From Melissa Foster, author of Megan's Way:
When the angel arrived in the mail, I wasn’t sure who had sent it. I ran through those close to me, and came up empty. You see, my family, although loving, is not what you would call spiritual, or moved by things not tangible, whereas I am wired differently. I feel what is not living. I see what drives people rather than their exterior.
My children laugh at me because I do things mothers typically won’t take part in, like splashing in rain puddles and dancing at midnight just because I can and feel moved to do so. They roll their eyes when I tell them plants hurt when they’re leaves and stems are cut. I’m a smart woman, I know that plants don’t feel, however, they’re living things, and to me, a cut would hurt, so treading lightly around other living things simply makes sense.
When I opened the envelope and withdrew the tiny angel magnet with the inscription,There’s someone watching over you, I could feel the spirit behind it. In the ten minutes following its arrival, I knew exactly who had sent me the meaningful little gift. I could feel it.
The sender wasn’t a lover, or a family member, or even anyone that I had seen in the last twenty years. The sender was a woman almost fifty years my senior, who I had worked with when I was eighteen years old, a woman who had touched my life in so many ways that we didn’t have to see each other to know that we were there. She’d once placed a purple beanbag frog on my computer, without any indication of who had left the cute little gift. I named that frog Tod, and Tod has traveled with me to eight different houses, he’s survived being passed from child to child, and even lived six months in my glove compartment—I was afraid he’d get lost in a move.
Recently, I couldn’t get this friend out of my head. I awoke with her on my mind and slept fitfully, until finally, I slowed down and tried to call her—and life got in the way, as it often does. I set down the phone and got busy with something else. I signed onto Facebook later that afternoon and received a very sad note from her daughter-in-law. My dear friend was gravely ill and wanted to see me.
We visited as if twenty seven years hadn’t passed. I cried—she’d have none of that nonsense. “I’ve had a good life, Melis,” she said with a smile, between coughs. “We’re not gonna cry. We’re gonna see each other again and have ourselves a little giggle. I’ll come see you. I promise.”
I have never seen someone accept death with such grace.
A few days later I was making dinner and had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to be in my office. My angel—which had been affixed to an unused computer set far away from my desk and chair, was sitting on the floor in front of my chair. A sign. It was about 6:15P.M., and I knew her end had come. I carried my angel back to the dinner table and informed my family that my friend had just died.
My hands trembled as I listened to the story of how she closed her eyes and took her last breath. I asked her daughter what time she had passed, and my thoughts were confirmed. My cherished friend, Dot, the sender of both my frog and my angel, had not only stopped by my office to bid me farewell, but she had done the same for the one granddaughter who she wasn’t able to see in person. Dot’s farewell gave me a little giggle.
My angel lives on my computer. Dot lives within my heart.
Melissa Foster is an award-winning, bestselling writer and touchstone in the indie publishing community. Her latest novel, Megan's Way, has been called "wonderful, warm, and thought-provoking." Article written for League of Extraordinary Authors.
Article written by Melissa Foster, New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author, founder of Fostering Success, World Literary Café, and The Women’s Nest. Melissa writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women's fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today's book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine. Follow Melissa on Twitter @Melissa_Foster.
Melissa Foster is a New York Time and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women's fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page.