Libre Magazine

He was seventy one thousand years old; but he wasn’t imperial enough yet, for there were angels who were older than him and still waiting in line. He had traversed the skies but that’s not what he was made to do; his destiny was to descend upon the earth one day in the times of utmost anguish and desolation and bring serenity to aching hearts. He was the angel of hope.

Every day he flew to the edge of the sky from where he could see the earth down below. With as much disdain as anticipation, he rummaged for human souls burdened with sorrow and trials; and he found them in plenty. War, torture, murder, hunger, poverty, injustice, arrogance, ignorance, pride and hatred; it was all there. And there were victims; helpless … hopeless.

He could cruise that distance of a million miles in as much time as it took for an aching heart to call upon God. But he hadn’t had his orders yet. In all those times of pounding ordeals, he saw not one from his assembly of angels of hope, flying down and ingesting comfort into a broken heart. He didn’t understand the reason for this delay, so he didn’t complain.

One day, in a small African village, he saw faith in angles flying out of the heart of Uzuri. This was painful; it was as if he saw his own self becoming the victim of mercilessness of human race. He wanted to help her; he wanted to show her that he exists, that there is hope. He wanted to bring himself back into her heart, but he didn’t have his orders yet. Sitting at the edge of his painful wish, he looked up towards the heaven for an order. There was none. Uzuri’s agony would continue. As slow as he could move, he walked back to his bunch.

A few days later he went back to see what happened to Uzuri; she was in utter pain as she left her home to an unknown destination. Not having the heart to see it any further, he bowed his head in grief and sat their silently. A few moments passed and he heard some soft steps ruffling the spotless clouds. His orders had come. “Be the angel of hope … for Ezeamaka.”

On his way down, he kept thinking about Uzuri; what will become of her? As he descended on earth and wrapped his wings around Ezeamaka, he caught sight of Ezuri and her family. There were clouds of angel wings wrapped all around her. He smiled and looked up towards the heaven.

Angels were falling from the sky.