in love. Loves effect on a cherub is staggering. Especially for Ariel. The object of his affections was his teacher, Valentine. So, while Elisia and Oric were busy with their entries, Ariel had been thinking of nothing but Valentine. He was so love struck, that he didn’t get around to thinking of any suggestions for a gift. What he had been thinking about though, was the Fourteenth of February. Valentine’s birthday. This was to be the day that Ariel was going to tell her of his love for her. Now here he was walking to the front of the class, feeling miserable. He stood in front of his classmates and looked into their expectant faces. Ariel cleared his throat. “I’m.....I’m sorry, I don’t have any suggestions for the competition.” He felt so ashamed. No one said a word as he lowered his head and began to walk back to his desk. At that moment, Valentine said softly, “Ariel”. He turned and looked into her eyes. And in that moment he saw it, love, pure and simple. He saw love as everyone should see it, and then the words came. “A day, a day for you Valentine. A day for everyone in the world to love, the way that I love you. And not just any day, your birthday. The day you were born should be a day for lovers everywhere.” He stopped and realized what he had just said. The class just stared. Valentine began to blush. Ariel’s heartbeat tripled. He didn’t know what to do. So he ran. He ran as fast as he could from the classroom. He didn’t know where he was going, he just ran. Ariel was not seen for days on end. Everyone was looking for him. Until that moment, they didn’t think it was possible for anyone to hide in Heaven. They searched and searched to no avail. Eventually the day came for God to announce the winner of the competition. The date was the thirteenth of February. There was great excitement everywhere. All of Heaven was packed into the “Halo”, the great stadium where God held audience. The Guardians were there, so were the Angeles, and of course the cherubs were there also. Valentine sat in the middle of the little mischief-makers. She was anxious because Ariel was still missing. At that moment a great gong sounded and all went silent. In the middle of the “Halo”, was a circle of thrones, and in the center there was a great throne, bigger and higher than the rest. Slowly, the Disciples proceeded in and sat in the circle of thrones. When they were seated a magnificent light appeared in the center throne. It grew brighter and brighter until they could not bear to look at it. Then suddenly, it was gone, and there sat God. The “Halo” erupted into cheers and applause. God held up his hand and all was quiet. Then he spoke. “My children, it is wonderful to see you all again, my heart delights to be with you. You are all here to hear my decision on which gift I will give to the world. I have chosen one. This one is special because, it is the only one of the entries that could be given to the whole world, and not just an individual. This gift comes from the Cherubs, and it is Valentine’s Day. A day for love, a day for lovers. Now, will Ariel of the Cherubs, please come forward to receive his prize”. In the stands Valentine was frantic. Ariel had won, but he was still missing. She looked around and hoped he would appear, but nothing happened. She looked at God in desperation, and God gave her the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Then he did the most incredible thing, he winked. Valentine was astonished. As she watched, God stood up and moved his throne aside, and underneath it sat Ariel. God looked at him in his most loving way and said, “Be not afraid, you are loved here.” Then he held out his hand. Ariel knew instantly that everything would be all right. He put his hand in Gods’ and stood. The Halo erupted in cheers. God turned and faced those assembled and said, “Heaven, for the winner of this competition, I have created one of my most beautiful creations ever. A prize worthy of the gift Ariel has given the world.” Then God reached in his robe, pulled out the prize and gave it to Ariel. Ariel gasped. It was the most perfect thing he had ever seen. He looked at God and said, “Dear God, you have given me the most beautiful gift ever, I thank you, but if I may ask. What do you call this wonderful prize?” God looked at him, smiled and said, “My child, it is called a Rose.” Ariel touched the Rose. He knew that he was not worthy enough to receive such a gift. He looked at Valentine and said, “For you my love, happy birthday.” Valentine stood, and with teary eyes said, “Oh Ariel, thank you, but today is not my birthday, it is tomorrow.” Ariel replied, “Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, a day for all lovers, but today I give this Rose to you. For you are the First Valentine.” At this moment God said, “So be it, from now on until the end of time, The Fourteenth of February shall be Valentine’s Day. A day for love and lovers. The thirteenth of February shall be the day of the First Valentine. On this day, one person in the world shall be given a Rose, this new symbol of love, to mark them as The First Valentine.” Ariel went to Valentine and kissed her, and as they left the Halo hand in hand, Valentine glanced back at God, and once again, he winked. The First Valentine for 2007 is………
Copyright © 1991 Anslem B Gentle |