Friends in High Places

by Toni DeMaio

  “I’m proud of you, Kid,” Uncle John whispered into my other ear. “You did real good your first time out.”

  “Thanks, Uncle John,” I reached down and touched his hand where he held his beloved guitar, eager to join the band at the reception over at Mama Maria’s Restaurant.

  The party would begin there and I suspected it wouldn’t ever completely end for this bunch. Because first-hand I’d learned the truth of what Uncle John had shown me back on the day of my re-birth into eternal life; Love is without a doubt the most powerful force in the universe. And daring to love unconditionally is the greatest gift you can give to another soul. It can heal a broken heart or even fix a broken soul. We were all living proof of that.

  And as I felt the power of the pure love all around us streaming in and warming my entire soul, I let go of every negative experience I had held onto from my past life. There was nothing left in my soul but love, acceptance, and complete forgiveness.

  I also felt a strange tickle in the area of my upper back. Then I felt a growing pressure and my fake purple wings, the ones I loved to wear for fun when I materialized for the family, were nudged out of place and gently lifted away from my body.

  Gram and Uncle John, my dad, and I stared at them as they continued to floated up and then off and away into the bright open sky high above us. I felt confused yet strangely happy and suddenly whole in every way.

  “Uncle John,” I whispered, “what just happened to me?”

  “Sweetie,” he said, with tears in his startled eyes, “you just earned your wings!”

  I moved my shoulders cautiously, then stood and did a little shimmy, and watched in wonder as three of the loveliest purple feathers, genuine ones this time, floated down past us to settle in the center of the aisle; the perfect place for Mom and Kat and Tori to discover them.