Angelaboutme

And for the first time in her life, Lena smiled and said it aloud, just to see how it felt:

“You ran across six lanes of traffic to save a stray cat last year.”

Margo smiled, and for the first time, Lena noticed that her smile looked like sunrise—warm and slow and full of impossible light. “That’s okay. That’s why I’m here. Not to fix you. Just to sit with you. Just to remind you that you’re not alone.” angelaboutme

“You’re not hallucinating,” Margo said cheerfully. “You’re just finally able to see me. I’ve been here the whole time. Twenty-six years, to be precise. And let me tell you, it has been exhausting . Do you know how hard it is to keep someone alive when they have a death wish disguised as ‘healthy risk assessment’?”

Margo was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke again, her voice was different—less chirpy, more gentle. “I know. I was there. I sat on the fire escape outside your bedroom window every night for six months after he left, just in case you decided to climb out. You almost did, twice. Do you remember?” And for the first time in her life,

Margo grinned. “No. Most of them are really into kale. Very sanctimonious about it, too. I’m kind of the black sheep of the guardian angel world.”

The cement worked. For a decade, it worked beautifully. Not to fix you

She woke up in a hospital bed, which was ironic enough to make her want to laugh. Her body was broken in three places: a fractured pelvis, two cracked ribs, a concussion that would give her migraines for months. But that wasn’t the strangest part. The strangest part was the woman sitting in the plastic chair beside her bed.