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tanyawrites · 5 years

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You Can See Me?

A/N: Ok...I know. I’ve been absent a long time. BUT....I have been in school and I just graduated, so maybe I’ll be having more time to write. This is something I wrote for a class a year ago. I forgot about it when my computer busted. So, here’s a little something. I don’t think i’ll continue, but if people want it, I’ll certainly try. I got the idea from a pinterest pin: At first, they held panic, then they darkened. “You can see me? The rest is my imagination. Happy reading!

Triggers: Car accident but not much detail, mentions of a dead pet

I sighed as I waited for the bus for the third week in a row. I missed my car and missed the ability to stop for coffee on my way to work. But unfortunately, I was out of luck. I’d been in a bad accident a few weeks ago, one that should have killed me but somehow hadn’t. The good news: I walked away practically unscathed. The bad news: my car was completely totaled. I sighed again, wallowing in self-pity. Yeah, I was grateful and blessed to be alive, but I couldn’t help but feel depressed at my lack of personal transportation.

Well, there was one bright side to having to suffer through public transformation. He sat at the very back of the bus every day and stared out the window with eyes that I could only imagine were breathtaking. He had dark almost black hair and looked like he was probably taller than me. Sometimes he’d glance down at a book he carried in his lap, like he was contemplating something deeply about the books characters. I happened to peak at it once, when he was looking away and saw that it was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This didn’t help that small crush that I had because that was my absolute favorite of the series. Everyday, as I waited for the bus, I talked myself up to saying hello, but everyday I chickened out.

The bus pulled up beside the stop and opened the door. I bid a good morning to the bus driver, who merely grunted in response, and made my way back. I sat across from him, telling myself that I was going to say hello today. I couldn’t chicken out. The insurance money for my car would be coming soon so I was running out of time. He sat there, staring out the window as always, all the while seemingly ignoring me. I took a deep breath.

“Hi, my name is – “

He startled and stared at me with wide eyes. At first, they held panic, then they darkened. “You can see me?”

I was confused. “I – what? Of course, I can see you!” I subtly pinched myself to make sure I was awake. “As clearly as Harry saw the Grim.” I was hoping the reference would lighten the mood, when, in reality, I was nervous and not the good kind either. Was this guy off his meds or something?

His eyes, if it were possible, got even wider. “Oh man, this is bad. This is so bad.” He shoved his hands into his hair, the book, long forgotten, falling to the floor with a small thud. “I’m in so much trouble.”

I looked around the mostly empty bus, wondering if anyone else was seeing this exchange. However, everyone seemed to be lost in their own minds. I glanced back to the guy who was obviously in need of medical attention. “Look,” I said. “Let me help you. I’ll be right back.”

I got up and walked up to the driver. I sat in the seat behind her and cleared my throat. “Uh, excuse me, ma’am.” She grunted in response. “That man in the back, I think he’s sick. I think he needs help. The very back seat on the right.” She looked back then looked back at me with a funny look on her face.

“What man?” She asked, suspiciously. She thought I was the one who was crazy. I looked in the mirror as if to point him out but gasped. He wasn’t there. I turned around to see if I was really seeing what I was seeing, and there he was. Clear as the day is long. But when I glanced back in the mirror, there was nothing.

I cleared my throat again. “Excuse me. I must have dozed off.” I said robotically. I got back up and walked back to my seat. Ok, so maybe I was sleeping. I mean, this probably means I have been reading too many ghost stories. I sat back on the seat and saw that the man was still slightly panicked.

I cleared my throat once more. “Ok, so, I’m apparently dreaming. If you would allow me to wake up, I’ll see you on the real bus.” I poked at my arm and my face, hoping to knock myself back into consciousness. But all I had managed to do was leave little bruises on my peach-like skin. I could feel the panic starting to rise. Was I the one going crazy? Was I losing my mind? Did that accident leave me in a coma? Did residual effects of the accident leave me in a coma? I tried to come up with a logical explanation, but it was proving a lot harder than expected. “Wait….Are you dead?” I whispered.

He sighed. “Ok. First off: You’re not crazy. Secondly: I’m not crazy, nor am I dead. Thirdly: If you would calm down for a moment, I can figure a way out of this mess.”

I laughed. “What mess? I’m obviously losing my mind, and we’re almost at my stop! How the heck am I supposed to go to work like this? I can’t!” I could feel my breath becoming shallow from the fear. I didn’t understand what was going on. “Either I’m crazy or you’re dead. Literally no other explanation.

His eyes softened at that. “I promise you’re not crazy and that I’m as alive as, well, alive. That’s all you need to know at this point.” His eyes met mine. “I promise you’re not losing your mind, that you’re a completely normal 23-year-old.” He thought for a moment. “Well, normal for you, I suppose.”

I glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He sighed again. “Ok. Ok. I’m going about this all wrong. I will explain to you, but you have to trust me.” He made me look him in the eye as if he could will me with his mind to calm down. “Can you trust me?”

His blue eyes looked so sincere, that I could feel myself nodding before I could even think about it. “Ok.” I was broken out of my trance when I started to feel the bus slowing down. I looked out the window to see where we were and found it was my stop.

“How are you going to find me?” I was still hyper aware of those deep, intense blue eyes. “Do you even know my name? I mean, why wouldn’t you? You knew my age!” How did he know my age? Maybe it was a lucky guess.

“Trust me.” He said. His eyes were beginning to grow a little panicky again. “I’ll figure it out. Just give me some time.” He turned away from me, staring out the window again. “You have to go.”

I put my bag over my shoulder and stood up. “Ok. Not like I really have much of a choice anyway. I can’t just call into work and say “Hey, I think I found a ghost thingy on the bus and now I’ve gone mental.” I was rambling. But what else was I supposed to do?

He nodded. “Oh. One more thing. You have to go on pretending that you didn’t see me and that I didn’t talk to you. Go about your day as if it’s a normal day.”

I quirked a brow at him. “Okay.” I replied slowly. It’s not like anyone would believe me anyway. I walked up front, without looking back and smiled weakly at the bus driver. She gave me that same funny look as if I’d been the one off my meds. I tried to ignore it and walked off in the direction of my workplace. This was going to be an interesting day.

I got out of work at a decent hour and made my way home, my experience this morning in the back of my mind. I was becoming apprehensive about what I was supposed to be learning soon, the ghost theory still the most prominent explanation.

Once inside my apartment, I checked the voicemail on the receiver, finding it was from the insurance company, telling me that I was only getting a portion of what I’d expected. I groaned in frustration. Which means I wouldn’t be able to afford a new car for a while. I was stuck riding public transportation. My thoughts brought me full circle, back to the man on the bus. The clock on the wall read four thirty-seven. Maybe a little nap would calm my jumbled thoughts. I covered myself with a blanket on the couch and was out like a light within minutes.

“You mumble in your sleep.” Said a voice by my head. I shrieked and jumped up, ready to defend myself from anything that might be wishing me harm. The man from the bus sat there on my coffee table, watching me with a look of amusement. I pressed a hand to my heart, hoping to calm it’s erratic beating, and took deep breaths to calm the rest of me.

“How the heck did you get in my house?” I asked, suspicious of the whole thing. “Why did you come in my house? Were you watching me sleep?” I could hear my voice getting hysterical. Who could blame me? I had just been startled awake with some….person….studying me in my sleep.

“The ‘how’ isn’t important at the moment. Let’s talk about that after I’ve told you what I promised to tell you.”

I nodded, then sat back down on the couch. This is what I’d been waiting for all day. “Spill.” I demanded.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, then stood up and began to pace. “Ok.” He said. “Ok.” He turned to face me then took a deep breath. “I’m your guardian angel.”

All I cold do was stare. Then I burst out laughing. “Right, right. My guardian angel!” I managed to choke out between laughs. “Because that’s more believable than being a ghost.”

He frowned. “I’m not joking. I’m really your guardian angel.” I giggled a little after the second time but tried to stifle them, as he seemed to be getting frustrated.

“What do you mean you’re my guardian angel?” I asked.

“I mean,” He said “that I’m here to protect you when you can’t protect yourself. How do you think you walked away so easily from that car accident?”

I froze. How did he know about that? “You heard about that in the news. You can’t use that as proof.” “You swerved to avoid hitting a dog, because you couldn’t bear the thought of someone losing their beloved pet the way you had.”

I felt a chill go to the very core of my being. That wasn’t in the news. I’d never told anyone about that, when they asked why I didn’t just hit the dog, saving myself in the process. What I’d told everyone who asked was that it was a kneejerk reaction. That I hadn’t thought about it, didn’t have time to think about it. But in reality, I was remembering being a kid and being told that someone had hit my poor defenseless pet, practically part of the family, and how utterly heart shattering that is. I couldn’t bear to let anyone else go through that.

“How do you know that?” I asked slowly.

“I’m you’re guardian angel. I know just about everything. Especially when you’re screaming it in your mind.” His blue eyes, staring intently, looking desperate to make me believe. After his last reveal, I was starting to think he really was my guardian angel. I mean, how else would I still be alive after totaling my car to such an extent? I ran a hand down my face.

“So, you’re my guardian angel. Do you even have a name?” I couldn’t call him angel or man or dude forever, or however long he decided to stick around.

“Orion.”

I held out my hand. “Emery. But you can call me Em.” He took my hand and shook it. “Ok, so you’re my guardian angel. And you protect me. How come you’ve never shown up before now?”

Orion looked confused. “I don’t know.” As I waited for him to say more, I thought back on all the things that have happened to me. Falling off the rope in gym class, tripping over the sidewalk in heels, running into walls, falling up the stairs after a long day, the list went on and never once did Orion come down to stop me.

“Where have you been my entire life?” I asked, somewhat annoyed.

He groaned. “Look. This doesn’t work how you think it works. When you’re born, the Man upstairs assigns one angel to look after you for the duration of your lifetime. We’re supposed to interfere until He tells us that it’s your time to join him. But we only save you from outside influences. We can’t save you from yourself. You just happen to be clumsy and not very athletic.”

My mouth tightened in annoyance. “Clumsy or not, they couldn’t be helped. And what about the sidewalk or the stairs or the heels or the trunk of my car?” I unconsciously rubbed my head where I’d hit it last month, shutting the lid of the trunk.

“You wore heels. You’re clumsy. You’re absentminded. Put the pieces together.” He once again had that look of amusement on his face. “Anyway, guardian angels aren’t supposed to show their charges that they exist, at least not until it’s time to pass over.” When I didn’t respond he continued to explain. “To the other side. Dead.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know that.”

“The fact that you can see me means I’m so royally screwed that I’ll probably lose my job and be given work elsewhere or a brand-new charge altogether. And let me tell you, babies are pretty boring to watch over when they don’t do anything. Especially when all they do is cry and eat and sleep. Anyway, my point is that you’re never supposed to know we exist.” “But lots of people believe you exist.”

“That’s different from actually physically seeing us.” He sighed in frustration. “I just don’t know why you can see me or what to even do about it now.” He put his head in his hands. “I’m in so much trouble.”

#Writeblr #guardian angel #angels #original #tanyawrites

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