Read Part One | Part Two

“Okay, something is wrong here. Did you call me out here as a joke?” Holly asked. “Because if you did, I don’t like it. I haven’t seen you in forever, and when I do, you tell me some bullshit story about angels and old ladies, and God knows what else. Why?”

It dumbfounded Magna. Her jaw seemed locked in place, and her head was heavy. How could her best friend from college, a friend that knew her better than anyone else, react like this? Magna did not expect her to be understanding, but she expected a rational dialogue to take place. Even if Holly had cracked some jokes at her expense, it would have been better than this rant.

When she spoke, Magna chose her words carefully. She wanted nothing more than to lash out and be angry. But she also knew that she had something else in store for her friend. She had a smile that would crack even the toughest shell. So, Magna smiled like she had so many times in the past month and waited.

The typical response time was immediate. Magna smiled. The person she smiled at stopped their frowning and smiled back. It was that simple. Sometimes there was a faint glow that would cross between Magna and the other person, but not always. But now, sitting across from her friend, there was no faint glow. And Holly’s face had not changed one bit. Something was wrong.

“Why are you smiling at me like that?” Holly asked, more agitated than before.

“I thought you might understand, Holly. I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about this, and it’s driving me crazy. I just needed to talk.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you should talk about it to a shrink. You clearly have issues, Magna.”

That was how lunch ended. Holly’s biting comments about shrinks and Magna sitting alone at the bread shop, a dirty tray in front of her, and an empty seat across the table. She wanted to go home. At least there, the cats didn’t think she was crazy. And even if they did, they certainly never showed it.

The last thing in the world Magna wanted to deal with was bickering. But that’s what she got when she entered her apartment. She had a lousy afternoon and wanted nothing more than to sit down in front of her TV and chill out. But the old ladies were at it again.

They were just inside the doorway when Magna opened the door. Lizbeth was visibly upset, putting her fingers in Dorothy’s face and talking loud. Magna bent down and picked up Tabby and Abby and closed the door behind her. She could only imagine what the neighbors might think about this nonsense.

“I will not sit by and watch this happen, Dorothy,” Lizbeth said.

Magna moved between the ladies, feeling a cold rush of air sweep over her. It was as if the caustic argument translated into a chilly atmosphere.

“What is going on with you two!” Magna shouted. She felt tired. These ladies were always arguing, and they never did it in private. They made her home a spiritual battleground for their nonsense, but Magna had a feeling from the look on Lizbeth’s face that this might not be a small squabble. These ladies were clearly passionate about something. And that worried Magna the most.

Dorothy moved around Magna and got near Lizbeth.

“This woman does not know when to let things go,” Dorothy said.

“Me?” Lizbeth retorted. “I’m trying to save someone serious grief.”

Magna held out her arms and shouted, “Both of you stop this right now! Sit down!”

Dorothy and Lizbeth looked as if someone had slapped them. They paused and made their way to the couch where they sat at opposite ends and barely looked at each other. Magna set the cats down and moved over to the loveseat adjacent to the couch. She felt like a mother about to scold her children.

“You two have been going at it ever since you visited me. And while I really couldn’t care less if you argue, I do care that you do it in my home. I have neighbors, you know,” Magna said.

Lizbeth glared at Dorothy and then settled her gaze on Magna. “There are so many things you need to know. And Dorothy doesn’t agree with me. I’m simply tired of dealing with the lie,” Lizbeth said.

Dorothy put her head down,  unhappy with Lizbeth’s comment.

Magna looked over at Dorothy and glared. She wanted answers. “What is she talking about, Dorothy?”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Magna,” Dorothy said.

“I’ll decide that,” Magna said.

There was silence then. No one willing to speak, and a great weight settled on the room. Dorothy fidgeted with the hem of her dress, and Lizbeth glared at her.  Magna was a rock. She looked at Dorothy, not taking her eyes from her until she spoke and told her the truth.

Dorothy spoke. “The other day, when you heard Lizbeth tell you about the list that we used to recruit help, remember?”

Magna nodded.

“Well, that’s true. We use that list because He demands that we use it.  I knew enough about you to know that you should have been on that list. So, I convinced Lizbeth to go along with me. She did, reluctantly.” Dorothy paused here, folding the hem of her dress.

“Keep going, Dorothy,” Lizbeth said.

Dorothy looked up from the hem and continued.

“What you’ve been tasked with, Magna, this task you have agreed to do, there’s more to it.”

Magna sat upright.  Her lunch with Holly had left an ugly feeling in her that got stronger as Dorothy spoke. There was something dreadful hanging in the air. As Dorothy geared up to speak again, Magna stood and left the room, leaving Lizbeth and Dorothy staring at each other.

Magna surveyed the kitchen, deciding what to break. She wanted to smash it all.  Dorothy had made it clear there was something more to her task, and Magna knew without a doubt what that would be. She didn’t know how she knew; she just did.  It was dreadful. How could they have lied to her like this? Lizbeth, the one with the pretentious name and worse demeanor, turned out to be the sane one. Dorothy’s motives may have been pure, but her choices were not.

Cups and glassware flew, shattering on the ground. Plastic tumblers bounced and clanged on the floor, scaring Abby and Tabby from the room. Magna pulled out everything from one cabinet and then moved on to the next one. Boxes of cereal flew out behind her, splattering on the ground. A jar of unopened mayonnaise exploded and splashed the back of her legs.  She felt nothing but anger. And how could that be? Wasn’t she charged with the task of saving the world because she was so happy? Wasn’t she the savior of a million people just by smiling?

“Fuck that!” Magna said.

Dorothy and Lizbeth glided into the kitchen.  They moved close to Magna, hoping to calm her in some way.  The three women looked at each other, and a sense of panic settled in.  Magna felt claustrophobic. She wanted to run from the room.

“Tell her, Dorothy,” Lizbeth said.

“Yes, tell me, Dorothy. By the way, is it customary for angels to lie?” Magna said.

“I only lied to protect you, sweetie. If I had told you everything, you wouldn’t have done the job.”

“But it would have been my choice, right?” Magna said.

“You don’t know how important you are. I went outside His rules to get you involved. Most people would consider that an honor.”

“Dammit, Dorothy! Why do you insist on assuming what’s good for me? I agreed to do it because I could not imagine what my life would be like after knowing.  How could I go back to my normal life knowing that there was something so wonderful out there just waiting inside of my smile?”

“Why are you so upset then?” Dorothy asked.

Magna shot a look at Lizbeth. She was staring, not moving, weighing the scene. Magna hated her for that. She wanted support and found none. She returned her attention to Dorothy.

“I’m upset because I am not ready to die,” Magna said.

“Who said you were going to die?” Dorothy asked.

Magna glared. Dorothy looked down at her feet, ashamed of her continued reliance on glossing over the truth. She looked at Lizbeth, hoping for support. But like her blank stare at Magna, Lizbeth offered Dorothy only emptiness. It’s your fight, the look said.  Dorothy made this mess, and she hurt a soul in the process.

“So, how does it happen?” Magna asked.

Dorothy didn’t answer. She sat at the kitchen table, pushing aside a plastic tumbler that had settled on the chair. Lizbeth moved towards Magna and put a hand on her shoulder. Magna shuddered.

“It happens when there’s no more happiness, Magna. When your life reaches a point when you just can’t seem to deliver a genuine smile, and it will happen, by the way. It always does. That happiness you have is like gas in a tank; as it runs down, it gets harder and harder to keep up that goodwill. You were chosen because you had a large tank, so to speak. Dorothy was right in choosing you. I only wish she had given you all the facts.”

Magna cried. And with each tear, she felt lighter.  Dorothy didn’t look up, but Lizbeth kept her hand on her shoulder, rubbing it, comforting her.

“How does it happen?” Magna asked in between sobs.

“It happens like you’re going to sleep. You simply stop being,” Lizbeth said.

Magna chuckled. She almost expected that her demise would be something like that, but when Lizbeth confirmed, it seemed almost comical.

“You expected something a bit more dramatic?” Lizbeth asked.

“No. Actually, I thought the only fitting thing that could happen is for me to pass away in my sleep.”

“You seem okay with all of this,” Lizbeth said.

Magna wiped her nose on her sleeve, smiling. “Do I have a choice?”

Lizbeth moved towards Dorothy and tapped her shoulder. Dorothy looked up with eyes that seemed too heavy. “I think it might be time to go,” Lizbeth said.

Dorothy nodded and stood.  She offered Magna a smile. “I’m truly sorry, Magna. Sometimes that free will moves past this physical world. And even up in the clouds, amongst the beauty of Heaven, we angels make mistakes. None of us is infallible.”

“No one?” Magna asked.

Lizbeth smiled, “Almost no one.”

Dorothy and Lizbeth moved towards the archway into the living room. They both looked back over their shoulders and offered Magna a smile.

“Keep smiling, Magna,” Dorothy said.

“We’ll see you soon,” said Lizbeth with a faint smile.  Magna knew that look and thought it could not have been any other way. Lizbeth was who she was, and that comment solidified her in Magna’s mind as the most enjoyable angel she ever had the pleasure of knowing.

The two ladies floated away into the air and swirled into nonexistence, leaving the apartment quiet and still.  Tabby and Abby were nowhere to be found.

In the kitchen, amidst the debris of her tantrum, Magna smiled. She had some gas left in her tank, after all.  Enough for more trapped souls set free. She looked at her feet and made sure she had walking shoes on. There were at least a million miles left in her tank, and she intended to walk it with a big smile on her face.