Earth Angel

I watched from behind the veil, between worlds, the one you'd call the 4th dimension, at a man talking with Nyame, who was my charge. The man that had stopped, had been out scouring the streets for a prostitute, but came across my girl instead.

Nyame was crying, almost hysterically, on the sidewalk in front of the 7/11 on Arlington street. It was raining, and the humidity made the atmosphere hazy and dull. The old man asked if he could help her, but she just shook her head and said a little too loudly that no one could help her. But this man persisted, and she finally told him that she had been given a 24 hour eviction notice. Now her and her cat, Whispers, had no where in the whole wide world to go. It wasn't even her fault, she insisted, sensing he was a good one, telling him that her friend had left their dog in her apartment alone. The barking from the dog was what triggered the alarm and the no dog policy was put into action.

Nyame shivered though it was not cold in the slightest, and wrapped her arms around herself head down, tears falling with the rain.

I watched as he convinced her to get into his camper. She is so trusting, I bemused, not for a moment did she think this guy could be a ax-murderer. She didn't even know he was there to pick up a sex worker! So when he offered to help her pack up all her stuff and Whispers, I'm not surprised in the slightest that she didn't refuse.

As a guardian angel, I've had to oversee and intervene, as much as I'm allowed, in many a precarious situation that Nyame has walked into, but not this time. This old man had a true heart of gold, taking Nyame and Whispers to his home, introducing her to his wife.

Nyame got along well with them, even though she could tell that pops had kept her a secret until they walked through the door.

The wife had warmed up to her quickly however and started letting her help in their garden and around the house. She wouldn't have her sleeping inside though, Nyame had to sleep in the camper outside in the front yard. I'm sure she could have felt dejected and unwanted because of this, but instead I watch her act like a perfect house guest, telling stories and making them laugh when ever she had the opportunity.

The old couple were happy to help her, as they could tell Nyame was also a genuinely nice person who was usually capable of taking care of herself. It was Pops who really enjoyed having a young lady around, one that he could actually help, unlike the ones he found on the streets down town. He like giving her advice and watching her drive away to the store on his scooter.

It was two months since she arrived when the old man decided he had enough free time to drive Nyame all the way across the country to be reunited with her mother. If there are angels on earth, I'd say this man definitely was one. Anytime she had been alone with him, he never advanced on her sexually either, so Nyame was none the wiser.

Ten years later the wife and the old man came to visit her, they saw on Facebook that she was having a baby. They took turns with big hugs for each other, I could see that she really did love them.

She had left an indelible mark on their hearts, each one of them understanding that they almost certainly saved her from a desperate life on the streets; alone with her cat, Whispers.