From Denny: This is a little story poem to be included in a developing book, written from the perspective of the child.
Angel Diaries: Samuel
This new house was different to her and so were the new people.
Everything was different; everything had suddenly changed.
The little girl was now three years old and studying all around her.
When the family first arrived, mysterious people from their old house visited.
Before talking to the parents, one man bent down to reassure the little girl.
He told her she was safe now as the bad woman who tried to harm her had an accident.
He said he and his friends made sure she was dead and wouldn’t harm anyone ever again.
The little girl was relieved, knowing he spoke the truth to her.
The same man repeated the story to the parents and they too were relieved.
The little girl knew powerful people were watching over her.
After the mysterious men left the little girl felt uneasy, sensing other problems to come.
For the first few months, the little girl watched as her parents invited new people into the new house.
She lingered near doorways straining to hear their conversation without entering the room since she was not allowed to participate.
The number of new friends grew and the parties grew louder so she couldn’t sleep.
The next morning, after those parties, her father was grouchy, grumpy and cross from too much drinking.
She had to step on egg shells around his meanness as he didn’t like children.
In the new house, everything seemed to change; the parents were no longer happy.
The father’s new job was difficult and stressful, making him angry all the time.
The mother was nervous and fearful around the father, especially when he yelled a lot.
Then, one Sunday afternoon, when the father was screaming and the mother, the older brother and the little girl were afraid, a very tall man knocked on the door.
His name was Samuel; he lived just across the street in this sleepy small town.
He was so tall he had to stoop low to fit through the house’s doorway as it was a 100 year old house in New England.
Later, the little girl learned he was almost seven feet tall. Samuel was in his 80’s now and had shrunk to six feet 10 inches. He said he was seven feet tall when he was young.
The family and the little girl had met Samuel when they first moved in and when Grand Dad was visiting for the summer. Grand Dad and Samuel became fast friends as they were close in age.
Grand Dad and Samuel were both mellow sociable men, always in a good mood.
Both Grand Dad and Samuel took a special interest in the little girl and took time to teach.
They told her stories about life, stories from their youth, people they knew and the future. They were amazed she listened to them which only caused them to teach her more.
One day when the father was angry and abusive again, the little girl remembered Samuel’s visits.
She prayed and asked God to send Samuel to stop her father from being so angry.
She knew her father was so tall he didn’t fear anyone but she knew he would fear Samuel who was the only person she knew who was taller.
As soon as the little girl finished her prayer, there was a knock at the front door.
The father went to answer the knock and was shocked to see Samuel standing there.
Samuel said, “I hear someone asked for my assistance.”
The father turned red with embarrassment and stammered his hello, not knowing what to say. He sensed someone told Samuel about his bad temper.
When Samuel came into the living room, the mother breathed a visible sigh of relief.
Samuel came over to sit down on the largest couch, sprawling his long legs out in front of him.
The little girl greeted Samuel as she climbed up onto the brown couch to snuggle up to him. Samuel grinned, winked and whispered low, “I hear you requested me; things will be fine now.”
The little girl was so excited Samuel could hear her in the spiritual silence that she beamed!
The father was annoyed and told the little girl to get off the couch. Samuel insisted she remained to complete her visit.
At that the little girl tried to stand next to the sitting Samuel to prop her arm and lean on Samuel’s shoulder like she did with other loving adults who liked kids. He was so tall and long that his shoulder was way above her head.
So, the little girl decided she would do what she used to do when she was two years old: stand on the lap of the adult to get to their neck to hug them. She couldn’t reach Samuel.
Well, Samuel was not the kind of guy who would scoop up a child to pull them up. He expected her to figure it out and smiled at her to try again another way.
The little girl was drawn into the moment and started to crawl up his chest, digging her knees into his slouched reclined body to gain traction. It seemed to her like a mountain to climb.
The little girl kept sliding down his chest and then had to retrace her knee-steps over and over again. Finally, on the third try she made it all the way up his chest and grabbed so wildly on to his neck she practically seized it. Samuel only laughed as the father looked on in horror.
Samuel winked at the little girl as her legs dangled down his chest without support as she clung to his neck. She pulled herself up to his huge long face that was almost as big as her entire body. Then the little girl claimed her prize and smothered him with cheek kisses and neck hugs as gratitude for showing up for a visit. At that success, he gathered her up with one giant hand and held her up against his neck like a small tiny kitten in need of a cuddle. The two were wrapped in this glowing energy.
The father kept complaining about the little girl being a nuisance but the mother pulled him away. The mother sensed there was something more here than just a child on a visit as she saw the glowing light. The father never did understand because he could not see what the others saw. He could not understand because he could not feel what the others felt.
Samuel visited the little girl for a few years more and then moved away. He came often when the little girl prayed he would visit. The father changed a little each time Samuel appeared, more fearful he would be held accountable of his own misbehavior though Samuel never directly challenged him.
Samuel became known as the little girl’s godfather as Grand Dad used to label him. But Grand Dad knew all along who Samuel really was; so did the little girl and her mother. Before Samuel left, he kneeled down to the little girl and told her not to worry about what life would bring, no matter how bad it seemed.
He said that he was sent from Heaven to help her and the family, now his assignment was done. He instructed her that if she first invited them how other people would come into her life to teach and protect her. And the last thing Samuel promised her was this as he smiled down at her, “One day it will be you doing the teaching and the protecting and you are going to be very good at it.”
Denny Lyon
Copyright 30 Oct 2009
All Rights Reserved
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Photo Credits
Little girl with red roses Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography @ flickr
Little girl with teal tights holding shoes Photo by randyloodle @ flickr
Little girl with fistful of flowers Photo by mollypop @ flickr
Little girl sitting on outdoor bench Photo by somma1977 @ flickr
Shy little girl Photo by tibchris @ flickr
Beautiful dancer Photo by tibchris @ flickr
Angel and Bird Post Dividers by Sandychosen @ Photobucket
Floral Post Dividers by Shabby Blogs
