Day 48 - Selfie Freewrite Celebration Contest!

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This is my entry for the Day 48 - Selfie Freewrite Celebration Contest - Prize 114.58 SBD, hosted by Hive account@freewritehouse.

You can also find this weekend’s freewrite prompt by visiting Weekend Freewrite -6/30/2018 - Part 1 - The First Sentence, hosted by Hive account@mariannewest.

I had barely stepped out of the church when I felt the first drop on my head. I looked up and saw the paint can that had been tipped over by a strong gust of wind. I wondered if I could move fast enough to avoid it, but the couple seconds I stood in shock looking at the wet paint, was enough time for the entire bucket to empty upon me.

I was told the bucket had been left there by a janitor who had recently started working for the church. But it didn’t matter to me who left it there because I was covered in paint and the paint had ruined my new light blue flowered sun dress I had only bought a week before.

I tried my best not to let out a loud shriek, but I did, and the other church members ran out to see what had happened. They immediately tried to calm me down, letting me know they were there to help, and I was thankful, but the damage was done and there wasn’t much to do now.

One of the alter boys ran to get a clean towel. He handed it to me and said. “It was the angel who left that can there. I saw her do it. She said the paint was meant for someone special. But I didn’t know it would fall on your head. If I did know, I would have moved it. I tend to believe the angels when they say something like that. They don’t always speak.”

“You mean you have seen angels here before?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah they are here quite often.”

Some people can eat beans with abandon and never suffer side effects but the man at the back of the church wasn’t one of them. They called him Waldo which was short for Walden, but everyone always asked where he was, and the nickname stuck. He was one of the few men in the church who kept up with the repairs and I ignored the smell long enough to ask him about the angel.

“I’ve seen that particular angel here a few times.” He said, “But I didn’t see the paint can, in fact there was no one even painting the building.”

I knew that it was just a freak accident and there was no way of explaining it, but the alter boy’s comment about the angel had my curiosity peaked.

Why would the angel be at this church, and why would she say the paint was meant for someone special? It didn’t make any sense. What made me so special? How could I be sure that the angel meant for me to be the one the paint spilled on?

“I just don’t understand why this angel has picked me, and what she wants.” I said.

“Maybe you should just ask the angel… she is sitting right over there.” He said and pointed to the front of the church. “I think she’s been waiting to talk to you. She’s been there all morning.”

Waldo stood and walked away leaving me alone with the angel.

Waldo called back to me on the way out the door, “Remember that not all is sweet.”

Did he mean the angel? I had never met an angel, so I wouldn’t know if I had met a sweet one or not. Was Waldo an angel? I was thoroughly freaked out by this point. The only thing I could do was to ask the angel why she picked me, and the reason she dumped a gallon of paint on my head.

The angel sat on the bench of the piano and pressed the keys down one by one making an eerie but joyful sound.

“Did you need to speak with me?” I asked the angel.

“Well I thought you would have been here sooner. I need to ask you a favor.”

I stood in disbelief. “You dumped paint on me, so that you could ask me a question?”

“I could have gotten your attention in a number of other ways, but that seemed the most fun. Besides, you run out of here so fast after church on Sundays I didn’t know how else to stop you.”

I admit I don’t stick around like the others do.”

“That’s the favor I need from you. You see the other church members look up to you. When they see you bolt for the door, they consider doing the same thing. I need you to stay after church, so that you can fellowship with the other church members.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize that I was becoming a bad example. I will do as you ask. It is the least I could do for the church.”

The angel smiled and then winked. She disappeared, but my light blue flowered sundress remained on the piano bench without a spot of paint.

Ding!

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