Says the old, disheveled man sitting on the curb.
“I had a dream once that I was not alone. I had grown my wings and would fly, a beautiful angel by my side. We would fly above our limitations, pierce the clouds of fearful minds, together. She would fly beside me and never want to part and I was, for once, as loved as I could love and as part of her as she was part of me.”
He looked up at the sky, a tear working its way down his dusty cheek.
“So wealthy in her space I wished to be. We’d find our tree and build our heaven together. No work, no fight in us existed in the moment. No materialism, no struggle for more, just wealth in the love we’d always sought, and trust that what we found existed. When nighttime voices woke us from our sleep we’d find comfort in the warmth we’d found beside us. It was all such a beautiful dream that I had once, if only I could have it come again.”
He rose and walked away, stumbling a bit as teary eyes blurred in intoxication. He looked down at the concrete that now adorned his feet, and remembered the dusty trails and sea-packed beaches that once had graced his steps. He could almost hear the gulls singing as the waves broke beside him. He kissed the open air and turned to me with a familiar look.
“Make your way, my son. Do not give up what you love when the sadness comes. Do not hesitate to open your heart when you hear the demons raging just outside your door. If you find her, love her with all your strength. When that truth arrives, pray it is her truth as well. If it is, it is worth dying for. If not, it’s worth living to regret. If she comes, never let her forget how loved she is, and never throw away that gift regardless of what winds may blow your way. She, and the love you’ve found inside for her, is why you were born. Live for it, and never die again.
When an angel lives among us, let us rise to the occasion and pray we are enough to be an angel in return.”
He may have walked away, but he has never left me. I pray often in his memory that my wings are good enough to fly, and I am worthy of the love that’s by my side.