Confess to an Angel

Confess To An Angel

I heard that she was coming; word traveled like prairie fire this time. CNN had it covered right there in front of us.

"Something about a High Priestess coming with a message," someone said.

Sitting in the corner booth at Nate's Cafe, I looked out that window ... and saw her immediately.

I heard someone spit up coffee atop of his Carhartts; the place went dead silent. Until, that is, when Judy dropped a whole tray of fixins across the counter, her hand covering her mouth while she stared out the window right along with everyone else.

"Could this be payback time?," I thought grimly ...

The white, wispy--haired lady didn't exactly walk up the street ... she sort of levitated up Main. And I do mean floated. She didn't use the sidewalk either, simply moonwalked up the middle of the street. Passing directly under the traffic light, the green-yellow-red sequencer shot off, sending the light into a right smart tizzy.

Thought I'd seen them all 'til she got past the Bank of America, and I saw the thermometer reading shoot from a balmy 69 degrees to a frigid ten below.

As soon as she passed the DriveThru, the thermometer shot right back up to an '69' again.

Passing Marlene's Mirror Menagerie, complete chaos broke. Every mirror and ornament shattered inside, sending us thousands of sparkles shining back into broad daylight.

"Good Lord," I heard someone say, almost reverentially.

"Thou shalt not behold a graven image ...," issued another, just behind me.

"I wonder what she wants?," came the reply.

Me, I just stared, watching right smart carefully. I also began thinking of confessing my sins ... right here and now. I immediately regretted killing my brother-in-law, though he had it coming, he surely did.

I saw her near the corner of Main and Ponce De Leon - and begin to slow down. A German Shepherd on a corner stoop threw its ears back, lifted its head and let out a howl that scared the neighbors' cats so bad they split up the stately oak like a pair of lightning repeaters.

She pivoted there on the corner, her white robes began gleaming like a polished mirror takes to the Sun... only brighter.

Reaching backwards, from behind her robes she procured a gleaming brass trumpet in her left hand, and soon afterwards, procured a sword in her right.

Right about then, let there be no mistake, right then and there in the middle of Iowa that one fine day of Spring, I watched her from my booth seat, silent as Death itself.

That's when I saw her peer at both of her hands, almost lovingly, and then she looked up ... straight at me.

"We're ALL going to Hell in a hand basket this time," the Most Reverend Charlie White intoned.

"Jennie, I said, clearing my throat, " could you pass me two creams and a sugar, dear?"

It was time to pay the ransom for a deadly sin.

Most certainly.



Word Count: 498