Angel Times

By Raymond Wisniewski

This is a fiction story about unexplained experiences that I have heard of. These unexplained experiences I tend to dismiss as coincidences. I have weaved them into a story about two boys who live in a small town. One of the boys has a guardian angel who comes in his dreams from time to time. Their grandfather likes to tell them stories about angels and ghostly events.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781499068696

Raymond Wisniewski

Author Bio coming soon.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

T HIS STORY IS a fiction about unexplained experiences that I have heard of. These unexplained experiences I tend to dismiss as coincidences. I have weaved them into a story about two boys who live in a small town. One of the boys has a guardian angel who comes in his dreams from time to time. Their grandfather likes to tell them stories about angels and ghostly events.

Angels are mentioned in the Bible, literature, and are shown in paintings. Angel statues are found in many churches and cemeteries. Angels are said to have no physical body and are spiritual in nature. With no physical body, they may be all around us spiritually but unseen. Some unexplained events may be attributed to angels. Guardian angels may be near you to help you in your time of need. We take for granted many unexplained events that have happened in our lifetime. Some of our dreams, as déjà vu, may give us a hint of events that are to come. Disguised angels, as unknown strangers, may know that we need help. We may not be alone as we think we are. Is there a guardian angel nearby waiting to help us?

1

Scouting

In trees all around

The song of a bird,

Like an angel’s voice,

Brings us to heaven.

S PRINGDALE IS A small town hidden in the mountains away from the big cities. It has a railroad depot where people can take a passenger train once a week to the big city. Freight trains which crawl by every few days. One can hear the whistle of the locomotive as the train rolls by. The whistle of the locomotive penetrates the woods scaring rabbits and birds alike. The train looks like a fiery dragon snorting and spewing smoke and steam to the left and right. An owl hoots as it hears the whistle, and Sam the bear turns his head to look around while eating tasty blueberries on the mountain.

Just a few short miles from Springdale is a little farm belonging to John and Helen Clark. The harvested crops are just enough to sustain the family. The crops provide food and money. Their sons, Jack and Henry, help by working on the farm by planting, picking potatoes and corn. Feeding the chickens and cleaning the chicken coop are unpleasant chores. Jack suffers from an attention deficit disorder (ADD). Jack has difficulty in being attentive and sometimes suffers moods of the hyperactivity. Jack takes medication and has his brother Henry to help him with the chores.

Jerry a homeless poor boy from a broken family, comes to help with the planting and harvest. John and Helen make sure that Jerry gets food to eat and let him use a spare bedroom when he helps with planting and picking potatoes and corn. He gets paid a little for his services as a hired hand. They don’t know where Jerry lives when he isn’t working on the farm. Someone said, when Jerry wasn’t working, he sleeps in bars and uses drugs.

The Scouting Trip

Jack and Henry are seniors at Springdale high school and are boy scouts. When not on a scouting trip, they are rewarded for their farm work by a weekend movie. Henry is almost an Eagle Scout. One Saturday before breakfast, the boys got up early and put on their scout uniforms. Helen made a good breakfast consisting of eggs, ham and grits. John said, You boys better eat enough if you’re going on a long hike on the mountain. After they all ate a hearty breakfast, Jack and Henry got their scouting gear and backpacks. John and Helen went to the front porch to see the boys off on their scouting trip. John said, Be careful and don’t get lost. After they waited a few minutes, the bus pulled up, and the boys got in with the rest of the scouts. There were jeers and cheers as the scouts welcomed Henry and Jack. With two seats available, Henry and Jack settled down by a window. They waved goodbye, through the window, and the bus drove off down the road following a dirt road which twisted and curved up the big mountain to the scout camp.

The scout camp was located in a clearing surrounded by tall trees. When they got off the bus, Henry checked Jack’s backpack to make sure that they didn’t forget anything. He found out that they remembered to bring snacks to eat, but he asked Jack, Jack did you forget our compasses and flashlights? Jack replied, I must of had other things on my mind when we were getting ready, I’m sorry.

The ten mile hike was along a trail through the forest surrounded by tall pine trees and bushes. The Scoutmaster, who was leading the scouts, said, Follow one another behind me and stay together and don’t get lost from the rest of the scouts. The scouts followed in single file along the forest trail with full backpacks. Jack and Henry looked to the right and left trying to find Indian arrow heads and lizards. They began to fall further and further behind the rest of the troop, who went off into the distance. Henry spotted some blueberry bushes and said, Jack, I see some blueberry bushes over there, let’s go and pick some berries. They may be good to eat.

They left the trail and went to pick the blueberries from bushes which were located downhill from the trail. They stumbled down the hill towards the blueberry bushes, which were everywhere. Soon they were picking berries and eating them. The berries tasted good, and after they ate many handfuls, their stomachs were full. Henry said, I’m full and don’t want to eat any more berries. I’m sleepy, and I’m going to sit under that tree over there and rest. Jack joined him under the tree and soon both were napping with the wind rustling the leaves and the birds chirping. As they slept, they didn’t hear the sound of the faint whistle of the locomotive penetrating into the woods. A squirrel sat up high in the tree munching on a nut. The rest of the scouts were nowhere to be seen.

As Henry slept, he dreamt of his younger days when he played with his dog, Ginger. He would throw a ball, and Ginger would run and fetch it and bring it back to him. Ginger would chase birds and squirrels and bark at strangers. Ginger was no longer with him and was gone where all dogs go when they pass on. Henry grew comfort in thinking that Ginger must be in heaven because she was such a good dog. If only he could play with Ginger again.

The Angel

An owl hooted as Henry and Jack slept. Henry dreamt of flowers and hearing bells, faint and sweet, with a natural melodious tinkling sound. The tinkling bells sounded like a whispering soft voice. The voice in his dream said, I am an angel, and I can tell that you miss your dog. I know that you would like to know if your dog is in heaven. There are many good dogs in heaven and some have even saved the lives of people. You can’t see me in your dream, but you can hear my voice.

Henry dreamt, If you’re an angel, please see if my dog, Ginger, is in heaven because she was such a good dog, and I miss her. The angel said, I don’t usually do it, but I’ll check and see if your dog is in heaven. Sometimes good dogs go to heaven to be with other good dogs who loved their masters. There are many of us angels, but you can’t see us. We are always near you knowing your thoughts and helping when we can. We mostly communicate with the Lord between heaven and earth, and we know when you ask for help. Henry, what seems to be troubling you besides losing your dog?

Henry replied to the Angel, I must be dreaming, because I keep hearing an angel’s voice. My father and mother told me that there are angels, and that they are mentioned in the Bible. I never saw one of them, but sometimes I feel their presence nearby. One time when my dog and I were lost, I couldn’t find my way home. I was about to give up hope, when a voice said to follow a blue bird, and it will show you the right way to go home. The bluebird kept flying from tree to tree, as I followed it with my dog, and soon I was home. Did an angel guide me to my home? The other thing that bothers me is that I feel alone without my dog, and I have trouble finding good friends. Jack my brother is alright, but he is not the same as the loving dog I used to have,

The angel said, That must have been another angel that helped you from getting lost, there are many of us. We angels are not only messengers from heaven, but we also guard people and children from trouble and evil. I must be going now because I have other work to do. I have other children to watch over who may be lost and may need help. Do not feel sad about your dog, because I am going to check and see if she went to heaven. But, before I go, you must wake up and run because a bear is near where you and Jack ate the berries, and he smells your scent! He doesn’t want anyone to eat his berries.

The Bear

Sam, the bear, was hungry as he ate more and more berries to fill up because winter was coming soon, and he would be hibernating in a deep sleep until spring. He was a black bear - one of the few bears left on the mountain. Luckily he wasn’t shot like some of his friend bears were. The berry bushes were full, but he noticed something moving not too far off. He began sniffing the air, and he smelled a human scent. These were the bear’s berries, and he began moving in the direction of the scent to see if anyone was eating his berries.

As Henry was waking up, he heard a rustling in the bushes not too far off. He nudged Jack on the shoulder and quietly said, Jack, I dreamt of a bear, and I think there is a bear over there in those bushes. He was eating some berries and is angry that we ate some of his berries. I think we ought to get up quietly and run in the opposite direction from him. Jack woke up and said, What did you say? Is there a bear over there in the bushes? Henry said, Yes there is, and I think I see him coming, and he is a big black bear! They both got up quietly and tried to walk away silently in the other direction away from the bear, but the bear looked up and spotted them. He began to walk toward them. When the Scouts saw this, they started to run fast. They ran for almost a half hour until they were sure that the bear wasn’t following them. Henry said, The bear must have given up the chase and must have gone back to eat more berries than to follow us, I think we lost him.

As they stumbled down the mountain, they remembered that they forgot to bring their compasses and neither knew the way back to trail. They left their backpacks under the tree by the berries and didn’t have any food or water. Jack said, We ate enough berries to last us awhile, but soon it will be night and we will be hungry. Henry, do you know where we are in this forest? Which direction do we have to go to find the trail? What if the bear has followed us. I’m just as lost as you are. Henry replied, I’m just as lost as you are Jack. Maybe if we keep going we can find a shelter because soon it’s going to be dark. We’re going to have to find a place to sleep for the night.

The Cave

As scouts, Henry and Jack were trained to survive when lost, by knowing directions and by learning to eat unappetizing things like insects, worms, and berries to keep from starving. Their main need was to find water and shelter. Night was coming as they began looking for a place to spend the night safely. It was getting dark when they spotted a dark opening in a rocky hillside. Henry said, That looks like a cave. Let us explore it and see if it is a suitable shelter to spend the night. I hope it isn’t the bear’s cave. Let’s get closer and check it out, I think it’s big enough for us to get into.

The cave had a small stream coming out of the opening. They walked along the stream into the cave and found a flat dry place to lie down for the night. Jack put some tree limbs and branches across the entrance for safety to keep the bear out. They saw that the cave extended back into the darkness. A few stalactites hung from the cave ceiling with water dripping from them like icicles. Henry said, The cave looks endless. I wonder how far back it extends. If we had our flashlights we could go back and see what we could find. Henry and Jack were suddenly startled when a cloud of squealing bats flew out of the cave, narrowly missing their heads. Jack said, That was a close one. I was afraid it was a bunch of vampire bats.

They found a flat dry spot near the entrance which was suitable to lie down on and spend the night. A fire was built, for warmth, from sticks gathered near the entrance. Jack found a pin in his clothes and a piece of thread. With a stick for a fishing pole and some crawling bugs to put on the pin hook, he tried out his makeshift fishing pole. He soon gave up fishing because there were no fish to be caught. Henry said, Jack, in the morning we have to find a way back to the trail because we can’t stay here forever. At least we have water to drink. When the sun comes up we will be able to tell directions better.

They lied down on the flat spot and soon fell asleep. As they slept during the night, Henry started dreaming again of his dog, Ginger, which he missed. In his dream an angelic voice was heard and a tinkling of bells, The voice said, Henry, I’m your guardian angel