When I was nine, an angel visited me while I was sleeping. I didn’t know it at the time, but its warmth overflowed my dreams, giving me a peaceful night’s sleep in a long time. The next night, the angel visited again, and this time I was awake, drawing a picture of my daddy. It wasn’t all dressed in white with large feathered wings, but rather the skin held a soft glow. It was my mother, wearing her favorite summer dress, her hair perfectly curled, just like it always was. We exchanged no words. She just smiled at me, and I knew. I smiled back, my big gap-toothed smile since I had just lost a tooth the week before. This lasted for about ten seconds until my father came into my room. The angel disappeared, with a little wave just before going. Dad patted my shoulder, looked at my crayon drawing, and lifted me out of my chair. He tucked me into bed, told me the picture was lovely and that it was refrigerator worthy, and then kissed me goodnight. That was the last time I saw the angel for a very long time, yet I always felt her warmth, no matter where I went.

Then I turned seventeen. I was constantly bullied, and my father had fallen ill and was taken to the hospital. He was in a coma for weeks, and I was lost. I was at his bedside everyday, trying everything to get him to wake up. Finally, when I was alone with him, and had started breaking down, the angel appeared again. I didn’t look at her, but I knew she was there. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her kiss my father’s forehead, and then disappeared again. My father’s hand moved.

Now I’m in New York, right out of high school. I went there with my friend, even if I didn’t get into the school I wanted. I was going to make a living here somehow. So we got a rundown apartment in a sketchy part of town, she went to college and I went and found a job. Life was looking up, until my father came to visit and told me he had cancer. He said not to worry, that his wife will look after him and so will my step-brother. They caught it early, he said. I just didn’t want to see him leave me again, and this time it could probably be forever. I put on my brave face though, just for him, and hugged him goodbye as he got on the flight back home. When I got back to the apartment, my roommate wasn’t there, so I went to my room and simply started to break down. After awhile I started to stare off into space, and then the warmth came back, but this time it was stronger than before. I looked up, and there she was, with another angel by her side. She kneeled down in front of me, took my hands, and whispered to me “This is the spirit of a child.” She pointed looked back at the other angel who stood still, with a bright gap toothed smile on his face, just like the one when I was nine.

“Find the person who owns this spirit, and you will find happiness.”

She kissed my forehead, stood up, and walked away with the other angel in her hand. A lonely tear had traveled down my cheek, to me chin, and then fell onto my left hand that was still tingling from the feeling of my mother’s warmth. I looked down, and noticed that there was an indentation in the crook of my thumb in swirling letters. It spoke of a name, and it is still there to this day.

I searched for the name, looking everywhere, until I finally found the person who had lost their soul as a child. I was always looking for you, and now I will always look after you, just as my mother did. I found you in your most broken state. Everyone in this world has a guardian angel. For me, it was my mother who had died when I was eight. My mother also looked out for my father, and now she will look after you, with me by her side. I will lift you up without speaking a word, because you know, and I know, that I will always love you, Blaine Anderson, even in your darkest hours. I promise.