Patricia Riddle Gaddis

I remembered what the lady at the library had said about storms as I took my clothes into the house. Later, that same day, I was rummaging through my closet and I happened to notice a big box that was sitting on the top of my closet shelf. Curious, I pulled it down, dragging it over to the bed. To my surprise, inside the cardboard box there was a lovely old hat box wrapped in tissue paper.

I opened it reverently and the fragrance of rose perfume staggered my senses as I looked through the items that had belonged to my grandmother — a pair of silk gloves, some hair combs, and several brooch pins. Then, a chill went down my back as I discovered, in the bottom of the box, a red print silk scarf exactly like the one that my friend in the library had been wearing! The scarf was wrapped neatly around a small case.

My heart was beating with excitement when I opened it to find my grandmother’s glasses in excellent condition, though she had died 35 years earlier.

Was the lady at the library an angel or was she my grandmother herself, coming back to give me comfort when I needed it? Perhaps someday, after my life has ended on this planet, I will cross over into that other dimension and my grandmother will sit down with me. Until then, I will cherish the glasses and the little red scarf, knowing angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven (with my grandmother at the helm) is cheering me on.