THE ANGEL TOOK HER...

“Lunch is ready, Cathy.” Catherine’s mother Mrs. Marshall called out her kinder garden girl, she was playing in her room. She never liked her parents or her older brother to peek in when she plays. She preferred playing alone with her toys in her room.

  Her mother opened the door and saw Cathy was sitting on the window sill with a Barbie doll in her hand. She was talking and abruptly stopped when she sensed her mother’s presence. Her mother frowned, for a moment she felt she saw two kids an another look she saw a halo over her child’s head. “Cathy?” Mrs. Marshall called her again. “Coming mama.” The cheerful brown haired girl said. She held on her mother’s long recently manicured fingers. Cathy’s mother jerked. She felt as though someone pushed a hot syringe on her fingers where Catherine held on. Cathy still caressing her doll with other hand did not seems to be noticing anything amiss.

Jerome came runningwith his football through kitchen door. He skidded and the ball slipped from his hand. He was quite perplexed to see his little sister holding the ball in her dainty fingers. “You are late. I have told you many a times don’t run in the home. You may get hurt” Mrs. Marshall said. “I’m sorry.” Jerome said still not taking his eyes off from his sister. Jerome liked his sister before she began to show changes in her behavior. She spoke perfect language. She could run in speed which was not usual with the kids of her age. She slept alone in her room at night but when Jerome was of her age he made his mother sleep beside him at least till he was asleep. She was exception. She is jovial and funny yet something extra ordinary.

It was a summer day. The sun shone in the sky bright and gold. The breeze was warm and burned everything which came in its way. Cathy and Jerome were upstairs playing and their parents had a visitor Mr. and Mrs. Gregory, they came to Marshall’s family for every small reason. They arrived at quarter to 3.00 in the afternoon and left Marshall Family exhausted with the on going talks. “Look, jerry.” Cathy called her brother. He was busy playing on his video game. She was standing in front of the mirror and was trying out different dresses of her mother’s old tops. This was usual of her part; she did this and always showed his brother and asked how she looked. What surprised him was the reflection of her in the mirror.

He could see another person in the mirror with the halo. He raced down to tell his parents what he found about his sister. His father of course did not believed a word but his mother had a doubt. She made Cathy to show her outfits on the mirror but they couldn’t find any absurd vision.  The next morning, when Mrs. Marshall went to wake her daughter she found a blue mark on her ankle. She couldn’t find the source and it was spreading. For doctors, the ankles looked spot less and healthy. But it had spread on her tiny foot; it was glittering blue as though it had no blood circulation.

  It was dinner time and all the family members were used to the visiting angel with halo. The angel did not talk to anybody just smile was the answer for all the questions.  More and more days past; she looked like the angel but she did not have wings or halo. “The time has come” the first words spoken by the angel was so childish but mesmerizing. Cathy and the angel stood holding hands and was about to depart. Cathy’s eyes were filled with tears; her parents could have stopped her from going. “Please, don’t go. I…” “No, let her go. She belongs to them. She will forget us” Mr. Marshall said.  Catherine departed, disappeared never to be seen again.

 ANNETTE RAJU