Donna's Angel

"Excuse me?" Donna asked. "Is Karen working today by chance?"

"I'm sorry. Who?" The man asked, seeming somewhat befuddled.

"Karen." Donna repeated. "Ahh Karen...I don't believe this. I can't remember her last name."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there's nobody working here by that name." He told her.

"Well, you see it's been a little while since I was here last. It's been right at a year; a year ago today as a matter of fact." Donna explained.

"Ma'am, I've been the manager of this restaurant for nearly four years now and I've never had anyone working here named Karen." He replied.

"What?" Donna said aghast.

"Perhaps you got her name wrong. Could you describe her for me?" He asked, trying to be helpful.

"Yes, she's about five-five, 22 years old; guess she'd be 23 now. She has gorgeous long, flowing blonde hair, very attractive figure and a beautiful, angelic little face. Just as sweet as a human being could be. God, I wish I could think of her last name." Donna expounded.

"Ma'am, are you by any chance talking about Karen Wilder?" The man asked with wide eyes.

"That's it! That's her name! Karen Wilder." Donna proclaimed. "So you do know her?"

"Sort of. And you say you met her a year ago today while she was working at this McDonald's?" He asked, very incredulously.

"Yes." Donna replied.

"Ma'am, I'm very sorry, but that's impossible." He replied grimly.

"What do you mean?" Donna asked.

"Karen Wilder was killed in a car accident over ten years ago." The man explained.

Donna felt every ounce of her strength vanish as the words cleared the man's lips. Her legs buckled, her heart froze mid-beat and she almost forgot how to breathe; she suddenly felt horribly dizzy and sick to her stomach. She stared glassy eyed at the man behind the counter.

"Are you all right, ma'am? Can I get you some water?" He asked with concern in his voice.

"What did you say?" Donna managed to utter.

"Karen Wilder is dead. She's been dead for nearly eleven years now. In fact, it was eleven years ago last night. She was working here that night and as she was pulling out of the parking lot, her car was broad sided by a drunk driver and she was killed instantly. She was just 22 years old." The man explained.

Donna tipped forward and rested her weight against the counter; her heart was pounding relentlessly in her chest.

"She's dead?" Donna asked with her voice cracking.

"Yes. For a long time now. Here, take a look." The man said as he directed Donna down the length of the counter to a memorial plague hanging on the wall.

Donna gazed at the plague through her tear-soaked eyes and immediately recognized Karen's beautiful face in the picture. The plague was pure silver and engraved with a brief summary of Karen's life and engraved across the top above the beautiful picture were the words:

"GARRISON'S ANGEL - KAREN LEANN WILDER - NOW OUR GUARDIAN ANGEL."

Donna gasped and slapped her hands over her mouth. The date of her death was indeed eleven years ago last night; which would have made last year the tenth anniversary of her death.

"Oh my God! That's her." Donna wailed.

"It was a terrible tragedy. And a very ironic one too." The man said solemnly.

"What do you mean?" Donna asked.

"When she was a teenager, Karen was a wild child. In fact, her nickname around town was Wilder Gone Wild. She had a horrible addiction to alcohol and drugs; damn near destroyed her. But when she turned nineteen, she suddenly found something. Some say she found the Lord. Anyway, she got into recovery, got cleaned up and became a pillar of the community. Everybody in town knew her and everybody absolutely adored her. She was the sweetest human being God ever created; and she would have done anything to help anybody. In recovery or not. Just so terribly ironic that she was killed by a drunk driver." The man explained.

"What happened to the driver?" Donna asked.

"Mercifully for him, he was killed too. But I know that even if he'd lived, Karen would have forgiven him. That's just the way she was." The man said. "Karen was a living angel; she was our angel. And now she's our guardian angel."

"Yeah." Donna whispered.

"You gonna be all right, ma'am?" He asked.

"I'll be fine. Guess it must have been somebody else after all. I wasn't very well that night after all. Anyway, thank you for your time." Donna said as she turned and sauntered away.

"You have a nice day." He called after her.

Donna climbed back into her truck to pull herself together. Taking slow and deep breaths, Donna fired up the truck and drove to where she remembered Karen's apartment to be. The building looked no different than it had a year ago as Donna jumped out of her truck and raced up the steps to Karen's front door. Something was different. She couldn't pin it down, but something was definitely different. Gathering her courage, Donna knocked on the door. An elderly, heavy-set black woman who looked to be in her mid to upper 70s answered the door.

"Can I help you, Miss?" She asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a good friend of mine and I thought I remember her telling me that she lived in this apartment." Donna said.

"No, I'm afraid not honey. I've lived in this here apartment for nearly eleven years now; just me and my cats." The woman told her.

As she was speaking, Donna looked past the woman and into the apartment where her life had changed forever for the better. It was indeed the same apartment she remembered, but it looked nothing like it did a year ago. It was dank, dusty and dark; it had been lived in for a very long time by the old woman standing in front of her.

"Well, I guess I must have misunderstood her." Donna lied. "So sorry to bother you."

"No problem at all, sweetie." The woman said. "Excuse me." Donna interrupted. "You said you've lived here for nearly eleven years now? Do you have any idea who the previous occupant of this apartment was?"

"Oh yes." The woman said proudly. "Everybody in Garrison knew her. Sweetest and prettiest young thing you'd ever want to meet. Name was Karen. Karen Wilder. Poor baby was killed in a car wreck one night just after she got off work. She's was only 22."

"Yeah. Yeah, I read her memorial plague in town." Donna said.

"You know some folks here in town say that they've seen her around since she's been gone. Say they've seen her ghost." The woman interjected out of nowhere.

"I don't believe in ghosts." Donna answered.

"Do you believe in angels? Because if it's true what people say about seeing her; then it ain't a ghost they're seeing. They're seeing one of the sweet Lord's most precious angels." The woman said with a warm smile.

"Maybe." Donna replied. "Thank you for your time."

"You have a blessed day, honey." The woman said and closed the door as Donna turned and went back down the stairs.

As she climbed back into her truck and started the engine, tears streamed down Donna's face and a beautiful smile lit up her face as she gazed up into the afternoon sun.

"Yes, ma'am; that is exactly what they're seeing." Donna whispered and drove out of the parking lot.

The sky quickly turned very dark and threatening as Donna cruised south down old U.S. Highway 59 heading back to Houston. About ten miles out of Garrison, the sky opened up and a torrential downpour ensued. Donna flipped on her wipers and slowed as the pavement became slick. The roadway was unusually barren and very lightly traveled for a Sunday afternoon. It was then that Donna spotted a human form on the shoulder about a quarter of a mile ahead. As she approached, Donna saw that it was a haggard-looking teenage girl desperately trying to flag down a ride; she appeared to be drenched to the bone. Immediately Donna's heart filled with pity. She remembered the sensation only too well, along with the overwhelming feeling of pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. Then out of nowhere, Karen's soft, melodious voice echoed across Donna's memory:

"Just remember me, love. Just remember me. And do for another lost and aching soul one day as I did for you."

Donna pulled her pick-up truck over onto the shoulder about 25 yards or so ahead of the young girl and watched with a content smile as the girl raced up from behind and hopped in the passenger side of the truck.

"Oh thank you so much for stopping." The young girl said.

"No problem at all, hon. I know exactly what you're going through. It's happened to me before." Donna said.

The young girl was rail thin, gawky and looked so very frail. Her dirty blond hair was soaked to the scalp and her tiny hands were shivering as her teeth chattered.

"So, where you headed?" Donna asked.

"Anywhere but here. Would it be all right if I just rode along for awhile?" She asked.

"Not a problem. I'm on my way to Houston, so I'll be heading south for awhile." Donna told her.

"Great." The young girl said.

"My name is Donna."

"Hi Donna. My name is Karen."

THE END