Angels of Humility: A Novel Read Free

to leave the house even to grocery shop. There was no food, but it didn’t matter; she had no appetite. Food no longer tasted good, and she began to drop weight from her already small frame.
    “It’s just a matter of weeks before she succumbs to me,” said Depression, smiling. “She’s lost her will to live.”
    “She should have been dead months ago,” interrupted Suicide. “I’ll get her before you do. She’s highly vulnerable now. Her grief and exhaustion make her susceptible to taking her own life. I’m going to rub her nose in it that she never had kids.” He sneered at Depression as he slithered next to Sarah and wrapped his scaly constricting body around hers.
    “Well, one of us needs to take her out quickly,” whispered Death. “I’ve heard rumors from the enemy’s kingdom that she has a great destiny.”
    “At her age?” sniped Discouragement. “She’s 71 years old and still as lost as a goose in a cloudburst. She’s spent her whole life barely thinking about God. She’s been ours all her pathetic life.” His black lips curled into a smirk. “And she will be ours in death—for all eternity.”
    When Suicide replied, “The Godhead has worked miraculously through stranger people than her,” a simultaneous chill penetrated the demonic horde.

     
    Pastor Hall was sitting in his cluttered office reading his devotions. His radiant guardian angel, Aaron, full of wisdom and knowledge, waited untilPastor Hall read the section about God’s heart for the widows and orphans. When he saw the word
widows
, Aaron reminded him of something he was going to do six months ago.
    He absent-mindedly ran his fingers through his silver gray hair.
Where would I have put that?
He rummaged through the bottom drawer of his old mahogany desk. The first layer was last month’s bulletins, then the file with the church’s electric bills and several candy bar wrappers, I
gotta get rid of the evidence
, he thought, resting his hand on his ample waist. He finally found what he was looking for at the bottom of “get-to-it-someday” papers—George’s obituary from the Bradbury
Gazette
. Neither George nor Sarah had ever been to the church as far as he could remember, but Pastor Hall had made it a practice to visit all the community members who had hard times, whether they were church members or not. He’d done it for the last 18 years.
    He closed his worn, leather-bound Bible with the dog-eared pages.
Maybe they’ll get me a new one at my retirement party. This one is pretty much falling apart
. With a prayer on his lips he bounded to his car. Soon he pulled up in front of Sarah’s small white bungalow with purple lilacs surrounding the front porch. His wife always commented on those lilac bushes, but he never knew who lived there.
    He whistled all the way up the sidewalk. He loved sharing the Gospel. As near as he could figure, he’d been to almost half the homes in the whole town. He stopped to take a whiff of the fragrant lavender flowers before knocking on the screen door.
    Although Pastor Hall had never seen Sarah, he was taken aback by the haggard figure with the sunken eyes staring at him suspiciously through the screen door. Her hair was unkempt, there were bags under her eyes, and her dress was just hanging on her frail body. “Send him away,” growled Deception. “You’ve got no time for him.” After his friendly introduction, though, Sarah overcame her distrust and invited him in.
    Sarah was suddenly aware of how a new person would see her surroundings. She felt her face flush as she saw coffee cups half full, left scattered throughout the room. The vacuum cleaner was still plugged in from four weeks ago. Unwatered orchids were dying everywhere. She grabbed the plate with a half-eaten piece of moldy toast and tried to conceal it.
    “Please, sit here,” she pointed to an overstuffed floral chair by the fireplace; “I’ll make us some coffee.” She retreated to the kitchen.
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