Angel With One Wing: Part Three
The brilliant light that surrounded Emma quickly faded. Only the glow of her halo illuminated her presence. The strange thing was, the light did not affect his eyes in this dark place, and he could see her and his surroundings. Emma somehow looked as lost as Jimmy felt. She asked, “Are you the one that asked for help?” Jimmy closed his eyes, thinking he must be hallucinating; had he not survived the attack? Either way, there was an angel talking to him.
As he sat there in the dark, he once again felt a hand touch his. This time he opened his eyes and looked Emma in the face. “You are real; I can feel your touch.” It was warm and gave him comfort. The angel seemed confused as she looked around. She asked, “Where are we?” Jimmy replied, “Don’t you know? If you are real, you should know everything,”
For a moment, they both sat in silence. Jimmy noticed that the enemy did not fire upon the light from Emma. “They are not shooting at us. The light from that thing over your head can be seen for miles. Why haven’t they seen you?”
Emma stood up and walked to the edge of the ravine and looked around. “I can not see in this darkness. Before, when I have visited earth and even in the night I could still see clearly, but not this night or this place. There is only emptiness out there.” Jimmy now noticed she had only one wing.
“What kind of an angel are you? You seemed frightened and don’t know where you are. It looks like you are missing a wing.” Emma turned her head away as if she were unsure how to answer Jimmy’s question.
Jimmy sensed he may have hurt her feelings. “I am sorry; I didn’t mean anything. I just thought if you are an angel you were all powerful and could not be hurt. Not like me; my leg is all busted up, and my head hurts something terrible. My buddies don’t know where I am, and the enemy will likely find us – especially with that glow that emanates from that ring over your head.”
Emma turned back to Jimmy and knelt down in front of him. “I am here to help you; I am just not sure what to do. I do know you must find the strength to help yourself from this place, and I can help guide you. I am just not sure how.”
Jimmy leaned forward and patted Emma on her shoulder. With a reassuring voice he said to Emma, “Don’t worry, my friends will be back in the morning. All I have to do is wait here in the dark until they return.” Emma took Jimmy by the hand, “No, somehow I know you must try and make your way back on your own. I don’t know why, but you must not stay in this place.”
Jimmy smiled at her as he pointed toward the night sky, “Do you see the stars? Over there to the north, isn’t that the Christmas Star? That is a good sign. For some reason I believe it is Christmas, and I know my friends will return.” Jimmy paused for a few seconds and then asks, “What is your name? And why do you have only one wing? Have you been injured?”
The shy angel hesitated for a moment, “Emma is my name. I do not know why I have only one wing. And I do not know why I have freckles or red hair. I don’t even know why I am an angel. The only thing I do know is you can’t stay here. You must try to go from this place.”
Jimmy responded, “Well Emma with the red hair, you’re my angel, real or imaginary, you gave me someone to talk to until my friends come back in the morning. But now I am going to try and get some rest. My head hurts, and maybe it will help the pain.”
Emma shook him, “No, you must try and make your way out of this place, I don’t know why, but you must try.” Jimmy, forcing his eyes open, tried to focus on Emma and her words. Emma, holding his hand, said, “Tell me about your family and home.” Clearing his thoughts of pain, he began to tell of his home in the mountains. He explained he grew up in his family’s home place among the Oak and Beech trees. He had wanted to be a teacher, but his family did not have the money to pay for college. So he joined the army and he figured that after his duty, he could go to school. But somehow that dream never seemed so far away as it did tonight. Again Jimmy started to fall asleep.
Emma again shook Jimmy, “Wake up, do not go to sleep in this place.” He slowly open his eyes and looked up at Emma. Then he asked her, “Did it hurt when you lost your wing?”
Emma paused before she answered. “For as long as I can remember, I had only the one wing. At first I felt sorry for myself. All the other angels had two beautiful wings. Angels can move through time and space with just willpower. But having two wings lets you soar above the clouds freely. I used to think about that, but over time I have forgotten about that dream. I just wanted to be a good angel, but no one ever called for my help until tonight. And I know you must stay awake and not remain in this place of darkness.”
Emma was becoming more determined as she pulled on Jimmy’s arms until he was standing. As he stood there he glanced down toward his injured leg. It seemed hard to even tell if it was there. His head began hurting as Emma began slowly helping him up the rocky path. Emma’s halo lit the narrow path before them. Occasionally when they paused to let Jimmy rest, he would look back along the hillside. The searching lights were still there. Emma becoming more confident kept urging him not to pay attention to them. She told him to only concentrate on moving up the hill away from the searching lights.
Jimmy’s head felt as if it were going to burst with each step along the path. Emma kept talking and encouraging him to go further up the hill. She never let him falter even once on the steep path. Her voice was reassuring as it led him on. Jimmy knew morning was coming; he could see the light of the new day in the distant. After what seemed like hours of struggling they topped the hill. Emma helped Jimmy to sit down near a large rock so he could rest. He heard Emma’s voice say, “It’s time to leave the darkness and go home Jimmy.” He was no longer afraid.