Kirsty was always afraid to look down that large well of visions. Nonetheless, she frequently did it, just to curb any problem that arose or was about to arise… with mental and emotional preparation for the distress they would...
Kirsty was always afraid to look down that large well of visions. Nonetheless, she frequently did it, just to curb any problem that arose or was about to arise… with mental and emotional preparation for the distress they would give her, that is. Not every problem was prevented before it arose, though. After a few attempts at stopping an incoming problem failed, she decided to reduce her time spent at the well to go out and have fun and do other things. That is, until one day, she started glowing white and a voice echoed “Myron and Lindy” in her head, meaning that someone was having a problem. Kirsty raised her eyebrows and softly gasped, worrying if this was something she could’ve prevented. All the angels could choose to have different effects if they wanted to, for not just human alerts but teleportations too. Like sprinkles, fairy dust, and stars surrounding them, or even alarms or regular voices in their heads. Or they could choose to just hear the voices inside their heads without any other effects. Kirsty softly inhaled and faded herself out and then in near the well in her house. The well had a few screens of other people she was guarding. The house she chose was made of soft, colorful, flat clouds for building material. She saw her humans as her best friends even though they didn’t really seem to notice her. She was one of the newest angels in Heaven and was still learning how to be a guardian angel. Keeping watch over people was what the other guardian angels did when anyone was going through a rough time. Kirsty was too confused to do much more than comfort them. She hadn’t yet had lectures from God about the job and didn’t ask Him or the other angels for help. She thought He assumed she should know what to do. Fearing the troubles the well could hold, Kirsty slowly walked over to it with her hands clutching her chest, and looked inside. The visions showed a quarrel in a toy store that made her wish she was stronger in transmitting some helpful ideas to Myron and Lindy, and earlier too. Kirsty’s worries spiked. Christmas had just passed and Myron hadn’t gotten a dog, which he’d wanted for years, nor the toy he wanted, due to tight money. “Dude, that thing still costs a hundred thirty-five dollars. I’m not buying that,” said Lindy. “Please?! You didn’t even get it for me on Christmas! And I really really really really really --” “I know you really want it but it’s too expensive. I can’t afford that right now.” Myron crossed his arms and grumbled, “You had tons more money when Dad was here!” “If you work hard enough, you’ll get enough money to buy it quicker.” “But you only give me seven dollars a week! Not fair! I want more!” He started jumping up and down, and punching and kicking his mom. She grasped his sides and hugged him tight, restraining his arms and legs. Kirsty clasped her head, frantically wondering what to do. But she just felt like she was wasting time. Lindy said, “Myron, there are lots of other toys you can buy.” She looked at the action figures. “Why not just buy a Mysticer and Evil-bearing Mother action figure and battle with them? They’re cheaper.” “No! I want the one that talks and does stuff!” cried Myron. Kirsty climbed into the well to join them in the hug. Later, as Lindy dragged Myron to the car, he kicked and jumped on the snow, trying to break away. “Get me back in the store!” whined Myron. “There’s nothing we can get,” said Lindy. “Yes there is!” Myron screamed and kicked his feet on the ride home, and still tantrumed inside the house. Since his parents’ divorce, Myron had regressed to tantrums and aggression whenever something went wrong. Lindy would hold back tears whenever she tried to calm her son’s tantrums and only cried quietly in her room afterwards. Besides her husband leaving, Lindy’s poor job performance added to the struggle with finances. No matter how hard she tried to work, she still was too depressed to put much effort in. Sometimes she messed up due to being too emotionally distant and confident to ask for help. Kirsty couldn’t take the drama and really wanted to help this family. Kirsty repeatedly mentally transmitted ideas to Lindy’s mind and dreams to find a cheaper toy or game that Myron would love. To find a cheaper pet. To go to support groups that she could afford. She mentally transmitted courage for her to ask a friend for help. Then, she rubbed Lindy’s back, whispering, “It’s ok. Don’t feel frightened. Don’t lose hope. It’ll be ok.”. Kirsty knew that God wouldn’t directly interfere with them, so she just sat on her knees and prayed… prayed for them to be okay. Prayed for them to try. Prayed that God would watch over them and support them. Finally, the day came when God rang the gong, meaning he had a lecture. It reminded Kirsty of the guilt she had, thinking that she hadn’t stepped in enough to help the family. At home, every angel had a speaker in their living room, where they could hear and speak to God and each other. Kirsty sat at her desk where her speaker was. God’s voice boomed over the speaker, “Sometimes we have to let nature take its course. We can’t step in all the time. Human beings have the freedom to make mistakes, and we must allow them to learn from those mistakes, if they can. Some people don’t believe in us anyway, or even know when we’re there. But as angels, it is your duty to help those people. Be their guides and protectors. Comfort them when they’re upset. If you rebel against what you have to do, you end up falling. If you aren’t doing your jobs well enough, then we are less likely to get the positive outcomes we want.” Kirsty beeped the button on the bottom of the speaker. “Yes, Kirsty?” “Was I being too passive when I was helping Myron and Lindy out? If I was, then I’m sorry.” Kirsty bit her lip and clenched her chest, preparing herself for the idea of God shaming her and disappointing Him in front of the other angels. “No apologies,” God replied with a warm smile. “You were doing perfectly.” “But I felt like I could’ve given Lindy the idea to look for out-of-town counseling centers earlier.” “Well, they didn’t know if they should see a therapist before the tantrums started, and they were looking all over for one that they could afford. We have to let people do what they want to do first, before we step in. We can’t rush them. Just let people live out their lives like normal human beings.” Kirsty smiled in pride and nodded. God declared, “If we could, we would miraculously rid the world of evil and diseases, but we can only succeed in a few cases. Because evil people are often too far gone to be fixed or reasoned with. And there are diseases taking over people's bodies, and there is nothing we or doctors can do.” Kirsty clenched her hands, then chest, in significant heartbreak. BEEP! An angel inquired, “Why can’t we make the world a perfect place?” “Because the world isn’t Heaven. Everybody will experience a time where they feel upset. Some people are mean because they have been hurt. And perhaps they suppress their hurt so much or they’re so angry at the things that hurt them that they want to take it out on other people because they cannot control themselves. They think being mean is the only way to let out their anger, because whatever happened in their lives has rotted their minds like spoiled food.” Some of the angels chuckled a bit at the “spoiled food” remark. Soon thereafter, as God was still talking, Kirsty was lying on the back of the chair with her mind wandering back to Lindy and Myron, and what God had said about not being able to cure human afflictions. She tried to keep focus, and tapped her feet and fingers on the chair and twirled her hair. Nevertheless, anxious thoughts kept coming to her head: What toys could Myron get that would be just as cool as that Mysticer kit he wanted? How would she be able to help the people that she’s currently keeping watch on and the ones that she will be watching in the future? Many different ideas kept coming. God asked, “Kirsty, do you want an apple?” Pink clouds appeared, then dissipated near the edge of her desk, revealing a perfectly fresh apple. Its juicy smell was strong. She devoured it whole. There were no seeds or stem. It tasted like candy with enhanced apple juice, better than any apple on Earth. But, she still found herself zoning out. God just shrugged it off, since He was used to angels pondering how they should work in case they wanted to leave early for a quick divine intervention. When the lecture was finished, Kirsty apologized to God for zoning out. “It seems like you can’t handle long, deep lectures, Kirsty,” said God calmly. “I’m sorry, I’ll start trying to handle them better,” said Kirsty, getting a confident idea. On the morning of the next Lecture Day, Kirsty chugged a couple cups of black coffee. In Heaven, even the blackest of coffees tasted sweet and creamy. A sudden burst of energetic inspiration ran right through her soul. She felt like she could take on the day. When she started glowing, she clenched her fists in an attempt to brace herself for the emotional scene she would witness. She marched over to the well to check on a couple. They were one of the few people she was asked to guard due to a death. “You complained about everything with that house! The angle, the emphasis on the shadows, the lighting of the scene…” the woman cried out. “I really don’t know why they couldn’t have shown the house from the front instead of showing it from the side, like it’s high and mighty!” yelled the man. “They do that to show how creepy the house is,” the woman said, quietly. “And that’s the problem! Just like with the shadows and gray tone! Can’t we stop telling people that the setting is creepy straight up and leave it as a mystery for once?” “But it should look creepy because it’s to set the tone and it’s a horror film.” As they continued fighting, they got even more irritated. ‘How could they be so childish? To fight over a movie?’ thought Kirsty. Even though Kirsty pushed down the anger she felt, she was still worried that the conversation was getting too intense. She pushed things off the shelf to distract the couple. Then, she clenched her eyes and head and furrowed her eyebrows. With intense laser focus, she repeatedly transmitted ideas into the couple’s heads to write out their thoughts in a journal and do other positive things besides arguing. “That’s not gonna help, Kirsty.” Kirsty turned around to see God walking before her. She gasped, knowing she must’ve done something that she shouldn’t have, to alarm God. She attempted to brace herself for the idea of falling. “Then, what could help?” “Nothing. But don’t you worry, it’s nothing serious. They’re going to make up.” Kirsty looked down. She quietly lamented, “So… I messed up. I shouldn’t have tried to stop them. I just got in the way, I…” Even though God had something to say, he knew that Kirsty had more to say and calmly waited until she talked it out. “I’m not a good angel. I was supposed to be perfect like all the other angels, and I failed. I daydreamed during your lecture and I got in the way of other humans. I might as well just fall… right?” “While I do think you got a little pushy, I don’t really blame you for trying to stop them. Although, I wouldn’t, because I know arguments happen. They can get heated sometimes, but as long as they’re not serious, they’re going to pass.” “So, I still… made a small mistake.” Kirsty also disliked being like Myron. She thought she was childish like Myron, complaining about things, pressuring people, and daydreaming when bored because she preferred fun and activity. She got down on her knees, clasped her hands, and looked up at God, crying out, “God, please forgive me! How can I get better and be perfect?” “Kirsty, nobody is perfect but me, no matter how “perfect” they try to be,” reassured God. “Plus, you can always come to me or the other angels for help.” “But there are some angels who don’t make mistakes and there are some angels who have fallen. I’m not going to be a fallen angel am I?” “No, that’s only when you disobey me. You’ve never disobeyed me. Every angel makes mistakes, especially in the beginning. You have more flaws than you think, though. You pity yourself easily.” “I do? Why is pitying yourself easily wrong?” “Because when you pity yourself too much, you become lazy, which you already are in a dreamy way. And sometimes pitying yourself too much can cause depression and anxiety, which can become self-destructive, like when you zoned out during the lecture.” Kirsty blushed in epiphany. She never would have thought that her self-pity would be connected to zoning out in class. “But I’m always here to make sure you don’t go down either one of those roads and to help you feel better about yourself. I know what you’re thinking and doing. So, the best thing you could do is try to conquer those flaws even though they may get in the way, because you’re not God. You don’t know everything, and sometimes you get so into your feelings that you can’t make good decisions. You just have to learn from your flaws. Humans and animals have them. But the truth is, you’re a good angel. Now, will you accept yourself for who you are?” asked God. Kirsty was shocked by what God had said about her, but she also felt relief at how patient He was. “God, even though I get bored, you always give wonderful lectures,” said a smiling Kirsty. “Anyway, I will accept myself for who I am. God, can you tell me the parts I missed in the last lecture later on?” God nodded. Kirsty hugged Him and He embraced her back.
Alexandria James is an autistic woman from Champaign, Illinois in the USA. she has self-published and marketed 19 books in the children’s genre. Currently, she is writing many different stories in a variety of genres, age groups, and lengths. Her Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/alexandria.james.31521/ and twitter handle is @author_alex.