Angelheart A Metaphysical Story of Love

book cover

A baby dies as Lindsay Ryan is born. One leaves while another arrives, and the balance of life is maintained. The dead infant had measured its life in only hours because that was all the discovery it intended for this lifetime. But the Ryan baby's life would continue because hers was to be another long adventure with much to learn.

Through her journey, Lindsay would be accompanied by a guardian angel she would come to call the Lady. That gossamer presence would share her life's happiness, uncertainties and sadness. While others applauded or shook their fingers in disapproval, the Lady would make no such judgements. Her prime mission was to provide unconditional love and physical protection.

Lindsay's parents, Matt and Jennifer Ryan, had met in college. Their meeting meant an end to the preparation and search for each other, and the beginning of their family. Lindsay was their firstborn, and they wrapped her tightly within the comfort of their love.

Lindsay's grandfathers, Clark Ryan and Brad Stone, were similar in that they confined their feelings and thoughts inside. Clark Ryan and his wife, Carole, lived on the other side of the country, but Brad and Doris Stone resided only minutes away in the same small town. It was Grampa Stone who finally confided why he called Lindsay angelheart instead of sweetheart. He said the name was for those who had hearts like angels, and that his mother had coined the word.

Lindsay's grandmothers were very unalike. Her father's mother, Carole Ryan, was an aspiring woman who gave her new granddaughter an oversized abacus. It'll be fun for her to spin the beads," she said. "Maybe she'll turn out to be a banker or mathematical genius."

Gramma Ryan fostered her independent spirit, but Lindsay's maternal grandmother encouraged her to comply with the established order. Doris Stone became nervous whenever anyone dared to rock the boat.

Lindsay's baby brother was Jeffie, and the two of them shared a special bond that made words unnecessary. There was a comfort level between them that everyone noticed. It was as if sister and brother had known each other forever. The little boy often woke up in the night with breathing difficulties from his allergies. It made Lindsay feel good when she'd tend to his distress. He'd respond to her touch by calming down, and that made his breathing easier. The adults in her family weren't able to see the children's guardian angels, but Lindsay saw them. And she played with Nikki, her angel playmate. Nikki was one of those souls who had passed from her earthly life to the other side, but had never gone home. She was having too much fun with Lindsay, living the childhood she missed due to her early death.

"One day Ah just up and died", Nikki revealed to Lindsay. "Ah had no where ta go so Ah just wandered faevah it seemed `cause no one would talk ta me. Ah felt yuh family's love and came to share with y'all. Ta mah delight, ya talked ta me".

Nikki was Lindsay's sole playmate because the only real child nearby delighted in tormenting her. Although Lindsay simply needed to think when talking to the Lady, she talked out loud to Nikki, so her family knew about her friend. The adults hoped that by the time she entered first grade, Lindsay would quit pretending her playmate was real.

"You shouldn't talk about Nikki at school," Doris Stone cautioned her granddaughter. "You should forget about her and pretend she doesn't even exist, because she doesn't exist. The other children will make fun of you if they know you talk to someone who isn't there. Just say goodbye to her and grow up."

Once in first grade, Lindsay discovered she loved school because the lunches were pretty good and there were real children to play with. From the first day, she and Monica Stahl were fast friends. Lindsay was so excited by her schoolmates that she completely forgot about her spirit friends. Nikki thought Lindsay was going blind and deaf because nothing she said or did registered on the girl's mind anymore.

Keep trying, the Lady consoled the sad little angel. Perhaps someday she will rediscover her sixth sense and recognize you again.

Rising early for school was a problem. Lindsay couldn't dress in the bedroom she shared with Jeffie because he kept waking up, and she couldn't use the bathroom because her father needed it for his own preparations. Matt and Jennifer decided a bigger house was the solution.

As if a higher force sensed the Ryan's situation, the Flannerys appeared from nowhere and offered to buy their house. Sean Flannery had grown up in it, so the house held a special place in his heart. His mother was very old, and he said that the two of them would feel very comfortable living there again. His mother confided to the Ryans and Stones that her angels told her to return to the house.

Angels, Lindsay thought in disbelief. Mrs. Flannery talks about her angels. Everyone's told me that angels aren't real, but Mrs. Flannery believes they are real just like me. After the Flannerys departed that day, Gramma Stone and Lindsay's mother had a terrible argument about angels, and Lindsay overheard them.

Doris Stone warned her daughter, "When people hear voices from angels, it's the Devil at work. Lindsay might even become possessed and do something terrible, or go to Hell in the end."

Even though the Lady assured Lindsay there was no such person as the Devil, the girl dutifully said farewell to her playmate and guardian when her family moved from their house. Miffed by Lindsay's treatment, Nikki sadly went away, never to return.

Because moving furniture and boxes was no chore for children, during moving weekend Jeffie was taken by Gramma Stone, and Lindsay was awarded a visit with Monica. Since Monica's father lived in another place, it was just Lindsay, Monica, and Mrs. Stahl. The three enjoyed each other and the girl talk found its way to the subject of angels.

"I just don't understand why no one else in my family knows angels are around," Lindsay told Mrs. Stahl. "I was beginning to think I was really weird. But Monica says you're weird too. That's nice to know."

Mrs. Stahl laughed, and then described some experiences with her own guardian. Lindsay was surprised to learn how important guardians were by making sure no unnecessary physical harm came to their humans. She was too embarrassed to tell the Stahls that she had left her guardian angel in the old house. What if I get into danger without the Lady to help me? How will I ever get my guardian angel back? She tried to talk the Stahls into going to her old house so she could retrieve the Lady, but they insisted on touring her new one. "This way to my new bedroom," Lindsay proclaimed as she raced up the stairwell to show Monica.

Lindsay!

Her name crashed against both sides of her head and interrupted her concentration. She tried to climb what she thought was the last step, but it didn't exist. The effort slammed her body onto the upper hallway floor. Taking in a gasp of air, her eyes opened to see Jeffie's wooden toy box halfway through the doorway beside her.

"Be careful, Lindsay," her father said while holding the toy box. "That was a close call. I guess it's better to say hello to the soft carpet rather than the sharp corner of this box. Are you okay?"

"Yes!" Lindsay wore a big smile on her face--not to admit her near miss, but to recognize the voice that had saved her. The smile broke into hearty laughter. I don't have to go back for you!

I did not leave you, the Lady replied, even though you thought I did. You have been thinking on a different wavelength and we've missed connection. You thought I was gone. But remember, I told you I would be with you always no matter what you said or did to make me go away. I am always here with you. Lindsay did complete her long adventure in life, and in her ninety-first year sat on the porch with her youngest son, Gregory. The man felt most relaxed when he and his mother were alone, it had always been that way. He absently placed his hand protectively atop his mother's withered one and enclosed it as he read the newspaper. He wanted to hold onto her, but the gnarled bones reminded him she was slipping away.

Lindsay felt her son's warmth and began to reminisce.

But now my body is nearing exhaustion, it has served its purpose and deserves to rest forever. Going home will be good, it will be the very best thing to happen in my bountiful life. My visits home have been so peaceful and loving. There I am truly whole amid my past lives and the total consciousness of my corestate. I am part of such a loving family. There are even children, so to speak, budding forms of those my corestate will send to earth in the future. I will not be dead at all. Like the bulb in the earth, I will glory again in the opening of a new daffodil.

Soon, the Lady and I are going on another trip together. Don't worry about me, Gregory, because I'll have my companion on the trip. She's been my inseparable partner through it all. The Lady and I came in together; going out will happen the same way. It's time you went home too, Nikki. You can follow us.

The End