ENCOUNTER WITH AN ANGEL
Emily was in high spirits. The difficult delivery had gone smoothly, and she had helped welcome a new life into the world today. As an obstetrician at a maternity center, Emily felt fulfilled, but after a long shift, she was eager to get home.
Her hands were weighed down by a handbag and a grocery bag. Her husband had tried to encourage her to drive so she wouldn’t have to rely on buses when he was away for work, which was often. Despite his driving lessons, Emily just couldn’t do it. She was utterly terrified.
You see, as a child, Emily had narrowly escaped being hit by a car. She still had vivid memories of that terrifying moment. To this day, even riding as a passenger made her uneasy, let alone sitting behind the wheel. Never!
Tomorrow was a day off, and it was also Emily’s 40th birthday. She had chosen not to celebrate it, holding onto superstitions, preferring just a small family gathering at home when everyone was around.
The bus stop was just a short walk away. Emily felt quite weary. Suddenly, she slipped unexpectedly (it always happens suddenly), her foot skidded, and she landed in a soft snowbank with her bags. Amused by her soft landing, she pondered how to stand up gracefully.
“Miss, are you hurt?” A voice came from over her right shoulder. “Can you get up? Let me give you a hand.”
And who was offering a hand? A pleasant gentleman, around her age, with a friendly, calm demeanor and a warm smile.
He easily helped Emily out of the snowbank and brushed the snow from her coat. “You’re always in a rush,” he said with such kindness that Emily felt she had heard that voice before… but no, they hadn’t met before. She thanked him and prepared to leave.
“You’re very tired, Emily,” he said without a smile, but with such concern, as if he knew her intimately. “You’re exhausted; you shouldn’t be.”
“I’ll rest over the weekend. Besides, it’s my birthday tomorrow,” Emily replied. The stranger smiled again.
“Congratulations! I’d like to offer you a gift. Tonight, before you sleep, say, ‘May my life change for the better tomorrow!’ And it absolutely will. Don’t forget!”
“I won’t forget,” Emily smiled.
The stranger bid her farewell and disappeared around the corner just as her long-awaited bus arrived. Home awaited her in its usual state of disarray. The hallway was a mess, and the kitchen sink was piled high with dirty dishes. Toby, the little dog, whimpered next to his empty food bowl, giving her a reproachful look.
Feeding Toby was the first task, followed by a walk. Emily’s daughter had found him two years earlier on the street, promising to take responsibility for him, but after two weeks, the care had fallen to Emily.
Time flew by as she finally finished all her chores. Thankfully, no one there to bug her about the unprepared dinner. Her husband was away on business in another town, and her daughter was visiting her own mother. They’d all be back the next day. He’d warned he wouldn’t make it back in time. She decided to prepare a small celebratory dish tomorrow; for now, she could rest alone.
Being alone was a luxury, free from others’ demands and moods. She could listen to music, read a book… But all she wanted was to sleep.
As she dozed off, she remembered the stranger’s advice, whispering, “May my life change for the better tomorrow.”
Early the next morning, the doorbell was an unexpected surprise. Her husband stood there, beaming like a polished coin, not the usual grumpy expression.
“Hello, my love,” he said tenderly.
Emily was in shock. She hadn’t heard such words from him in ages. She had grown used to his lack of affection, so this was astonishing. And he seemed sober, carrying a sizable bag.
“Happy birthday! I missed you so much, I made arrangements and dashed home. They’ll finish without me,” he said softly.
Emily stepped back, unable to believe it. Steven, her husband, came in, set the bag down, embraced her, and kissed her, murmuring sweet nothings.
Where was the usual grumbling and dissatisfaction? Emily was increasingly amazed. A forgotten sensation of happiness warmed her heart.
Her phone rang with her daughter’s voice: “Happy birthday, Mum! You’re the best, most beautiful, most loved! I’ll arrive by lunch with Grandma, and we’ve got such a wonderful gift for you!”
Then her boss rang to offer last year’s leftover holidays to be taken now. Then friends, an old schoolmate, grateful patients…
Good things were quickly getting normal. Emily felt as if everything had always been this way. The abundance of goodness seemed perfectly natural.
After seeing off her guests, Emily took Toby for a stroll in the nearby park. The stranger from yesterday appeared unexpectedly. “Was it a good day, Emily? Happy birthday!”
“Wait, how do you know my name? We’ve never met before, have we?” Emily asked directly.
“We’ve known each other for 40 years, Emily. It’s hard for you to understand, but try. I’ve been with you since day one. I’m your guardian angel.”
“Remember when you were five and ran onto the road after a ball? Nobody could understand how the truck missed you. You had no chance of surviving. Nobody saw me carry you across the street, but it’s our secret.”
“And when you and your uni friends went to swim, but you twisted your ankle (my work), so you stayed back and avoided a dangerous whirlpool. And yesterday, who cushioned your fall? Had you slipped a minute earlier, you’d have definitely broken your leg.”
“I’m always here, helping quietly and discreetly. I’ll always be around, but… It’s hard with you. You love your husband, your daughter, your mum, friends, patients, but yourself? You don’t love yourself!”
“You shoulder relentless burdens. You don’t love yourself at all and naively expect love from others. It doesn’t work like that! If you don’t love yourself, no one else can; they’ll just take advantage. I broke the protocol and appeared to relay this: you must love yourself!”
“You do seem to know everything about me, but angels should have wings,” Emily doubted.
“And what’s with you humans? Always looking for hidden traps. Didn’t you notice my wide coat?” He opened it, and Emily saw folded wings. “Goodbye now! Time for me to leave,” he said as he vanished in the falling snow.
P.S.
“A fairy tale!” you might say, dear readers.
“A fairy tale,” I’d answer, but this one has a moral.
Love yourself and be happy! That’s my heartfelt wish for you.
