found me. How’d you get here?”
“Technically, I’m not dead. My body’s hooked up to a lot of machines. The term for my current state of being is ‘comatose.’”
“If I’m this person you say I am, then why don’t I remember me?” Angel asked.
“Spending time up here eats away at your memory. Many people lose themselves this way. You’ve been here a long time.”
“Who’s my mom?” Angel thought of the photo she’d seen earlier that day.
“Marion is your mom and my wife. You were right, you saw her in the picture.”
“How do you know that?” Angel folded her arms in disbelief. What type of trickery was this man up to?
“I communicate with your mom,” he answered.
“What? How?” Angel had been trying for years to break the barrier with Teresa.
“You’d be amazed at what obstacles a determined woman like your mother can overcome. Not to mention she’s pissed at me.” He smiled sadly.
Angel cringed at the sound of the “p” word. Perhaps this was a reaction from her time in a physical body. She didn’t like cursing, and certainly she hadn’t developed the habit in the flesh.
“How can you be in two places at once?” Angel asked.
“I don’t know. I think my body is in that hospital bed and my spirit is here.” He ran his hand through his hair. “It happened so fast.”
He turned into the cloud and moved closer to Angel as he spoke again. “I use to call you Angel, Angel. Because you’re my angel. I like that you kept that name.”
He placed his hands on Angel’s arms. “Your sister, Teresa, was driving since she’d promised you a trip to the mall. The two of you loved doing things together. I know the radio was playing because the ambulance driver told me the music was still on when he got there.”
He hesitated for a moment. “It was a hit and run, by a suspected drunk driver. You were thrown from the car—either your seatbelt wasn’t fastened, or it didn’t work. You didn’t make it to the hospital. Teresa survived, but she was hurt. I’m sure you’ve seen the scar on her left leg.”
Angel pulled away from his grasp and sat down. “How’d I end up like this? I want to remember!”
“You were supposed to wait here for your mother and go with her.” The man perched across from Angel. “I messed up. I tried to drink myself to death, with a complete disregard for my life and my family.”
“When am I going to remember what happened?” Angel pounded her fists down on her thighs and could almost feel the impact of the blows.
“I know it’ll take some time for the memories to come back. You’re experiencing a sort of amnesia.”
Angel sighed, deflated by the realization she wasn’t going to get what she wanted right now. “Tell me about the woman who sent you to me, the one you say is my mother. Or tell me what she said, or how you learned these things.”
The cloud adjusted to each movement as Angel stood up and put her hands on her hips.
The man pursed his lips. “Your mother told me you stayed behind because you didn’t want to leave Teresa alone. You have free will. She couldn’t force you to go along with her.” His eyes smiled at Angel as he whispered, “You’re a brave young lady, my Angela.”
He reached out to her but she turned aside to avoid his touch—a touch she wouldn’t have felt anyway. “I should’ve been the one to take care of Teresa,” he said. “If I’d handled it better perhaps you’d have felt good about going with your mother and leaving Teresa with me.”
Her jaw dropped as the whole thing began to make sense. She’d been with Teresa all these years. Why else would she have felt a connection with no reciprocation from Teresa?
The man who claimed to be her father leaned in and continued, “I’m sorry. I’ve learned a lot in this life, and most of it the hard way. I’ve hurt many people, but until recently I didn’t recognize how far this ripple of pain had run.”
Angel had to acknowledge he might be
“Technically, I’m not dead. My body’s hooked up to a lot of machines. The term for my current state of being is ‘comatose.’”
“If I’m this person you say I am, then why don’t I remember me?” Angel asked.
“Spending time up here eats away at your memory. Many people lose themselves this way. You’ve been here a long time.”
“Who’s my mom?” Angel thought of the photo she’d seen earlier that day.
“Marion is your mom and my wife. You were right, you saw her in the picture.”
“How do you know that?” Angel folded her arms in disbelief. What type of trickery was this man up to?
“I communicate with your mom,” he answered.
“What? How?” Angel had been trying for years to break the barrier with Teresa.
“You’d be amazed at what obstacles a determined woman like your mother can overcome. Not to mention she’s pissed at me.” He smiled sadly.
Angel cringed at the sound of the “p” word. Perhaps this was a reaction from her time in a physical body. She didn’t like cursing, and certainly she hadn’t developed the habit in the flesh.
“How can you be in two places at once?” Angel asked.
“I don’t know. I think my body is in that hospital bed and my spirit is here.” He ran his hand through his hair. “It happened so fast.”
He turned into the cloud and moved closer to Angel as he spoke again. “I use to call you Angel, Angel. Because you’re my angel. I like that you kept that name.”
He placed his hands on Angel’s arms. “Your sister, Teresa, was driving since she’d promised you a trip to the mall. The two of you loved doing things together. I know the radio was playing because the ambulance driver told me the music was still on when he got there.”
He hesitated for a moment. “It was a hit and run, by a suspected drunk driver. You were thrown from the car—either your seatbelt wasn’t fastened, or it didn’t work. You didn’t make it to the hospital. Teresa survived, but she was hurt. I’m sure you’ve seen the scar on her left leg.”
Angel pulled away from his grasp and sat down. “How’d I end up like this? I want to remember!”
“You were supposed to wait here for your mother and go with her.” The man perched across from Angel. “I messed up. I tried to drink myself to death, with a complete disregard for my life and my family.”
“When am I going to remember what happened?” Angel pounded her fists down on her thighs and could almost feel the impact of the blows.
“I know it’ll take some time for the memories to come back. You’re experiencing a sort of amnesia.”
Angel sighed, deflated by the realization she wasn’t going to get what she wanted right now. “Tell me about the woman who sent you to me, the one you say is my mother. Or tell me what she said, or how you learned these things.”
The cloud adjusted to each movement as Angel stood up and put her hands on her hips.
The man pursed his lips. “Your mother told me you stayed behind because you didn’t want to leave Teresa alone. You have free will. She couldn’t force you to go along with her.” His eyes smiled at Angel as he whispered, “You’re a brave young lady, my Angela.”
He reached out to her but she turned aside to avoid his touch—a touch she wouldn’t have felt anyway. “I should’ve been the one to take care of Teresa,” he said. “If I’d handled it better perhaps you’d have felt good about going with your mother and leaving Teresa with me.”
Her jaw dropped as the whole thing began to make sense. She’d been with Teresa all these years. Why else would she have felt a connection with no reciprocation from Teresa?
The man who claimed to be her father leaned in and continued, “I’m sorry. I’ve learned a lot in this life, and most of it the hard way. I’ve hurt many people, but until recently I didn’t recognize how far this ripple of pain had run.”
Angel had to acknowledge he might be
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