Short Stories

Guardian Angel

Guardian angel
    Death was underwhelming to say the least. I had been through worse. I thought, standing in front of the pearly gates of heaven. It really was how I imagined it. Clouds beneath my feet, blue sky above, a feeling of immense calm within me. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't notice a man come up next to me. He was wearing a white robe, had long blond hair and white feathery wings. It was pretty easy to guess what he was, "Harper Morgan?" he said. His voice was calming and smooth. It made the inner peace inside me more intense.
    "Yes," I answered. I noticed the sore throat I had had for days was gone.
    "Great! Right this way." His hand motioned towards the gate which opened with a flourish. Beams of bright yellow light streamed onto my face. He led me to a room, a pearly white room, everything here was pearly white. It was something I would've thought irritating when I was alive, but now, I actually quite liked it. Another man came in after the angel had left. He too was wearing a white robe and had white feathery wings. He introduced himself as Abel.
    "So, do you remember how you died?" he said after several minutes of light conversation.
    "Um, I think so. Apparently, I died in some sort of crash," I replied,  "The memories are pretty fuzzy though, I couldn't say for sure."
    "Well, that is to be expected. Although, I have some rather disheartening news for you Harper." He said bending his head down to look at one the way one would look at someone whose grandmother has just died.
I looked at him quizzically, "What is it?" I asked suspiciously. I didn't believe anything could possibly go wrong in this paradise.
"Your guardian angel, Benjamin, has been slacking off. You're not supposed to be dead," he said frankly, "and we do have a protocol for this. In such a situation, 'victim'," he made air quotes with his hands, "gets to decide the fate of the angel." I looked at him incredulously, "Yes," he continued denying my accusations of misbelief," Don't worry. Whatever you do won't affect your standing here in heaven.
My mind flickered to several things. I even toyed with the idea of sentencing him to death. But that seemed a bit excessive, "So, I can make him do anything. Anything at all?"
"Well... yes... but..."
I sprung from my chair and threw my fists down on his desk, "I want him as a pet."
His smile turned to a quizzical frown, "I don't think anyone has ever done that. Usually they just let them live or kill their immortal souls."
"You said I could do anything."
"I guess I did," his face turned to an expression of slight amusement, "Very well then. I'll have him sent to your home."
I was giddy. He arrived at my home and I set to work, "You want me to what?" said the beautiful dark haired angel.
"You heard me right. Kill the president of the united states." After that first day I held out no mercy. Nations would fall at the snap of my fingers. Death was mine to control. All because death had made a mistake by taking me. My terrestrial enemies would die mysteriously of frostbite or a house fire. My friends would live immortal. I played with death as if it were putty. I held my power selfishly. Even so, I was a god. And nothing is stronger than a god.
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Alternative ending (the one I like better)
I was giddy. He arrived at my home and I set to work, "You want me to what?" said the beautiful dark haired angel.
"You heard me right. I want you to carry in these groceries."
"I am literally a being of infinite power."
"Yeah, and I am literally dead because of you."
"I can burn worlds. Raise civilizations.I could turn you into a god. And you want me to do menial house chores."
"Yeah, these groceries are heavy."