So lately, been wonderin’
Who will be there to take my place?
When I’m gone, you’ll need love
To light the shadows on your face
If a great wave shall fall
And fall upon us all
Then between the sand and stone
Could you make it on your own?
If I could, then I would
I’ll go wherever you will go
Way up high, or down low
I’ll go wherever you will go…
“There they are,” Lauren said softly. She and Rhapsody watched from the back of
the church as everyone filed out.
Nick and Aislyn were right behind the coffin. Nick was having a hard time walking
from crying so much, so his brother Aaron and his friend Brian were helping him
out. His half-sister, Ginger, was carrying Aislyn.
“She’s crying because he’s crying,” Lauren murmured.
“What?” Rhapsody asked.
“Aislyn’s crying because Nick’s crying.”
“You don’t think she’s sad because she doesn’t have a mother anymore?”
“I’m sure she is, but didn’t you see her during the service? The only time she ever
cried was when she saw that Nick was crying.”
“Interesting. . .”
“Even when he wasn’t crying, Nick’s moods always influenced Aislyn’s.”
“As I recall, you were the same way. If Nick was happy, you were happy.”
“It wasn’t that simple,” Lauren insisted, “Nick’s and my personalities were like night and day. He loved being the center of attention, I hated it. He’d wanna go
out clubbing while I’d just want to soak in the tub and read.”
“But Nick has a real thing about control.”
“Yeah he does, but I don’t know if I’d link that with the crying. His moods can be really contagious. That’s just part of who he is.”
They watched as everyone got in their cars and drove to the cemetery. Luckily,
Nick wasn’t driving. Lauren was all too familiar with what happened when Nick was upset and behind the wheel.
“It doesn’t seem real,” she commented, “To think that I’ll never be in their lives again. Just being with them, ya know? I’ll never have that again.”
“But that’s where you’re wrong,” Rhapsody replied, “You’re going to have quite
the impact on their lives.”
“How so?”
Rhapsody walked over to the curb and sat down,
“You get one year.”
Lauren sat down next to her,
“One year,” she repeated.
“Yes. See, there are two levels for guardian angels. You’re brand new, so you’re on
the first level. You get to stay on earth. The purpose of this is to get everything in your old life situated—especially with the people you left behind. But you only get a year to do it.”
“In the grand scheme of things, that’s not very long. Why can’t I just stay with them forever?”
“If it were intended for the human race to stay on earth forever, then people
wouldn’t be dying.”
“But just a year? Then poof! I never get to see them again?”
“You’ll always be able to see them, you just won’t have as direct of influence on
them anymore. That’s what the second level is, where I’m at. You’re given a person
to guard, but other than that, you’ll be a spectator. That’s why it’s important to get everything wrapped up in that year.”
Lauren nodded,
“How much of an influence will I have on them?”
“I’ll show you.”
They suddenly appeared at the cemetery.
Lauren looked around at all the people who were crying,
“I don’t wanna be here,” she stated firmly.
“Spank that old man over there,” Rhapsody pointed.
“What?”
“Just do it. Trust me.”
Lauren slowly walked over to the old man.
“Spank him as hard as you can!” Rhapsody called out.
Lauren whacked the old man on the butt as hard as she could. He didn’t notice at
all.
“We have very little physical impact on people,” Rhapsody explained, “Our main influence comes in through people’s emotions…how they dream, the way they handle situations…”
“Alright, well I think I’ve got a situation I wanna handle,” Lauren made her way
over to Nick.
“Lauren, stop.”
“Look at the condition he’s in!”
“He needs to grieve right now, it’s all a process. You have to be careful in what you choose to influence. If you change too much in a person’s life, disorientation will follow. Let him grieve.”
Lauren took a step back,
“You said we had little physical impact…when do we have it?”
If you’re going to do something physical to someone or something, you have to be
doing it out of the most tremendous and purest love of your being.”
“But I thought the only emotion we had was love…”
“Having a sense of humor isn’t an emotion,” Rhapsody smiled, “Do you really think
that you spanked that guy out of love?”
Lauren giggled, “I guess not.”
“Just remember that you only have a year. Whatever you want for the people you
love, now’s the time to do it. The year will be over before you know it.”
“Okay.”
Rhapsody began disappearing,
“I’m going back to second level now. If you ever want me back here, just give me
a shout.”
“Wait, who am I going to be assigned to guard permanently?”
“By the end of 365 days, you will know.”
Rhapsody vanished completely.
Lauren watched everyone go back to their cars to go to the reception.
“Be careful in what you choose to influence,” she echoed Rhapsody’s words. She
walked over to Nick and began following him.
Bob came up to Nick and pulled him aside,
“I just saw a news van pull up.”
Nick’s face turned a dark crimson color.
“What should I tell them?” Bob asked.
“Tell them that this is a private affair and if they don’t get their asses outta here in 2 fucking seconds, they’ll be sorry they even woke up this morning,” Nick
growled.
Lauren smiled. If there was one thing that Nick hated more than anything, it was the media. He went to great lengths to keep his private life under wraps.
Bob went over to the van and Nick got into the limo. Lauren followed him in.
His mom, Jane, was already in there. Nick sat down across from her and
immediately looked out the window.
Soon, Bob came in. The door was shut behind him.
“Where’s Aislyn?” Lauren asked. Of course, no one heard her. She peeked through
the separator window and saw that Aislyn was in the first section of the limo with
Ginger, BJ, Leslie, Angel, and Aaron.
“Nick, why isn’t she with you?” Lauren asked.
He looked out the window, watching the cemetery slowly disappear.
“Honey, she was in so much pain…now she’s in a better place,” Jane tried to
comfort him.
Nick shot her a dark look, then moved his eyes back to the window.
***lyrics from “Wherever you will go”
written by Aaron Kamin and Alex Band of The Calling
Album: Camino Palmero
