Miracle Workers

We were all waiting, although some of us were better at hiding our anticipation. Mother hid hers by endless chatter about miracles while she flipped bacon in a pan. Father was silent, but every so often when he picked up his cup of coffee, he would glance my way to see if I was locked in with the expectation that the doorbell would ring any second. My leg bounced and though Mother had placed the plate of bacon and scrambled eggs in front of me a few minutes before, I had not been able to touch a bit of it. Levi, my little brother, was obvious. He could not contain his excitement and ran back and forth from the table to the front window after every bite from his plate. At four he could not contain his energy or excitement.

The musical cords filled the air and every cell in my body stiffened. Mother stopped her rambling, my leg stopped bouncing, and Father set down his coffee. All our heads turned towards the door. Levi let loose a squeal and ran to the front door the chair he has sat in clattered to the floor. The rest of us were a second behind him as he ripped the door open as quickly as his tiny arms could muster. The person who had left the package was already gone, but there it was. A plain square box wrapped in brown paper.

“Well go on, pick it up.” Mother said, she was biting her bottom lip in order to hold back her smile. Father gave an encouraging nod, one of his arms was wrapped around a squirming Levi who would gladly take the package himself. But the package wasn’t for him, it was for me. I lifted it up and it weighed nothing. I shook it, but it made no sound. My stomach dropped. What if I wasn’t chosen? What if the box was empty?

Mother read my expression and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, “You don’t know until you open it what you have been selected for.”

I nodded, although my skin was clammy, and the smell of the bacon grease made my stomach clench. We made our way to the living room as a group, me leading the way with the box in my hands. I set it down on the coffee table and the hallow sound echoed into the room. The very house seemed to lean closer to see what would be contained in the dimensions of the plain box. My parents shared a look but were careful not to let the look in their eyes disturb their face. I let out a long breath before kneeling and ripping the paper off the box like a Christmas present. Levi grabbed one of the strands of paper to be part of the moment. He waved it in the air like a flag for more attention. All eyes ignored him and remained solely on me the package.

The box was as plain as the paper that had wrapped it. The box had a lid that was folded shut, and on the center of the lid was my name, Atlantis. My hands wobbled as I reached toward the fold that kept it shut. The top of it was smooth and I closed my eyes as I lifted it. My ears felt so full that they might explode, and my head pounded. There was no sound from Mother and Father, but Levi sighed, “Oh wow.”

I peeked open my eyes and the only sound I could hear was ringing as my eyes landed on the purest white wings. The feathers looked like snow and I reached a finger to brush one. Tiny speckled gray dots dusted the tips and gold covered the barbs.

The room erupted in cheers. Levi was squealing, Mother and Father spoke so quickly to each other as they exclaimed their happiness towards me that I could not actually hear what they were saying. Mother turned towards me first, “I knew you were going to be selected to be a miracle worker, God has seen your light.”

Tears brimmed Mothers eyes and she turned to Father and kissed him. He smiled with abandon as he gripped my shoulder in congratulations. I looked back towards the box.

God had seen my light. He has deemed me worthy of an angel to work miracles on Earth. He has gifted me wings. Not just any wings. The golden white gift of a miracle angel. I lifted them from the box. They were insanely large, but somehow neatly folded into a more manageable size. Mother came to the front of me and brushed a tear away, “Turn around, I’ll put them on.”

Levi is jumping up and down on the couch and Father watched with pride in his eyes as I feel her place the wings solidly in the middle of my back. There is a tingling sensation like eating pop rocks where they fuse to the skin. I have been waiting for the moment my whole life. To be given my divine purpose, to be an angel of miracles. Behind Father on either side of the front door are my parents’ wings. Mother’s, as pure and white as my own. Father’s, a silky ashen grey. He is an angel of grievance. He guides the worthy souls after death into heaven. I will be a miracle worker like Mother. We will bring true the prayers that all the hopeful souls whisper. Levi will gain his own wings as I did today, my 16th birthday.

“There,” Mother lifts my hair from my back and pushes the loose strands forward, “Now go on and have your first flight.”

We rush to the front of the house, Levi opening the door and hanging off the handle as it swings open. The wind rushes in. The open sky greets me beyond. I take a deep breath of the fresh air. Levi rushes past me to the cloud that our house perched and points below, “Fly Atlantis!”

I rush out, the excitement gripping me. My body knows what to do. I have been training for this most my life. With a thought I unfurrow my wings. I can feel the caress of the wind on every individual feather. I step onto the cloud, some of the fluff pushed past my toes like foam. Looking over the edge my stomach knots in a sudden burst nervousness. I look back at my family, and nothing but happiness and love emanates from them. I am no longer scared. I step off the cloud and the wind rushes up to grip me.