“We really did see what we saw, didn’t we?” he mumbled.
“Yes, we did,” Annie’s mother replied, “We did, and we have a responsibility to let people know about this, don’t you think?”
“Let’s sleep on it,” her husband replied. “This is really a bit hard to come to terms with. How do you explain this?”
Annie’s mother smiled, “I think the really amazing thing is, that there is only one explanation… somehow, everything is OK…somehow, our darling little girl is OK.”
They turned the light off, and the house sank into a deep, peaceful slumber, quite the opposite of their previous night. Somehow, things were a little better.
As the sunlight peeped around his window shade, Tom could smell the French toast cooking. He missed Annie, but he knew Annie was leaving them all messages. He jumped out of bed and quickly dressed himself before bolting down the stairs.
“I feel as if I haven’t eaten in days!” he said as he went into the kitchen. His parents looked up from their breakfast preparation.“We haven’t,” his mother replied, “at least not the way we’re used to. So, now is a good time to catch up!”
It was at this time that the telephone rang.
“Hello?” Annie’s father answered the telephone.
Annie’s mother and Tom listened to the father’s side of the conversation.
“You’re kidding…Really?...All around the church?...And the rectory?...How many of them?...And no feet, right?”
Tom looked at his mother, guessing who was on the other end of the telephone. She looked back at him, the surprise beginning to shine in her eyes.
Annie’s father hung up the phone without even saying goodbye.
“You aren’t going to believe this,” he started.
“What, hon, what?” Annie’s mother whispered.
“The church is surrounded by snow angels. They were described just the way our yard looks. The angels are all around the church, the rectory, and the parking lot. They line every path around the church. They are all along the route to the cemetery, and they are around our plot site, too. Honey, they are all over town!”
The family was quiet as the meaning of his words sank in, but their revelry was disturbed by the telephone ringing, again.Annie’s father picked up the telephone, hesitantly. “H-hello?” he stuttered.
“Yes, yes, I heard…Oh, there, too?...My, my…Yes, that does seem very peculiar, all around the building, you say? Yes, we’ll be down. Thank you for calling.” He hung up the telephone and turned on the answering machine.
“Get your coats on,” he said quietly. “We are going for a ride.”The family quickly pulled on their coats and headed for the car. As they pulled out of the driveway, Annie’s mother gently tugged on her husband’s sleeve.
“Who was the second call from, honey?”
“The funeral parlor director. You are not going to believe this.”
It was Tom who had noticed first, “LOOK!” he shouted, pointing out the window. Lining the street, on both sides of the street, were snow angels, just as they had in their yard. Annie’s mother looked behind her, the angels had started at their garage door, and were all along the route to the funeral parlor.
“This is amazing.” Her voice trailed off.Annie’s angel was floating above them smiling, she was one tired little angel, but she thought she had done it. She thought she had finally made things a little bit better. She settled on top of the car, looking at her handiwork. There were thousands of snow angels all throughout town, all the way to the funeral parlor, all around the funeral parlor, to the church, all around the church grounds and the rectory, all the way to the cemetery and all throughout the cemetery. This had been one busy time for Annie’s angel, but the response was gratifying. She couldn’t wait until the riders in the car saw all the angels. She could see everywhere, but they could just see as far as their human eyes allowed. There were no tears, now, just amazement, and that was just what she wanted. She wanted people to believe again…to have a little blind faith. To believe in something they couldn’t see…although, she now knew that visual aids were helpful!