The hospital room had become painfully quiet.
After everything that had happened—the anger, the questions, Chris storming away, Lucy leaving—only Kathy and Susan remained.
Mother and daughter.
Neither seemed to know what to say.
Kathy stared toward the window.
Susan sat nearby, watching her.
Minutes passed.
Finally Kathy broke the silence.
“I want to go home, Momma.”
Susan looked at her daughter.
“I know you do.”
Kathy pulled the blanket a little higher around herself.
“Do you think they’ll let me?”
“I’m sure they’ll keep you tonight, sweetheart. Just to be safe.”
Kathy nodded.
Silence returned.
Susan looked down at her hands.
There were a hundred things she wanted to say.
Some of them angry.
Some frightened.
Some she knew she might regret the instant they left her mouth.
She raised her eyes.
“Kathy?”
Kathy looked at her.
Susan’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Kathy dropped her gaze.
“Why?”
That one word seemed to carry everything Susan had been holding inside.
Kathy’s eyes filled again.
“Mom...”
She tried to speak, but nothing came.
Susan waited.
Finally Kathy surrendered.
“If I had told you...”
Her voice broke.
“I know things would have been different.”
Susan said nothing.
Kathy wiped her face.
“I was scared.”
“I know.”
“I thought Chris would hate me.”
Susan’s expression softened.
“I thought you’d be disappointed in me.”
“Kathy...”
“I was trying to protect everybody.”
Susan stared at her.
“Chris.”
Kathy nodded.
“You.”
Another nod.
“Myself, I guess.”
Susan moved a little closer to the bed.
“We would have worked it out.”
Kathy began crying harder.
Susan reached for her hand.
“We might not have known how.”
She squeezed it.
“We might have been scared. We might have been angry. We might have cried a lot.”
Kathy looked at her mother.
“But we would have worked it out.”
For a moment neither said anything.
Then Kathy tightened her fingers around Susan’s hand.
Across the hospital, Paul quietly entered the nursery.
Rows of newborn babies slept beneath soft lights.
Some squirmed.
Some stretched tiny fingers.
One made a face that caused Paul to smile.
He moved slowly from one little bed to another.
The babies could see him.
Not with the eyes they would soon learn to depend upon—
but with something they had not yet forgotten.
Their spiritual sight.
Paul smiled at each one.
And one by one, tiny eyes seemed to recognize him.
Light.
Everywhere he looked, Paul saw its possibility.
He stood quietly among them and thought about how extraordinary their journey would be.
A first touch.
A first laugh.
A scraped knee.
A birthday.
A broken heart.
A friendship.
A family.
A lifetime that would seem so long while they were living it...
and so very short when compared with eternity.
Paul whispered:
“What a gift.”
Paul moved quietly through the nursery.
Row after row of tiny beds stretched before him.
Some babies slept.
Some stirred.
Some fussed softly beneath blankets.
Machines hummed.
Lights blinked.
Life hung in the balance all around him.
Then Paul stopped.
At the very end of the room sat a tiny bed surrounded by tubes and wires.
A little baby girl lay there.
So small.
So fragile.
Her chest fluttered with each shallow breath.
Her tiny hands rested near her sides.
Her skin looked almost translucent beneath the soft hospital light.
Paul stepped closer.
He looked at all the tubes.
The wires.
The tape.
The machines doing everything they could to help her stay.
And then he looked past all of it.
He looked at her.
At the little soul inside that tiny, struggling body.
Something in Paul’s face changed.
His great wings grew still.
His eyes softened.
He understood.
“This little one,” he whispered, “will earn her Wings very soon.”
He leaned down close beside her.
Very gently.
Very tenderly.
And with a voice full of love, he said,
“Paradise will soon be your home, sweet Spirit.”
Later that evening, Paul returned to the hospital roof.
The sky had turned deep blue.
A full moon hung above the city, spilling silver light across the rooftops.
Below him, people came and went through the hospital doors.
Ambulances arrived with lights flashing and sirens crying out.
Others left quietly.
Paul watched it all.
So much life.
So much fear.
So much hope.
His thoughts drifted back to the little girl in the nursery.
Then a familiar voice shattered the quiet.
“WHAT A DAY!”
Paul nearly jumped off the ledge.
John came flying across the roof, laughing as he looped through the moonlight.
He spun once.
Twice.
Then landed beside Paul with a flourish.
Paul stared at him.
“You seem happy.”
John’s face was glowing.
“You should have been there!”
Paul smiled.
“I’m guessing this has something to do with Chris.”
“My dad.”
John puffed his chest out proudly.
“You should have seen his Light!”
Paul laughed.
“I had a feeling.”
“It was beautiful, Paul.”
John sat beside him.
“I just know we can help Momma shine like that too.”
Paul looked toward Kathy’s room below.
John continued eagerly.
“I know it’s going to happen.”
Paul was quiet.
John noticed.
“How is she?”
Paul took a breath.
“Your mother and Susan talked.”
“Good talk?”
Paul made a face.
“Some talking.”
John tilted his head.
“Some staring.”
John nodded solemnly.
“Some not knowing what to say.”
“That sounds complicated.”
“It was.”
John looked toward the hospital windows.
“Do you think she’s going to be okay?”
Paul looked at him.
“I think we’ll know more in the morning.”
John grew quiet.
The moonlight caught the edges of his wings.
Then he asked:
“Paul?”
“Yes?”
“What if she never shines?”
Paul turned toward him.
John’s voice had lost all of its excitement.
“What if Momma never finds her Light?”
Paul placed a hand on his shoulder.
“John, we are not going to think that way.”
“But what if—”
“We will do everything we can.”
Paul looked directly into his eyes.
“We will love her.”
John listened.
“We will guide her.”
Paul squeezed his shoulder.
“We will stay close.”
Then his voice softened.
“But in the end, the choice will still be hers.”
John looked down.
“I guess you’re right.”
Paul smiled.
“I usually am.”
John looked at him sideways.
“Usually?”
Paul grinned.
“Usually.”
John looked at Paul.
“So what have you been doing while I was gone?”
Paul smiled.
“I went back to the nursery.”
John’s eyes brightened.
“To see the babies?”
“To say hello to the new guys.”
John grinned.
Paul’s expression softened.
“And I had a chance to Whisper to one beautiful little Spirit.”
John’s head tilted.
“Wait.”
Paul knew that look.
John pointed at him.
“You said we only get one chance to Kiss and Whisper.”
Paul smiled.
“No, John. I said you only get one chance.”
John stared at him.
“That is not what I heard.”
“It is exactly what I said.”
“So you can do it more than once?”
“When I’m given the opportunity and when I believe it may touch someone’s soul.”
John planted both hands on his hips.
“Well!”
Paul tried not to laugh.
“NOT FAIR!”
Paul folded his arms.
“Not fair?”
“Not fair!”
Paul leaned toward him.
“You got to ride on top of Chris’ car.”
John’s mouth opened.
“And I had to stay here listening to all the commotion in Kathy’s room.”
John paused.
“Oh.”
Paul raised an eyebrow.
John thought for a moment.
“Yeah...there’s that.”
The two angels smiled.
Then the wind changed.
Clouds moved across the moon, and silver light began breaking through them in long glowing beams.
John and Paul stopped talking.
They simply watched.
The night sky seemed to open above them.
Then suddenly—
a brilliant beam of light shot upward from the hospital.
So bright that both angels stumbled backward.
John caught himself.
Paul nearly fell.
“What was THAT?”
The beam rose higher.
Straight through the moonlight.
Toward Heaven.
Paul’s face changed.
He knew.
He lifted both hands.
“Welcome.”
John looked from the beam to Paul.
Paul smiled through shining eyes.
“Welcome, sweet Spirit.”
The golden light continued upward until it disappeared beyond the clouds.
John stood quietly beside him.
Neither needed to say who it was.
They both knew.
The tiny girl from the nursery had gone Home.
A little later, John and Paul sat side by side on top of Susan’s SUV.
Their robes flapped wildly in the night wind as the vehicle made its way home from the hospital.
John leaned forward, holding on.
Then he started laughing.
“You know what, Paul?”
Paul raised his voice over the wind.
“What?”
“This really is fun!”
Paul smiled.
“I told you.”
John looked ahead toward the road.
“One thing’s for sure, though.”
“What’s that?”
“She drives a whole lot slower than my dad.”
Paul laughed.
John’s curls whipped across his forehead.
“I thought my wings were going to fly off when Dad was driving!”
“It’s still slower than flying.”
“Maybe.”
John adjusted himself on the roof.
“But this is a whole lot easier on my wings.”
Paul looked over at him.
“Don’t worry. Your strength will come.”
John smiled.
“When?”
“When you’re soaring through the clouds.”
John sat a little taller.
“I’m looking forward to that.”
Below them, the SUV turned toward home.
Inside, the ride was much quieter.
Kathy stared out the window.
Susan kept both hands on the steering wheel.
Neither seemed to know what to say.
It had been a long night.
An awkward night.
A painful night.
There had been so many moments when one of them almost spoke.
So many glances.
So many questions.
So many things neither was ready to hear.
Finally Susan turned into the driveway.
She let out a long breath.
“Well...we’re here.”
Kathy looked toward the house.
Home.
After everything that had happened, even the familiar porch light felt comforting.
Then a horn sounded behind them.
Both women turned.
Another car pulled into the driveway.
Lucy.
She jumped out almost before the car had stopped.
“I bet you’re glad to get out of that hospital!”
Kathy managed a small smile.
Lucy hurried toward her and wrapped her in a hug.
“I’m sorry.”
Kathy looked surprised.
“I should have stayed.”
Lucy held her tighter.
“Please forgive me.”
Kathy nodded.
Lucy pulled back.
“Everybody at school has been asking about you.”
Kathy’s face immediately changed.
Her stomach tightened.
“What did you tell them?”
Lucy saw the panic.
“Nothing.”
Kathy stared at her.
“Well...not nothing.”
“Lucy.”
“I just told them you were having...you know...girl problems.”
Kathy waited.
“And that you were going to be okay.”
Kathy finally exhaled.
“Good.”
Lucy studied her friend.
Kathy hesitated.
Then asked the question she had been thinking about ever since Chris left the hospital.
“Have you seen him?”
Lucy knew exactly who she meant.
“Chris?”
Kathy nodded.
“No.”
Lucy looked away.
“I don’t think he really wants to talk to me right now.”
Kathy’s eyes dropped.
Lucy softened.
“Do you want to see him?”
Kathy thought about it.
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then quietly:
“I don’t know, Lucy.”
She looked toward the house.
“I really don’t know.”
Susan reached gently for Kathy’s arm.
“Come on, dear. Let’s get inside.”
Lucy picked up the hospital bag.
“You girls go sit in the living room,” Susan said. “I’ll get you something to drink.”
The three went in through the back door.
Home felt different now.
Familiar...
but changed.
Kathy and Lucy settled into the living room while Susan stepped into the kitchen.
Then she saw it.
The Bible.
Still open on the table.
Exactly where she had left it.
Susan stopped.
For a moment, everything from earlier came rushing back.
The hospital.
Paul.
Jerry.
The years of grief.
The moments when she had thought she simply could not keep going.
And yet somehow...
she had.
Susan walked to the table and placed one hand on the open pages.
“I never would have made it without You, Lord.”
Her voice trembled.
“Please help Kathy.”
She swallowed.
“And help me show her the way.”
A tear slid down Susan’s cheek.
It fell onto the page.
Susan looked down.
Her eyes settled on the verse beneath it.
A small smile appeared.
She looked upward.
“Thank You.”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Thank You so much.”
Behind her, unseen, John and Paul leaned over the open Bible.
Colors began to rise from the pages.
Gold.
Blue.
White.
Light swirled upward around them.
John stared.
The tear had landed beside a verse in Romans.
Together, the two angels read the words:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
John looked at Paul.
His eyes were bright.
“It’s finally beginning, isn’t it?”
Paul smiled.
“There is no beginning, John.”
John waited.
Paul looked toward Susan.
“Only Love.”
John smiled.
Paul repeated it softly.
“Only Love.”
Susan carried the drinks into the living room.
“Here you go, girls.”
She set them down.
“Are either of you hungry?”
Kathy and Lucy were already staring at their phones, answering messages from friends who had heard Kathy was in the hospital.
“I think we’re good, Mom.”
Susan looked from one girl to the other.
She could tell they wanted to be alone.
“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
“Okay, Mom. Thanks.”
Susan walked away.
As soon as she disappeared through the doorway, Lucy leaned toward Kathy.
“So...”
Kathy looked at her.
“What?”
Lucy smiled.
“Are you up for a little fun?”
Kathy stared at her.
“Seriously, Lucy?”
“What?”
“I just got out of the hospital.”
“I know.”
Kathy shook her head.
“Could you give me a little time to get myself together?”
Lucy’s smile faded.
“Yeah.”
She sat back.
“I guess you’re right.”
Then after a moment:
“It’s just that my parents are out of town this weekend.”
Kathy already knew where this was going.
“Lucy...”
“I thought maybe we could have a little party.”
Kathy closed her eyes.
“After everything you’ve been through, maybe you deserve something fun.”
Lucy nudged her.
“Who knows? Maybe you could even meet someone new.”
Kathy opened her eyes.
“Someone new?”
Lucy shrugged.
“It’s Friday night. You’ve got time to think about it.”
Kathy looked exhausted.
“Promise me you’ll at least think about it.”
Kathy sighed.
“Okay.”
Lucy brightened.
“I’ll think about it.”
“Great!”
“I said I’d think about it.”
Lucy laughed.
“Fine. Think.”
She stood and reached down to hug her friend.
“I’ll call you later.”
“Lucy.”
“What?”
“We’ll see.”
Lucy smiled.
“See you later, girl.”
After she left, Kathy sank deeper into the chair.
For the first time all day, her eyes finally began to close.
Sleep came quickly.
Then—
Buzz.
Kathy startled awake.
Her phone lit up.
A message from Lucy.
YOU DESERVE IT!
Kathy stared at the words.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then quietly:
“Maybe I do.”
She looked at the screen again.
“Maybe I do.”
Across the room, John watched her.
He turned toward Paul.
“What do you think about Lucy?”
Paul didn’t answer immediately.
John looked worried.
“She worries me.”
Paul nodded.
“She worries me too.”
“She spends a lot of time with Momma.”
“Yes.”
“And Susan really needs to talk to her alone.”
“I agree.”
John frowned.
Then Paul added:
“But don’t forget something.”
“What?”
“Lucy needs to find her Light too.”
John thought about that.
Paul continued.
“What if your mother finds hers...and someday helps Lucy find hers?”
John’s face brightened.
“They could both shine?”
“They could.”
John smiled.
“They could be friends of the Light.”
Paul smiled back.
“I like that.”
The two angels watched quietly as Kathy drifted back to sleep.
In the kitchen, Susan sat alone at the table.
The Bible remained open in front of her.
She turned a few pages.
Then a few more.
She was searching.
Not just for words.
For the right words.
The kind that might reach Kathy without pushing her farther away.
The kind that might help her understand without making her feel condemned.
Susan thought back to all the years Kathy had gone to church.
Youth trips.
Sunday mornings.
Bible studies.
So many opportunities.
So many moments when Susan had hoped something would finally take root.
She remembered how close Kathy had seemed when Chris gave his life to the Lord.
How excited Chris had been after his baptism.
How hard he had tried to share his faith with her.
But Kathy had never quite been ready.
Susan looked down at the page again.
Maybe now.
Maybe after everything that had happened...
maybe now was the time.
She closed her eyes.
“Please help me get this right.”
A car pulled into the driveway.
Susan opened her eyes.
She heard doors close.
Then footsteps approaching the house.
She hurried toward the front door before whoever it was could knock and wake Kathy.
When Susan opened the screen door, she stopped.
Chris stood on the porch.
Beside him was the pastor.
“Hello, Brother Kriese.”
She looked at Chris.
“And hello, Chris.”
For a moment, none of them seemed to know what to say.
Susan opened the door wider.
“Come in.”
She gave them both a gentle hug.
“She’s asleep right now.”
Chris nodded.
“If you came to see her, I don’t want to wake her.”
The pastor spoke softly.
“We would like to see Kathy.”
Then he looked toward Chris.
“But first, we were hoping we could talk with you.”
Susan led them toward the kitchen.
“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Water?”
“No, thank you.”
The pastor noticed the open Bible on the table.
“I see you’ve been doing a little searching of your own.”
Susan looked down at it.
“Yes.”
She pulled out a chair.
“I’m searching for myself.”
Then she glanced toward the living room.
“And I’m searching for a way to reach my daughter.”
The pastor waited.
Susan’s voice softened.
“I still don’t know exactly how I’m supposed to feel.”
Chris raised his eyes.
Susan continued.
“I only know that I love her.”
She touched the Bible.
“And I know the Lord does too.”
Chris looked directly at her.
“That’s exactly how I feel, Mrs. Hunt.”
Susan studied him.
Chris swallowed hard.
“Exactly.”
He pulled a chair closer to the table.
“We need to talk.”
Susan nodded.
“All right, Chris.”
She sat across from him.
“Let’s talk.”
Chris looked down at the placemat.
His fingers worked nervously along the edge.
For several seconds, he couldn’t speak.
Then he slowly raised his head.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Hunt.”
His voice trembled.
“I don’t even know how to tell you how sorry I am.”
He took a breath.
“If I had known Kathy was pregnant...”
His eyes filled.
“I would have done everything I could.”
Susan said nothing.
“I would have tried to convince her to keep our baby.”
His voice broke on the last word.
“I really believe we could have worked it out.”
Chris looked down again.
“I’ve done a lot of soul searching since I left that hospital.”
Then he looked back at Susan.
“And I know something now.”
Susan waited.
“I still love Kathy.”
Chris looked down at the table.
“I just hope you can forgive me.”
He swallowed hard.
“And forgive her.”
For a moment, Susan said nothing.
Chris glanced toward the pastor, almost as if he needed reassurance that he was saying the right thing.
Brother Kriese placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Mrs. Hunt,” he said gently, “I can’t pretend to know exactly what this feels like for you.”
Susan listened.
“But I can tell you something.”
He looked at Chris.
“The love this young man has for your daughter is not something I see every day.”
Chris lowered his eyes.
“It goes deeper than fear.”
“Deeper than anger.”
The pastor squeezed his shoulder.
“I believe it is real.”
He paused.
“And I believe it is God-given.”
The three continued talking quietly around the kitchen table.
In the living room, Kathy slept.
And dreamed.
The day in her dream was bright and warm.
She and Chris were older.
Married.
Happy.
They pulled into the driveway of a babysitter’s house.
Kathy smiled as they walked toward the front door.
“Mommy and Daddy are here, John!”
A little boy came running toward the screen door.
Beautiful.
Laughing.
Full of life.
“Mommy!”
Kathy’s heart leapt.
“There’s my boy!”
The babysitter reached for the latch.
“Hang on, John. I’m coming.”
She unlocked the screen door.
But it wouldn’t open.
She pulled harder.
Nothing.
“That’s strange.”
Chris stepped forward and tried.
The door wouldn’t move.
He pulled again.
Still nothing.
On the other side of the screen, the little boy’s smile began to disappear.
“Mommy?”
Kathy reached toward him.
“John!”
The little boy began to cry.
“John!”
Kathy jerked upright on the couch.
Her heart was pounding.
Above her, John nearly jumped with excitement.
“Yes, Momma?”
Paul hurried over.
“What happened?”
John pointed at Kathy.
“She called me!”
Paul looked down at her.
“She was dreaming.”
John’s face fell just a little.
“Oh.”
Then he smiled again.
“I liked it anyway.”
Paul watched him.
John looked at Kathy with pure hope.
“Maybe one day she’ll call me for real.”
Kathy sat quietly on the couch.
Something about the dream would not leave her.
The little boy.
His face.
His voice.
And that name.
John.
She suddenly realized something.
She had never named her baby.
Not once.
Kathy’s eyes filled with tears.
She whispered the name again.
“John.”
Above her, the little angel smiled.
Kathy wiped at her eyes.
Voices drifted in from the kitchen.
She froze.
Chris.
Her mother.
Brother Kriese.
Kathy slowly stood and moved toward the doorway.
She listened.
Her stomach tightened.
“He told the pastor.”
She whispered it to herself.
“I can’t believe he told the pastor.”
Fear rushed in faster than reason.
She imagined what they must be saying.
What they must think of her.
How disappointed they had to be.
How ashamed they had to be.
Kathy backed away from the doorway.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“No, thank you.”
She hurried back toward the couch and grabbed her phone.
Her fingers trembled as she called Lucy.
“Lucy?”
She lowered her voice.
“It’s me.”
Kathy glanced toward the kitchen.
“I need you to come get me.”
A pause.
“Go to the street behind my house.”
She listened.
“Yes.”
“Please hurry.”
Kathy ended the call.
Then, as quietly as she could, she slipped out the front door.
John followed immediately.
“Where is she going?”
Paul came beside him.
“I don’t know.”
John watched Kathy pace nervously near the back street.
“I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I.”
Kathy kept glancing toward the house.
Trying to think of an excuse.
Trying to convince herself she was only going for a ride.
Then they heard it.
A loud engine.
Tires squealed around the corner.
John looked up.
“Oh boy.”
Paul did not smile.
Steve’s car roared toward them.
The old car rattled, growled, and announced its arrival to the entire neighborhood.
Kathy winced.
“Could he be any louder?”
The car stopped beside her.
Steve shoved the front seat forward.
“Get in!”
Lucy turned on him.
“Steve! I’m sitting up here!”
“I thought we were in a hurry!”
Kathy climbed into the back.
“Let’s go.”
Steve had been Lucy’s boyfriend for a couple of years. He was rough around the edges, but he cared about her, and Lucy loved him. He was especially proud of the loud old hot rod he had built back in high school auto shop, and he still talked now and then about opening his own garage someday.
Inside the house, Susan heard the commotion.
So did Chris.
So did Brother Kriese.
They hurried into the living room.
The couch was empty.
Susan rushed toward the door.
Outside, she saw Kathy climbing into Steve’s car.
“Kathy!”
Kathy turned.
“What are you doing?”
Susan’s voice cracked.
“Where are you going?”
For one second, Kathy almost stopped.
Almost.
Everything inside her wanted to run back.
To her mother.
To the kitchen.
To the conversation she was so afraid to have.
Instead, she turned toward the front seat.
“Go, Steve!”
The engine roared.
The car shot away.
John stared after it.
Then at Paul.
“I’m going with my Momma.”
Paul nodded.
“That’s right.”
He looked toward the house.
“I’ll stay here with Susan.”
John spread his wings.
Paul’s expression grew serious.
“This could get scary.”
John looked back at him.
“Be ready for anything.”
John launched into the air.
“Sure thing, Paul!”
And raced after the car.
