The child coughed, gulping for air with an open mouth. She struggled against strong arms holding her tight and discovered a face too beautiful and frightening to be real.
“Let me go.” The arms tightened. She pulled against them and panicked at the sight of her roller blades tangled in the billowing folds of a gauzy gown. Cool air and fuzzy white fog surrounded them. Her stomach tightened, and the hairs on the back of her neck tingled at the flapping sound of what? Was she flying? No way. They couldn’t be flying.
Suddenly the creature flipped forward and began a downward dive. She squeezed her arms tight about the creature’s neck, her eyes shut tight, and held on for dear life. She screamed when her stomach did a flip like a ride on the downhill side of a roller coaster and peeped with one eye open. She was high above a tiny speck in the middle of an ocean, and it was growing bigger by the second. She held her breath, wishing for a parachute. Then the creature shifted positions, cradling her to its chest so she could see the view below and behind them. She saw the wings, giant ones made of long silvery white feathers. They were beautiful, the creature must be an angel.
They glided above canopies of jewel-colored trees where the air smelled clean like Christmas trees. She flinched as they skimmed over rocky cliffs towering above a dreary gray sand beach. Waves crashed against the black rocks standing guard over the harbor. Beyond the beach and in the very center of the island stood an enormous white building shaped like a star and topped with a sparkling glass dome. The building was surrounded by miles of curved white walls.
The angel creature folded her wings, launched toward solid ground, and landed upright beside a gray-haired, freckled-faced woman wearing thick black-rimmed glasses. The woman was sorting through multicolored strings of star-shaped lights, chattering nonstop to herself. “Now, surely there must be a red one here. Orange, green, and yellow, but not red. Oops, what was that?” She patted her ample bosom in surprise at the arrival of visitors.
“Asia, you startled me. And who’s this? Ah, you must be Halo. Come. We’ve been expecting you.” She reached out to give the young girl a welcome hug but was rejected.
Halo wanted to run away from the woman with the big white apron and the angel person. She was dizzy and the ground moved under her wobbly legs then sank down on the grass, head in her hands, trying to sort it all out. She remembered skating along the sidewalk and seeing people wait for the light to change at the busy intersection. A woman pushing a white poodle in a baby carriage passing her. Yes, that’s it! The little white puppy ran into the street. She’d tried to pick it up, but it ran away, back to the woman. Then, the noise—horns, people yelling, and pain—and then everything went black. The next thing she remembered was flying through the air with this creature.
She untied the laces on her skates and feigned interest in the grass, hoping it was all a dream and she would wake up in her own room. She paused to steal a glance, but they were still there, the creature with wings and the woman in the apron. They were still there, staring at her.
One of them was a real person, resembling a life-size rag doll, but the other one, the one with wings, well, she was surely an angel. Not that she had ever seen an angel or known anyone who had seen one, but what else could the creature be?
The angel’s eyes didn’t match. Her left eye was the most amazing shade of blue, and the right one was purple with a sparkly blue thing on her cheek under it. She didn’t have eyebrows, either. Her long silver hair streamed down her back, over her shoulders, and between long beautiful wings. She wore the most beautiful silvery gown, but the colors changed with the angel’s every move.
“I don’t know what’s happening here, or who you are, or where I am, but I need to go home. My aunt Dora worries a lot.” Halo sat up straight, struggling to keep her voice steady. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but where am I, and who are you? I’m not supposed to talk to, or go places with, people I don’t know.”
“I am Asia. This is Miss Ruth. The name of this island is White Feathers,” the beautiful winged angel replied.
“I’m okay. It was a silly accident. See, not a scratch anywhere.” She held out her arms and shook a foot to demonstrate. “Aunt Dora will pay you back if you’ll tell me how to get home.”
Miss Ruth dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief and pretend to cough. The angel hovered above the grass, the bottom of her dress a few inches off the ground. The angel didn’t walk. The girl wondered if angels had feet. After all, they had wings, so maybe they didn’t need to walk.
“I’m fine. Really. I couldn’t stand there and watch the poor little dog get run over. You understand? I’m careful when I skate. Ask anybody. I had plenty of time to get back on the sidewalk. The puppy made it back, didn’t it? I would have, too, except...” She realized the truth, and the truth made her sick, really sick.
“What’s happening? Please tell me. Why am I here? You’re an angel, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am an angel. I carried you here to your new home.” The blue crescent under Asia’s purple eye glowed as she spoke.
“I live with my aunt Dora. I need to get back, now!” Halo stomped her foot, tears of fear blurring her vision.
“White Feathers is your new home. You will go to school at White Feathers Academy. You’ll make friends and discover talents you didn’t know you had.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but Asia faded into a mist and disappeared.
“Come back. Please come back and take me home. I’m not dead. Please tell me I’m not dead.” But there was no answer.
Tears ran down her face as Miss Ruth hugged her close into the folds of a crisp white apron as if protecting her from the truth. She watched the woman pretend to adjust the oversized glasses while wiping away a tear.
“You know it’s a mistake, don’t you?” She looked directly at the woman with the bold blue eyes.
“No. Asia doesn’t make mistakes. You’ll be fine. You’ll see.” She cleared her throat, and offered a tissue to the new arrival.
“I won’t be fine. I’m dead. That’s what Asia meant, isn’t it? I’m dead, and she brought me here.” She bit her lip and shoved away from Miss Ruth.
“You’re tired and angry. I’ll show you to your room. You will feel better when you meet Zadie. You’ll like her. She’ll introduce you to some of the other students here.”
She recognized the sound of authority in Miss Ruth’s voice and submitted to the firm but friendly grip of her hand.
Miss Ruth led the way across the grounds toward a large white domed building that could have easily been in Disney World.
“Did you feel that?” Halo swatted at the swarm of blue glittering flakes spinning around her head.
“Feel what?” Miss Ruth asked and continued to maneuver them across the lawn, dodging two young boys running backward, their dragon kite lifting in the breeze.
“This stuff. It’s getting in my eyes.” She swatted at the flecks again and looked up but saw nothing.
The dizziness and the sick feeling in her stomach disappeared, but nothing made sense. Aunt Dora said people died and went to heaven, unless they did something committed a terrible sin. If she was dead, why wasn’t she in heaven instead of White Feathers? She’d never done anything really bad, at least not bad enough to keep her out of heaven. Maybe she’d get to meet her mom and dad. They were dead, too. Aunt Dora said that’s where they were, in heaven
“Be brave when scary things happen.” That’s what Aunt Dora would say.