Sometimes angels walk among us, protecting us. You know them because when they arrive, everything changes for the better. But they can't stay very long.

Before she came, there were two parents instead of one and there was fighting, violence and betrayal until she chased the culprit away. There was controversy, of course, because none of the other children glowed in the dark and none of the other children slept the entire night after they were brought home from the hospital. She was different, and although she never cried, everyone sitting in the church pews knew that unfamiliar glow that surrounded her. Still, they all kept quiet about the matter. Besides, there was nothing to prove she came to the wrong family. 

Who knew the married couple would divorce, break the family apart and that she'd be on her own with no one to guide her and nothing to indicate she was loved--though she was, if not all of the time at least some of the time, enough of the time for her to grab a moment or two, slip them into her pocket and store them away like precious gems.

She talked to herself, told herself stories, and made herself laugh every day. If she found something good to eat, she laughed, and when she found nothing, she laughed as well. That's how she survived after they deposited her to the missionaries and moved away. Her childhood behind locked doors was spent capturing positive moments and saving them for a rainy day when there was nothing to do, But at least the hard times were over. No more walking the streets, hiding in shadows or sleeping underneath benches at Grace Episcopal Church. Laughing in spite of the hard times, she had made it though rain, sleet, snow and the most dreadful heat and humidity.

She created happiness, moment to moment, savoring one encouraging word and then another until she was nearly fifteen and still living in the orphanage where she met Dee at the nurse's station. The attraction was immediate, but because the boy was so kind she loved him enough to do him the favor of breaking up before breaking his heart. Still, he lingered, tarried, and sought to be near just in case she needed him which she never did--until after he was gone.

They were kindred spirits, both had agreed. It was probably a heart attack or something sudden or so she thought, because he would never willingly try to escape. After a while, she began to regret the fact that she barely even knew him for sure and couldn't determine what made him stay with her through the years knowing she had missed too much love to manufacture enough for anyone, not even for herself. 

After turning eighteen and being set free, she hitch-hiked and walked from town to town hoping she'd see his face across the counter, his strong assuring hands serving up drinks while she held out her glass for another round. But it never happened. All of the hopeful men liked buying drinks, but they were not her angel in disguise. Sometimes she expected a knock on the door, a hand sliding her a bologna sandwich and a soda after curfew, but it never happened. The boy named, Dee,  had simply vanished.

"Cherish the day," is what he had said while she was in captivity and she wondered, how? "I should have had his baby and stayed connected because he was an angel, and when he thought there was no more work to be done, he disappeared." The woman at the counter had nodded and smiled.

Having his baby was the miracle she thought she needed, living proof that she had been loved. Now, it was up to her to find ways to live each day and to love herself, like it was the most important thing she could ever do. Some people insist that Angels walk among us, teaching, protecting and inspiring us. You know them because when they arrive, everything changes for the better. If you think you've met an angel, maybe you have, but learn what you need to learn because they don't usually stay very long.