Her mom had always loved angels. They were all over her home - small statues, decorations, paintings, etc. When she was younger, her mom told her that angels were always with her, watching over her. She told her about guardian angels who were great protectors. She said everyone had one. Today, she couldn’t help but wonder when she would be taken under their wings and taught what it is like to look down among the living and observe quietly. She thought she saw it that night - her guardian angel. It was an angel with large, beautiful wings. It reminded her of her mother’s favorite book. The book contained not a single word, but only pictures of angels. She missed her mom more than anything. She turned off her light and cried herself to sleep.
***
It was a rainy April day in Ohio. Daisy had just turned 18 in the last month. She was preparing for college. She had always felt trapped in her home and was excited to go to Juilliard and escape from the drama of her life. Since her parents divorce three years ago, she looked forward to this day. She felt a new sense of freedom, but something was wrong.
“Where are you?” Daisy screamed into the phone. Her mom was late as always, but she was supposed to be on time for this. It meant the world to her, and her mom knew it. Daisy had called her four times now, but she wasn’t answering. She wanted to cry.
“Ms. Moon, you have two minutes, let’s go,” called her instructor. Daisy was so frustrated. She took a deep breath and ran backstage. It was her moment. Daisy was ready for that scholarship, and she knew she deserved it. She peeked into the audience. In the front of the auditorium, sat her father, looking as nervous as her. She eyed the scouts and smiled an anxious smile. Daisy gripped her saxophone and stepped onto the stage. She almost forgot about her mother’s absence as she played her favorite Pink Floyd song, Us and Them.
Daisy put her soul into the performance. She started strongly and ended with a compassionate - and even stronger - finale. The small audience of the scouts, her father, and her instructor sounded like a stampede of a million horses as they applauded her. Her father looked so proud. She took a bow and left the stage with a smirk. She had nailed the performance. As she exited the stage, she began to swell with anger. Where was her mother? She assumed her mother had forgotten about her performance and prepared a speech for the next time she saw her. Daisy was going to make her mother regret missing the most important moment of her life. Daisy found her father and thanked the scouts for attending.
Daisy was supposed to head to her mother’s for a celebration with her aunt and uncle who had come to visit from a small town in Maine. She knew something was seriously wrong when she saw her Aunt Noreen standing by the door. She looked ill.
“Aunt Noreen, what’s going on?” she asked quietly. She had a deep feeling of dread in her stomach. She feared the answer.
“It’s your mother… she’s sick again…” Noreen couldn’t finish before falling into a puddle of tears.
“What’s wrong this time?” Daisy cried out. She was trembling. This can’t be happening again.
“Daisy, dear… your mother… she had another seizure today. She’s in the hospital now. You’re going to come with me, okay?” Daisy followed her Aunt to her car; nothing was said on the whole thirty-five minute drive to the hospital. A somber silence surrounded the small car. The only sound were the sobs of her aunt. Daisy did not know how to react. She was absolutely terrified.
As Daisy arrived at the hospital, she started to have a panic attack. It scared her because it had been almost four months since her last attack; she did not know how to conceal it, so she just let it happen. She cried so hard she shook, which made her aunt start to cry.
“Daisy, it’s going to be alright,” she said in between sobs.
It wasn’t alright…
***
“Julia had always loved angels. It was always easy to buy her gifts because when I asked her what she would want, she would say ‘anything with angels’. Julia was an angel.
She was a beautiful soul. She lit up the room with her cheesy jokes and always had a smile on her face. As children, we could never be mad at each other for longer than a few minutes for she could never keep a straight face. We would always end up laughing so hard that we cried. As teenagers, we started sharing clothes. It was always annoying when she would take my favorite shirts, but we would always end up trading because my taste in clothes looked better on her and vice versa.
She would always look up to me - her big sister - even when I wanted to be left alone and shut myself away from her. She always had my back: when I went through my rebellious stage, she would sneak me in.
My favorite memory of her was when she was first diagnosed with glioblastoma. Daisy - her beautiful daughter - was only seven. Julia had me watch Daisy while her husband, Colin, was at work. Daisy was definitely a handful, but we had an excellent time together. She seemed to comfort me in a way. When Julia finally fought off the cancer and came to see Daisy, she brought Daisy her favorite flowers: daisies.
This is my favorite memory of Julia because it reminds me of how considerate she was. She had just recovered from cancer, but her daughter was still her number one priority. She was always so happy with Daisy. Daisy was the light in her dark life.
Not only was Julia a great mother, but she was a great sister - a great friend. I loved her so much, and I will never stop as long as I live. We will miss you, Julia - more than anything.”
Noreen was never a strong speaker, but her eulogy at Daisy’s mother’s funeral was sure to bring tears to Daisy’s eyes. Daisy could not hold her tears when her aunt mentioned the memory of the day her mother came home from the hospital. Her mother was always considerate. It made her a great mom. Daisy felt awful - she had never appreciated her mother, at least not enough.
She went home with her father. All of her belongings were there now. She was really going to miss her mom’s home - she was going to miss her mother. She went in her room and shut the door. She watched the sunset as she cried. Daisy thought about her mother and the angels. Where were her mother’s angels?