Angels

     I believe in angels.

     Last night I came home quite late and paused momentarily outside my apartment complex to survey the rows of balconies, when out came a neighbour whom I learned had just moved into the building earlier that day.  Since we knew each other from before, we began to talk, and she asked for directions to the bus stop, as she was on her way to drop off her sister-in-law.  I offered to take them there directly, and all three of us ladies proceeded along happily, remarking on the greenery that permeates every spare inch of earth as we went.  Suddenly, the sister-in-law exclaimed that they had assumed the stop was in another direction completely, and how glad she was that I had just appeared outside the building, like an angel!  Then my new neighbour took out a key chain, recently given as a gift and engraved with a short prayer that the recipient would always experience angels when walking through life.

     Having safely seen that the sister-in-law caught the correct bus, I then offered to acquaint my neighbour with the surrounding area.  As we strolled through, I pointed out the local corner and grocery store, as well as some more eccentric finds, such as the vendor selling coffee and pasteries who sometimes appears in the otherwise deserted market square.   And even though it was very late, we returned home to my place for a lovely cup of tea.

    The evening took me back in time to a day almost two years ago, when I myself moved to the very same neighbourhood.   I had just traveled many miles from a large, diverse North American city to a smaller one in Northern Europe, and understandably, I arrived tired and bewildered.  On that day, I entered my new home and was just beginning to wonder how on earth I would begin to orient myself, when a neighbour whom I had met but only once, happened to pass by as I was standing in the hallway.  He was going for a walk and suggested I come along for some fresh air.  Just as I had done with my new neighbour yesterday, he introduced me step-by-step to my new surroundings.  On the way home, we stopped by the grocery store and later that evening, he invited me for a home-cooked meal.   Over dinner, we chatted about culture and milestones in our lives, and he related that soon, he too would be relocating to another land and I prayed there would be angels waiting to meet him at his destination.