Hovering Angels

By John Haeberle

They have come to refer to him as "the Artist". Some of them have served with him for many years, while others have come to work with him only recently. These young nurses and members of the US military have been "called" by the aged, short, white-haired gentleman, to labor in behalf of those to him he leads them. With their callings and assignments come a variety of gifts or powers, with which they are betteer able to serve, uplift, give comfort to those who suffer terribly throughout the world during the most violent period in world history, 1914-1945. Among the gifts bestowed on them are the ability to see briefly into the future, to understand foreign languages and be heard to speak in those languages, to cure the sick and wounded. Most astonishing among these gifts is the fact that they cease to age or to evven become ill.  This last power, however, comes with a substantial price...their loved ones will age and die, leaving them alone and forever at the prime of life. Romance, love, marriage, families...these are among the sacrifices they will be called upon to make. 

Travel the world with the Artist and his flock of Hovering Angels, as they bless and comfort their fellow human beings, whether it is Belgium in 1914 or Hiroshima in 1945. Learn of remarkable yet overlooked real heroes, like Nancy Wake and Noor Inayat Khan. Go inside Nazi-controlled Paris and Poland, seeing in graphic and heartbreaking detail the atrocities carried out against the weak and defenseless.

Learn, along with the Hovering Angels do, as the Artist leads and teaches these young people in the sacred art of ministering to those who suffer terribly. Become aware of the powerful and closeby spirit world, where committed individuals labor in behalf of those whose spiritual eyes are not yet opened. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Haeberle
• Release date: Jun 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9780998377131

John Haeberle

John Haeberle is a recovering middle school and high school band and choir director.  He taught in northern California for many years, then returned to his home of earlier years, Idaho.  He enjoys writing about life and its challenges and rewards.  He and his wife, Annie, make their home in Twin Falls, in Idaho's Magic Valley.

Book preview

Chapter One

Jacquie had worked with Dr. Bates before.  He was just over six feet in height, with short, blondish hair, and wire-frame glasses.  He was more than competent.  What was even more impressive was that he was also one of the only friendly OB doctors at St. Thomas.  Though he was widely respected, he was not at all aloof.  He was usually agreeable to chewing the fat, when time permitted.  Tonight, however, was not to be one of those evenings.  The doctor and both nurses were completely focused on keeping up with their patients’ needs.  Everyone was busy.  The usual chit-chat was replaced by quiet concentration.

The other nurse was unfamiliar to Jacquie.  She looked to be about Jacquie’s age.  The new nurse’s hair appeared to be long and dark, but was netted up close to her head, as was the practice among nurses in those days.  She seemed nice enough, though this was clearly not going to be the type of shift for getting to know a new co-worker.  There had been time only to exchange greetings and names.

Hi there!  I’m Jacquie.  What’s your name?

My name’s Jenni, she breathlessly, yet cheerfully answered.

Well, good luck tonight! was all Jacquie could think to say.

Jenni laughed easily, You, too.  Looks like we’re gonna have our hands full!

Both nurses chuckled and fell back to quietly caring for their charges, speaking to anxious mothers in low, soothing tones.

Doctor Bates was attending to Colleen’s needs, while Jenni helped Katy as Jacquie assisted Heidi.  Colleen had long, full, dark hair.  She was in her late twenties and was delivering her third child.  Katy had sandy-colored hair, cut very short in the most up-to-date, flapper-style of the day.   She was a cute twenty-six year-old.  Heidi was a strikingly beautiful twenty-two year-old, with shoulder-length, blond hair.  For Heidi and Katy, these would be their first deliveries. Katy and Heidi had arrived at St. Thomas at almost the exact same moment. Colleen had come in much later, but, as was not unusual, this being her third delivery, her progress was moving much faster than the other two.

At one point, with two babies about to deliver and Colleen seemingly trying to catch up with the other two, things got particularly crazy.  Dr. Bates had instructed Jacquie and Jenni to each attend one of the first-time mothers, while he checked on the latest arriving, but fastest advancing mother, Colleen.  He also kept an ear tuned to the other two young mothers and their nurses.

It became clear to everyone that Jacquie’s patient, Heidi, was going to deliver first, as in, now!  Everything was ready.  Jacquie had triple-checked the instrument tray, the lights, receiving blankets, the sheets, the bed...everything was as it should be. 

Dr. Bates, I believe we better swap places.  This little one’s coming fast.

Dr. Bates trusted Jacquie, having worked with her for several months.  He didn’t need to verify that her prediction was correct.  Without answering, he and Jacquie did a kind of Dosie-Doh in the center of the delivery room, each moving to what had just been the other’s patient.  Jacquie moved to Colleen and the doctor to Heidi.  In those few seconds, the crown of the head of Heidi’s baby made its appearance.  The doctor rolled his chair into position, ready to assist child and mother.

At that very moment, Colleen’s baby, not at all pleased with coming in second, began to race for the finish line.  The mother groaned and then yelped with the sudden movement of her child, brought on by a strong contraction.  Jacquie glanced to her right, to see how quickly things were progressing for Heidi.  It was obvious that Heidi’s baby did not want to give up its title of first place.  Things were happening quickly with both mothers.

Colleen’s baby, after appearing to want to make short work of this whole delivery process, had suddenly stopped making progress.  Jacquie calmly encouraged the mother to pant and try to relax.  In another minute, the mother felt the urge to push and did so.  It was a good contraction, but the baby made no progress.  Jacquie gently reached inside and quickly discovered that the child was not properly positioned.  The baby was in posterior position.  She knew instantly that this would make delivery much more challenging for both child and mother.  It was a situation she had not yet experienced in her less than a year as a practicing nurse. 

Colleen, I need you to take a few more quick breaths.  That’s good.  Keep it up.

Being experienced professionals, she had been trained to keep emotion from her voice in such circumstances.  She tried to do just that, but there must have been just the tiniest change in her tone of voice. 

Without turning away from his patient, Dr. Bates said, Nurse Jacquie, I can’t help just now.  You’ll be fine.

With that, she knew that he knew she might be in trouble, and that she was on her own.  She began trying to turn the baby, but was unable to do it.  She could feel herself beginning to panic.  This is what the doctor was supposed to do, she told herself, not her!  She could feel her heart rate increase and sweat begin to form on her brow.  For a moment she just stared at the far wall of the maternity ward, not sure what to do.  She felt a wave of wooziness pass over her.  Her knees felt like they might buckle.

At that precise moment, she noticed that Jenni was now beside her.  They were shoulder to shoulder.  Without realizing it, she as actually leaning against Jenni, who calmly and in a soothing voice said, Jacquie, lets swap out.  I’ve got this.

In a moment, Jacquie found herself helping Katy, whose progress had slowed. Jacquie took a few deep breaths and let her head hang as she tried to relax her shoulders. She then took a quick look over her left shoulder to see how things were going for Colleen. As she looked, Jenni spoke to Colleen.

Colleen, I am going to turn the baby just a bit so that the delivery will be easier.

Her tone of voice had remained calm, even, relaxed. She seemed to perform the needed repositioning with ease. Another contraction started immediately and the child’s head emerged. Two more good contractions and the child was delivered, safe and sound.

Jenni raised the baby up, smacked its little rear-end, and cut the cord. The child instantly began to cry, with a great deal of spirit! She then wrapped the baby in a receiving blanket, held it close to her face, and said, Oh, Ella.  You’re here! We’re so glad you’re here. We’ve been waiting for you. Let’s go see your mama.

Jacquie breathed easier and began to turn back to her duties with Katy when she noticed something. Ella. Ella?

Jenni had called the baby Ella. But Jacquie had been right there the whole time. No name had been mentioned. 

Then, just as quickly, Jacquie’s attention jumped to something else. It was there for only a moment, and then was gone. Or was it there at all?  She couldn’t be sure.  She thought that she had seen a kind of soft, dark-blue glow emanating from Jennifer. It was like a one-inch-thick, almost transparent blanket of light that clung to her, encircling her, following the contours of her body from head to foot. Jacquie shook her head, looked again, and the light or glow was gone. 

She reasoned to herself that the stress of the moment, along with the momentary wooziness, had brought on the strange sight. It had to be.  What else could it be?

Now, as she entered the dance hall, the question again came to her mind.  How had Jenni known the name of the baby?  With three delivering mothers and only three attendants, there had been a fairly low noise level.  No one had made small talk, such as, Have you chosen a name?  Jacquie was sure that no one had spoken of babies’ names in all the chaos of three simultaneous labors.  So why, in the midst of all that was going on, did Jenni take it upon herself to call this new infant by the name Ella?  That seemed a little presumptive, to Jacquie’s way of thinking.  No, it seemed very presumptive!  Jenni couldn’t have even known whether the baby was going to be a boy or a girl.  Jacquie shook the thought from her head and focused on the lights, music, and happy, dancing people all around her.

Having worked extremely hard and under tremendous pressure, she found that she was quite thirsty.  She made a beeline to the punch bowl, picked up a crystal cup, filled and drained it twice in less than a minute. Ah! Lemonade! A Southern delicacy.  She instantly felt better as the cool, sweet liquid traveled down her throat. She turned toward the bandstand, snapping her fingers to the beat. She couldn’t help herself as she glanced down at the sparkling red dress and saw that it reflected the bright lights of the bandstand. She again noticed, with joy, the way the dress’s color complimented her beautiful, dark auburn curls.

She made eye contact with a friend, Ethan Chandler. Ethan smiled and hesitantly made his way over to where Jacquie was standing. He cleared his throat.

Hey, Jacquie! It’s good to see you. I was hoping I would.

Thanks, Ethan. Yeah, I have a couple of Kid Ory records. I’ve been looking forward to hearing him live. He’s amazing!

You’re right.  These guys have such a great sound, it’s hard to stand still!

Jacquie grinned up at him and said, Are you saying we should dance?

He did this funny thing with his eyes that made him look like a sad puppy dog.

Okay! she laughed. Not the eyes. I can’t resist the puppy eyes.

His face instantly brightened and he extended his arm, elbow bent, for her to take. 

Don’t blame me for the eyes. I stole that one from my brother, Seth.

He tucked her hand through the crook in his arm and they headed for the dance floor, beginning to dance even before they reached the spot they would claim as their turf. The music was wonderful, full of energy...impossible to resist.

They danced to three songs in a row, then found seats where they could catch their breath. Ethan offered to go get them some punch. The moment he turned toward the refreshment table her mind again went back to the delivery room...

But that’s so strange. Ella? She thought to herself. It’s a lovely name.  I could even imagine using it for my own daughter, someday. But why did Jenni think she could simply call a newborn whatever she wanted to?  She had instantly felt that she would like Jenni, but this was really bothering her.

Ethan returned with the punch. After a short break, they were back on the dance floor, having about as much fun as they could recall. But every few minutes, the thought returned to Jacquie’s head.  Why had Jenni called that newborn ‘Ella’?  How had she known that the baby would be a girl? The questions nagged her the rest of the evening and until she fell asleep back at her apartment, later that night.

Chapter Two

Jacquie wasn’t scheduled to work for another two days. No matter. She had to get to the bottom of the naming of a child by one of her fellow nurses...a child that was not her own. Neither Jenni nor Colleen had shown the slightest hint of knowing each other, which, had they been prior acquaintances, might explain Jenni knowing what the name was to be. 

Jacquie arrived at the maternity ward of St. Thomas in the early afternoon on her day off.  She went to the nurse’s station and looked up the name Colleen Humphries. She found the room number and headed down the hall.  First, though, she stopped by the nursery window to get a peek at the new arrivals. Pink blankets and blue blankets were wrapped snuggly around eight little bodies. The nurse monitoring the nursery knew Jacquie and waved a silent hello.  Jacquie smiled and returned the wave. She patted her chest with her fist, indicating the love she felt for each one of these little souls.  The other nurse smiled and nodded in agreement. 

Jacquie found the baby whose name card read ‘Humphries, Ella’.  So, she hadn’t been mistaken.  In her haste to get to the dance hall, she had not spoken to Jenni or to the new mother about her questions regarding the name that Jenni had used.  But now, there it was.  ‘Humphries, Ella’, handwritten on the card.

She made her way down the hall to Colleen’s room, quietly knocked, and cautiously entered.  She didn’t want to disturb Colleen if she was sleeping. As she stuck her head round the door, she saw that Colleen was sitting up in bed, an apple in one hand and a book in the other. She looked great.

Mrs. Humphries, my name is Jacquie. I was on duty the other night when you came in.

A big grin came over Colleen’s face.

Of course! Now I know who you are! I knew that I had seen you before, but in your street clothes I couldn’t put it together. How are you?

Jacquie replied, "I’m just fine, thank you. It’s I who should be asking you how you are."

Thanks, Jacquie. I feel wonderful. Did you see my perfect little girl down the hall?

Of course I did! What a sweet little doll. You’re right. She’s perfect!

There was a brief lag in the conversation as Jacquie decided how to broach the subject, which had brought her here on her day off.

Mrs. Humphries, I think the name you chose for your daughter is just beautiful.

Colleen smiled, nodded in agreement, but then shook her head ever so slightly, as if to say that she was a little puzzled, herself. Then she nodded her head vigorously.

Oh, thank you.  I love it, too!

Is it a family name?

Jacquie could see that Colleen was hesitant.

"No. To tell you the truth, it wasn’t the name we had chosen if we had a girl.  It was going to be Phyllis. That is a family name. It’s my great-aunt’s name."

This piqued Jacquie’s interest. As casually as she could, she asked the question.

When did you change your mind, and why?

This will probably sound weird, and you are going to think that I am too easily persuaded by others, but...when the nurse brought her to me, she said, Colleen, I’d like you to meet Ella.’"

So, Jacquie thought, I was right. Jenni had just pulled the name out of the air. What gave her the nerve to tell a new mother what her child’s name is going to be? Even stranger, why was Colleen okay with that? 

Colleen continued, My first instinct was to correct her, to tell her that she had simply mixed up my baby’s name with one of the other newborns. That’s understandable, given the hectic conditions in maternity that night.

Jacquie, nodded, but said nothing.

"But before I could open my mouth, I suddenly had the sweetest, most peaceful feeling come over me. It was like something was telling me that my baby’s name was supposed to be Ella. There was no doubt about it."

Before they brought my husband in to meet her, I told the nurses to not tell him that it was a girl...only that he had a healthy new baby.  When he came in, I smiled, just like I’ve been smiling the last two days...and I said, Honey, I want you to meet our daughter, Ella!

Jacquie’s mouth was now hanging open as she pictured the scene in her mind. What could the father have thought of this change? Surely his pride would be hurt at not being consulted on such a big decision.

He was halfway across the room and just stopped in his tracks. He pulled his chin in and sort of turned his head at a funny angle. He looked at me with dark, hooded eyes. And then, just as quickly, he broke into a huge grin and ran to us, saying, ‘Oh, Ella!  You’re here. We’re so glad you’re here. We’ve been waiting for you! Welcome to your family, little Ella.

Jacquie was surprised to discover that her eyes were suddenly moist and a single tear was tracking down her cheek. She turned away and quickly dabbed at the corner of her eye with the handkerchief she carried in her coat pocket.

When she felt she was again in control of her emotions, she turned back toward Colleen, who was looking at her with a questioning expression on her face.

You okay?

Sure, she said in a voice that didn’t sound quite so sure. That’s a pretty unusual story. I’ve never heard anything like it.

Colleen replied, Me either! This is my third, and nothing like that ever happened with the other two, I can tell you that!

As Jacquie made her way down the long corridor and out the front door of St. Thomas Hospital, her mind replayed the conversation she had just had with Colleen. With it came the gentle emotions, once more, which had caught her completely off guard as Colleen told her story. She walked home, deep in thought.

Chapter Three

Afew days later, Jacquie once again found that she was working alongside Jenni in the delivery area. Things were not nearly so busy as they had been the last time they worked together. Jacquie wanted so badly to ask Jenni about the naming of the Humphries baby, but couldn’t find the right time or words.

With the two of them on duty and only one mother in labor, they were able to chat a bit and get to know one another. Just as she had first suspected, she liked Jenni very much. She had one of those personalities, which simply made a person feel relaxed and comfortable.  Still, even with that, she was unable to bring up the question of the naming of baby Ella.

The young mother who was their charge at this time progressed smoothly through labor and delivery. No complications. The doctor had handed the newborn to Jenni and she had spoken soft words of welcome, which Jacquie could easily hear, but nothing about a name was mentioned. The mother then told them that the boy would be called Benjamin. Both nurses ooh’d and aah’d over the handsome young man and the choice of his name. 

The rest of their shift was uneventful and they got ready to go.  Jacquie was off to a party at a friend’s house. She had again brought something more fitting for a social occasion than a nurse’s uniform, and went into the nurses’ locker room to change. As she was standing in front of the large mirror, adjusting her bright blue dress and the white hat and long strand of pearls she had decided to wear with it, Jenni came in and stopped in front of the mirror beside Jacquie. She was still in her uniform and paused only long enough to put on her hat and coat and make sure she looked just right. 

Jacquie wasn’t really paying attention at first, but then, just as Jennifer turned to leave, Jacquie saw that faint blue light again encircling her. She blinked and shook her head, then looked again. This time the soft glow had not vanished as it had done before.  It was still there. As Jacquie stared, eyes almost bulging, the bluish glow lingered for a couple of seconds, then gradually faded, as if it was moving from surrounding Jennifer to somehow having sunk within her. This was no illusion. This was not brought on by wooziness.

Before Jacquie could recover enough to say anything to her, Jenni turned and strode out through the door leading to the corridor that would take her out of the hospital. As she walked away she looked over her shoulder and said to Jacquie, Great working with you again. I hope we’ll work together again real soon. Y’all have a good night!

And that was it. She was gone.

Jacquie stood transfixed, her feet seemingly glued in place in front of the mirror. She noticed that her mouth was hanging open and quickly closed it and checked her lipstick.

Words would not form in her mind. Her brain was flying along like one of those airplanes she had seen a couple of times. Visions and thoughts came and went too quickly to have time to put words with them. She knew that this time she had seen what she thought she saw the other night. This time, there was no mistaking it. 

After a few minutes of mindlessly brushing her auburn hair while staring unseeing at her reflection in the mirror, she was finally able to put together a clear, sensible thought. ‘What about naming baby Ella?’ 

She didn’t know why that was the first coherent idea to take shape in her whirling mind, after seeing something as impossible, yet undeniable, as a bluish glow wrapping itself around her coworker and then apparently seeping down inside her. Nonetheless, there it was.  Somehow her mind made a connection between the inexplicable blue glow and the fact that Jennifer had known that the Humphries baby would be a girl and that it was to be named Ella. Jacquie could make no logical connection herself, but her subconscious had done it for her.

There was a narrow counter, just below the mirror, which ran the width of the mirror, where nurses could place jewelry, make-up, bottles of perfume, or other personal items, while seeing to their personal appearance either coming on duty or going off. Admittedly, more care was given to the latter, especially when there were social plans for later that evening. Such was the case more often than not for Jacquie.  However, after what she had just seen, her plans for the evening had flown from her mind, along with her long held belief that she knew pretty much all about life. Her view of the world had just taken a severe blow. Her understanding of what was or was not possible in this life was suddenly shaken, badly. 

Without thinking, she reached out to grab the counter in order to steady herself. Her knees felt weak. Her head was one big question mark. At the end of the counter, just beyond the mirror, there sat an old overstuffed chair which one of the doctors had donated to the nurses’ lounge, rather than just throw it out. At this moment, Jacquie was especially grateful for that doctor’s generosity and thoughtfulness. She very slowly and unsteadily made her way to the chair and eased herself down onto it, not releasing her grip on the counter until she felt the chair behind her. She lowered herself down onto the chair, relaxing back into its soft, green cushions.

After a few moments she remembered the old footstool the nurses used as an ottoman. She reached around beside the chair, grabbed the stool and pulled it into position where she could rest her feet. Having done that, she extended her legs until her feet were resting on the stool, then laid her head back against the chair and closed her eyes.

Her mind immediately began playing the miraculous scene over and over. After seeing it play out several times, she realized that her head was shaking back and forth, as if to say, ‘No. This can’t be real!’ But inside her heart and mind she knew that it was.

Jacquie rested there for another twenty minutes before thoughts of the party she was to attend came back to her rattled brain. She didn’t feel like going. She just wanted to be alone. But the thought of the party, of her friends, would not leave her. After another five minutes, she decided that being with friends might be just what she needed. There would be music, laughter, maybe even dancing. And food!  Yes. Lots of food! Every starving nurse, having just completed a brutal shift at the hospital, was highly motivated by good food...especially when it was someone else who had slaved over a hot stove. She decided to go.

She stood up, cautiously, and found, happily, that she had regained her balance and that she felt steady enough to walk to the party a few blocks away. She would take just one more look at herself to see that she would present her best self when she arrived at her friends’ apartment. Who knows? Maybe Ethan might be there. The thought brought a smile to her face.  She turned to her right to face the mirror.

She began to adjust her hair so that it was tucked perfectly under her hat. She dropped her hands to her sides and tilted her head to the right, as was her habit, to take one last look. It was then that she first saw it. From the top of her head down to her shoulders and arms, and from beneath her arms down both of her sides, following her shape like a second skin, there appeared a very soft, green glow. Not blue. Green.    As with the glow she had seen surrounding Jenni, this soft light decreased in intensity as it reached about an inch from her body.  Beyond that, it then faded away completely. 

The next thing Jacquie remembered was that she had somehow found her way back to the old, overstuffed chair. Her head was back, her eyes closed, her legs again resting on the ottoman. She noticed that she was breathing rapidly and could feel her heart pounding. Perspiration had broken out on her face and hands. As she moved her hand to her chest to feel her heartbeat she noticed that her hand trembled.

Jacquie sat alone in silence. Very gradually, her pulse slowed, her breathing settled down, the perspiration let up, and her hands stopped trembling. Still, there was no strength at all in her legs. She felt no desire to stand. All she felt capable of doing was to replay what she had seen in the mirror...over and over. Just as she had done while replaying the undeniable blue glow surrounding Jennifer, Jacquie now found that she was again shaking her head, as if to say, ‘This can’t be happening.’ But, just as she had realized earlier, she now knew that the soft, green light she had seen around her own body was real.     

Chapter Four

Huntington, West Virginia  1935

ELLA DIDN’T RECOGNIZE Jennifer. How could she? She had been a newborn when they first met, back in 1921. The only other time she had seen her was when Ella had been riding her bike across the backyards of the neighborhood, in a failed attempt to get home before her mother noticed she was late.  It was dark and she never saw the clothesline.  Her bike seat put her at just the right height to be, quite literally, clotheslined, the line lifting her by the neck and chin.  She hung in mid air as her bike went on its way without its rider, crashing into the neighbor’s greenhouse, causing a noise that could be heard throughout the homes on California Street in Huntington, West Virginia.

Ella’s next-door neighbor, Mr. Barnes, had come out the back door to see what the awful noise was. He saw Ella just then dropping from the clothesline, landing on her back and rolling back and forth on the lawn, in agony. She grabbed at her throat. Mr. Barnes was kneeling beside her in an instant. Even in the semi-dark he could see a frightening amount of blood.

Mrs. Barnes came up behind Mr. Barnes and saw how seriously the girl had been hurt, though she didn’t yet know how it had happened.  While Mrs. Barnes knelt beside Ella, trying to calm her, Mr. Barnes ran back to the house and grabbed a couple of rags. Returning, he knelt beside Ella, and began pressing the rags onto her neck, trying to stop or slow the bleeding without strangling her in the process. The wound was too long and deep. The flow of blood was unstoppable. Each time he applied enough pressure to stop the flow of blood, she began fighting him, desperate for air. It was a losing effort. 

Mrs. Barnes turned to run back inside and call for an ambulance. As she did, she ran right into Jenni, who gently took Mrs. Barnes by the shoulders and moved her aside so that she could get to Ella.

In as calm a voice as she had used when welcoming a small baby girl to the world in Nashville back in 1921, Jennifer knelt down, leaned in close to Ella’s ear, and said, My dear Ella.  It’s so good to see you again.  I’ve been waiting for you. You have nothing to worry about. You will be fine.

As Jennifer stood, it became clear to the Barnes that Ella was not in pain as she had been moments before, nor was she rocking back and forth on the lawn. Mr. Barnes leaned closer to get a look at the wound.  What he saw made him draw back in surprise and reach for his wife’s arm.

Daisy! Come look at this! This can’t be.

Mrs. Barnes knelt down by Ella and looked at the young girl’s neck.  Her hand moved to her open mouth and she turned to face her husband.

Cliff, it’s stopped bleeding! It’s as if the wound is closing itself! This can’t be!

At first, when Mr. Barnes had leaned in to get a better look at the injury, and then showed such shock, Ella had been alarmed. But now, with Mrs. Barnes kneeling beside her, talking about something that sounded too good to be true, she lay back and relaxed, her breathing becoming slower and more even.

In the gathering darkness, the Barnes helped Ella to her feet and slowly guided her to the back door of her house, which was next door to their own. Ella’s mother came to the door and saw her neighbors helping her daughter in through the doorway. She saw blood on Ella’s neck, hands, and clothing, but before she reacted to that disturbing sight, she recognized from Ella’s body language and the smiles on the Barnes’ faces that her daughter was not seriously injured. 

Thank you both so much for helping Ella! Colleen said. I can’t thank you enough! I am so sorry about the greenhouse. Please tell me how much we owe you and we will take care of it.

The Barnes were very touched by the young mother’s offer to pay for the damages. After all, it was 1935.  Times were tough. They knew that Colleen’s husband, like so many men, had lost his job a couple of years ago. 

Don’t you worry about that at all, Daisy said, patting Colleen’s arm. I have been after Cliff to take that ugly thing down for years. He kept telling me he’d get to it. Looks like Ella got to it first!

Everyone laughed.

Later that evening, as Daisy and Cliff Barnes sat on the back porch, looking at the remains of their greenhouse, watching lightning bugs, and sipping iced tea, Cliff thought of the young, dark-haired stranger for the first time since the accident. 

Daisy, what became of that young woman who came and, well, did what she did for Ella?

Cliff, I don’t know. I s’pect she was just passing by, heard the commotion and came around back to see what was going on.

Did you get her name or where she was from?

Cliff, you know I didn’t!  I was with you and Ella the whole time.  When would I have had time to talk to her? Besides, she up and left just as quick as she showed up.

Well, that’s the darndest thing I ever did see. A complete stranger comes along at just the right moment to save a girl she doesn’t even know, and then takes off again, just like that.

He took a couple of puffs on his pipe and pushed his glasses up farther onto his nose. He continued to wonder about the way the young woman had just appeared on the scene, taken care of Ella’s wound in a rather miraculous way, then just as quickly and quietly, disappeared into the night.

Had either Daisy or Cliff gotten a good look at Jennifer, they would have found out nothing more than they now knew. They had never seen her before, nor would they see her again. Perhaps, if Colleen had seen Jennifer, she would have recognized her. She and Ella had aged fourteen years. Jennifer had not aged at all. Not a single minute. She looked exactly as she had in Nashville in 1921, though she now dressed in the styles so popular during the swing era. But, of course, Colleen had not seen Jennifer on this night.

Chapter Five

That evening in 1935 , when Ella had clotheslined herself in the Barnes’ back yard, she hadn’t really seen Jennifer, due to the darkening evening and the fact that she had just been badly injured.  Still, she did have a strange memory of a voice speaking softly in her ear. It was a voice that somehow sounded familiar, yet brought to her mind no face or name.  The voice had said words which seemed to already belong to Ella’s life...My dear Ella. I’ve been waiting for you.

Why would a stranger call me by name and tell me she’s been waiting for me? Ella asked herself. Why would that stranger speak words of such personal, powerful comfort? The words had felt deeply familiar. For the moment, no answers came to mind.

But that was several years ago.  It was now 1941.

Ella was a young nurse, enlisted in the U.S. Navy. She had been stationed in what she felt was paradise on earth...the beautiful Hawaiian islands.  After graduating as a nurse, she had gone straight to the recruiting office and joined the Navy. She had arrived in Honolulu in October. She now knew her way around Pearl Harbor, and was comfortable driving a Navy jeep anywhere on the base. Her favorite drive was up into the hills to the south of the base, where she could see all of the huge, powerful battleships lined up in port, the great, blue Pacific not far to the north. She felt a sense of pride in her country and had a feeling of security, seeing all those mighty ships, tied up in a row, just waiting to be called into action, if need be. Surely no power on earth could compare to our military, nor would they be crazy enough to try it.

It was peacetime, though the tiny nation of Japan was doing some annoying saber rattling, way off across the Pacific, but their attention was on their gigantic neighbor, China. Ella found life at Pearl Harbor Naval Base to be almost perfect. She lived and worked on base, putting in about a fifty-hour week, which left plenty of time for going to the beach, climbing Diamond Head, and socializing with her pick of over ten thousand young sailors. As a female member of the military at Pearl, she found that she was outnumbered by over three hundred to one. She liked the odds.

She rarely spent an evening alone, though once in a while she needed some quiet time by herself. She loved to read, a pastime neither of her roommates found interesting, so when she did choose to skip a night of socializing, it was almost a sure thing that her roommates would not be at home, leaving the apartment to her, alone. This was just such an evening.

Ella loved no other writer more than the famed British author of mysteries, Agatha Christie. One of Christie’s newest novels, After the Funeral, was her choice for this quiet time of reading in solitude. As she curled up in bed, two pillows supporting her back, it crossed her mind how ironic it was that she would have a Saturday night to herself. The date, Saturday, December 6, momentarily flashed through her already weary brain, as she reminded herself that she was scheduled to work at the base hospital the next morning. Within two chapters she had nodded off and was found sound asleep by her roommates when they got in at a little after midnight. Being nurses as well, they were also exhausted from having worked all day and then danced the night away at the officers’ club at Pearl. They knew that Ella was scheduled to work at the base hospital the next morning at 6:00am, so they did not disturb her sleep.

Ella arrived at the hospital at 5:55am, precisely. She prided herself on always being five minutes early to work. She checked in with the duty nurse and got an update on the patients she would be caring for in her wing of the hospital. There had been no discharges since she worked the day before, and only one new admission...a young sailor who could not have been over 18, who had managed to drive his jeep off the end of a pier, breaking both arms when the jeep hit the water. She had asked him how much trouble he thought he’d be in for wrecking the jeep.

Well, ma’am.  I was wonderin’ the same thing, ‘til the Chief Petty officer drove me over here. I asked him if they was gonna take the price of the jeep outta my pay. I wasn’t kiddin’.

Ella listened intently, fully expecting to hear the worst.

‘Well,’ says the chief. ‘Do you know how to drive?’ 

‘No, says I.‘ 

Did you tell the C.O. that? 

‘Yes sir, says I.’ 

’Do you have a driver’s license?’ he up an’ asks me."

’Well, no sir,’ says I.

Did you tell the C.O. that, when he ordered you to drive the jeep?

‘Why, yes sir, says I.’

Then you ain’t got nothin’ t’ worry ‘bout, son!’

‘Well, sir. How d’ya figure?’

‘Son. All you was doin’ was followin’ orders. You was ordered t’ drive, and heck if you didn’t obey!’

With that, the young sailor’s eyes lit up and he shouted, Yippee!

Ella couldn’t help but laugh. She clapped her hands and gently patted the boy on the cast on his right arm.

She returned to the nurse’s station at the head of the ward and began updating records of patients’ conditions and medications given.  Time passed quickly. There was the occasional call from one or another of the eleven sailors in the ward which was designed to hold up to twenty-two. The windows were open all up and down the long ward, the sea breeze gently moving through the hall, carrying away the smell of sickness and medicine and replacing it with a freshness which still amazed Ella, even after two months on the island.

At exactly 8:00am, a military band could be heard playing the national anthem on board the nearest battleship. The music was followed by the traditional firing of a small black-powder cannon, used only for this ceremony. Ella had heard the band and the cannon every morning since she arrived from the mainland. It still excited her heart and stirred her spirit.

It was a beautiful, peaceful Sunday morning on one of the loveliest islands in the Pacific. Ella took a deep breath and sighed at the magical, tropical world in which she found herself. All was well with her life. She decided that she could not possibly be more content.

Even on a large military base, Sunday morning is usually calm and quiet. A minimum of activity was underway around Pearl. Probably the busiest places on base were the messes, or gallies, deep within each naval vessel. Those sailors charged with maintaining the Navy’s reputation as having the best chow of any branch of the U.S. military, were below decks, frantically preparing another sumptuous meal for the hundreds and in the case of battleships, thousands of men who would soon be descending into the galley like vultures to devour their offerings. The scene was playing out aboard each and every ship in the harbor, no matter how large or small the crew.

As the flags were being raised on each ship, a strange, barely-detectable sound could be heard from off in the distance. It sounded like a low moan or buzzing that would not cease. It only grew louder and closer. Within seconds, a new sound began. Metal could be heard striking metal, at high velocity. Then the sounds of explosions, which had launched those projectiles, caught up with the pieces of metal, which had momentarily outrun the explosion’s sound. Soon it all became a constant clatter of metal on metal and metal on wood planking, emphasized by the explosions, which quickly began drowning out the sounds of impact. Men began to appear from below decks, some armed with rifles or pistols, others running to man the deck guns they were assigned to operate. They emerged in all degrees of dress or undress, scanning the skies for their attackers, some ducking because a plane flew so low and close. Some sailors cried out and slumped over railings. Others dropped flat on the deck on which they had been standing moments before, dark red life oozing from beneath them. Some rolled over in terror and agony. Many screamed in pain and fear. Some were instantly made forever still and silent. 

Warning horns and sirens erupted all around Pearl as the reality of what was happening began to sink in.

The hospital where Ella was working was only a few hundred yards from Battleship Row. The sounds of combat quickly replaced the sense of peaceful paradise which she had been enjoying only seconds earlier.  Instinctively she ran along the ward, closing the open windows, as if that act would stop a bullet from reaching its goal. As she ran, she yelled to the sailors to get out of bed and lie flat on the floor. Those less seriously wounded helped those who could not move on their own.

There was a sudden shattering of glass from a window Ella had just closed. Instantly a young sailor screamed that he had been hit. She ran in the direction of his voice, crouching low as she moved, trying to stay below the level of the windows.

When she reached him she saw that he had been hit in the left shoulder and was bleeding badly. She only then noticed that it was the boy who had broken both arms when he drove his jeep into the harbor.    She knew he could do nothing to help himself, both arms in casts. She grabbed the nearest cloth and pressed it against the wound, causing another scream from the sailor.

I’m sorry!  I have to stop the bleeding!  I’m sorry!

It’s okay, he groaned. I’m sorry I hollered.

That’s okay, sailor. You holler all you want! I’m going to wrap this sheet around you and...

At that moment, windows began exploding all along the length of the ward, beginning near the nurse’s station and moving quickly toward where Ella was helping the boy. She could see and hear the impacts and thuds of each bullet, as the firing moved closer and closer to where she

was. It was all happening with lightning speed. She knew she had neither the time nor the strength needed to get the boy out of his bed and below window level before the bullets reached them. Giving it no thought at all, she flung her body across his, grabbing for the bedpost and holding herself in place, shielding him as the flying pieces of metal completed their journeys. 

No sooner had she grabbed the bedpost than she felt the impact of the bullet as it entered her back and struck her collarbone. She then saw the same small piece of metal slam into the wall just a few inches in front of her.  She grunted and pushed herself back away from the sailor, before passing out and sliding to the tile floor.

Jenni’s face was the first thing Ella saw as she regained consciousness. Jenni looked just as she had in 1921 at the hospital in Nashville, and in 1935 in the backyard in Huntington, West Virginia.  She had not aged one single second. Of course, Ella would not know that, having been only a tiny new baby in 1921 and a scared and injured teenager in the darkening evening, in 1935. Jenni had not changed at all, other than her style of hair and clothing.

Oh! Welcome back, Ella! We’re so glad you’re here. We’ve been waiting for you to wake up.

Ella looked questioningly at Jenni. Those words...that voice.

I’m sorry. Who are you? I don’t seem to remember you.

Oh, don’t you worry about that. That’s just the result of the trauma you’ve been through. Your mind will clear up before much longer.

Ella suddenly felt a stabbing flash of pain and reached to touch her collarbone. Jenni quickly took her hand and gently laid it back in Ella’s lap. 

Just let that be, for now. The doc fixed you up just fine. What you need to do is rest. You’re no longer the nurse around here. You’re the patient.

Ella suddenly noticed the quiet. The last thing she had been aware of, other than being slammed in the back of her shoulder by a large sledge hammer, was the deafening and ceaseless noise of bombs and bullets. But now all was quiet.

"How long was I...?

Almost twelve hours. You’ve got a good-sized hole in your shoulder and a collarbone that’s seen much better days. But the doc says you’ll be fine. Gonna mend up good as new.

What about the boy? The sailor?

Before Jenni could say anything, Ella heard the voice of the sailor she had tried to protect. 

Ma’am, I ‘m just fine! Well, ‘cept for these two busted arms.  They’re still broke, he laughed.

Jenni leaned back in her chair. Revealing the sailor to Ella’s view, she added, Don’t forget the matching damaged shoulders you two now have.

Oh, yes ma’am. Clean forgot that part.

Jenni said, He’s just fine.  In fact, the doc says that if the bullet that hit you hadn’t been sort of redirected by your collarbone, this young man might not be here. As it is, he still got his earlobe removed, courtesy of the Japanese.

Ella stared in the direction of the sailor who gave her a silly grin and pointed at the bandage covering the lower part of his ear.

Doc says that you saved his life. He says that was some fast thinking you did!

Ella stared across the ward, out the window, and began to put the pieces of memory back together from what had happened this morning.  She finally shook her head, lowered her chin, and began to softly cry.

Ma’am, I want t’ thank ya’ for doin’ what ya’ done.  You sure ‘nough saved my life. When I realized you’d been hit, after you fell to the floor, I started in screamin’ for somebody to come help, but there was so much noise from the planes and bombs and such that no one could hear me yellin’. But then this here nurse just seemed to show up and take care of us both!

Ella looked into Jenni’s face, tears still falling from her own eyes.

I don’t even know your name.

Its Jenni.  You alright?

Yes. Its just the emotions of the whole thing hitting me.

Ella dabbed at her eyes with the bed sheet.

Jenni, I still don’t remember seeing you on base before. I sure am glad you were here! I can never thank you enough. If you hadn’t been here, who would have taken care of us? We both probably would have bled to death.

Jenni smiled and said, You are very welcome. These are obviously two lives that were worth saving...wouldn’t you say?

Everyone laughed quietly.

And you! You are the real hero here! You saved this boy’s life...and almost gave your own in doing it.

Deflecting Jenni’s praise, Ella asked, Who was the doctor who took care of us? I want to thank him, too.

Jenni’s face went blank for a moment, then she said, You know, I’m not sure. I didn’t recognize him. He was here only long enough to patch you two up, then he took off down to Battleship Row. I haven’t seen him since.

Ella asked, Battleship Row?  Were some of the ships hit?

Jenni looked at the floor for a moment, as she decided what to say to Ella. After a couple of seconds, she met Ella’s questioning gaze and said,   Ella, its pretty bad down there. In fact, it’s bad all over the entire harbor. They’re saying the worst is on the Row. I’ve heard that as many as eight battleships were hit pretty badly. Rumors are that a couple even went down. There was one explosion that shook the whole base.  Someone said that was the Arizona blowing up. No one has any idea how many were injured or killed. I’m afraid it will take days and days to figure that out.

Ella’s face had gone as white as her bed sheet. Her hands began trembling. Her mouth was hanging open and her eyes, huge with shock, again filled with tears.

The next few days were chaotic, at best. The ward which had held only eleven patients and was designed for twenty-two, now was wall-to-wall beds, cots, and in some cases, nothing more than blankets on the floor, each filled with an injured young man. 

Ella had been transported back to her apartment. It was decided that, her roommates being nurses as well, she would get as much care at home as she would at the hospital. There were not nearly enough doctors to go around, so many nurses were performing the duties, which previously, they had only watched as assistants. They rose to the occasion, taking on extra duties and working many extra shifts.

Jennifer seemed to be everywhere at once, and she never took a break. In reality, after working as long as a regular nurse would be expected to, she would tell her coworkers that she was going home to rest. Actually, she then reported to another hospital and continued working. She kept this 24-hours-a-day schedule up for days. No one knew her at either hospital, so no one suspected that she was going back and forth between the two facilities without sleep or rest of any kind. Had anyone been aware of what she was doing, they could not have explained it, nor believed it possible. This was exactly how Jennifer liked it. It was also her mandate...her charge.

Even with all that, she found time to check Ella’s condition. With each visit she was more and more pleased with Ella’s progress.

Miles, the young sailor from South Carolina, who Ella had saved, had been moved to a barracks, which had been converted to a recovery unit for those not seriously wounded. Jenni surprised the sailor when she showed up at his barracks.

Nurse! It’s you! Ah, this is great! It’s so good to see you! I was afraid I wouldn’t ever see you again. You must’a read m’ mind.

Well, something like that. It’s good to see you, too, Miles. You look like you’re coming along just fine. How are the arms?

He lifted his arms, still bent at the elbow and covered in white plaster.  He gave her that same silly grin he had given Ella in the hospital. She chuckled, happy that he was not more seriously injured. She could easily see the heavily bandaged shoulder where a Japanese bullet had passed through, breaking his collarbone. A sling from his right shoulder kept the weight of his left arm off his injured shoulder.

How about that earlobe? she asked with a grin.

Oh, that. That’s no big deal. When I think about how close I came to bein’ hit right in the head...  What that nurse did was the most amazing thing anyone ever done for me!

You know, Miles...that nurse is still recuperating, too. They needed her bed at the hospital, so they had to send her back to her apartment on base. 

The look on Miles’ face showed that he was relieved that Ella was no longer at the hospital. Jenni knew what that meant, far more than the young sailor could imagine. She had known since the moment she delivered the newborn Ella in 1921.

You know, sailor...you look like you’re going to be up and around pretty soon. If you wanted to drop by and thank Ella, that’s her name, again...for saving you...I could find her address...if you’d like.

Joy and gratitude competed for expression on Miles’ young face. Had he not been wounded three times (that’s counting the earlobe removal) he would have jumped out of his sickbed, given Jenni a kiss on the cheek, and headed straight for the nurses’ housing area on base. As it was, he simply put his head back on his pillow, closed his eyes, grinned, and raised the thumb of each hand.

Jenni laughed, Okay, South Carolina sailor, I’ll get you that address.

Again, two thumbs up and a shy, silly grin gave her his answer.  

Chapter Six

Huntington, West Virginia  1917

JENNI WAS A STUDENT at Vinson high school in Huntington, West Virginia. Born in 1894, she had fallen in love with the science of biology in junior high and, as a high school junior, was determined to become a nurse. Her high school science teacher, Mr. John Albert, had become her guide and mentor. He answered her endless questions and gently suggested an educational path that would hopefully lead to her eventual graduation from nursing school in 1919.  At least that was the plan.

Every Tuesday and Thursday she had her Human Skeletal System class, in the Cartner Science Building of Marshall College. This meant that she was only three blocks from her parents’ home in Huntington, if she cut across Curtis Haines Park. That saved her two minutes...a lifetime for a busy young nursing student.

On a crisp October morning, at 7:55, Jenni Mattos was running customarily late, and hurried across Haines Park. Her usual shortcut took her past an old fountain, sheltered by a giant walnut tree. The path was well worn, due to the fact that Jenni was not the only college student who ran habitually late.  She was moving at close to a run and as she came around the fountain she almost crashed into an old man. She watched her books and purse sail out of her hands, flying over the man who was seated on a rickety, old chair. By tossing the books one direction she propelled herself in the opposite, missing the little gentleman by inches, as she fell to the ground.

She lay still for just a moment as she took inventory of her arms, legs, and muscles, to see if any part of her was sending alarms to her brain. No alarms were detected. She stood up, gingerly, brushed dirt and twigs off her blouse and nearly ankle-length skirt. She tossed her long, dark hair back behind her shoulders and shook her head.

As she turned to see if she had toppled the ancient-looking man, she was stunned to find him still painting, as if nothing had happened. The easel on which his canvas was perched looked even older and more rickety than the stool on which he sat. He was in the midst of brushing and dabbing a light brown onto his creation. Apparently he had not missed a stroke while being nearly crushed by Jenni and her books. In fact, it looked as if he had not even looked up to see who had just flown past him or to see if that person had been injured in their attempt to avoid hitting him. Even now, as she walked around him and his easel, gathering up her haphazardly strewn possessions, he did not once look away from his work.

Exasperated, but more concerned about being late to class, Jenni decided that she would forgo getting into an argument with the old man.  Instead, she simply huffed, loudly, and stalked, then ran off in the direction of the Marshall campus.

Following class, she had a three-hour break before her next class.  That meant she could go back home and change out of her clothes, which had been stained in her fall in the park. Without thinking about the earlier incident, she walked quickly along her usual shortcut, suddenly finding herself once again at the fountain. Coming from the campus side of the park, she had a clear view of the ancient man, still perched atop his ancient stool, dabbing paints on the canvas perched atop his ancient easel. Again, the artist gave no indication that he saw her approaching.   

Jenni instantly felt the return of the anger she had felt a little over an hour earlier. Why had he shown no concern for her as she lay sprawled on the ground right beside him? Why had he not asked if she was okay? Why had he not offered to help her gather up her belongings?  And most importantly, why had he set up his easel and stool in the middle of the narrow pathway, right where he knew students would be walking and where he could not be seen until the last second?

She slowed to a stop next to the easel and stood looking at the artist.  She said nothing, only stared at the very old, very small man. She was stunned by how wrinkled he was. She had never seen a face with so many lines and creases. His hair was long...just a little over his collar and ears.  It was of the purest white, and thinning on top.

He continued painting, as if she did not exist. Being ignored brought her emotions back to a near boil. She prepared to say something, not wanting to be disrespectful to one so elderly, but feeling the need to receive some sort of explanation for his behavior.  But...what to say?

As if he sensed that she was struggling with the situation, he very slowly laid his brush on the easel and even more slowly raised himself to his feet. As he turned to face her she was surprised by his small stature. He was at least two inches shorter than Jenni, and she was not more than five feet, four inches tall. His diminutive stature, combined with his craggy face, somewhat took the wind out of her sails. She felt her anger ebbing away on its own, but what happened next completely vanquished any remaining negative feelings.

The artist carefully reached out and took Jennifer’s heavy load of textbooks and