You Just Had To Ask

 
     "I want to get to know the angel that follows me," Caitlyn said. She turned and looked out the window to avoid eye contact with David. Despite the fact that he was her best friend, talking about angels made her nervous. "It follows me all the time, I know that, but I haven’t been able to connect. It’s frustrating."

     "Maybe you should work on letting go of that frustration. You just need to clear the path," David said. He was unconsciously spinning the long crystal spire that sat in the middle of the dining room table. It created a meditative feeling for both of them and for a few moments, they both stopped talking and stared at the twirling crystal. 
     "You’re right, of course. You’re almost always right," she said finally. The spinning crystal slowed down and stopped releasing its hold on their attention.
     "Almost always?"
     "Yes, almost always. Don’t get cocky." She gave him a kind smile as she spoke. Caitlyn reached out and grabbed the large crystal to feel the weight of it in her hand. David had acquired the thing many years ago and it had always felt special to her, comforting, kind and full of love. It soothed her the moment she closed her hand around it. She felt it get warm with her touch.
     "Take it with you." David said. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small piece of Carnelian. "Take this one too. Keep the quartz in your purse and the little one in your hip pocket."
     "Are you sure? You never part with these."
     "I’m sure. You need them. Now go and tell those people that you have every right to fulfill your dreams."
     They both stood up and made their way to the front door. Caitlyn grabbed a couple of paper towels and wrapped the crystal up, gently placing in her handbag afterwards. She shoved the little Carnelian into the right pocket of her jeans then slid into her coat as David held it up for her.
     "Thank you David. I couldn’t do this without you." She moved toward him and kissed his cheek.
      "Oh yes you could. I’m just here to make it a little easier and that’s all. Not a tough job and I’m glad to be around when you need me. Just remember who your friends are when you’re a rich and famous author, jetsetting around the world to your rich and fancy book parties."
     "Don’t worry. You’ll have your own seat on my private jet."

     Caitlyn arrived at the Dolphin Publishing building with two hours to pass before her appointment. She pulled into the parking lot and found an empty spot by a large Oak tree. She hadn’t expected to arrive so early. It usually took her an hour to drive from David’s place to the part of town where Dolphin Publishing sat but today it had only taken twenty-five minutes. It was low traffic and smooth sailing all the way.

     She rolled her car in and shut off the engine and along with it, the music from her CD player. It was a time for quiet, a time to go inward to find the courage she needed for this next event in her life. The large building that would either be the hub of her future or another nasty reminder of her failure as a writer, loomed over her. The tree was a much nicer focal point so she turned to face it from her driver’s seat point of view and rolled down the window to smell its luscious fragrance. The air was chilly but the connection with the tree was worth a few goosebumps. After taking a few long, deep breaths, Caitlyn reached into her bag and pulled out the crystal, then she reached into her pants’ pocket for the Carnelian stone. Sitting quietly with the large quartz in the left hand and the smaller Carnelian in the right, she rested both hands on her lap and closed her eyes. Her mind cleared almost immediately. If there was one thing in the world she knew she was good at, it was meditating. It was effortless to get to her safe place where she rested in peace, fully and completely. She knew her guides well and they were always there, enjoying themselves on her inner island oasis. There were guides of many types: Animals, elementals, angels, masters and guardians as well as the ever present One.

     A noise startled her out of her safe place as a car pulled into a stall, two spaces from her own car.
     "Damn it," she whispered. She hated having to do this kind of thing in a public place. The energies of others sometimes leaked through and disrupted her concentration. At least she was in her car and no one could see her holding the stones. She hadn’t fully come out of the spiritual closet despite the fact that it was the only part of her life she could trust.
     "Sorry tree," she said as she rolled up the window. The silence was sweet and the protection of the closed in space of her car reassured her that getting back to the island oasis was an easy task. A long, heavy breath left her body and again, she closed her eyes and rested on the beach, her beach with it’s warm breeze and setting sun. She could smell the salt of the ocean and feel the cooling sand beneath her bare feet. 
     Her attention was drawn to a small point of copper light, high in the darkening sky. She had never seen that before. It was definitely meant for her to pay attention to. It was profoundly beautiful. It sparkled over the ocean seeming to wink at her. That made her smile. Then it began to grow. It didn’t take long for her to realize that it was coming straight to her, getting bigger and brighter with each second. In an instant, the faraway star was enveloping her in it’s copper energy. It surrounded her with a feeling of warmth, strength and assurance. The hair resting on her shoulder was gently pushed aside and a long, slender, hand rested in it’s place. Caitlyn looked to her left and followed the appearance of the hand up a shimmering arm to a shock of thick copper hair. Sparkling lights of Indigo and violet danced around the image.
     "You called. Here I am. I’m the one you wish to see. I’ve always been here you know."
     "Gabriel." Caitlyn whispered.
     "You see? You’ve always known. I sit with you every time you write, every time you read, every time you even think about doing those things. I stay with you then and I’m here for you now." The angel gave Caitlyn a gentle, reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. "You think my appearance is remarkable but it is not, it is normal. What’s not normal is to never see us, feel us, hear us. It makes me so happy that you have been able to reach out to me. Now I can care for you the way you deserve to be cared for. This is a great blessing to be sure, for you and me." Gabriel spoke but no movement came from the shimmering lips. A breeze played around the thick, course hair and the soft feathers of her wings. Caitlyn took in the image and realized that it was a being of inexplicable beauty. It looked both male and female, like every living thing known to be, like something human and not human at all. She marvelled over it’s complexity then noticed that the image was an illusion. The truth of Gabriel was in the copper light. Gabriel was a pure being of light, the body was only to accommodate Caitlyn’s dulled human senses.
     "You’ve done everything that you needed to do. Now go and share your experience with others." Gabriel waved her hand around Caitlyn’s head. A stream of copper light flowed from it and rested on Caitlyn encasing her whole body in an aura of orange/yellow light.
     "One, two, three," Gabriel said and smiled.
     Caitlyn’s eyes opened immediately and to her surprise the light was still visible. She blinked several times but the energy remained.
     "It will never leave you. This light is my gift to you." Gabriel voice eased into her mind.

     Moments later, Caitlyn was sitting quietly in Leo Densworth’s office. She thought she’d be nervous but all she felt was excited, energized and confident. All she could think was that she had finally met an angel and Arch Angel Gabriel no less! Whatever this publisher had to say seemed to pale in the comparison. Deep in her heart, Caitlyn knew that regardless of what happened in that office, her success was assured.

     "Good afternoon Ms. Decker. I’ll get right to the point as I know you must be anxious to know our decision." Leo Densworth said as he sat behind his desk. "We were impressed three times over and that’s what it takes to get published here. You’re book made it through our three toughest editor’s and came out in tact. With your approval, we can start the process the first of next week. What do you think?"
     "I think that’s fantastic." Caitlyn blurted out.

     Leo and Caitlyn talked for about an hour then set up appointments for the following week. As Leo walked her to the door, he shook her hand and said "We weren’t going to take any more fiction this year, it’s amazing your book even made it to the editors office. There must be angels looking after you."
     "Oh, of that I have no doubt." Out of the corner of her eye, Caitlyn saw a flash of copper light. "No doubt at all."