All her life, Caridee had been brought up inside the huge walls of their garden. Her father never took care of her; he hired nurses and servants to look after Caridee and yet he never let these servants have conversations with his child. He never allowed Caridee to play beyond the walls of their garden; in fact, she never had the chance to see what kind of life existed beyond that wall. He never showed love and care for his only child. He spent all his time in the basement, immersed in woodcraft.
Caridee’s father said that her mother died in childbirth. The flowers inside the garden were the only friends that Caridee had. She felt alone inside the walls of their garden.
One sunny afternoon, Caridee was in the garden playing alone when suddenly, she heard a crash near the fountain. It was an angel. Its grey wings radiated feathers with tiny crystals on their edges; the crystals seem to be the reason why the angel seems to glow, despite the lack of majesty in the color of its wings. Filled with wonder, Caridee approached the angel.
She walked towards the angel and reached out.
“You’ve touched my wings,” the angel said. “Do you know what that means?”
“No. Did I do something wrong?”
“Not at all, child; but now it means that you have to help me.”
“But I am only a child. I cannot do much,” protested Caridee.
“I understand. I need you to help me find the cure for my wings. My master told me that the cure for my dying wings can only be found in your world,” replied the angel. “I am afraid that one day my master will no longer want my service when he sees that an angel with no wings is useless.”
“I don’t think I can help you, as much as I want to. You see I am not allowed to go outside the walls of this garden. My father is afraid that the outside world will be too much for me to handle,” Caridee explained.
“All right then,” the angel sighed. “But you have to understand that I can no longer last for more than a day, I badly need your help.”
Caridee was overcome with fear for her newfound friend.
“I will try, but I need you to help me climb the walls of our gardens. We’ll wait after my father locks all the doors of the house,” whispered Caridee. “Only after that can we leave.”
At night, Caridee and the angel managed to climb the walls of her father’s garden. Caridee was amazed with all the things that she saw beyond the walls of their gardens. She saw many street lamps, children who rode bicycles and with their mothers running after them.
“I never thought how beautiful it is, to be free,” said Caridee while grasping the hand of the angel. “And to be able to share it with a friend.”
The angel glittered after feeling the touch of the blissful child but they did not waste time and began searching for the cure for his wings which is starting to shed off. The tiny crystals on the edges of its wings had almost gone. The color of the wings was slowly fading away. Caridee was deeply agitated at this sight. A tear fell on her cheek.
“Don’t worry my child. I may not have known you for so long but I want you to remember that whatever happens I will always think of you. You did all you could to help me, and I’ll always be thankful for that,” said the angel while wiping the tears away. “You are my friend.”
Caridee felt very hopeless since they had already spent five hours looking for the cure. She was about to give up all hope when she looked around and saw a beautiful flower at the other end of the road. She hurried ran to the flower, thinking that this could be the cure for her friend’s dying wings. The angel ran after Caridee for he saw that there was a bus swiftly approaching.
“Caridee, wait for me! Please stop! Please!” called the angel.
But Caridee, so eager to get to the flower on the other side of the road, didn’t hear.
The angel felt on his knees and placed Caridee’s motionless body on his lap. He kissed the child’s forehead and cried.
“Did you know that this is going to happen?!” shouted the angel towards the sky. “She was just a child! I should have known, you fooled me.”
There was a flash of light in the sky. Heavy rain began to pour. The angel, still holding on to the motionless body of Caridee, held his face towards the sky and felt the rain touch his face.
“I’ll bring you home my child,” whispered the angel to Caridee.
The angel stood up and did not dare to look behind him but he felt power return. He stretched his white wings with the radiating feathers and the tiny crystals on their edges; the crystals made the angel glow.
Caridee’s father enjoyed the heavy rain with a glass of wine. He was staring out the window when he saw this magnificent creature ascending. He squinted to see better, and was dumbfounded when he saw Caridee being carried towards to sky by this glowing angel.
“My child,” whispered her father. A tear rolled down his cheek. “Haven’t I protected you enough?”
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Kela Salvador is in her 4th year of BS Nursing at Ateneo de Davao University.