The Angel

A Story by Ryzo

A graveyard setting.

David’s woeful eyes gazed upon the gravestones before him.

“I wish you were still here,” he sighed. Birds chirped in an oak tree high above him.

Footsteps came up softly behind David, coming to a stop next to him. As David turned, a firm, but comforting hand was placed against his shoulder.

“Me too kid.” The man exhaled cigarette smoke as his warm words drifted through the cold morning air. “She was brave taking on what she did. Saving us.” He wheezed, stubbing out his cigarette.

“Yeah, Dad. Lucky she came for us when she did. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if she hadn’t.” David croaked, tears rolled down his cheeks.

“What matters is you’re alive, son.” He said, hugging David.

In the distance behind them, David saw a familiar woman wearing a red dress. The woman’s dark locks curled down past her shoulders. Her eyes were alive with delight. David’s father walked towards her. The woman held out her hand to him, his dark coat blowing in the wind as he held out his. They vanished in the distance.

“She would be lost without you though, Dad.” David smiled. Warm memories flooded back to him. The sound of feet racing up towards him stopped the memories in their tracks.

“Hey, you.” The sexton panted. “you shouldn’t be here. This graveyard is closed.” The pot-bellied man bellowed, pointing a podgy digit at David. Before the sexton had let out another word, David spread out his white-feathered wings.

Wide-eyed, the man stumbled over. David smiled, his golden eyes twinkling in the early morning light. The wings shot down into the ground, propelling David high into the sky.

The only evidence of his presence were the drifting white feathers surrounding his parent's gravestones.