THE SENTINEL 

By Tessa Harvey

    It was Alice who first saw the angels. They were hovering over the far edge of the plateau holding her friend. Alice was too young and beautiful inside to know unbelief.

    The warm strong light had woken her and she stood on tiptoe at the small window of Theodor's little house. She felt she was seeing something of God.

    Her mother, Anemone, aware of the thin cold of the mountain air, had sat up in the spare bed, half asleep, at first annoyed. Alice had gone probably to the toilet, leaving her mother uncovered. Then the awareness of immense light froze fear in her shaken heart......whatever?! she thought, and thought was gone. 

    Slowly she crept to the window and crouched, holding her daughter close and totally forgetting her abusive husband, Eliza's disappearance, worries about money...nothing mattered but the ethereal God - beauty of the awesome scene before her. Truly awesome.

    Anemone, still a child at heart, a flower of life, knew she saw real angels - majestic, powerful - not the fat, funny baby angels on cards. And they were saving this strange boy, Theodor. She remembered his name. "God's gift," Eliza had told her proudly. Yeah, whatever! Anemone had thought. Who wants to believe in a god anyway.

    Now she remembered, was ashamed and asked the God of the world who had made all things, even these magnificent beings in the sky.

    The woman saw now a man lying very close to the edge of the plateau. He had heard the voice of God as he had pushed Theodor into the void and now he could not move.

    Another man locked in his own self-worth, not seeing at all the real God he had thought was there, stood amazed, John seeing now a truer destiny.

    And two more sets of headlights were approaching.....