Angel
A little girl sits alone on the curb. She’s wearing a beautiful pink dress; a little red ribbon is tied into her hair. The wind plays with the quaint strand, pulling whisps of her hair along with it.
Behind the girl is a large cathedral. A man in a black Sunday-suit stands at the entrance, looking over to his little beauty on the sidewalk. He slowly walks over to her; his footsteps echoing off the stone walls.
“Are you okay, honey?”
The little girl stays quiet, playing with a small piece of lace on her dress.
“Anne?”
“Is Grandma going to be okay?”
For a moment he doesn’t know what to say, “Yes, dear. She’s in heaven now.”
“Where’s heaven, daddy?”
The father moves closer to the girl, sitting down next to her on the curb. “Well, dear… Heaven is a place where people go when they…” He stops, thinking of a simple way to explain death to a 5 year-old. Death is never that simple, “It’s a place for people to go to when they pass away.”
“Daddy… Is Grandma dead?”
The father is surprised by this comment. He cannot fathom the possibility of his little baby girl knowing about the concepts of death.
“Yes, Anne… She’s dead…”
Everything becomes very still for a moment. Anne continues playing with the lace on her dress. “I want to go to heaven, daddy.”
The father doesn’t say anything. He grins slightly at the sweet, innocent tone of her voice. Maybe she doesn’t know so much about death than he thought. “Heaven’s not a place for little girls, honey.”
“If Grandma’s in heaven, then I want to go there too. I miss Grandma”
“I know, baby. I miss her too… But you know what? You’re going to see her again. She’ll be waiting for you right up there in heaven,” The man points towards the clouds, making sure his daughter’s eyes follow. “But until you see her again, know that she will always be looking after you right here on earth.”
“Will she be like an angel?”
“That’s right, Anne! She’ll be just like an angel.”
“Will I ever be an angel like Grandma, daddy?”
“Of course dear… Years and years from now, when even you have grandkids of your own; you’ll be an angel too. Just like Grandma! But for now, you’re gonna be my little angel.”
The father picks up his daughter in his two hands and twirls her around in the air. She lets out a fierce giggle and they both smile at each other.
“Look daddy, I’m an angel! I’m flying!”
Daddy throws his little angel into the air and watches her fly. For a moment he can actually believe that his daughter truly is an angel. And she is. She’s Daddy’s little angel.