Flies Will Get In.

I was sitting under the tree at the bottom of the garden with my mind comfortably blank. The sun danced over my skin through the canopy of leaves and sparrows chirruped above my head. It was summer holidays and right at that moment the world was a pretty nice place.
You can imagine my surprise when a dirty great angel dropped out of the sky and landed in front of me.
‘Better shut your mouth flies will get in,’ he said, as he elbowed me to the edge of the seat and then swanlike, fluffed his wings, tucked the tips under his arms to keep them out of the dust and plunked himself down beside me.

He held his face up to the sun and closed his eyes. ‘This is nice. I’d forgotten what the sun feels like. Not that we don’t have the sun up there.’ He opened an eye and squinted at me, ‘But it’s not the same.’
I didn’t say anything. Well - would you?
We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Or rather he was comfortable; I was stiff with fear because he was real. I could feel the silk of his tunic tickling my leg and I could smell him. I was reminded vaguely of ducks.
He reached out, and putting his finger under my chin gently shut my mouth.
‘You know Christmas?’ What a daft question; of course I did. I nodded.
‘Do you get lots of presents?’ Ah – that was difficult. Compared to some of my friends in the street I did, although I didn’t get as many as rich kids.
‘A bit like this?’ He held his wings down with his elbows and made even handed motions with his hands. I nodded.
‘Let me put it this way, you wouldn’t say no to an extra one?’
‘Yes – I mean no,’ I stuttered.
‘Oohh she’s got a voice. Good thing too, I haven’t got all day much as I’d like to stay.’
Suddenly I felt braver. I mean, how could you be scared of an angel like this?
‘Why are you going to give me a present?’
‘Well, you know how God keeps an account of your behaviour. Red marks for naughty and black marks for good?’ Yes I did know. I often saw God up in the sky sitting at a desk with a big book and red and black inkwells; especially when I’d been horrible to my little sister.
‘He has so many names to keep track of it’s becoming impossible to keep the books bang up to date for a whole lifetime. No-one seems to want to work in the behaviour accounting office these days, so the heavenly board has decided to try something new. Every year we’ll do a stock check for want of a better word. We add up your marks. If you’re in the black we’ll draw a line under the year and give you a Christmas wish as a reward. But - if you have more red than black they’re carried over. We don’t let sinners off no matter how busy we are. The angel union has agreed that its members will act as messengers and to carry out the wishes. You’ve just scraped in with five black marks to spare, so here I am.’
He reached into his tunic pocket and pulled out a parchment scroll. ‘This grants you one action. You can ask for whatever you want. The only stipulation,’ he peered across at me, ‘you do know what stipulation means don’t you?’
I nodded again.
‘The only stipulation because you are under age, is that you can’t ask for money. The wish can be good or naughty, but do remember that although He won’t be giving you a mark, He will see what you’re doing. No action however small gets past God.’
He stood up and unfurled his wings. ‘You can pray to me in advance. Book early for Christmas as they say. Oops I forgot. I’m Anthony, and I will be waiting to carry out your wishes. Have a nice day.’
Before I could blink, he had unfolded his wings and shot up into the sky causing a bevy of startled sparrows to rush for cover into ourxt door neighbours ivy.

I began to think about what I could ask for. I knew better than to pray for something stupid. Perhaps I could make a list. It was six months to Christmas. I had plenty of time.

When we went back to school the headmistress said we’d be doing a nativity play in the church at Christmas and I’m going to be the Angel Gabriel because I’ve prayed to Anthony and told him that’s what I want. Gabriel wears a long white gown with huge wings and a golden halo.
You have to run down the aisle of the church, jump into the pulpit and put your arms out and say, ‘Fear not for I bring you tidings of great joy.’ I’ll be really good at it because I’ve been practicing running down our garden path.

Stupid angel promising me! They picked Susan Gibbs as the Angel Gabriel. They said I had to do the bible readings. I hate it; they make me do them every year and I never get to dress up. I’m telling mum!

*************************************************

I hadn’t thought of Anthony in fifty years. Of course it was a dream, but I suppose sitting under the same tree brought him to mind. I was such an imaginative child.
‘Well better late than never I suppose.’A never forgotten voice jolted me out of my daydream.
‘You’ve got old. I wouldn’t have known you,’ he said.
‘Go away, you’re a dream,’ I snapped.
‘Oh we’ve grown up rude have we?’
‘No, not rude, but old enough to know what’s real and what isn’t.’
Then all the disappointment from that long ago Christmas suddenly welled up in my chest.
‘Dream or not,’ I shouted, ‘you shouldn’t have promised me. I prayed and was extra good just to be on the safe side and bloody Susan Gibbs was picked as Gabriel.’
‘If you’re going to be unreasonable I’m off.’ I’d forgotten how big his wings were and as he ruffled them impatiently the familiar smell of ducks wafted under my nose.
I scooted along the bench and patted it. ‘Oh come on, loosen up. I only hope I remember this when I wake up. So what happened?’
Anthony sat down, and gazed up at the branches above our heads. ‘It was this tree. I hit my head on a branch on the way up. Amnesia. I don’t know how I found my way home.’
I laughed. ‘Oh please! I thought all aches and pains and illness disappeared when you go up there.’
‘You shouldn’t believe everything you’re told. Past memory isn’t so important in the spirit.’
‘You’re not the only angel. Someone else could have done your work.’
‘I dropped the scroll on my way up; the angel who was in charge of records was promoted up a level, and without him the whole scheme collapsed. It was only a pilot scheme; I did tell you. They gave me filing duties while I was ill. When my memory came back it gave me quite a turn when I found they hadn’t closed your year off, so here I am ready to do your bidding.’
I patted his knee. ‘Thank you; it’s the thought that counts.’
‘You still don’t believe me.’
‘Come on, you said yourself I’m grown up, but merely out of curiosity you understand, do the same rules apply; nice or naughty, no marks for bad behaviour and no age limit?’

His skin was warm beneath the thin silk of his tunic as I ran my fingers up and down his hard muscular thigh --- and prayed.