Storymania - Forever And Always by Virginia A. Sheppard

Forever And Always
Virginia A. Sheppard

     A beautiful angel falls graciously from the heavens and lands smoothly upon the earth which God hath made. The angel notices a young woman sitting on a park bench. Her head is bent low and her eyes are affixed upon the lightly snow covered ground. White pigeons gather about her feet in hopes of being offered some food but the young woman does not appear to have noticed them.
     The angel has a special mission she must carry out and she now knows this mission is to be carried out through this young woman. She must approach this young woman with extreme caution and gentleness. The angel chooses to keep her identity a secret. Disbelief is most common among those who are gifted enough to walk Gods earth. The angel gets close enough to the woman without the woman taking notice. She notices the young woman is quite distraught. Perhaps a decision she must make quickly, torments her soul.
     The angel had been watching over the young woman very closely for some time now. She has seen the birth of her child, a child she has worked so hard to conceive. Seeing the joys that child had brought to her life, now seeing the sadness killing her little by little with each passing day. The angel had questioned her mission before God, not fully understanding the purpose of this womans tragedy. The angel learned a hard lesson, one must never question Gods reasoning. We should all be thankful for what little time we are given and never question the events along the way. However, it is completely normal to doubt Gods ways and converse over the faith.

     The angel took her place beside the young woman and placed her hand upon the young womans cold hand. The young woman lifted her head up, her eyes no longer averted to the snow covered ground but to the pigeons that had gathered around her. Her cold fingers now felt an extreme warmth, a warmth that could be felt if standing in front of a hot, blazing fire. Strangely, she noticed the fingers on her left hand were cold and numb from the cool air. Her eyes wandered about her; in front of her, behind her, both sides of her, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She did notice a small group of children skating upon the ice of the pond. She did not recall the children being there earlier. Perhaps it was because she did not care to notice.
     The angel gets up and stands behind the young woman, wraps both her arms around the young woman and grasps her tightly. The young woman feels a deep warmth spread throughout her entire body. A certain warmth she has not felt since she held her four year old daughter in her arms. Tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes as certain memories wander within her mind freely. Memories she has tried to block out from time to time. The angel senses her weakness, her pain, and her sorrow. She grasps the young woman so tightly, she could feel her heart beating.
     The young woman squirms in her seat as she feels a strong pull within her. She feels a burning sensation evolve the whole upper half of her body and spread widely within her. Her heart thumps wildly as she senses she is being watched. She looks about her once again, expecting to see a stranger towering behind her. Still, she does not notice anything out of the ordinary. The same group of children she had noticed a few moments ago still skate upon the blanket of ice that covers the pond.
     Comfort washes over her as she watches the children skate happily across the pond. Their arms flail wildly about them as their legs move fast from side to side. The soft laughter from the children echoes in her eardrum and arouses a small smile to creep across her cracked lips. Her heart begins to fill with delight as she gazes longingly into their twinkling eyes, their smiling faces. Children really are a true miracle of life and to be part of giving a child life, it is indeed a special gift.
     Upon watching the children in delight and feeling a sudden love and warmth; a certain fulfillment to an empty black space she has lived in for three months, she suddenly felt relief in some way. She now knows what she must do, what she strongly desires to do. The young woman stands upon her feet and briskly walks back to the hospital where her daughter awaits for her patiently.
     When the young woman arrived at the hospital, she noticed the young couple she had met a few weeks ago. They sat in the patient waiting room, all holding hands and softly praying for a miracle. The young woman wanted to walk over to them and reassure them they will have their miracle but first she must look at her daughter one last time. She slowly enters her daughters room, stands in the doorway and looks at the machine that was keeping her alive physically.
     She heavily sighs, silently prays to God, asking him to give her strength as she slowly walks over to her daughter. Her daughter lay so helpless in the crib, her eyes were open. She looked like a china doll with glass inset eyes. The young woman bends down and places a kiss upon her daughters warm cheek. She grabs her tiny hand and caresses her small fingers with her own as she speaks softly to her child. Everytime she had done this she had hoped it would bring her daughter back but too much time has passed. The young woman now realizes she is only prolonging her daughters peace, prolonging the couples daughter's happiness, only to satisfy her own needs and her own selfishness.
     The angel takes her place at the other side of the young womans daughter. Her own heart aches while she watches a mother say goodbye to her child. The tears stream down the young womans cheeks, a half smile curls upon her lips as she speaks her last words and kisses her daughters cheek one last time. The young woman then walks out the door to find the doctor and speak to the couple that await anxiously for her decision. The angel remains at the childs bedside. It will soon be time to guide this childs soul to the heavens.
     Upon hearing her news, the couple graciously and lovingly hugged the young woman. Tears of joy filled their eyes but a certain sadness still remained. To trade one life for another did not seem fair. This decision caused the couple to feel not only a deep sadness but a slight anger. To be dealt the hand of tradgedy and trying to accept the terms and continuing to live through lifes many stages. The young woman accepted it only because she knows her child will still live on, through another child. After a long embrace with the couple, the young woman leaves them to return to her daughter.
     The doctor met her in her daughter's room, looked at the woman one last time to make sure she was sure of her decision. The woman nods her head, the doctor unplugs the machine. The childs chest rises slowly upwards, then slowly downward. The young mother had hopes of her daughter breathing on her own but she knew it was not possible. She holds her daughters hand tightly as she takes her last breath. The young woman slowly releases her daughters hand, her fingers gently brushing each tiny finger with her own. The tears streak freely down her cheeks as she slowly turns away and slowly walks towards the door. Her legs tremble as she walks, her knees feeling as though they will give out at any time. She grasps the gold door handle for support, her fingers turning a deep purple as she holds on to it for dear life. She slowly turns around to look at her daughter one last time. Her eyes slowly wander across the floor and she notices a gleam of light shining brightly upon where she had just stood.
     The young woman releases the gold door handle and walks slowly towards the bright light. Her eyes widen, her mouth is agape as she sees a woman with long golden hair and large white wings protruding out her back. She gasps and clutches her fast beating heart as she realizes she is staring at an angel. She looks at the doctor to see if he had noticed but he was busily preparing her daughters body. Her eyes gaze once more at the gleam of light and standing beside the angel was her daughter. Her daughter is smiling brightly as she holds the angels hand.
     Finally at peace with herself and the decision she has made, she returns her daughters loving smile. The angel feels the womans peace, strongly feels her faith has been restored, she and the child slowly fade off into the heavens.
     The young woman leaves the doctor to do what he must. To perform his miracle for another family, using her daughter's heart. She closes her eyes, her hand gently lays upon her chest, I promise to keep the memories alive, forever and always my sweet child.