Chapter 12

Chapter 12:
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Molly looked down from the cloud she was sitting on. Her wings stretched out on either side of her, as if she could take flight at any moment. She watched the people down below, living their lives. Some were good, some bad, some had beautiful hearts and clean souls, while others reeked of a stench so foul that Lucifer would plug his nose in repulsion. She couldn't  imagine why anyone would give up living up here in heaven.
Heaven was different for everyone. Not everyone got up to it in the same way. Some were already angels, like herself, that were always there. And others were her brothers and sisters coming home from their earthly lives. Some were old, some were young, but once they passed through the light they left whatever baggage they had behind. Molly could feel the energy shift whenever new souls arrived. It was as if there was a forcefield around her body and every new soul was like a little poke to that forcefield. But all she felt was love.
She didn't see their physical bodies as damaged. Whatever happened in the physical world stayed down there. Once the soul left the body it was up to the family how to give it a proper send off.
Molly was drawn to one woman in particular, an old woman named Grace. She had just passed 3 days ago and her body was cremated. Her daughter, Violet, had seen to it personally that her Mother's physical body be returned to a place she loved, not in a box with hundreds of other souls for all eternity.  Molly was attracted to the woman's vivacious attitude, Grace was quite a pistol. Grace didn't have her wings yet, newcomers had to wait until theirs grew in. It was really a sight to see, all the different stages of angel wings. Some older spirits had baby wings, some children had adolescent wings, and every once in a while there was Molly who had full grown angel wings. Hers was really a rarity, so many of her friends had chosen to fall before their wings could fully develop. Her best friend, Ashley, was destined to be one of the rare few who had her wings since birth but she chose to fall before they developed. She was born to a family that wasn't right for her. The woman was kind hearted but weak and that father was, well, there was a spot waiting for him down below.
Ashley didn't even tell Molly her plan. There was no way Molly could have warned her. All Molly knew was that she had to find a way to fall. But she didn't want to forget who she was. She wanted to remain in tact and find a way to get Ashley to safety before it was too late. Thankfully, the things Molly had seen took place 17 years from now so she still had some time, but she couldn't wait forever. She had at least a month before it was too late. She needed to find two people who were perfect for each other and get them together so that she could be born. It was her destiny to go through the physical life experience, but she needed the right vessel to carry her. Someone who would love her for exactly who she was, wings and all. She flew over to Grace and introduced herself.
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As soon as Molly came towards the old woman, an incredible sense of peace rushed over them both. "hello, my child," the old woman said. "hello, Grace," Molly said back. As soon as she extended her hand for the old woman to shake, she was being pulled in for a hug. Instantly she knew that no matter what she would go through on earth, this woman would be watching out for her. She chuckled thinking it funny that an angel would have a guardian angel watching out for her.
They took a walk among the clouds, Molly's wings resting gently upon her back. She was anxious to know all about the woman who would birth her and the man she would marry. She already knew whoever Grace's daughter would marry would be the only man she would ever truly love and the connection would be instant. There would be no hesitation. And he would fight to protect her. He would be there for his family and the love those two would share would be for a lifetime. Maybe even longer than that. The only problem was, they didn't know how to find each other. They had known each other in high school but lost touch. They were never lovers but had a special bond and thought of each other often. With Grace's permission, Molly could help them find their way back to each other. She listened as the old woman caught her up on what Violet was up to.
"she laid me to rest this morning. There was no church ceremony due to me being more spiritual than religious. But I'm proof that all paths lead to the same place. Violet had me cremated and took my ashes to our favorite spot and scattered them around. I know she could feel my presence there as she said her goodbyes to me. As I said my goodbyes with a kiss on her cheek, I saw this incredible light. As soon as I started walking towards it, the wind started blowing harder than usual. I looked back to see Violet acknowledging the wind and smiling with tears streaming down her face. For a second my heart ached to stay with her but I knew it's not what she would have wanted. She was saying, "it's okay, mom. I love you. Blessed be." as I walked into the light, the wind came to a stop and I could feel her leave our spot.
It wasn't as sad as I thought it would be. Up here I can still feel her, still see how she's doing. I know her heart belongs to a young man she went to high school with, that's why she's 26 and has never even been close to married. I found him--his name is John and they live literally 1 block from each other. Why they've never bumped into each other I have no clue."
Molly's heart skipped a beat at this news. "they live a block apart? What are we doing just standing around for? Let's get to work!!"
"we?!? Oh no honey, I have no part in this except to give you my blessing, which you now have. You must be careful to not interfere with either of their free will. You can give hints but they have to be subtle. They can't know you exist. Not until you're born."
Molly took this advice to heart. She always knew the dangers of an angel being spotted--one crazy human in the lot gets everybody else all riled up. Most of the time when humans say angels "came to them to give them a message", it was to kill innocent people. Those angels were not where she was, surrounded in complete peace and love. Those were the dark angels, the ones who loved creating misery and fear for those who had problems with their beliefs before those incidents happened.

Grace was giving Molly a goodbye hug. If she was going to make sure her parents met each other, she would have to work fast if she was going to be born in 17 years to save her best friend from the devil himself.
If she could get those two to find each other within the next month, it gave them enough time to have a proper bond before conceiving her. The timing had to be perfect so she and Ashley could find each other. She had to think up a plan.
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1995

Violet hit the snooze button for the 3rd time that morning. She was having the most wonderful dream about a boy she used to go to school with and she didn't want it to end. She was just drifting back into sleep when her alarm sounded angrily at her. "fine! You win! I'll get up!" she shouted, almost knocking the damn thing over.
Her apartment wasn't very big, but it was all hers. She had moved in to the 1 bedroom, 1 bath in Boystown, Chicago, because it was where she felt safest. She didn't have to worry about the boys ogling her or stalking her or wanting her number while she was just trying to get from her favorite starbucks to her job in one piece. The boys in her apartment complex were loud and at times very lude and crude. But they were her boys. They kept her company while she was doing her laundry, shared all the local gossip with her, and generally looked out for her well-being. She preferred the company of gay men to straight men because her last relationship ended so badly, she had no idea how she was going to repair that damage.
He was a kid with a troubled past and she felt an instant connection with him. They met through her best friend Jayde and talked on the phone before meeting in person. They were inseparable for about 3 years, until she decided she had had enough of him getting drunk and calling her names, the never-ending parties, the drugs, the endless slough of losers that thought of her as mommy so they would never pay their share of anything.
It ended in an all-out fight. He wouldn't let her go, barricading himself in front of the bedroom door. She barely made it out of the apartment and from the time it took her to get in the car, he was already advancing to her. Staring at her with that deranged look that often haunted her in her dreams, he got on top of the hood. She looked right at him, threw the car in reverse, and slammed on the gas. She didn't even have time to laugh about how funny it looked to have him fly off the hood of the car.
She drove to her best friend's house. She felt bad about it being so late, but she couldn't go back to her apartment. Not back to him. It was 2am by the time she got to her friend's house. Jayde looked annoyed at first, then saw the panic in Violet's face as she took in all of her bruises and puffy, swollen eyes.

Violet never looked back. From her friend's apartment, she dialed 911 and told her story. Her boyfriend was arrested, and while he was locked up and after she got out of evidence, she went back to the apartment, packed up as much stuff as she could leaving a lot of stuff behind, and drove back to her parents' house.
She stayed there until the trial was over. He plead not guilty, and she had to testify to every horrible thing he had ever done. All the names he called her (worthless piece of shit seemed to be his favorite), every time he cut her down, made her feel like everything was her fault, the whole thing. It was such a far reach from where they started. It broke her heart to remember falling in love with him and wanting him near all the time. To go from that to the monster he had become was too much for her to bear. She almost lost it in court but her best friend was there and somehow, looking into the faces of her family and friends and the people who had come to support her, she had found the strength to tell her story.
Her ex was sentenced to a year in jail and then an extensive rehab/anger management program. It had been 2 years since the last time she saw him in that court room and she still had no idea how anything went. She knew he had gotten out of jail after 8 months, some garbage about good behavior, and that he went to an AA program while he was in there. But she had an order of protection against him which stated he could have no contact with her of any kind or come within 100 yards of her. His family lived somewhere in New York so she had always thought that's where he ended up.
It helped having boys around that would look out for her. She got lonely sometimes but opening her heart again was something she couldn't face. Not yet.

She yawned and stretched, shivering. When did it get this cold out? Had another season gone by and she missed it? Next to her, on his side of the bed, was her malamute, Mystic. He was the wolf's closest living relative, before the husky. This malamute had a gray mask, covering almost his entire face, except for one white spot on his chin that looked like a tiny heart. She had found him at the pound. Nobody wanted him because he was a bigger dog and looked vicious but when she looked into those big brown eyes, she was hooked.
She reached over to her huge dog, bringing him in for a snuggle. She breathed in his doggie smell of lavender shampoo and his favorite bacon doggie biscuits. "I supposed you'd like to be able to empty your bladder before I leave for work."
Mystic licked her face all over before jumping off the bed and racing for the door. "okay, baby, let me grab my robe at least," she managed to say before realizing she didn't have any socks on. This posed a problem as the floor was about 32 degrees f. When the coldness reached her brain she jumped up and down furiously, trying to remember where her slippers were. "well, I'm awake now," she thought as she found them by the front door. She leashed up her pup and lead them both out into the crisp late autumn/early winter morning so he could relieve himself.