A 'Touched By An Angel' Story

By: Yvette Jessen

The Mission Control center in Houston was full, the ground crew were still excited about the reconnection between themselves and the Discovery crew, specifically with Jocie, who had, only seconds before, managed to reconnect with the shuttle crew as well as with her husband who was literally sitting on pins and needles in front of his computer terminal.

In the back of the room, in the observation lounge, the Angel of Death named Andrew held a small blonde child in his arms. The little girl was smiling, but he could see the tears that were streaming from beneath her innocent eyes. In all of his experiences with children, he knew that this child was frightened, her concern was no longer focused on her hero, the astronaut she revered was now safe and sound, and at that moment she was re-boarding the shuttle. Now, her thoughts returned to her pending operation. By the time Jocie would return to Earth, the operation would be behind her, and she would either be in recovery or…

The little girl's fearful thoughts trailed off and she shook her head trying to block the images. It wasn't that she was afraid to die, but she knew that she would possibly come rather close. Why else would people like Andrew be so nice to her? She may be young, but she was smart enough to know what was at stake, and this, more than anything frightened her.

"Diana," Andrew said softly, his words breaking into her thoughts, and the little girl looked at him. "Jocie is going to be OK," he offered, but all the while, the angel knew that Diana's thoughts were no longer on the mission, as that aspect of things had been successful, and she knew that Jocie would be coming back home safely. However, now the thoughts of the small child were focused on what would be taking place in her own life the following day, and although she tried to keep the faith that all would be OK, she was still doubtful that she would be able to maintain the faith, especially with the operation being so close.

The small child nodded; all the while she did not wish to discuss her feelings with the angel who was holding her in his arms. "I know she's going to be OK, because she delivered my letter."

"You're still not going to tell me what is in that letter, are you?" He asked knowing all the while what her answer was going to be.

Diana shook her head, but she looked at the angel who was holding her. "No, I already told you, it's between me and God, but you're still my friend, aren't you?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I am."

*****

That evening, Diana arrived at 'Texas Children's Hospital', one of the most well known hospitals for the care of children in the entire southwest. Andrew was walking alongside her, his hand holding hers firmly but gently, and as they came through the lobby to the admitting desk, the small child shrank back somewhat. Sadly, the Angel of Death could still see the intimidation of this place overwhelming the little girl, and from his vantage point, he could understand how this was all so hard for her. She seemed so small, this building so gigantic. It was almost as though it was there with the only intention of swallowing the terrified little girl up.

After some time, she looked towards Andrew for some sort of support. In the short span of time, everyone could tell that the compassionate angel had come to love this small fetching little girl very much.

Once she had been readmitted to the famous children's hospital, Andrew walked with her towards the elevator, his hand holding her shoulder gently, and his eyes looking straight ahead. As they rode up to the floor where her room was, Diana was quiet almost contemplative, and one did not have to be an angel to realize or comprehend the thoughts that were whirling through the mind of the small child: 'What if?'

"Hey, are you OK?" Andrew asked as they made their way from the elevator in the direction of her room.

"I was just thinking about some stuff," Diana admitted, her voice soft, but filled with uncertainty.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "You'll think I'm crazy, but I was actually thinking about dying."

"Oh," Andrew looked at her. "Let me guess, now that Jocie is OK, you're worried about what's going to happen to you tomorrow."

Diana looked at her friend. "Yeah, I mean, God got my letter, but still…" Her voice trailed off, and he could see the intense fear that was still emanating her.

"…An operation is kind of like going into space, there are risks and you know that they are there," he finished for her.

"Yeah," the child offered weakly.

"Do you know what?" Andrew offered her a smile.

"What?"

"God is in both places, Diana," he smiled as they reached her room and he opened the door. "And you know, He's going to be watching over you tomorrow, just like he's been watching over Jocie."

The little girl offered him a timid nod as he left the room for a moment giving her the adequate time to chance to change into her pajamas.

Once she had finished, she opened the door and he came back inside to tuck her in. As she crawled under the covers, she looked up to see him still seated by her bed. "Andrew, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, of course you can," came his simple response.

"Well, it just seemed weird, you're always with me, almost like an angel or something," she said softly. "Do you think there are angels?"

Andrew smiled ironically, but looked into the eyes of the little girl. "Yes I do, and you, do you believe in angels?"

"Uh-huh, but do you think that I'm going to be alone tomorrow during the operation or do you think that God will send me an angel to help me through it?" She asked weakly.

"I think He already has done so. You remember a poem about angels? It says the following:

When at night I go to sleep,

Fourteen angels watch do keep

Two at my head are guarding

Two at my feet are guiding

Two are on my right hand

Two are on my left hand

Two who warmly cover

Two who o'er me hover

Two to whom 'tis given

To guide my steps to Heaven."

As Andrew finished speaking, he was smiling gently at her and she closed her eyes wearily, but beneath her lids, he could see some stray tears as they made their way down her face. It had been a long day, and although he could see that she was not convinced that she would be OK, he could see that the day's events had literally taken the wind out of her sails.

Once the little girl was asleep, Andrew closed his eyes. It was always so hard to take children home, but when he had befriended them, it became all the more difficult. He could not help but remember how these children were always the most courageous; they accepted death much more easily than many of their adult counterparts. He looked down at the child as she slept in the bed.

Diana was such a smart little girl, she possessed a courage that most adults did not have and his mind began to drift back to the time when she had met Jocie for the first time. She had trouble pronouncing the name of the operation she was supposed to have and yet after Andrew had supplied the name; she seemed so accepting of her fate, in the simple innocence of one so young. He shook his head, most children did not concern themselves with such things, and yet, here was a little girl who was not certain if she was going to be alive after tomorrow.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small golden watch. He gently opened the cover and looked down at the numbers that covered the face. The object he held did not tell him if the little girl would survive the operation, but somehow her innocent faith was sustaining her, keeping her brave and strong. If only some grown-ups could know her, he thought, they would be as inspired by her as I am.

"Angel boy?" Tess' voice emerged and he looked up and into the warm eyes of the angel who had been his friend for years.

"Tess?"

"How is she?" Tess asked.

"Now that Jocie is OK, Diana's afraid of what tomorrow is going to bring," Andrew said softly.

"You don't know yet if she's going to survive tomorrow?" Tess asked.

"No, not yet. I mean; I hope she does, but I don't know yet," Andrew looked down at the little girl, her eyes closed and the curly blonde hair silhouetting her innocent face. He reached over and brushed a lock of hair out from in front of her eyes and shook his head solemnly. "Tess, how am I going to tell her who I am?"

"Well, baby, children have an innocence about them, something you have always noticed, and they are better able to see the truth than most adults can. I think Diana will understand this when the time does come for you to tell her the truth."

"When should I tell her?" Andrew asked weakly. "I mean; I'm her friend, but I'm also an Angel of Death." He looked up at Tess from where he was sitting next to the hospital bed. "I know I'm here just in case, but…"

"Look, Andrew, I can't tell you how to handle this case. The Father gave you this assignment because He knows that you have a special knack with small children. He has seen you help children in the past, and He knows that you will help this little girl now," Tess said softly.

Once she was gone, Andrew remained seated next to Diana, his sadness growing as the dawn came and the sun was shining though the window.

As the nurse was coming into the room, Andrew looked up and could tell that she could not see him; he was in angelic form and was dressed in his pristine dove gray suit.

*****

As the morning sunlight drifted into the room the following morning, Diana opened her eyes wearily. "Andrew?"

"I'm here, Diana," emerged his comforting and reassuring voice. As he spoke, the anesthesiologist entered the room.

"Andrew," she repeated his name, but the sounds emerged soft that the man thought she was speaking to him and he wheeled her out of the room. "Andrew," she cried out, the tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"There's no one in there, Diana," the man said. "My name is Roger, and I'll be taking you to pre-op."

As the seconds slowly ticked by, Diana lay back down on the bed and said nothing further. Andrew, her thoughts were practically reeling, please, I'm so scared. God, please don't leave me alone to go through this by myself. Help me.

She closed her eyes, but seconds later, Andrew's voice was heard in her thoughts, and she relaxed slightly when she heard the gentle intonations of his voice resonating throughout her being.

Remember last night when we talked about angels, Diana, and you said that you wished He had sent you one, well He did, He sent me. I'm going to be with you in surgery today, and I'm not going to leave your side for an instant. Just relax yourself and know that God is with you and He won't leave you either.

As the words faded, Diana reached a tiny hand out with the expectation of feeling her angel holding her own, and when she felt his strong fingers encircling her tiny hand, she knew that everything was going to be OK and that no matter what happened in surgery, she was not going to face it alone, she would have her angel and God with her every step of the way.

*****

Six long hours later, Diana was sent to the recovery room and there she remained asleep until the following morning when she wearily opened her eyes. Andrew was seated next to her bed, this time he wore the uniform of a hospital employee and she reached a weary hand, IV tubes and all, out to him.

"I did it?" She asked.

"Yes, you did," Andrew said, all the while he was smiling at her.

"God was with me, and an angel," she whispered, what energy she had, was quickly giving out on her.

"Yes, He was," Andrew said softly as he brushed a gentle hand over her cheek.

"You're my angel, Andrew," the little girl whispered as she drifted back out of consciousness.

It was then, at that moment, Andrew smiled and nodded. "Yes, Diana, and your prayers have indeed been answered."

The End

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