A Short Story Sally by

[Guest guest]

-Sally-

lay in bed, waiting. When will it happen she thought to herself. When will I

break free from this prison of the flesh? She was very tired. She had fought

long, but now she was ready to go. Her eyes could barely make out the shapes of

the others in the room, but that didn't matter, she knew who was there. She

could feel them. She was grateful that the Creator had given her strength to

hold on this long, giving time for her family to be near. Her hand felt the

warmth of her husbands touch and for a moment she drifted off to a time when

she had the strength to squeeze back.Suddenly, with a jolt of the bed, found her consciousness returning

to the present.With the bed still shaking she managed to turn her head and

gathered enough strength to open one eyelid. Through her blurred vision she

attempted to identify the person causing the bed to shake so. To her horror,

she soon discovered it was her own leg convulsing. She was told this would happen,

but had hoped she would not have to witness this herself. Then her thoughts

immediately shifted to her young daughter, still in the room. did not want her to see her like

this. This was not how she wanted to go. Releasing her strength and allowing

her eyes to close, she began to offer a prayer to her Angels.

's hand shook ever so slightly as he twisted the

key into the lock. The door required a bit of effort as he pushed it open and

he commented to himself that he must fix it before his customers complain. As

he entered his shop his heart felt heavy. This was not a new emotion, as he has

experienced this heaviness since the passing of his beloved Dorothy two years

ago. But today was an especially bad day as it would have been their fortieth wedding

anniversary. Nevertheless needed to be here. He had told his friends

that he could not afford to retire. However, the truth was this new venture of

his was driven by his wife's memory and her own dream of running a small

business, especially one like this.

The morning mist was building up on Sally's face as she ran

the last block towards the store. She barely noticed the beads of moisture

drawing lines down her face, or the way her locks of sandy blond hair were

knotting up. Her mind was on the conversation she had had only moments before

with an Angel.Conversations with the Angels were nothing new for her, as

she had many encounters with them. But this Angel Sally had never seen before, standing

taller then the others, he offered a radiant golden light and an older, but

gentle face. Within his piercing blue eyes, Sally could feel the strength of

the sunrise and his voice spoke of confidence, conviction, and truth. However it

was his hand that she remembers most, as he had placed it on her shoulder it

felt soft and warm, reminding her of a favorite blanket she had a only a few

years ago. The Angel had told Sally to go to the candy shop and buy her mother one of her favorite candies, and to do so before she left. Sally was reluctant,

but also knew from experience that the words of the Angels should be followed.

She had wanted to stay and tell her mom goodbye, but the Angel was rather persistent

and besides, Sally was a fast runner and new she would be home in time to see

her off.

Sally burst through the door of the candy shop, almost

knocking down the nicely stacked display of boxed chocolate truffles in front

of her. There were two people in the

shop, an elderly man and a young lady who was asking him some questions.Sally walked up to them and asked abruptly "Where is Mr.

Robbins?" Stating further, "I need some

candy, quickly!" To which the elderly gentleman replied "I am Mr. young

lady and you'll just have to wait your turn!" Sally was confused, what happened

to Mr. Robbins? And who was this other guy who didn't even know her? Sally

interrupted again "Please Mr., you don't understand, my mom is leaving and I

promised her I would bring her some of her favorite candy before she left!" The

young lady being helped by Mr. suggested to him that he help the little girl,

to which he reluctantly agreed."Young Lady", Mr. began saying "Your interruptions are

rude and unnecessary, as I would be able to help you as soon as I am done with this

nice lady here, but now little girl, you have my attention, and what is it you

want?""I need one butterscotch candy please" Sally requested "One!" exclaimed Mr.

. "You came rushing in here, disrupting my business for one candy!" "Yes

please" replied Sally.Mr. reached behind the counter and pulled out the

wicker bucket that contained the butterscotch candies. Looking Sally deeply in

the eyes and with a bit of distain, he pulled one candy out and placed it on

the counter. "That will be ten cents" he said.Sally reached into her pocket and pulled out one nickel and

a few pennies, then counted out five of them, placing the coins on the counter

next to the candy. "Here's your candy" Mr. announced "now run off!" Mr.

could not believe that he allowed himself to get interrupted for a ten

cent sale.Sally quickly grabbed the candy and headed for the door. Had

she turned around to notice, she would have seen the coins that she had placed on

the counter being quickly scrapped up and tossed into the register.But Sally had more important things on her mind.Once outside, she ran as fast as she could. The four blocks home

seemed like an eternity and she wished her eight year old legs were a little

longer. "If only I was nine" she told herself "I could run faster".She arrived home, panting. Her hair now dripping with the

moister of the morning dew and her legs burned from the sprint to get there. Still

clenching the candy in her right hand she raced inside. But it was too late,

her Mom had left.

A couple of days later as arrived home, he picked

up the local paper from the front porch and headed inside. He was tired. How

can running a candy store be so much work?He struggled with the thought of

doing this the rest of his life. But he reminded himself of his promise to

Dorothy and he would keep on going because of that promise. After microwaving

what appeared to be a Salisbury steak dinner, he sat down to eat and catch up

on the local news. Scanning past the reports of unemployment, murder, and

political conquests, he quickly turned to the last page where his eyes landed

on the picture of a young girl, standing alone with her father. It was the same

girl who had entered his store a few days earlier. Only in the picture she

looked very sad.The caption read "Loving mother and wife succumbs to cancer".As 's eyes continued into the story, he paid no

attention to the half frozen piece of steak he was chewing on. After reading

through the story twice, felt himself drift into a daze. Loosing

enthusiasm for the rest of the meal, he headed for the recliner and tried to

relax. As his own body gave in to the exhaustion of the day, his mind was

focused on the uneasiness he felt in his stomach. For despite how his body

wanted its rest, sleep was not offered quickly that night.

Sally awoke knowing that today she would have to be strong.

Have to keep her presence about her, as that was what her mother had prepared

her for. Nevertheless, she decided to lay in bed for a while longer, holding

onto every second. Getting up meant getting ready to say goodbye and she was

not ready for that. Her dad knocked on the door and ever so softly said

"sweetheart, it's time to get ready" He knew she had heard him, but no response

was necessary or expected. "Just another minute" she found herself whispering,

trying to build up her own strength. It was at this time that one of her Angels

showed up, standing quietly in the corner of the room. However Sally, still

hurting from the last encounter with the Angels, tried to ignore her. The Angel approached Sally and attempted to reach

out to her, but Sally wanted nothing of her and rolled on her side, covering

herself with the comforter."Go away" she found herself saying "I don't like

you here!" After a few minutes, Sally

peeked out from the comforter. No Angel present. Good she thought. She gathered

her strength and climbed out of bed, spent a few minutes in the bathroom

washing up and then stood in front of her closet. "What do I wear?" She asked

herself in a low whisper, then the tears began to flow. Pulling her thoughts

together, she remembered the discussion she had had with her mom just three

weeks earlier. Reaching up she removed the dress her mom had picked out for

her. It was a dress purchased by her mom a year earlier, when she was strong

and healthy and the cancer monster had yet to invade the family. Sliding the

dress over her she could still smell the presence of her mom within it. It felt

good. Sally sat on her bed and combed out her hair while a whirlwind of

emotions flew through her. Sadness at her mom's passing, loneliness for her

absence, terrified of living without her, fear that her dad might leave next, and

hatred towards the Angel that pulled her from her mothers bedside as she lay

dying.Once ready, Sally walked downstairs, grabbing the

butterscotch candy from the countertop she headed outside where her father was

waiting. The drive to the cemetery was quite, with the only conversation being

offered by her father.He began by telling her of how beautiful she was and how

proud her mother would be as she looked down from heaven today. To this comment

Sally remained silent. She did not want to hear of Heaven, Angels, God or

anything like that. Her mom was dead. And that was that.

Sally felt the service was long and kept fidgeting in her

seat. She was not comfortable. She kept herself busy by thinking of her mom and

the warm memories they had together. She drifted back to a time when they layed

together in the grassy hill behind their house. They would spend hours there,

looking at the clouds, commenting on how this one looked like a horse and that

one looked like a flower. It was during one of these exchanges that her mom

introduced her to the Angels. What began as a simple game soon blossomed into an

amazing relationship between Sally and her Angelic Guides.Over the next few years Sally would find herself very

comfortable exchanging thoughts, feelings, and dreams with her Angelic friends.

They always seemed to be around when she needed them most and new more about

the ups and downs of her young life then most of her family. But now Sally was

finding the memories of those conversations hard to hold on to.It was her father's nudge that brought Sally back to the

moment. The service was done. Sally grabbed her fathers hand and held it

tightly as they walked outside, following the procession to the gravesite.As they walked down the pathway, Sally noticed a small white

feather lying on the ground. Had this occurred just a couple of days earlier,

Sally would have recognized this as a sign from her Angels. But today Sally felt

no such connection and she made a point to step over the feather as she passed by.At the gravesite the priest offered a few more words of

comfort, but Sally struggled to find any attachment to them. Shortly thereafter

people began to step forward and place flowers on her mother's casket. There

were some amazing arrangements and Sally could smell the sweetness that they

offered. As Sally stood there, it felt as if her own legs had been anchored into

the grass. She wanted to move forward, but could not summon the strength to do

so. It was Sally's father that leaned towards her and told her to go to her

mom. With his help she moved forward.She stood at the side of the casket, not

knowing what to say. She missed her so. With the tears now streaming down her

face, Sally gathered what energy she could. Reaching deep into her pocket, she

pulled out the butterscotch candy, and after gently touching it to her lips,

she placed it on her mother's casket. Feeling uneasy and a little sick, Sally

returned to the waiting arms of her father. There they stood as other members

of the party stepped forward, placing candy after candy next to the one she had

already left. From a short distance, Sally started counting. She had told

the nice newspaper reporter the other day that she wanted to have 37 candies

left with her mom, one for every year of her life. Sally continued counting,

twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, and then they stopped. Was there no

more? There were still people left who had not come forward, where were their

candies? Did they not care? Through the

whispers in the crowd her father began to understand what had happened. The

local candy store owner had pulled all of the butterscotch candies from the

shelf, not allowing any to be sold. Sally heard this too and was furious. How

can such an old man be so bitter? What

was it that caused him to be this way? Sally

grabbed tightly onto her fathers hand, silently thanking him for being a kind

and gentle man. They stood there together, neither one wanting to turn around

as they watched the other attendees start to depart, slowly, and with

disappointment for letting Sally down. As the last guest left, Sally's father

picked her up, letting her head fall upon his shoulder. She remained there as

he carried her to the waiting car. This had been a long tough day.

Not wanting to be amongst the crowd, waited for

everyone else to leave. In fact it was late in the day when he finally

approached the gravesite. Without saying a word, he reached into his pocket and

pulled out ten butterscotch candies, placing them gently on the ground in front

of him. Nodding slightly in honor and remembrance for a lady he did not know,

but a spirit he could recognize. After a short period of time, he gathered

himself together, stood, and quietly walked away. Promising to return soon.

It was during a visit to her mother's site a couple of day's

later, that Sally noticed the small pile of candies lying on the dirt. Sally

did not know how they got there and felt a little upset that someone would place

them there after the funeral. She picked the candies one by one and tossed them

into the grass as far away as she could. She then sat down next to her mother's

marker, allowing herself to fall backward every so gently and began to stare

longingly into the afternoon sky. The light blue background it offered was only

slightly interrupted by the occasional passing cloud. Sally allowed herself to

be caught up in the moment and managed to find hidden within the clouds some

flowers, a unicorn, and a teddy bear. A short time later the sun was teasing

the horizon and Sally new it was time to leave. She spent a moment telling her

mother how much she missed her and loved her, and then she left feeing sad.

As the years passed, Sally would often find a small pile of

candies left on the ground next to her mother's site. Over time, Sally stopped

tossing them aside and began to accept their presence. She would dig a shallow

hole and gently place the candies inside and after a few quick words to her

mother, cover them with fresh soil. At one point, Sally amused herself by

thinking that it was the Angels who had left them there, but she quickly

discounted that thought.Especially since she had convinced herself that her

Angelic friends of her childhood were nothing more then the wild fantasies of a

young girl's imagination.

It was a number of years later before Sally would ever enter

the candy store again.In fact, it wasn't until she was a mom herself walking one

day with her four year old daughter that she went inside, and this was primarily

due to her daughter's insistency. Once inside, the store brought back a flood of memories.

There were a handful of customers milling around, curiously picking up boxes

and wrapped candies. Sally was amazed that everything still looked the same,

but somehow felt different. They walked around for a moment, gazing longingly

at the assorted colorful candies available. After a few minutes, Sally and her

daughter had found a couple of items to purchase and headed to the cashier. At the counter Sally asked the cashier if

there were any butterscotch candies available. The cashier explained that there

were only a couple of boxes and those the owner kept in his office and were not

for sale.Sally immediate thought of the old man from years ago. Was

he still bitter? She thought of the irony of a bitter man selling sweets and

this brought a sly smirk to her face. Sally asked to speak to the owner, but

the cashier shared that he had left for the day. As her mind continued to race

through the distant but painful memories, she proceeded to pay for the items

her daughter had selected. In doing so, she never noticed the display box

hanging on the wall behind the register. It appeared to be handmade out of some

finished oak and with a clear glass front. Taped to the back of the display box

were a nickel, five pennies, and a butterscotch candy. Underneath these items

was a hand written note.

On the way home, Sally and her daughter walked by the

cemetery to pay a visit to her mothers site. The sun was just starting to cast

its early evening shadow across the grass and there was the fresh sent of

jasmine in the air. Walking up to the site, Sally noticed a figure heading

towards them, approaching one another Sally had a strange feeling of association

to this person. It wasn't long before she recognized him as the old man from

the candy store so many years ago and they nodded cautiously as they passed

each other. Sally noticed that his now very frail face seemed shallow and thin,

but within his eyes sparked a glow of love and understanding she had not seen

all those years ago.

Not saying a word, Sally continued towards her mother's

site. As they approached, it was her daughter that first noticed the freshly

stacked pile of butterscotch candies placed neatly on her mother's grave. At

that moment Sally cried, then she laughed, and then she cried some more. All

those years, all the times she had seen candies stacked there before it was him,

the old man from the candy store that had placed them there.

That night Sally did something she had not done in many

years. She prayed. She prayed for forgiveness. Forgiveness for the feelings of

hatred she had carried for the old man. She also prayed for understanding.

Understanding to see why these events unfolded the way they did.It was during

her prayers that a vision of an Angel approached her. It was the same Angel

from that fateful day of her mothers passing. She had carried such hatred

towards this Angel for many years, for keeping her away from her mother during

those last moments. She opened her mouth to speak, but words did not come out,

for the Angels finger was placed gently upon her lips in a motion of silence.

Sally was then shown an image from the day of her mother's passing. Only now

she was with her, in her bedroom as she died. She saw in horror as her mothers

body contorted and jumped in spasms during her final moments. Sally cringed in

discomfort as she heard the moans from her mother as she lay in pain. It was

clear to Sally that if she had stayed, the imagines of these moments would have

been too traumatic for such a young child.

The Angel went on to explain that the years of pain and

hatred that Sally had carried were done so by her own accord. She had always

held the key that would release these heavy emotions and free her soul. A soul

that now realizes, while she may not have been at her mothers bedside during her

last moments, it was her presence that day in the candy store that rekindled

life into own existence. Without even knowing it, she had fulfilled her own promise made

to herself as a young girl, to someday help save the life of a complete stranger.

The next day Sally visited the candy shop again.Finding inside, she smiled gracefully as she walked

towards him, it was then that she noticed the display box hanging on the wall

and its hand written note."What may seem as just a piece of candy to some" the note

read "are loving memories to others" As Sally

reached out to , they embraced as only two knowing Souls could and it was

Sally whose tears fell first as she felt the familiar warmth of the Angels

touch.

Later that afternoon, Sally packed a small lunch and headed

out with her daughter to the meadow behind their house. Laying there in the

grass, mother and daughter began to let their imaginations guide them as clouds

passed by slowly overhead."Look!" Her daughter exclaimed "It's a seahorse!" Sally looked at the cloud formation directly

above them and after thinking for a moment, replied with a soft voice full of

confidence, conviction, and truth "No my dear Lizzy, that is an Angel" .

-End-