An Angel's Voice

 

An Angel’s Voice

 

            Rya sat in front of the computer with his curser blinking after the first paragraph. The curser continued to blink minutes after minutes as the author tried to think. It was like going on a nature hike in the woods and climbing up a rugged ravine to get to the top, when suddenly he would come across a brick wall and his creativity would come to a halt.
            His last book “An Angel Visit III” was a big seller, but now he was under a lot of pressure from Arizona Publishing to come up with another book, the next installment to the trilogy.
            Suddenly, he saw something shine brightly at the crack of his studio door and turned to see a light that began to grow brighter then it dimmed. Rya walked over to the door and opened it, only to see the corridor of the hallway and the window was open that allowed the bright sun in with the wind blowing the curtain back and forth.
            Rya returned to his computer with disappointment, he thought it was Sarah, his guardian angel, and missed her. He blinked as inspiration filled his mind and he continued typing the story after getting a few more ideas.
            It had been a year since Sarah visited him while he was at his apartment in Hustle and five years since he parted from Alyssa. He thought about Krissy and his first visit with Sarah who helped him overcome the disappointment and Krissy was a disappointment, but that was eight years ago and he had many other women in his life to inspire him.
            Rya logged off his computer after saving the manuscript and left the apartment to take a break. He walked to the park and saw an art show festival that was showing. Rya walked to the fair and looked around at the crafts. He walked up to a nearby snack bar to get a couple corn dogs and sugar donuts. There was a bench nearby and the author sat down to eat, to think about his book.
            The only thing that came to mind was the women that inspired him and that was the one thing missing. It was like making a cake and not having the eggs. He needed some inspiration and as he thought he heard a song from the radio called Celestial.
            Rya finished his food and threw the cartons in the garbage. He walked around to visit with artists. He came across a jeweler and looked at the necklaces in the glass case, one in particular was one that had the face of Jesus. It was three dimensional and He looked magnificent.
            Rya bought it and put it on as he walked to the next vendor who had some cartoon drawings. They were packaged with the price and as Rya flipped through each one on the picture frames as he thought about Sarah. He heard another radio sitting by the register that was playing a song called Sarah
            He smiled when the memory came to him of the time she turned his life around when he was depressed. Then he realized that when he was depressed he thought of Krissy and when he thought of Krissy he became depressed. That was why he was his happiest when he didn't think about her. On the bright side, Krissy leaving the way she did inspired him to keep writing about her and create great stories. He wondered how she was doing? Did she become that important person in her life, did she get married to her one in a millionth man and had ten little Krissys. They probably would look and act just like her and imimated her as the Feminist that she had become. Maybe she got a divorce and become a single mom to five kids and fleeced the husband. The poor man was probably living under a bridge while she was living in her upscale house with a new re-ferbished kitchen that she spent thousands of dollars on with his money. She probably got a fancy degree and was living in a city. Rya continued to look at the cartoon drawings and forgot about her.
            Then he thought of Alyssa and her face stuck in his mind. What a graceful face it was to inspire him to write the second installment. He couldn’t have gotten far without her, but then again maybe he did. After he thought about what she said about how happy she was to have crooked teeth and her compliments to shave her head and wear blue lips stick in high school. Rya began to wonder if she was really right for him at all. Then she shared with him the most disturbing news. When she masterbated on her parent's bed, in their bedroom, and filmed herself jacking off and then put the tape in the VHS tape cover 'Willow'. Anybody want to watch Willow?
Rya started laughing when she told him that, but what should have been a wake up call was when he told her that her dad relayed to her that she was nothing but a slut and that's all she was good for. Not a good thing for your boyfriend at the time to hear. Rya ignored it and it got him in trouble and put him in a lot of pain.
            She really was a whore, going out with her boyfriend and then cheating on him to be with her boss. He found out a few years later from one of her girlfriends that she married him and three years later they got a divorce. So she couldn't have been that great as a girl.
            Sarah was around and made him feel good. He hadn’t quite learned to see her when she was invisible, but earthbound she was as visible as anyone else. When he was able to see her she would smile before disappearing out of thin air.
            He woke up from his thought and moved on to the next artist in the next booth. It was there he saw someone that he never expected to see. She was in her chair with hundreds of illustrations. She had blonde hair that extended to the middle of her back with blue eyes and high cheek bones. His mouth dropped as he saw the identical resemblance to his guardian angel, Sarah.

            Rya could still remember the question he asked Sarah and the answer; finding a human girl who looks like me is like looking for a specific ant out of a million and if she’s not your soulmate then the work is wasted, but I can assure you all is well. Now wake up for the day and live for tomorrow.

            The girl turned her head to Rya and looked at him strangely before smiling and resumed her work. She got off her stool to walk towards him and he could see she was tall, but a few inches shorter than him. The girl was in her mid-twenties with a slender build than his guardian angel.
            “Hi, is there something you like?” she asked.
            “Uh, no I’m sorry. I was just looking at your drawings. I didn’t mean to stare at you like that,” Rya replied and couldn’t believe how her voice was closely matched with Sarah’s.
            “That’s ok,” she replied.
            “Do you have a business card?” he asked.
            “Yes I do,” she replied and she turned around to her desk where she was painting a rose with dew.
            Rya looked at the name on the business card and looked at her, “your name is Sara?”
            “Sara Dawn,” she answered.
            “You’re really good at what you do,” he smiled.
            “Thanks.”
            Then another customer intervened with questions about an illustration, “let me know if you have any questions.”
 
             Rya continued to smile her as she turned away to help the customer with a price.  He flipped through the illustrations and picked two ink illustrations of a dog and cat.  Rya pulled out three water colors of a rose with morning dew, a still life of a barn overrun with tall grass, and an eagle flying in the sky.  Rya raised his hand up and got Sara’s attention to buy them.
           
            “I like your drawings, I’ll probably give you a call for some self-portraits that I want to do.”
            “Ok,” she began.  “You realize you’ll have to make an appointment.”
            “That’s fine,” he answered and left.
           
            Rya got back home, sat in his chair and logged back into his computer.  He smiled as he pulled out the business card, thinking wow, and looked at it with Sara’s face on the right side. Her business’ name was Pen’s and Brushes and the phone number was bold with the word office next to it.
            “I think I’m in love,” he said with a smile.
 
            Rya concentrated on producing his novel and took a deep breath as he listened to some music. He felt relaxed and suddenly heard a strange noise that sounded like harps with the laughter of children. The author opened his eyes to see it was bright in his room and when he turned around he saw someone pulsing with blinding light.
            When the light ceased a young woman with large white wings of a bird looked at him. She had long blonde hair that stretched to her knees, blue eyes, red thin lips and milky white skin. Her wings slowly folded back like a cape and she nodded her head to the writer.
 
            Rya smiled, “hi Sarah!”
            “Hello,” she answered.
            “Hi Rya,” said two high pitched voices that sounded like children.
 
            Rya moved his head slowly to see who was behind Sarah and saw two little angels that were about two feet tall, poke their head out. They had long curly blonde, ruby red lips, cherry cheeks, big eyes and wore white night gowns.
 
            “This is Nixia and Locket. They wanted to meet and help inspire you,” said Sarah.
            “Ok, I’m a little bit flattered, but I’m not sure how children are going to help me.”
            “We’re not children,” insisted Nixia.
            “Yeah, we’re little angels,” ordered Locket.
 
            Rya got up to stretch his legs and realized Sarah was the same height as the other Sara. The two little angels looked a little different; one was masculine like a boy, which was Nixia. Nixia had blue eyes and his lips were fuller. Locket had longer hair and thinner lips with green eyes. Sarah saw Rya’s necklace of Jesus and smiled.
 
 “It’s been a long time,” began Rya as he watched Sarah slowly smile at him.
“Yes it has, but now that we are here we can begin,” said Sarah.
“Begin?” he asked.
“To unleash in your creativity and continue where you left off,” said the guardian angel.
“Yes oh yes, we like to help,” said Locket in her girl high pitch voice as she clasped her hands together.
“Do you remember the visit ?” asked Sarah.
“Yes, like yesterday.”
“You made a promise that you would write this book.”
“Yes, it's about a militia that get's visited by two guardian angels and they have to make a decision to go on a different path or to follow the angels to salvation.”
“Then you've already started,” said Sarah.
“Yes, but I hit a road block,” began Rya. “I don't know what else to write.”
“Give it time, it will come back to you.”
 
            Rya remembered the visit in Heaven with Sarah, Sarrjel and a hundred angels that wanted to meet him. He also remembered Jesus shaking his hand and asking him to write for Him.
 
            “I haven’t forgotten, but I need inspiration,” began Rya as he looked at the little angels who were on their knees looking at him and giggling. “I need my muse,”
            “You need your muse?” repeated Sarah.
            “I also need to ask you something?” asked Rya as he watched Sarah pleasant face retract to an uneasy look.
            “Very well, what do you want to know?”
            “I met someone at an art show; she owns a small art business, looks exactly like you and shares your name.”
            “Really,” said Sarah.
            “Aren’t you a bit surprised,” asked Rya.
            “Yes and No,” answered the guardian angel sternly.
            “Don’t you remember when you first visited that you said the chances of finding someone who is like you is like one out of a million.”
            “Yes, I said that,” replied Sarah.
            “I think she could be my muse.”
            “I think you should concentrate on the novel as promised and let us, the angels, inspire you,” said Sarah.
            “I don’t understand this,” began Rya slowly. “I thought you would be happy for me that I found a human girl that looks like you and probably has your personality.”
            “I strongly advise you to be cautious. She may look like me, but she isn’t me and you can’t find someone who is worth your time that isn’t bottled up with emotions and full of problems.”
            “Bottled up with emotions?” asked Rya.
            “Have you not learned that human girls are emotional creatures and that are easily hurt from past relationships? Move on to better things.”
            Rya nodded his head, understanding and realized it would be best to move on with his work. He could feel Sarah’s energy around his body when she put her hands on his shoulders as he concentrated while typing on the keyboard.
 
            Days passed; Rya woke up one morning to the sight of Nixia and Locket lying next to him on the bed. Rya smiled as they watched him get on the computer to continue the story. Each key stroke and description came hand in hand as the room suddenly burst with light and angels flew around the room. Rya felt himself become caught up in the story and looked at the business card with Sara’s picture. He smiled and decided to put her in the story.
            There was a knock at the door and he opened it to see it was another angel. He went back to the computer and they stood around him touching his shoulder as he continued typing and felt the huge wave of energy run through his body. It was beyond excitement and the passion made his fingers move even faster. He hit the save button quickly as he heard Nixia who was lying on his big monitor let out a scream that followed with a giggle.
 
            “Can you type faster?” she asked.
 
            Rya laughed as the ideas continued to spring up around him as inspiration continued to weave its way in and out of his mind. He remembered the first visit with Sarah and how magnificent she looked. The light was intense and stuck to all the furniture. He smiled as his imagination was set on fire with Sarah’s stern, straight face of what was true.
           
            As his mind continued the feed of creativity he felt that Sarah was reading his mind when she touched his shoulders. He felt energy pulse its way through his muscles and heard her whisper in his ears of what the characters in the book should say.
 
            “I want to see her,” he whispered back.
            “You can’t clone two people to be together,” Sarah whispered.
 
            Rya stopped typing and Sarah took her hands off his shoulders while stepping aside as he turned around. Angels were flying around the bedroom in the form of orbs of light. They were laughing and whispering to each other about the new book. Sarah looked at Rya with a stern look and expected him to challenge her.
 
            “I need a break.”
 
            Rya got up from his chair and felt pain in his butt from sitting so long. He closed the door behind him to get some fresh air outside and sat on the bench. When he got into these days of long writing he would forget what day of the week it was. He knew he made a promise to write this book, but in secret he was avoiding it because he wasn't sure if it would be good.      
           
            “Something wrong?” asked a voice.
 
            Rya turned around to see it was Sarah and she was standing next to him, by the bench. He looked at her and knew that she could sensed something was wrong. This was different than any of the other visits in the past and he knew it would probably be the last visit from her in a long time. 
            “Everything,” began Rya. “I don’t know what else to write about when it comes to God or Jesus. I feel so lost and out of touch as though I don’t know what I’m talking about.”
            “It’s ok, the angels will guide you. ”
            “I want to see her again,” said Rya.
            “Her,” repeated Sarah as she slowly realized who he was talking about.
            “You don’t even know her and you can't help her,” began Sarah. “After you write this novel you’ll help people more people with their doubts that it won't even be funny, it will be a miracle.”
            There was silence as and Rya was looking at the floor when she talked. He looked unhappy and Sarah could tell he couldn’t be kept from love.
 
            “Go to her,” began Sarah. “Maybe I’m wrong and she’s everything you think she will be. Maybe she is more of a woman than that Krissy you fell in love with that hurt you over and over again, maybe this girl will be the one. We’ll still be here for you.”
            Rya smiled as he gave Sarah a hug and felt her powerful energy move throughout his body, “thank you.”
 
            The writer knocked at the studio door of Pen’s and Brushes and it opened. Sara opened the door and looked at him with a discriminating look as though he was someone she didn’t want to see.
            “Hi,” said Rya.
            “Hi,” she replied slowly.
            “I was wondering if I could get a portrait of me drawn today?” he asked.
            “You have to make an appointment, I’m busy with a client today.”
            “Oh ok, do you want me to make the appointment now or do you want me to call?” he asked.
            “Just a minute,” she replied as she closed the door and after a few minutes she re-opened it with a leather spiraled daily planner.
            “Today is Wednesday and I’ve got an appointment for one o’clock in the afternoon,  Saturday.”
            “Great, I guess I’ll see you then,” said Rya, but all he got was a cold look from her.
            “Hey listen I brought one of my books for you to read. Maybe we can collaborate or something, you being an illustrator.”
            “I don’t think so,” she replied.
            “Would you like to read it?”
            “No.”
            “Well how about after you draw me a portrait we go out for coffee and you can share with me your drawings.”
            “I have a boyfriend,” she answered.
            “Oh, uh ok, I guess I’ll see you on Saturday,” he replied.
            “Make sure you carry cash, I don’t accept checks,” she ordered and closed the door in his face.
            Rya stood there for a minute and looked around. He couldn’t understand why he was being treated like a piece of shit. He thought she would be more like Sarah, his guardian angel, but it was obvious she wasn’t. He turned around to go to his car and whispered, “wow she's a fucken super bitch.” 
            Rya walked into his apartment to see the angels looking at him. He turned the computer on and walked into the kitchen to make something to eat. Sarah walked into the kitchen and he could feel her energy. Sarah opened her wings a little as she reached with her hand while taking a deep breath. She touched the center of his chest while pressing her hand against the middle of his back.
            “What are you doing,” he growled.
            “You’re full of negative energy,” Sarah whispered while watching him take a deep breath with his eyes closed.
            “I take it your meeting didn’t go as planned?” she said while pushing her hand into the muscle and then holding it.
            “No it didn’t, ouch ow ow,” his eyes opened while he whimpered in pain. “She’s definitely got a problem, I think she hates men. I think she's definitely got the rest bitch syndrome.”
            “I don’t think she hates men,” began Sarah calmly. “Every human treats their pain differently than the other. Human girls tend to become cold after giving their hearts to a man who break them.”
            “Is that what happened to Sara Dawn?” asked Rya. “Some guy comes along and takes her in his arms and then drops her from a helicopter on a busy freeway to watch her get ran over.
            “Possibly,” answered Sarah. 
            “All this time you could have told me that she had a broken heart and that she was fucked up in the head I could have approached her differently.”
            “I tried to warn you, in fact I did tell you that she was a mess but you didn't listen,” said Sarah seriously, then the little angels started laughing.
            “I’m sorry,” replied Rya.
            “Are you going to leave her alone and concentrate on the book?”
            There was a silence and Rya smiled as he looked at her serious look, “how about I work on the novel and continue to see her.”
            “You really like her. Does she have a boyfriend?” asked Sarah.
            “Yes, but I think after she gets to know me she’ll dump him.”
            “Let me ask you this? Are you in love with her because she looks like me or are you hoping she’ll start acting like me?”
            “Let’s work on the book,” replied Rya as he ignored her question and opened the fridgerator to make a sandwich.
 
            The days passed and Rya was busy typing each word with the creative aspirations of what was going on around him. He could hear the angels talking to each other and their whispers sounded like wind chimes. Nixia and Locket were laughing as little children laugh when there was something amusing to watch. Rya began to smile as he felt Sarah behind him, whispering to him when he began to slow down in creativity. His eyes closed as he felt her relaxing energy against his shoulders.
            “Concentrate on how they feel rather than what they do in this part,” whispered Sarah as she kneeled down next to his left shoulder.
            Rya opened his eyes, deleted the last paragraph and closed his eyes for a minute to think of the words before re-writing them. He took deep breaths while concentrating his energy in the angels helping the humans fight the demons. Rya opened his eyes and began typing and moved faster until he got to the part of Sara’s character, then he went blank and couldn’t move past it. He didn’t care about how Sara treated him in real life, but how important was she to him in this novel? Why was she even in the novel? The answer was because she was his muse.
 
            “You must work past this part if you want to have this person become a character in your story,” whispered Sarah.
            “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”
            “I do,” said Sarah.
            “Write something about us slaying the fallen angels,” said Jerry as he walked up behind the writer and watched Rya turn his head from Sarah to the smiling archangel.
 
            There was a knock at the door and Rya answered it with Sarah to see the hallway filled with angels with Sarrjel in the front. Archangel Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Arial, Metatron and Shekinah were present. Rya smiled and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
 
            “We heard you were back from your visit with your friend and we came back to help you,” said Sarrjel.
            “You and others came back to see this through?” asked Sarah.
            “Yes,” answered Sarrjel.
 
            Rya backed away as he gestured his head to invite his celestial friends into his room.  There were close to a hundred angels and Rya got back on the computer to focus on the novel. 
            Sarah lowered her head to his ear, “remember, an angel fights for justice, love, honesty and freedom. Angels don’t make deals with the devil or waste their ten second miracles on fools.”
            Rya nodded as he continued typing and heard the Celtic music move his mind as the angels turned into waves of light moving through the air with the sound of laughter. Rya heard Nixia and Locket giggling as they leaned next to him, holding on to his arms like little kids wanting attention.
 
            “Nixia, Locket you must let him be,” commanded Sarah.
            “I like his energy! When he writes I feel attracted to it like honey. Can’t we embrace it?” asked Nixia.
            “No, you mustn’t siphon his energy,” ordered Sarah. “The energy he emits must be left alone so that he may continue.”
            “Can we stand next to him?” asked Locket.
            “Yes, but only for a little longer,” continued Sarah as she heard Rya laughing at the way she talked seriously to the little angels.
 
            The days passed and it was Saturday. Rya woke up to hear Sarrjel and Sarah talking to each other about him. Their voices were light, similar to whispers, but he could still hear them.
 
            “Things are going well, but they’re not moving as quickly as I like,” said Sarah.
            “Is there any more we can do?” asked Sarrjel as she watched Sarah laugh.
            “No, the novel will be finished and our time will be over.”
            “Is there something troubling you?” asked Sarrjel.
            “Yes, but I won’t speak of it now.”
 
            Rya rose out of bed and looked at the two angels who were looking at him. Sarrjel  looked at him with admiration the same way that Sarah did and it was weird how they acted alike but were angels.  Sarah nodded her head and smiled at him because she was happy he was awake.
           
            “Hey, what’s up with you?” asked Rya as he rubbed the sleet from his eyes and yawned.
            “Nothing,” said Sarah with a smile.
            “Well, I’ve got to go. Jerry needs to meet with me,” said Sarrjel as she looked at Rya.      “I’ve got to go my dear sir, but I’ll be back to see this book through,” smiled Sarrjel.
 
            Sarrjel left by opening her wings and flew through the ceiling of his apartment. The room was dark, but then his eyes widen when Sarah opened her white wings and light emerged from the computer and the furniture in his room. He got up to look at everything dim and Sarah’s wings closed as the light returned to the appliances.
 
            “What were you and Sarrjel talking about?”
            “A private conversation,” she answered.
            “Tell me, please. It’s important for me to know.”
            “When people of your world learn from the past there will be no need for angels and humans will rely on their creativity as true essence. Your book will show people the light to a better way of living life. Like a mirror, one must look at to see themselves in a positive light.”
            “I don’t want you to leave,” replied Rya.
            “I’m not leaving you. The world still needs us, as of now.” said Sarah as silence followed and Rya got up.
            “I’ve got to get ready for my meeting,” said Rya.
            “You should heed my warning that this girl isn’t right for you.”
            “I’ll be the judge of that. I think I could change her mind,” replied Rya as he got dressed  and walked past Sarah.
            “Rya,” began the guardian angel.
            “What?” he asked as he turned around to look at her and saw a slow smile emerge.
            “Good luck.”
 
            Rya pulled into the parking spot in front of Pens and Brushes. He was dressed up in fine clothes and his hair was styled. A dozen things were going through his mind before he got to the door. He was nervous and hoped that he could make a better impression than he did before.
 
            He knocked on the door and waited a few minutes until the blonde hair girl answered the door, “hi, you’re on time. Come in.”
            “Thanks,” answered Rya as he followed Sara up a set of stairs to a room that resembled an office and living area.
 
            There was a brown couch, love seat, coffee tables with a lamp on each one. The author looked at the walls to see it was painted in black and white and designed with pictures of people’s faces, horses and trees.
            Sara sat down and Rya looked at her as she pulled out her daily planner, “we’re going to discuss the payment today.”
            Rya pulled out his novel “An Angel Visit” and set it on the table near the lamp. He was planning to show it to her when the time was right.
            “Yes,” answered Rya as he looked at her long hair and blue eyes when she looked up at him from the daily planner. “I brought cash today.”
            “Good, I charge one-hundred dollars an hour for a nineteen by thirty-two inch. Anything larger than that I’ll be charging two-hundred dollars. Do you want it in black and white?”
           
            Rya looked at her her for a second as though she was out of her mind, but then realized that he did't want to ruin his chance to be with her, “black and white is fine.” 
            “Ink or paint?” she asked.
            “Ink,” replied Rya.
 
            Rya was led into the back and sat on a chair to watch her sit down on a stool with the canvas in front of her, “I need you to keep your eyes on me.”
            “How long have you been doing this?” 
            “For a while,” she answered.
            “I like your studio,” complemented Rya.
            “Thanks,” she answered.
            “Where are you from originally?” he asked
            “I grew up in New York City and moved here to start over,” she replied.
            “Start over from what?” he asked and heard a two minute hesitation from her.
            “Never mind,” she answered. 
            “I can understand the idea of wanting to start over. When I moved to Rice Lake I wanted to start over as well.”
            “Uh, huh,” Sara replied as she focused on painting the canvas.
 
            Rya looked at Sara and could see her looking at him. He remembered so many memories of Sarah his guardian angel that he wanted to experience it in real life.  He tried not to smile or blink, but it was irresistible.
 
            “I think drawing a picture is very intimate, especially when I do water color or write my novels, its like being in a long love affair,” said Rya. “Have you ever been in love?”
            “I need you to be quiet so I can concentrate.”
 
            Rya felt a rough feeling come over him and the pinch in his shoulder came back with a vengeance. He could tell she was angry with him by the tone in her voice, but it seemed it had something to do with her boyfriend. Then he began thinking that maybe she wasn’t getting any love from him, that was the reason why she was bitter.
            Four hours went by and Rya was feeling restless. He was sitting in a chair and not able to move, having to stare at the person he wanted to fall in love with, but felt like the scum of the Earth. 
            “Ok, I’m finished,” announced Sara.
            Rya got up from his chair and walked over to see his self-portrait, “wow that’s good!”
            Sara looked at him with a smile, “then I take it you approve of it.”
            “Are you kidding me? I should hire you to illustrate my novels. This drawing is so good!” he complemented as he looked at her smile slowly diminish to a straight face.
            “This is not a drawing, it’s an illustration. The proper term that an illustrator uses is illustrating. If you want someone to draw you a self-portrait then hire a sixth grader.”
            “Uh, I’m sorry. I completely forgot my terminology. I’m an artist to; maybe we could help each other,' stammered Rya.
            “I don’t think so,” she replied and led him to the waiting room. “I’ve got an appointment.”
            Rya pulled out his wallet and paid her, “Thanks for your time, are you sure we couldn’t go out for a cup of coffee?” he asked.
            “I’ve got a boyfriend,” replied Sara as she showed him the door.  “Thanks for your business.”
 
            The next day Rya woke up and rubbed his eyes. It was Sunday and for some reason he couldn’t relax and sleep in. He quickly grabbed a notebook; wrote the dream and song in his head. 
            He got out of bed and made breakfast. He sat at the table and had eaten six grapefruits, but all he could only think about was yesterday and how much pain he was feeling. Was this some sort of curse that someone put on him? He thought to himself.
            The woman of his dreams was next door to him, but had a boyfriend. Sarah was none supportive of all of this and it seemed it was because this woman wasn’t perfect, but what was perfect?   
            Nobody would ever be perfect and the only thing that mattered was being happy. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder and Sara could share some happiness with him, even if it wasn’t his guardian angel.
            Rya sat in front of his computer while listening to his music of gregorian chants and closed his eyes to relax. When he re-opened them he took a deep breath to read through notes for the book. He knew he could get through a good chunk of the story today. 
            Then he began typing where he left off. Rya got into his main character’s feelings and knew what their goals were. He felt like he was re-living the dream in Heaven, when all the angels were singing in unison like a choir. There were angels that took the form of staircases and walls that contributed in a beautiful harmony of music.
            Minutes turned to hours and he was typing really fast while feeling the burning in his chest that was like a drum role as each character fought in battle to achieve their objective. The he got to the climax of his book when his character named Sara got shot and how his character became angry for losing her.
            Rya remembered his past of loss and expressed his feelings of how he felt when he was younger in tough times that transferred to his main character screaming her name. He remembered the pain in the world of Nazi Germany and the extermination of the Jews, which reflected his book of the militia fighting against the antagonist. They were re-claiming their heritage against the elite who wanted world domination. The pictures in Rya’s mind fluttered like a quick animation of bodies upon bodies being moved by tractors as though they were rag dolls.
            Tears welled in his eyes as he remembered the past wars. Senseless wars and socialized programs for the social good by elected professional politicians. It made Rya angry when reading history that government officials aren’t elected, they’re selected, a quote said by Benjamin Franklyn. He could remember every word from each president who stated they were doing the social good out of National Security with each war they conducted. War is never right, but when it starts it ends in bloodshed.
            Rya remembered from interviews with church fathers who lived on the fringe talk about The Book of Revelations and that the Anti-Christ would rise to power after The Rapture. It seemed like the one-world-government was on top of the agenda. Rich intellectuals and bankers who are part of a small elite group of people would stop at nothing to end the sovereignty of countries.
            They would do this by destroying the country’s economy and creating problems that never occurred. Rya could already see this happening in the United States, the last free country with ten amendments that could never be taken away. The real problem wasn’t terrorism or communism from other countries, but the politicians that had control in all three branches of government to target their own people.
            Rya took a deep breath as he tried to control his anger and thought back to the visit he had with Jesus. Jesus told him that his teachings were corrupted and wanted him to set things right.
            With all the hate in the world; the need for control by politicians and the church, Rya somehow realized what He was talking about. Jesus wasn’t just spreading the word of God. He was helping the Jews rise from their knees to become one with God and be a part of The Kingdom of God. The teachings Jesus was talking about for The Old Testament weren’t threatening and Jesus was only trying to show the light, but the church felt He was threatening to them. Jesus was looked upon as a huge threat because he was teaching the peasants to think for themselves.
             Now it made sense; there was now technology to inject a computer chip into a person’s hand so the criminal elite could control people. A world government would have control over the world population and decide who would live and die.
            Then Rya realized something terrible, a world government would have control over the authors of the world. There would be no First Amendment right and authors would be imprisoned for speaking their minds and have their books burned like Adolph Hitler had done in Germany.
            Rya stopped typing and got up to stretch as he thought about the nightmare. It became clear that he was writing from the heart and that was what Jesus wanted. Jesus told him that he could stand proud as His follower and become a leader. His teachings would be disliked by authority because it was all about freedom; doing what you loved and doing what you feel is right. 
            There was a burst of light and Rya turned around to see it was Sarah. She looked at him and smiled as he did the same.
 
            She looked the same as she always did, “is everything ok, you look troubled.”
            “No I’m fine, I get flustered when I write and my mind picks up things in human history that make me angry,” said Rya as he watched his guardian angel nod her head.
            “Human history is full of pain,” began Sarah. “But there is a lot of joy, love and happiness with each human being.”
 
            Rya looked at Sarah as he took a deep breath and sat in front of his computer to get back into the novel. He had worked so hard that he lost track of the time and how big it got. He would have to go back to the beginning of the book to make changes, but it was full of action.
            Sarah leaned her face up to his ear and touched his shoulders with her hands as her wings open up. She knew he was working hard on the book and looked exhausted. Rya closed his eyes as he felt her energy relax his shoulders while he heard a light ringing in his ears.
 
            “How is the book?” she asked.
            “It’s about three quarters of the way finished.”
            “Good, how soon can you get it finished?” she asked.
            “I don’t know, I have writer’s block.”
 
            Then there was a knock at the door and Rya answered it with Sarah next to him. It was all the archangels from the last visit. There was Sarrjel, Michael, Gabriel, Jerry, Haniel, Uriel, Ariel, and many others. They were smiling and Rya as he let them in, but he wasn’t happy. They all marveled around the computer and looked at the novel that was about them. Rya was inundated with complements and handshakes from angels of all shapes and sizes.
 
            Sarah picked up on it and touched his arm, “what’s the matter?”
            “Nothing,” he began in a whisper.
            “I need everyone to leave!” Sarah announced.
 
            The angels turned around to look at Rya and left the room. The angels waved good-bye including Nixia and Locket who were being carried out by Sarrjel. After the last angel left Sarah waited to hear what Rya had to say.
 
            “I’m completely exhausted! I’m burnt out and need rest,” replied Rya.
            “Then rest, you can pick up where you left off tomorrow.”
            “It’s not that simple, I’m still thinking about her,” said Rya.
            “You’re thinking about Sara?” asked Sarah. “We’ve talked about this before and you wouldn’t listen. How did your meeting go?”
            “It didn’t.” 
            “Why, what happened?” asked Sarah.  
            Rya looked at his guardian angel with a frustrated look and then looked away, “everything went wrong.”
            “I showed up to get my self-portrait done. We talked and then I asked her if she wanted to go out for dinner or coffee and I got the same shnubby attitude.”
            “Shnubby?” asked Sarah confused.
            “Snobby,” replied Rya as he looked at his guardian angel.
            There was a few minutes of silence before Sarah spoke, “what exactly did you two talk about?”
            “I smiled and said hi,” began Rya as he watched Sarah nod her head.
            “We talked about the book “An Angel Visit”, then we talked about the billing and I sat in a chair for four hours. I asked her where she was from and she told me New York City. She told me she wanted to start over. I asked her from what and she said never mind.”
            Rya stopped and realized he might have asked too many questions, but they were harmless.
            “She didn’t like it because she felt interrogated. Sometimes the pain is so deep that the only to feel like you are getting over it is to pretend it doesn't bother you, but the wound is still there and it's still deep, getting an infection.”
            “Are you saying that she was physically abused?”
            “No, I'm saying that some human girls never heal from love and it never heals right. If it isn't addressed correctly it can create a barrier that will not allow anyone to get through,” said Sarah.
            “But all I did was bring in my book and ask where she was from,” said Rya. “I didn't mean anything by it.” 
            “You probably shouldn’t have brought up your novel and asking those questions about starting over is none of your business.”
            “Well, what am I suppose to do? Bendover backwards?” asked Rya. “I like her and I wanted to get to know her. I can’t do that without asking questions.”
            “I know.”
            “Well, what do you suggest?”
            “I don’t know,” replied Sarah.
            “Can’t you,” began Rya as he watched Sarah nod her head. “Can you make her fall in love with me?” asked Rya.
            “No,” said Sarah.
            “Please, there must be some way you can put a spell on her.”
            “I can not interfere in the free will of humans. I can only grant small miracles and heal those that are in pain,” said Sarah.
            “She’s important, she could help me finish the book and make this novel better than the previous novels before, help me,” cried Rya. “You want me to beg?” asked Rya as he began to get on his knees.
            Sarah looked at Rya with a stern look, “this woman is important to you?”
            “Yes.”
            “She’ll inspire you to finish the novel?”
            “Yes, I promise. I’ve never been more certain and clear about this than anything in my entire life. I never expected to meet someone like her. How often do people get to meet their soulmate angel?”
            “I don't think she's your soulmate. Don’t be fooled, you don’t know her, you’re only comparing her to me. This human girl has a soul; she has a family back home and was raised in a way that was unlike your upbringing. I don’t have a soul and my only purpose is to guide you safely through life and get you to where you need to be,” answered Sarah firmly.
            “She’s the one and I could learn from her as I have from you. If you do nothing and stand by to watch me lose her, I’ll be in anguish in my own personal hell. I won’t want to wake up and the book will never be finished, is that what you want?”
            “No,” began Sarah. “But I’ll see what I can do, but I make no promises. Now stand up on your feet and not on your knees. Get back into your work.”
                                   
            Rya got up on his feet and watched Sarah open her wings as bright light emerged from her body and retracted from the room in the form of a basketball sized orb with light in the form of wings. She was gone and Rya looked around feeling a little hopeful that he would have a bright future. He turned his head to the lampstand and saw the business card with Sara’s face on it smiling and he smiled back.
            Rya looked around his dark, lonely room with only himself. All the bright white light was gone and he looked at the time to see it was four o’clock in the afternoon. He yawned and began to feel tired as he realized he would have much to look forward to tomorrow with more writing and Sarah would return with good news.
            He changed into his pajamas and slid under the warm covers. At first he couldn’t concentrate because of the people he could hear outside the apartment. Then he felt his feet relax and his heart beat slow down as he drifted asleep.
 
            Rya took a deep breath and opened his eyes to see he was back home at his apartment in Rice Lake. There was no sign of his Landlord and roommate, but then he got a strange feeling that he traveled back in time to when he was going to college. He was reliving the moment of when he met Krissy his soul mate that inspired him to write “An Angel Visit”.
            Rya smiled and couldn’t believe it, now he had the chance to set things right with Krissy. This was his chance to make things right and bring Krissy closer to him.
            He walked outside to his old beater car and pulled out the keys from the empty ash tray. He backed out of the drive way and drove to where Krissy worked. He got out of his car and took a look around at the Wal-mart parking lot. It was the same as he remembered it.
            He walked inside to look around and walked straight to the clothing section and saw a young girl with black dyed hair with her original brown hair parted from the middle of her head. Rya walked close with a smile and when she turned around he could see the cute brown eyes behind her black rimmed glasses. She smiled at him and Rya could still remember everything about her. Now they would re-live the hours of kissing in his apartment and making out in her Ranger. She was so sexy in her work uniform and now he could change the past by preventing her from leaving him to go to Madison.
 
            “Hi,” he said.
            “Hi,” she replied.
            “I was thinking about you all day and wanted to know if you wanted to come over after you were finished with work.”
            “Yeah, I’ll be done in a few hours,” Krissy smiled and looked at him with her broad bottom lip puckered out. Her lips were succulent and firm to kiss that he couldn’t resist them. Whenever she smiled it was so sexy that it drove him crazy.
           
            Rya waited at his apartment for Krissy and when he heard the knock at the door he opened it to see her looking at him. She was wearing different clothes and her hair was down. The writer invited her in and he touched her shoulders while they kissed. He closed his eyes as he felt his heartbeat faster and with a smile he brought her into his room and closed the door.
            He took off her glasses and immediately saw Sarah with the shape of her eyes and face. He remembered that in the time ahead they would be making out at her Blue Ranger. Rya touched her face and felt her fingernails tickle his chest. He didn’t want to let her go and he didn’t want to be hurt.
            They lied on the couch after hours of making out and after they had sex he looked at her. She was so beautiful, so full of life and endurance. They were on the same side of destiny and were perfect for each other.
 
            “I’ve got to go,” she whispered.
            “Stay with me,” Rya begged as he remembered that in time she would be leaving to go to Madison to become important.
            “I’ll be back tomorrow,” she assured with a smile.
            “I don’t care, I want this to last forever. I want this life for both of us to be like this instead of my other life,” he commanded.
            “What are you talking about?”
            There was silence and Rya felt the weight of her question sit on his shoulders,” I want you to cancel your trip to Madison and stay with me.”
            “How did you know I was going to Madison?”
            “We could have a golden life together,” Rya begged as he watched her get up from the couch and button her shirt.
            “I can’t stay in your room forever. My parents are expecting me home, come and follow me,” she insisted while taking his hand and walked to the door.
            Rya hesitated as he realized that she was leaving to go home. He could hear his soul screaming, “don’t go!” Krissy kissed him and when she was finished she looked at him.
            “I promise I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll talk about this.”
 
            Rya looked at her sadly and knew it was the end of a beautiful moment in his life. She looked at him sadly as the door closed and when it slammed shut he felt a pain in his chest.
            He watched as the blue Ford Ranger backed up from his driveway and he wiped his eyes. He saw his ghostly image of a soul run from his body screaming her name, begging her to stay. That’s the way it should have been, a life with her instead of her moving to Madison to date and marry some other guy or rather a couple losers. Now he was just some chapter out of a book in her life and she would would be looking forward to the new chapter without him.
            The writer turned around to walk to his room and when he opened the door he entered his apartment in Almond. At first he looked around in confusion as to how he got here, but then he heard the shower running. A smile emerged as he realized he had a chance at saving his relationship with Alyssa. He remembered how it ended and now he could change it. He could make it the way it should have been, the way it was supposed to be. He could heal a brokenheart, a shattered heart for girl he loved and wanted to marry. The shower turned off and he decided to sit on the couch. He missed Alyssa and remembered how beautiful she was while they made love. The sound of her laughing as well as her humorous jokes was a blessing because it is how angels light the way.
           
            There was a strange loud noise that sounded like air shooting from a hose and Rya walked over to see what it was. He looked out the window to see a large semi with a trailer that said Steiner on the side. A couple was moving into their new home and starting a new life together. He was thinking that could be them, moving into their new home and starting their new life.
            The bathroom door opened and his girlfriend walked into the living room. Her hair was wet and was hair sprayed with the rich smell of LA Rebellion. The scent alone imprinted the writer’s brain and made him think about the mistake he made of going off on her when she wanted space. He shouldn’t have over-reacted by coming to her house to take the jacket he gave her and his dream book.
    
            “Did you still want to visit my parent’s house?” she asked.
            Rya remembered the phone call from her that triggered the break up and didn’t want to face it again,” what day is it today?”
            “Saturday,” she answered.
            “I want to stay home,” he replied while walking towards her with a smile.
            “I told my mom we would be up there in a few hours.”
            “It can wait,” he whispered as he drew close to her.
            “What’s the matter?” Alyssa asked as she looked at him with a peculiar look. “You’re acting really strange.”
            “You were always beautiful, even when I first met you, but now you’ve blossomed into this perfect woman in search of her perfect man.”
            “You’re making me blush,” she replied.
            “Let’s spend the day together,” insisted Rya.
            “Ok,” she replied. “Let me call my mom to let her know we cancled.”
           
            They spent the day together by going to amusement parks, nature hikes, having deep meaningful conversations. Rya felt he made the right decision of changing his behavior and making their relationship a priority. The hours that passed they watched a movie and made out instead of watching it.
            They got back to his apartment and Rya felt the strong bridge between them, that was stronger than before. He knew she was in love with him and the best way to make him a better person as well as a better writer was to marry her. Time would tell and so would Alyssa if she was ready for this change.
 
            “I want to make love to you,” he whispered while looking at her before he opened the apartment door.
 
            Her mouth dropped as her green eyes stared at his with a surprised look on her face. The Rya she knew never acted this way and she was never treated like a queen by other men, even though she was a queen.
            “Ok, what’s going on? Why are you so sweet and Casa Nova like?” she asked, but only got Rya’s shrug as he walked closer and held her.
“That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. I’m romantically and old fashionly in love with you,” she whispered as they slow danced inside his apartment even though there was no music on.
 
            Rya closed the door to his bedroom and they made love that night. He traced his fingers over her face and remembered every curve of Alyssa’s body. She was so sexy and he never forgot about how she smiled at him when they were making love. It was amazing as to how they were able to support each other mentally, physically and emotionally. Rya could definitely see her as his wife soon and she would be his queen inspiring him to write more books.
           
            The next morning Rya opened his eyes when he heard Alyssa whisper in his ear, “I’m the master.”
            “Darling you can be the master as long as you’ll be my queen,” he turned his head and smiled at her as he thought; this is working I can prevent our breaking up in the months ahead that came with the relationship going sour.
            They both took a shower together and were kissing and rubbing each other’s bodies with a bar of soap. It was a romantic to kiss each other while feeling water hit their faces. He could feel her hands touching his back while he rubbed the back of her neck with a bar of soap and held each other. He didn’t want it to end and could sense that Alyssa didn’t want it to end either.
 
            They doorbell rang, Rya had just made breakfast and they were deciding how to spend the day. There was a lot of laughing and they talked about what they wanted to do. Rya didn’t expect what was going to happen next.
            He opened the door to see a three-hundred pound fat girl that was the same height as him, “is Alyssa there?”
            “Uh, who are you,” he asked, but all he got was silence. “Excuse me.”
           
            Rya closed the door and walked to his room where he saw his beloved soon to be wife hiding in the shadows, “there’s someone here to meet you.”
            Alyssa said nothing and looked like she was anxious of the meeting. Then suddenly there was an outburst of crying at the door. Rya ran over to the entrance of his apartment to see it was a large man that was six-foot four two-hundred pounds, Alyssa’s ex-boyfriend.
            Alyssa went to the door and watched him cry her name at the door, begging her to come back to him. Minutes went by and Rya watched them argue in the parking lot. She came back to the apartment and closed the door; she kissed Rya on the lips.
 
            “Rya, I want you to know you’re my boyfriend, but I’ve got to go with them,” said Alyssa.
            “I came back for you, to make things different for us, for our relationship.”
            “You came back? What does that mean?” she asked.
            “Nothing,” said Rya realizing that she didn’t understand that he was coming back to prevent their break up only to witness it fall apart in a way that he didn’t expect.         “Please don’t go, I love you and I can give you more!”
            “I know, but I’ve got to go,” she said and left.
            Rya watched in slow motion as she got into her ex-boyfriend’s car and pulled out. His soul jumped out of his body screaming, “No don’t go!”
             It didn’t matter, there was some unknown entity that prevented them from being together and it wouldn’t have mattered if he tried to make things the way they should’ve been.
            The writer felt a big pain in his heart. He slammed the door and punched the wall as hard as he could, but it didn’t do any good getting angry over something he couldn’t change. All of a sudden, something startling happened and it gave him goosebumps.
            The room became dark and when he tried to turn on the light, there was no response. He looked around at the walls and saw red eyes on the walls, looking at him. Dark flying things began to move through the air and the dark became darker.
            Abruptly, he heard echoes of the phone ringing outside his apartment. Then his phone rang and he stumbled through the dark to reach it, hoping it was the electric company telling him they were fixing the problem.
            “Is Justin there?” said the voice that sounded like Alyssa and it kept repeating over and over again.
            “NO!” screamed Rya as he slammed the phone against the wall and then felt something was wrong.
             He touched his shirt to feel it was wet on his chest and then stuck his hand under his shirt to feel a big punctured hole where his heart was. He collapsed upon the floor with his knees and stared at the ceiling waiting for death to take him.
            Every breath was quick as he tried to recapture what happened, but then something happened as memories flashed of Krissy and Alyssa leaving his life.
            A burst of light came through the ceiling, and a comforting voice echoed through his mind, “if she was your soulmate she would have stayed with you.”
            The orb of light transformed into Sarah and she put her hand on Rya’s chest. Rya got up and stood in front of her. She picked him up in her arms and flew through the ceiling. They flew through the air, past the clouds and soon they were in the heavens.
            Rya opened his eyes wide to see that Sarah was gone and he was floating. He took control of his course and began flying faster. The stars became a blur and for minutes he looked down. He was looking at a face, the face of Krissy. Her hair was black, her skin was white and when her eyes open she smiled at him. Then her face changed, slowly and gradually to look like Sarah with blue eyes and her wings opened up from her back.
            Sarah’s face changed again to reveal Alyssa’s face and black curly hair with soft white skin. Rya touched her face and kissed her just before she smiled at him. It was hard to comprehend who was who, but he felt like he was part of these women, he was in love with them.
            Then Alyssa’s face changed slowly and gradually to look like Sarrjel. She held his body with her strong arms and opened her wings to go over his body. Rya touched Sarrjel’s back and could feel the archangel’s wings move back and forth. She was real and cared for him as much as Sarah.
            When it was over Rya found himself in a familiar place. Sarrjel vanished from thin air, leaving him alone. He looked around at the staircases and clouds that was his home to the angels.
             He was in the very spot that he talked to Jesus. There were no angels and only the staircase where Jesus had walked down with Raphael and Michael. Rya looked around to see large pictures in golden frames flying around the air and suddenly he felt someone touch his shoulder.
           
            It was the Lord himself and Rya gave Him a hug. He owed his life to Him when he was in trouble. The Prince of Peace laughed and touched Rya’s face, “how are you?”
            “Lousy.”
            “That’s not good,” Jesus answered.
            “There is nothing here for me. There is no love there is only trash,” said Rya.
            “Sure there is, love is good for everyone.”
            “Well the last two meaningful relationships have been disappointing the few after that have been a drop in the bucket. I tried to change those two relationships and they still failed.”
            “You can’t change history and you can’t change the course of human nature. Be accepting of Sara’s mis-fortunes and just listen to her. You may find out that just by being a good listener is all you need to be.”
            “How did you know about Sara?”
            Jesus pointed to hundreds of oracles that floated around them both that showed parts of his life at birth all the way to the present. Rya looked at one oracle that showed him as a newborn baby being held by Sarah. Rya touched the golden frame. His mind witnessed the power of being in that time period and experiencing everything.
            “Beautiful Soul,” whispered Sarah as she was interrupted by Sarrjel, Nixia and Locket as well as other angels. “We'll keep him safe.”
            “Yes, we will,” said Sarrjel she touched the baby’s head and watched it laugh.
 
            Rya pulled himself away from the frame and watched it fly away. He felt his heart flutter fast like a humming bird. Then he turned his head to Jesus as another frame flew to him and showed an old man with a long grey beard and hair. Rya touched it and lived a moment in his possible. He was over a hundred years old and had countless number of books published that were sitting on a shelf nearby, but he was alone, simply alone with nobody left alive to share his heart in his glory.
            Rya pulled himself away and right away felt a part of him was dead, “what is this!”
            “You’re a leader and you alone can make it happen, follow in my teachings and you shall have it!” declared Jesus. “Don't stop and never give up and don't ever let anyone tell you that what you're doing isn't important because it is.”
            “I don’t understand.”
            “A guy who simply lets things happen and does what he is told all his life is a fool, but a man who leads with his mind and his heart will find love, happiness and joy in the mits of his glory,” declared Jesus. “You’re such a man who will find power in leading yourself by teaching others the wisdom of leading themselves.”
            “I need my muse in order to finish the book,” replied Rya. “Can you give me the wisdom to know what to say when I wake?”
            “You don’t need any more of my help. I think you already know what to say to her,” commanded Jesus.
                       
            Rya opened his eyes and realized how vivid the dream was. He felt like he was living another life, but was it a dream or was it a visit?” Rya looked at the clock to see it was ten in the morning and got out of bed to get ready for the day.
            It had been several days since the dream and he made an appointment with Sara right after his dream to get another portrait done. He knew that he had to push forward with his gut feeling. He got out and locked the door before leaving.
            He knocked at the door of Pens and Brushes and after a few minutes it opened with Sara at the entrance. Her hair was a little longer than before and was straightened. Rya could tell she looked a little different today and saw she was wearing makeup.
 
            “Oh good you’re right on time,” she said and walked back, inviting him in. 
           
            They sat in her office and Rya became quiet while looking at her as she talked about the price for illustrating the portrait. She handed him the paper with prices for the portrait. It was a big portrait that was two by three feet.
 
            “So what are we illustrating today?” she asked.
            “Me.”
            “You,” she smiled.
            “Yes, I want you to paint a black and white picture in ink of me standing with my head looking at you.”
            “You’re so egotistical,” she mumbled.
            “Excuse me?” Rya asked.
            “Nothing,” she answered. “Is that all you want?”
            “Yes.”
            “Ok,” said Sara with a smile.
 
            The author stood in the studio and watched her prepare the canvas with her brushes. When ready, she began sketching lightly with a pencil and looked at Rya with a stern look just as Sarah had in the past. Rya began to smile as he remembered when he first met Sarah and how serious she was. Sara smiled a little bit, but looked away as she continued the quest to bring her artwork to life.
            The hours passed and Sara was hard at work. A few times she had to get up from her position to move Rya’s head because he kept moving it. She turned her sterio on and moved the dial to the radio. A couple of familiar songs played and then a song that was befitting to the situation. The song was called Its in my Dreams That I See Her.
 
            “Keep your head still, I can’t get this done right if you keep moving your head,” she complained.
            “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a pain in your side. It’s hard to stand and keep my head still for two hours.”
            “I know, I learned that in my art class,” began Sara. “Just imagine you’re a star and you have to pose for the world. Everybody loves you and the hours will pass easily.”
 
            Rya was quiet for thirty minutes as he looked at her and remembered the dream with Krissy and Alyssa. Sara looked like Krissy except she didn’t have brown eyes or the partially dyed black hair. Why was he wasting his time trying to persue Sara who was bent on being a bitch to him? There was something magnetic in her soul that he admired.
 
            “You’re awfully quiet,” said Sara as she continued to paint and looked at him.
            “Last time I was here and talked, you told me to be quiet so you could concentrate,” replied Rya. “Now you want me to talk?”
            “Well you can talk now, I’m more than halfway through the painting.”
            “What do you want to talk about?” he asked.
            There was a silence that lasted for a few minutes and then he heard Sara speak up, “you left your novel here.”
            Rya felt a little uneasy because her voice was neutral and he couldn’t tell if she liked it or hated it. She looked up from the painting and into his eyes before snubbing her nose to the air.           The writer felt a big knot in his stomach and realized he made a big mistake leaving the novel. She probably hated it because her name was in it. Now he would have to listen to her for the next couple of hours talk about how she hated the book and how it offended her.
 
            “Yeah I’m sorry, I was going to share it with you the last time I was here and I must have forgot it when I left.”
            “Why did you want to share it with me?”
            “No reason,” said Rya as he was trying to avoid opposition.
            “So you believe this strongly in angels?” asked Sara.
            “Yes, did you read the book?” asked Rya curiously.
            “Actually I did,” replied Sara.
            “What did you think?” he asked.
            “I liked it, but I don’t believe in it,” Sara began as she cleared her throat and continued painting. “The idea of an angel coming to the rescue after a terrible event or emotional catastrophe is about as insane as believing in the tooth fairy.”
            “So you liked the book, but you’re criticizing the whole belief in angels.”
            “I don’t think it’s hard to say that a story is just a story based on a fantasy. I mean why did you call the book “An Angel Visit”? Why didn’t you call it something like The Darkest Hours Passes as the Slowest? What was so important about that one hour of this angel person visiting to suddenly make your main character wake up all happy the next day?” asked Sara.
 
            “I was visited by an angel named Sarah after falling in love with a girl. Every word I wrote is based on my experience.”
            “Then why don’t we hear more about angels in the news?” began Sara. Why don’t all angels help everyone with relationships so we don’t have to feel so much pain in the world? Why do we only hear about it in the church or stupid shows and movies?”
            “I don’t know,” said Rya as he sensed anger in her voice.
            “Well, you wrote this novel called “An Angel Visit”, a story about you getting visited by an angel and I asked you why you wrote it. Now after you told me that you wrote it with honesty and experience you’re telling me you don’t know?”
            “I had an idea, after a strange event in my life had passed, to write this book and have some fun with it. I may have embellished a little.”
            “Let me ask you this, you believe in angels?” she began as she watched Rya nod his head. “Do you think they like to have fun with humans trying to live their lives and play on their emotions?”
            “Are you an atheist?” he asked trying to avoid the question.
            “No,” she answered.
            “Are you a psychopath? He asked and then got a stare from her and then smiled. “Never mind.” 
            “You said you have a boyfriend, how is he?” asked Rya trying to change the subject of opposition.
            “He’s fine, he works for a successful carpentry company and he’s picking me up to go out after I finish your painting,” she said.
            Rya became quiet and looked at her as his cheeks turned red. He realized he opened up a can of worms and wished he just shut up. How stupid he was to ask the woman he liked how her boyfriend was. Sara looked at him and continued to paint as she somehow knew that he knew that he screwed up.
 
            “So,” began Sara after ten minutes went by and looked at her painting while containing the conversation. “Did you write any more of those books?”
            “What books are we talking about?” asked Rya.
            “An Angel Visit, what other book would I be talking about?”
            “I wrote a second and third book.”
            “Let me guess, there about angels who visit your main character and make everything all better,” said Sara.
            “You really are a comedian. I didn't write those books just for you. I wrote them for everyone.”
            “Other people besides me who need that special angel to come into their lives to make everything all better,”   
            “Not exactly,” began Rya realizing he wasn’t going to move the conversation to something else instead of about him.
            “In the second novel he meets another girl, falls in love and gets his heart crushed, but what makes this book different than the first is that it’s dark. The second book is about being visited by demons.”
            “So what happens?”
            “It would be better if you just read them.”
            “Maybe I will,” answered Sara. “Tell me more about them.”
            “Well he experiences a lot of negative things from these demons and asks for help. The angels come and save him along with Jesus.”
            “Sounds interesting, I’ll have to read them both.  I’m finished with the painting,” said Sara as she looked at Rya.
 
            Rya smiled and walked over to take the painting. They walked to the waiting room and the writer paid her. Sara handed him his book back and shook his hand good-bye.
 
            “Thanks for your business, have a good day.”
           
            Rya grimaced, feeling kind of strange talking about his book and getting into the deep conversation only to feel used. He walked out the door and sat in his car with the black and white painting sitting in his back seat.
            Minutes passed and Rya was about to start his car when he saw Sara leave the studio and got in her car. She drove off and Rya felt angry because she told him she was getting picked up by her boyfriend.
 
         To be continued. . . . . . 

            Short story available on "The Legacy Anthology"