Joe, Laurence, Hannah and I looked at each other. None of us wanted to take what we all assumed would be the easier route—going home.
“Right.” Columba said. “As I expected. Never mind, let’s go to the heart of this. To whom has Tiffany talked about her Earth family?”
“How did you know?” I said.
“She’s a cupid,” Columba said. ”We studied their natures in preparation for the 12th Year adventure. They frequently worry, fixate on their earthly demise and on those left behind. It’s—“
“But, but….that’s not bad.” Hannah was clearly in distress. I was remembering all my talks with her about her Earth parents, as well as my last talk with Tiffany on the same subject.
“No, of course not, dear.” Brigid said and patted her hand. Hannah leaned on her shoulder and sighed. Then she seemed to think of something.
“Is this my fault?” she said as she straightened up. “Could I have stopped her?” I was wondering the same about me.
“No, there is no blame.” Aidan said. “She probably acted impulsively, knowing how close she was to the gate and thinking that if you had been there, surely she could go, too.”
“And Liu An would have spotted her and stopped her.” Juniper said. “He told me he considers himself a protector of poor souls who either willfully or unwittingly go to that evil place, playing a role much like we do here at the monastery on a permanent basis.”
I turned and looked at Juniper. I couldn’t believe I had once thought he was simply a clueless, genial monk. What else had I misinterpreted, especially in Tiffany’s concerns?
“Claire, please tell us what Tiffany told you.” said Columba.
“It was a short conversation. Something about worrying because just before Michael rescued her, there was an angry scene with her mother. She thought her mother was mad at her.”
No one spoke. Then Columba began to speak very softly, as if he were sharing important news.
“We have access to all the 12th Years’ files.”
“What happened?” I said. “How did she die?”
“Very sadly for the family, I’m afraid. Heat exhaustion.”
“Heat exhaustion?” Laurence said. “But, surely, with the cooling machinery—um . . . air conditioning—available on 21st Century Earth, this couldn’t have happened.”
We all began speaking to each other, basically agreeing with Laurence.
Columba held up his palm to face us. We became very quiet again.
“The mother accidently left her in their automobile for six hours. It was the height of summer.”
No one said a word.
“Baby Tiffany cried at first, then gave up and succumbed.” Columba said. “When she was discovered, she was shaken by her mother and for a minute or so, regained consciousness. Then, she was gone.”
“Oh, no.” I raised my hand to my mouth. Laurence caught his breath and gripped my knee. Aidan bent over, as if he were going to be sick. Juniper comforted him. Hannah shook her head back and forth. The others stared straight ahead.
Finally, Brigid spoke. “So . . . her mother killed her, however inadvertently?”
What a burden Tiffany had in her heart! Did she know? She must have sensed something was terribly wrong with her last glimpse of her mother. And the man in green clothes—of course, a paramedic, it all made sense now. How I longed to hold Tiffany and tell her everything was going to be okay, that someday she’d see her mother again and forgive her. For both their sakes.
“But what can we do now?” I said. “I have to talk with Tiffany, can I go?”
“I think I should be there, too.” Joe said.
“No, Joe, you don’t need to go to Earth so soon,” said Laurence. Hannah looked puzzled. Then Laurence and I realized she didn’t know. He looked at me.
“He had an accident there with his hands,” I said. ”Remember the bandages?”
Hannah nodded. “But we’ve got to find her!”
“We will.” Columba said. “Joe, you and Claire should prepare to go to Earth. We’ll leave at first light, in one or two hours.”
“But, Columba, what about the fever?” I said.
“I know. But finding Tiffany surpasses this concern. Joe and I have talked briefly and I believe he may have special insight that will be useful. We’ll be there and back within 24 hours. Laurence, you and Hannah should wait in Zion. We’ll rendezvous there.”
Laurence nodded and held out his hand to Hannah.
Brigid stood up. “I’ll make sure there’s a hearty breakfast for you. It’ll be ready in about an hour.”
“Thanks, dear sister.” Columba said. “And Aidan, I know it’s early yet, but would you lead us in a brief morning prayer?”
“Of course.” Aidan said. “I’ll start in thirty minutes.”
“Thanks.” I took Hannah’s hand. Joe had stood up with Brigid and now he gave her a little hug. She smiled.
“I feel like we’re all family now.” she said. “We have to get the wee one back.”
We came out of the chapel service silently, the deep peace of the final prayers lingering. Somehow, Aidan had chosen the right prayers to calm all of us. I felt we were one in this mission. Brigid’s meal was chock full of warmth—oatmeal, strawberry pancakes with a special strawberry and chocolate sauce, and plenty of piping hot coffee and tea. We ate in silence, grateful to be nourished and to be together one more time before we separated.
Juniper and Cuthbert waxed down all of our wings.
Joe, Columba, and I had dressed warmly in layers for the journey ahead.
“It’s raining where we’re going, so make sure you won’t get too soggy.” Columba said.
Joe and I looked at each other. We had each thrown in a poncho. “I think we’re good,” Joe said.
We bid farewell to everyone, including giving a long hug to Laurence and Hannah, who were loading a backpack by the front door.
“Until we meet again.” Columba said to them. “May you have a golden and peaceful day.” He was about ten feet above the front path by then, waiting for us. Joe and I zapped out our ankle wings—we were going to have to hustle to keep up with him.
We flew east. The sleet didn’t seem to be as bad as it had been on our way out. I asked Columba if we were going to go to the South East Gate. This certainly was normal protocol.
“No. We don’t need to go quite that far.” He reached back with his right hand to brush some of the wet off his left wing. “We should be reaching our exit point soon.”
The sky grew darker, and we pulled into a very tight formation. Then, suddenly, a patch of bright sky appeared below us in the distance.
Columba pointed to the lighter sky. “Head that way.”
We flew about fifteen minutes and I could see the sky opening wider. We headed into a large Cumulonimbus cloud. When we were through, a perfect rainbow, about six stories high stood before us.
“How did you know?” Joe said. “I’ve heard about this way to travel, but never tried it.”
“Cuthbert’s favorite study is that of the sky and its many permutations. He believed a rainbow should be occurring around this area.”
“This is unbelievable.” Joe said. “Look at these colors!”
“I know.” Columba said. “However, the problem with rainbows is—“
“—everyone will be catching it,” an African-American angel said as he flew from out of the same cloud and sat on top of the rainbow. “I’ll take the red. Want the yellow?”
He zipped up to the top of the red bar and disappeared inside it.
“Head for the yellow.” Columba motioned us toward him. “We can travel inside and get there in minutes.”
I pulled Joe to the yellow band. We stood on top of it.
Two Hispanic archangels darted by, chattering in Spanish, and dove head-first into the gree
n.
“I’m going to ask the rainbow to take us to the temple.” Columba said. “Let’s hold hands.”
We clasped hands.
“Now jump.”
We popped feet first inside the rainbow. It felt like we were floating in water, but the water was the richest, most vibrant yellow I’d ever seen. Bumblebees, sunflowers, lemons, were all pale imitations. This was the real thing.
“This is amazing.” Joe said.
Columba and I murmured a “yes.”
We slowly drifted on our backs for about ten minutes as we moved down the yellow band.
“What’s that sound?” Joe said.
“It’s the rainbow,” Columba said. “It starts singing near Earth.”
“We’re almost there?”
“Yes, feet first now.” Columba said.
We glided down, and within two minutes, we felt Earth’s soil.
Columba stepped out first, then pulled Joe and me out of the ribboned arch. And into a steady rain.
Joe and I took off some layers and put on our ponchos, then I took the chance to look around. We were standing in a little park, and across from us, stood the majestic Shibaozhai Temple, a lovely deep red structure in classic Chinese style, with a large base and each level slightly smaller than the one below it. The roof of each layer was curved up on the ends. I had heard this was to confuse evil spirits and keep them from entering.
Columba pointed to the top of the structure “That’s the actual temple.” He looked around the little park area. “I don’t see them here. We need to go up.”
We tapped out hearts and lifted up together. “There!” He pointed to the very top of the temple.
“I see them!” Finally, Tiffany was back in sight! A small Asian angel was sitting with her on the top roof of the structure. He stood up when he saw us. Tiffany followed his eyes, then began jumping up and down when she saw us. We zipped up to them.
‘Tiffany!” Joe reached out for her.
“Joe, Claire and Columba!” she said. “You’re here.”
“Of course we are.” Columba said, waiting for his hug, but Joe and I couldn’t let go of her.
The little man with a topknot hovered to the side of the roof, smiling and bowing. “Honored to have you here.” he said slowly. His eyes shifted right to left as he searched for the correct English.
“We’re very happy to have found you, my friend.” said Columba.
Then the conversation switched to Mandarin—apparently Columba’s Mandarin was better than Liu An’s English. I didn’t mind, since we were too busy hugging Tiffany and babbling away with her to pay attention. But I did notice that Columba seemed concerned.
“Oh, Joe, Claire,” he said, “forgive my rudeness. This is Liu An.”
“So pleased to meet you.” Liu An said as he once again bowed. Then he clasped each of our hands with both of his. He had on black-framed glasses, much like any man on 21st Century Earth. I had never seen anyone in Heaven wearing glasses.
“I sent you a letter before we left my cloud.” he said. “My cloud was to deliver it to your cloud, my learned friend.”
“Ah,” said Columba with a sigh. “That’s where communication broke down. Our cloud is notoriously lazy, I’m afraid. Comes from centuries of our not really utilizing him. So sorry, An.”
Liu An shrugged and said somewhat slowly, eyes moving with the verbs, “The important thing is that we are all here. All of us who care for this cupid.”
“Yes, yes, we’re here,” Columba said. “But why, An? Did you rescue her from the Evil One?”
An put his hand on Tiffany’s shoulder and she turned to look at him. The mist caused her face to glisten as she looked up at him. He was only about a foot taller than her, but he seemed much taller as he spoke. “Yes, yes, of course, I saved her. But it is also important to note, she has been searching, all her time in Heaven, for the right answer.” He was forming the English words with great determination, and I appreciated the effort he was putting in for our sake. “This has caused a dark cloud in her mind and heart. That is why we are here. Today is the longest day, the day we can see most clearly.”
“But, Tiffany, you’ve never been to Earth. “ I said. “This must be a real adventure.”
“It’s awesome! Sights, sounds, smells.” At this she wriggled her nose and made a face. We all laughed. I motioned for her to go on.
“We’ve watched hundreds and hundreds of people, some Westerners, some Chinese, walk across the suspension bridge over there to get to this island. This fortress.”
“They’re all searching, all looking,” Liu An said. “Hunting for something.”
We looked down and indeed, there were hundreds, thousands of people, some with umbrellas, some with ponchos, all with a determination to cross the swaying bridge and reach the temple.
“What?” I said to Tiffany. “What are they searching for?”
“That’s just it,” she said with a smile. “There are ninety-nine steps to the top. It’s a hard climb. And yet, even when they reach the top, most of them are just happy to have made it. They don’t seem to know what they were looking for.”
“Tiffany,” Joe said, “Is this related to your 12th Year Mission?”
“Ah.” Liu An nodded eagerly. “Columba told me about this design when he last visited. And I approve. But Tiffany was in much too . . . er, too forlorn a state when I caught her to worry about this . . . this academic lesson. My goal has been to help her quiet her mind.”
I watched the people at the base of the pavilion. Many of them squared their shoulders before beginning the ascent, as if to tell themselves they could do it. I looked at Joe, who was peering over. I thought he looked a bit uneasy with the heights. I gave him a quizzical look, and he returned it with a shrug and a half-hearted thumbs-up.
While Columba and An talked, Tiffany pulled me aside. “Could we talk?”
“Of course. Let’s go over there.” I pointed to the far edge of the Cumulus cloud that was hanging around us. As we walked, I noticed Liu An had stacked a basket of lemonades against one side of the cloud. I grabbed one.
“I know this isn’t a big deal,” Tiffany said, speaking quickly, “but I slept in these clothes last night. And it’s my first trip to Earth. I feel gross. What can I do?”
I laughed. “Easy. Perhaps this cloud will help.”
“Uh, okay. Are earth clouds helpful?”
“Cloud.” I said. “I know this is Earth, China and all, but do you speak English?”
“I do, ma’am.” She sounded like she’d been trained by a Midwesterner.
“Could we have a room and a couple of changes of clothes for Tiffany, similar to what she has on now?”
“Coming your way.” Six feet cloud walls pushed up, forming a little room.
I leaned out to calm the guys. “It’s okay, we just wanted to change clothes.”
Unconcerned, they looked at me and nodded.
A rack of beige, white and black long-sleeved t-shirts, plus several pairs of jeans, appeared.
“Okay?” I said.
“Yeah, thanks, Claire.”
“Thank this cloud. An knew exactly where to take you. Not all clouds on Earth are responsive to angels.”
“Thanks, Cloud.” she said.
“You’re more than welcome. Let me know if you need anything else. New boots, jewelry perhaps?”
Tiffany and I laughed. “No, no, just a change of clothes. “ She looked at me. “I’m good.”
I realized I was excused and started to push against the soft door, but suddenly, her voice stopped me.
“Claire, I think I’ve learned so much with Liu An. He’s taught me that being afraid and not knowing the exact answers is not a bad thing, that it’s just something to face.” She stood there very still, holding new jeans. “I mean, I want to get it right, and
I’m so sorry I flew away. I know you must have worried about . . . “ She looked like she could melt.
I rushed to her, grabbed the jeans and took her hands. “Hey, hey, hey, no worries, no problems, you are doing the very best you can, my angel girl.”
She looked up at me. She seemed so frail. “I’m trying. An says we must try and then we must do.” We hugged and then she nodded to tell me I was dismissed again. I gave the jeans back to her and pulled the fluffy cloud door shut behind me.
The men were still engrossed in a discussion, running through the basic framework of this year’s challenge.
“I think your bringing her here, your teaching her, meshes perfectly with her mission,” Columba said, “much like different colored threads on a tapestry.”
I brushed my damp bangs out of my eyes. “How’s that?”
“For that, we’d have to ask Tiffany.” Columba said. “But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you happened to find each other. How did it happen?”
Refreshed in black jeans and matching tee, Tiffany walked in as if on cue. She looked down and then back up at An, who gazed at her steadily.
“Did you go to the north part of our cloud?” said Columba to Tiffany.
Nobody spoke, all eyes were on our cupid.
She sat down and pulled a comb through her shoulder-length, thick brunette hair. “Is that the misty part above the wood shed?”
“Yes.” said Columba. “It is very cloudy there, and one can get a bit groggy because the air is thinner.”
“That’s where I went, then,” she said. “I felt dizzy and stumbled, so I started to fly. At first, I meant to fly around to the front door, but I couldn’t find it and got scared. I kept going and thought I heard voices, beautiful singing voices in the distance. I went to the voices and—“
“It was the demon woman at the dark gate.” Liu An said. “She knew Tiffany was near and was trying to seduce her with sweet sounds. I heard them and knew someone was lost. That is how I found her.”
“He took my hand and pulled me away, just before I could push on the gate. I’m so lucky.”
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