Angels Above Us

I’m floating away, I see my lifeless body on the ground, but I continue to float upward. I begin to see the pine treetops and I wonder how high I shall go.
I can see him on the ground; he stands next to my body. I watch him as he kicks me hard, then walks away, picking up my screaming baby off the forest ground.
I want to dive at him, like a hawk on it's prey, kill him the way he tried to kill me. I want to tie him up and beat him, making sure he stayed conscious. I want to kidnap him from his house like he did to me three days ago.
I feel I am flying, but I cannot seem to control myself. I want to go back to my body but can’t. Poor Piper, my little baby, she’s now alone without her mother. He will probably tell his wife she was adopted, and she will believe him. The truth will come out sooner or later. He has her now, now that I am dead.
I guess I should start at the beginning, the beginning of my end.

I met him at the coffee shop where I worked. He just came in one day. His dark brown hair was cut short, just slightly longer than the standard military cut. He had green eyes that were easy to get lost in; their intensity was almost overwhelming.
He ordered a mocha, I can remember making it. Skim, iced, caramel flavor shot, and an extra shot of espresso.
He had taken a seat at a table, eating a muffin he had bought; I believe it was a banana nut. Once I had finished making his drink, I brought it out to him.
“Here you go sir. Iced mocha, skim, caramel, extra espresso, and extremely delicious.” Once I had said that I felt my face turn a deep red.
“Thanks,” he barely looked up, but I did see a small piece of muffin attached to his mouth.
I laughed quietly.
“What is so funny?” he looked up from his paper.
“You have a piece of something…” I couldn’t get it out. I touched my own face and he got the clue.
I walked back to my station as he wiped the crumb away.
He called me back to his table a few minutes later.
“Is there something wrong?” I asked.
“Yes, I didn’t catch your name,” he smiled.
“Oh. It’s Willow, what’s yours?” I tried not to sound like I was trying to pry.
“Nick.”
I sat down at the table; there was no one else in the shop except the girl I worked with. No one ever came into this place.
“So Nick, I haven’t seen you around here before?”
“Yeah, I just usually make my drinks at home, but you lucked out today because my machine was broken. I’m not a cappuccino mechanic; I am just a auto mechanic.”
“Oh really? Where do you work?” I inquired.
“I work at the local shop, Benedicts Auto Body.”
“Oh, that’s cool.”
“So, was my mocha as good as you make it at home?” I questioned.
“No,” he paused. ”It’s better. . . You know, you are very beautiful.”
I felt my face blush again.
We spent the rest of the day talking, we really connected.

The next two weeks consisted of going to dinner, going to movies, and a lot of kissing.
Nick was a great guy, but he was very calculated, everything was planned. He didn’t like anything to come up suddenly.
We usually met in a hotel near by because he claimed his roommate was too messy and there was no where to sit. I was suspicious of this explanation, but thought nothing further of it because I thought I loved him.

Another week later and I was pregnant. I took the test at my house, and when the results were in, I sped on my way to Nick’s work.
“Nick!” I yelled into the garage as I opened the door of my Cavalier.
He slowly emerged from the darkness of the garage, wiping his hands on a green rag which he returned to his back pocket.
I ran up and jumped on him, I wrapped my legs around his waist, and started kissing his neck, I didn’t even care that it was all full of grease.
“What is going on Willow?” Nick laughed and placed me on the ground.
“Guess what?” I smiled.
“What? Did you win the lottery or something?” he asked.
“No, this involves you. And it will bring us closer together.”
“Okay, I don’t know what it is, why don’t you just tell me?” he said as his smile faded.
“Guess!” I said.
“You know I hate guessing games, and surprises,” his smile fading quickly.
“Well…I just can’t keep it in. . . I’m pregnant,” I stated proudly.
“You can’t be!” he yelled stepping backwards.
“Why not? It’s not impossible! We made love and now I am pregnant, it makes sense.”
“No! We can’t be together. We can never be together again Willow! You’re an ignorant little girl. I lied to you Willow; I am married, happily married with a wife and a child.”
I began to pound on his chest with my fists. I started crying. He grabbed me and pulled me in. I tried to push him off, but he was too strong. His touch which once made me happy now disgusted me.
“Don’t get me wrong Willow, let me help you,” he let me go and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out his wallet, and then took out some money.
“What is that for?”
“Oh come on, you don’t think you can keep this child all by yourself do you? The money’s for you to find a clinic.”
I backed away, “I will not kill this child that we made to avoid wrecking your marriage. Maybe you should have thought about this possibility before we had sex! I don’t understand how anyone could kill a living person that is growing inside of themselves. Their own flesh and blood. I will keep this child!” I ran off as tears poured down my face.
When I reached my car I just cried on the steering wheel. This whole wife and child thing had come so unexpectedly that I was knocked on my ass. I had been a mistress, and I didn’t even know it.
I guess when I ran off in my head I expected Nick to chase me. I wanted him to tell me he would divorce his wife and would raise this child together. How naive could I have been?
Well, nine months later Piper Mae was born. She weighed in at seven pounds ten ounces, and every inch of her perfect. She had ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes. She was perfect, everything that is except her eyes. They were green like her fathers, the only thing on her that reminded me of him.

A week after she was born I took her out for a walk in her stroller. I had just left the office of my attorney who was helping me sue Nick for child support. I walked past a park, and who just happened to be there? Of course it was Nick, and his picture perfect family.
His wife was laughing as she pushed her young boy. She had dark hair which was wavy and shone in the sun. Nick stood behind her. His wife looked to be about five years older than me. Their child looked to be about three years old. The child didn’t seem to fit in either, he had light brown hair, which neither of his parents had.
After I walked past I heard someone approaching from behind.
“Hi,” he said stepping into sync with me.
I ignored him; he then grabbed my arm and stopped me.
“Please Willow; hear me out,” he looked into the stroller. ”She looks just like you.”
“Fortunately,” I said.
“Willow, I have a proposition for you. You can’t raise this child alone. My wife and I have been looking to adopt for quite sometime, she wants a baby, but can’t have any more. Let us adopt your baby. We can raise him right.”
“He is a she! And she is mine! You can’t have her! And next time you see either of us it will be in court,” I walked away.



A week later we were in court, the judge made Nick submit to a paternity test.
We were back in court a week later when the results were in. The test said that there was a 99. 98% possibility that Nick was the father.
The moment the results were announced, I looked at Nick’s wife; it went from a smile to a frown in a split second. Nick was ordered to pay $600 a month in child support.
I left the courtroom with Piper close to my chest. I heard Nick and his wife fighting. I think she was yelling for a divorce.
I went back to my parent’s house, my house, and I put Piper to bed. Afterwards I sat in the kitchen drinking some cold milk. My parents were both at work for once and I enjoyed the silence.
Suddenly a knock came at the back door. I got up from my chair and walked to the door. The shade was down, and I didn’t bother to open it up and look outside.
Stupid me, I should have known better.
Nick was outside. “Please Willow. Will you come away with me? I realize now that it was you who I loved all along. My wife and I are through; I told her I loved you. She kicked me out. Please go away with me!”
I was very confused, this wasn’t the typical Nick I had gotten to know, “What is going on Nick?”
“I love you, let’s go away together. Go get the baby.”
“And what is the baby’s name?” I asked.
“It’s um…” he obviously didn’t know.
“This is all a lie, isn’t it Nick. You are still with your wife. I know it,” I pushed him toward the door.
He grabbed me and placed something over my mouth, I fell unconscious.

When I awoke I was in a car. At first I didn’t know whose car, but then I recognized it as Nick’s. I was in the front seat. Piper was crying in the back seat.
“Will you shut her up!” Nick yelled, shaking my shoulder.
I reached into the backseat and carefully took Piper out of her car seat. I held her, opened my shirt, and finally let her eat. She quieted as she ate.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“We are going away until we can agree on some things.”
“What? What are we going to agree on Nick?” I questioned.
“That you will allow my wife and I to adopt our child.”
“Over my dead body!” I yelled. “Stop this car, I want out.”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot stop. Any way what would you do, the nearest town was about thirty miles back. What are you going to do, you wouldn’t last more than five minutes.”
“Where are we going?” I asked again.
“To a place where no one will hear us yelling,” he kept his eyes on the road
“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”
He didn’t respond. I looked out the window; there were daffodils along the road. I wished I would be able to smell another daffodil before I died.
We drove for another five minutes. There was a silence between us, an eerie silence. We arrived at the end of the road which was a driveway to a small cabin.
It was a long cabin, tall, but not very wide. It had two small windows and a door, it seemed very cozy.
Nick stopped the car, got out, walked around to my door, opened it, and pulled me out rather forcefully. So forcefully I almost dropped Piper.
Once we were inside, he shut the door, locked it, and then proceeded to shut all the curtains in the living room. He was acting very paranoid, as if he felt someone had followed us.
I saw a rocking chair in the living room, so I sat and let Piper finish. When she did, I burped her, and then rocked her to sleep. I found the bedroom and placed Piper on the bed so she could sleep.
I walked back out into the living room, and noticed the exquisiteness of the place. All the furniture was out of what I believed was cherry wood. There was a couch, two chairs, a coffee table, and of course the rocking chair. The couch and the chairs had cushions on them. I looked up and noticed that there was a second level, the ceiling in the living room was high, but not to the roof. There was also a wood burning fireplace.
If I wasn’t being kidnapped right now this would be the perfect vacation lodge. I thought.
Nick came in from another room holding a plate.
“Chips and salsa?” he offered.
“You know, for some strange reason I seem to have lost my appetite.” I said.
He sat on a chair, eating his food.
“You disgust me!” I walked toward the room where Nick had just come.
I walked into the kitchen and saw the door. Should I try to escape? I thought.
I shook off the thought almost immediately. I couldn’t leave Piper alone, especially not with him. I needed to plan my escape a little better. I needed a strategy that would throw Nick off my trail. I began to search the cabinets, I really wasn’t hungry, but I just wanted to know what the food supply was like in this place. There was a box of cereal, chips, soups and a box of noodles in the cupboards. In the fridge there was some salsa, water, butter and pop.
I wondered how long he was planning on keeping us here before he would kill me. I started planning our escape right there. There was a door in the kitchen, but I thought I would be a bit trickier. Maybe throw Nick off my trail I wouldn’t try tonight, I needed to think a few more things through. I needed more time.
I walked back out into the living room; Nick was still eating his chips. I walked right past him and into the bedroom. I lay next to Piper.
I watched her as her chest rose and fell, I placed my finger in her palm and she squeezed it gently. A tear came to my eye; the thought that I wouldn’t see her grow up was heartbreaking. It hurt me, I stopped thinking about it, and I needed to be strong. I wiped the tear away.
A hand was placed on my hip, it was Nick.
“We need to talk.” He said.
I took my finger from Piper’s hand, got off the bed, and followed Nick to the living room.
We both sat on chairs; Nick pulled his up so he was sitting directly in front of me.
“Willow,” he said touching my knee. “You are young; you shouldn’t be bothered with a child. My wife and I have the resources and the time to raise her right.”
“I can’t believe you Nick. You think you can sleep with me, and then just expect me to give up our child so you and your wife can raise her. You want all of this just because you want to make your wife happy. Is that right Nick, because if it is you are a despicable man, and I wish I never met you! I bet your other kid isn’t your wife’s.”
He slapped me, and my head twisted, “You leave my wife out of this.”
I held my aching face. “You are definitely not getting my baby. Not with that temper. My daughter will not be abused.”
“I’m sorry, I am, please Willow, I would never hurt a child. But I think you are being a bit unreasonable...”
“Me! How am I being unreasonable? You are the one who expects me to give up my own flesh and blood. Four words for you Nick. OVER MY DEAD BODY!” I stood up.
Nick got up from his chair and hurled me against the wall. My back slammed against it. He came up to me and held me up by my neck with one hand. I was pinned against the wall, and he was restricting my breathing. The pain in my lungs and back was excruciating. Tears flowed from my eyes.
“I love it when you cry.” He kissed me, I turned my head, but he turned it back with his free hand.
“Nick! NO!” I yelled.
Piper started crying.
“Nick, the baby!” I said.
“What about the baby?”
“She needs me.” I tried to push him off me but he was too strong. He pulled me off the wall by my shirt and threw me toward the bedroom, I almost fell over, “Shut her up!”
I went into the room, shut the door, and picked Piper up. Her diaper was wet, I changed her, and then I stood rocking her while I sang the same song I had sung for the past month, “The Rose.”
I stared out the window as I sang softly, looking out into the woods, thinking about my escape, still singing.
Nick came up behind me, wrapped his arms around me and gently rubbed Piper’s head.
I pushed Nick off with my shoulder. I placed Piper on the bed, and pushed Nick out of the room. I shut the door to dampen any sounds we would make.
“You need to stay away from her. You need help Nick. You definitely have some sort of mental disorder.”
He hit me in the jaw this time; it was harder, more forceful.
“What happened to you Nick?” I held my chin, “What happened to the guy in the coffee house, the man I fell in love with under the stars, the man I let into my bed, the one I had a child with. What happened to him?” I touched Nick’s face.
“He’s gone. He was gone the day in the park when you told me the first time you wouldn’t give me our child. You were right: our son isn’t ours. Our first child was a still born, and the doctors warned about other pregnancies, so we ‘adopted.’ I told her I was going to go get her a baby, I got the other girl pregnant around the time my wife became pregnant. My wife wouldn’t let me touch her, not for three months. I am a guy, I have needs. So I took the other girl’s baby, but she put up less of a fight.”
Nick didn’t respond, he just kissed my hand, ignoring my question.
“My wife wants a baby now, if you want we could sleep together again and you could have another baby. Just give me this one, otherwise my wife will leave me.”
“So? So what if your wife leaves you?” I said.
“So, I survive off her money. Her daddy’s got the riches, so we have to stay together.”
“That’s really pathetic, Nick. That you would marry for money and not love.” “It’s time for bed,” he pulled me by the arm into a second bedroom I hadn’t seen. He made me lay next to him so he could put his arms around me as he slept.
I couldn’t sleep, I wanted out of this place. I got up at one point in the night.
I went into the bathroom and turned on the water faucet. At first air came out, then a reddish liquid flowed, I thought it was blood. I screamed for a millisecond, then I calmed myself. The water was now running clear.
I splashed some of the water on my face. I needed to clear my head. Just then Piper started crying, so scooped her up and walked around the house, I realized she was hungry, so I let her eat.
I thought about escaping again, but it was dark out and I didn’t trust my sense of direction.
I sat on the rocking chair. I continued to rock even after she fell asleep. I must have fallen asleep. When I awoke, Piper was no longer in my arms. I looked on the floor thinking maybe I had dropped her. I jumped out of the chair and started searching the house. The bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen.
I yelled Nick’s name, then I heard it. Nick’s singing from outside the front door which was cracked open. He was singing our song, the one we had danced our one and only dance to, “Angel.” I never thought he knew the words. Nick’s mood changes were starting to scare me, but I thought if I just didn’t upset him it would be okay.
I stood in the doorway, my back against the frame, carefully aligned to not hit my bruise from the night before. I liked watching this, they looked happy. Piper had her small fingers wrapped around Nick’s. Nick cradled her gently, her head in his elbow and his hand holding her body.
He looked up and saw me, “Shhh…she’s sleeping. She was crying when I woke up, and you looked so peaceful sleeping, that I took her.” He walked past me and into the house, gently placing Piper on the couch.
“See Nick, this is what I want.” I said walking out the door and sitting on the steps.
I heard Nick come out the door and shut it.
“I want to live here, not a care in the world. You, me, our baby. Why can’t we have that?” I asked.
“Because I have another life.”
“I know, so do I, but if we decide together to do this, we can leave our other lives behind.” I said.
“I can’t.” Nick said.
“Why?”
“Because I love my wife, and her money.”
“Don’t you love me, or was that just want you say that to get me to sleep with you.”
“Yes, of course I love you because we have a child together, but my wife came first, she’s the one I am meant to stay with for all eternity.”
I stood up and walked inside.
“Don’t walk away from me when I am talking to you!” Nick yelled, tackling me from behind. I hit the ground hard, I felt the bone in my nose break. He held me on the ground, I felt like a dog that his master must lie on in order to show their dominance.
When he got off me, I went straight to the bathroom. My nose was bleeding, the blood flowed like a river. I tried to put a towel up to it, but the pain was agonizing. So I tilted my head back, and held the towel slightly below my nose. Eventually the bleeding did stop. I carefully wiped away any dry blood with a wet towel. I could see the bruises forming on my face, on my cheek, and now around the eyes.
I walked back out into the living room, Nick was pacing. His steps were heavy, and his focus was on the ground. He was mumbling to himself, I couldn’t hear what he was saying. He sounded angry.
I picked up Piper held her keeping her close to my chest.
“What are you going to do to us?” I asked.
“Well, since you are being a stubborn girl, I will have to kill you. Then I’ll bring her home and tell my wife she was adopted. My wife will be happy.”
I didn’t say anything, I knew he was probably going to kill me, but he had never actually said it. That word, spoken by him, scared me.

That night I made my escape. It is colder outside, and I am glad that I had wrapped Piper up in her blanket. I carried Piper and the baby bag, and I ran. We escaped out the front door, but I opened the back door to throw Nick off. I didn’t care about my sense of direction now, I just knew I had to get away from Nick. Something was not right with him.
I tried to run at first, but I found it difficult with the bag, so I then started walking quickly.
After walking for about 10 minutes I heard a car engine, thinking it was a car on some highway, I went toward the road. When I saw that they were Nick’s headlights, I quickly ducked back into the woods.
It was too late, Nick stopped the car and ran after me. I ditched the baby bag, it was too big and too bulky. I ran holding Piper’s head, trying to make sure she didn’t get hurt. I ran through the trees, branches hitting my face.
“Willow! STOP RIGHT NOW AND I WON”T HURT YOU!” Nick yelled.
I continued to run straight, but then I decided to take a turn, I thought I would be running perpendicular to Nick. Wrong.
I heard twigs breaking around me, and the sound was getting louder.
Suddenly Nick was in front of me, he didn’t look out of breath, and he held a gun pointed straight at me.
“Stop now Willow!” Nick said.
I halted, and clasped Piper closer to my chest.
“Put her on the ground.” Nick ordered.
I carefully placed Piper on a soft area of the ground that was bare of twigs and rocks. Piper stirred but didn’t wake.
Nick walked toward me, gun still pointed at my chest. He got right up to me, and struck me with the butt of the gun. He then placed the gun on the ground and began using his fists.
He beats me in the face at first, acting as if my head were a punching bag. Then he pounded on my stomach. It only took a few punches in the stomach to knock me down. He started kicking, the kicks were brutal.
It felt as if Nick was releasing all the anger he had on everyone including me in the blows I was receiving.
I started feeling fainter, with every hit and every kick. Finally I started floating.
So here I am now, floating. My body gets smaller as the time passes. I see the clouds above me getting bigger.
“Please, if there is a God or some higher being, don’t do this to me. Don’t let me die, can’t you see that evil guy, I don’t want my daughter raised by that. She needs to be saved from that, he needs to be stopped. Please, let me go back and stop that monster. I promise I’ll be good, I need to live, and I can fight him.” I say
Something hears me, and I halt. I descend. My physical body pulls me back.
I hit my body hard, I feel my body shake, and then awake. I open my eyes and I realize I am alive. Very, very painful, but truly alive.
I slowly get up, my left arm will not bear weight, there must be something broken. I finally find my feet and I stagger toward the road. Nick is long gone now, I am not sure how long I was out, but I know it was long. I see it on the ground, the gun Nick had pointed at me. I guess in his haste he had forgotten it. I choose not to pick it up.
Once I had found the road, I slowly stumbled down the road, leaning against whatever I could find, and stopping frequently to let my aching body rest. It took for what seemed like an eternity because each step was so painful. My right leg felt like lead, and each breath was a painstaking ordeal.
After a long trek of time, I see a small town up ahead. I don’t think I have ever been so happy to see a city.
It takes me a long time to get to the city; I pound on the first door I see,
“Open up! Please, help me!”
It is still dark, probably early morning, so I assume people are sleeping, so I give them a minute. Then I pound harder. Finally I see a light turn on somewhere in the house. I get so excited I almost jump up and down.
A middle age looking woman answers the door. She takes a look at me and calls for her husband. Within a half an hour, I am in an ambulance. Once I reach the hospital the doctors poke me, prod me, and inject me with drugs that make all the pain go away.
While they work on me, I ask about Piper. When the doctors finish with me I get drugs that help me sleep.
When I awake, I see a man sits in the chair next to my bed. His blonde hair shines in the light.
“Who are you?” I ask.
“My name is Joshua Sparks. I am a detective with the St. Ignatius Police Department. I need to ask you a few questions.” When he looks up I see his blue eyes sparkle.
I nod.
“Do you know who did this to you?”
“Yes, his name is Nicolas Benedict, he did this to me, and he kidnapped my baby.”
“Why would he kidnap your baby?” Josh asks.
“He’s the father. His wife is unable to have children so he killed one young girl after kidnapping her child, and he tried to do that with me, but I survived.
“Do you know where he lives?” Josh asks
“No, we never went to his house. But I do know he works at ‘Mike’s Auto and Tire.’ He’s the head auto mechanic.”
Do you know of any distinguishing marks that could identify,” he looks at his note pad, “Either Nick or your baby.”
“Her name is Piper. She has a birthmark on the small of her back, it looks like an oval. Nick has a tattoo on his shoulder. It’s of a bloody knife I believe.”
“Okay, I am going to go make some calls, I’ll be right back.” Josh rises from his chair.
“Can I go along when you arrest Nick, and get my baby?” I ask.
“I don’t know, I have to ask my captain, and I will have to talk to your doctor.” Josh leaves the room.
A doctor enters. “Oh, glad to see you are awake, my name is Doctor Jim Cure. You are one lucky girl to be alive.”
“Am I really?” I ask doubting myself.
“Yes, but you do have two broken ribs, a broken arm, broken nose, and now lots of stitches. We had to use thirty seven stitches to close all your wounds. Mainly you have the stitches on your face, but there are a few on your chest and stomach.”
“When will I be able to leave?” I inquire.
“Probably early tomorrow, with your progress, there really isn’t a reason to make you stay here, besides all your outer injuries, your inner self is very healthy.”
“Thank you.” I say.
Doctor Cure leaves the room.
I wonder about Piper now, wonder whether she’s safe or not, whether she’s hungry or not, I just worry.
Josh comes into the room, “I need to ask you a few more questions.”
He asks about the cabin, I describe all the events leading up to it, Nick’s deceit, then about his drastic mood changes. I tell him about the features of Piper that I can remember. I tell him that if I could remember how to get to the cabin I would lead him.
By the time that the nurse comes in to tell us that it is time for Josh to leave, I feel close to him.
When I wake up in the morning, Josh is back again, “The doctor says you are set to go, and once you are ready, the city P.D. is ready to hit Nick’s house.”
I almost jump out of my bed. Nick hands me a bag with some clothes inside.
“The clothes you were wearing were confiscated for evidence, so I brought you some police training clothes.” He helps me to the bathroom.
Once inside there, I look in the mirror. I resemble Chucky the doll, with a cut across one eye, my opposite cheek full of stitches, my chin cut up, and my nose taped. The rest of my face is either red or purple. None of it has the natural color. When I get the hospital gown off, I see the cuts and bruises that the doctor was talking about. There was a line of bruises across my upper stomach. There was a cut on my upper breast.
Then I change into the clothes, and then I walk out to see Josh rearing to go. We are then in his car, driving toward the main city. When we reach Nick’s house, the police squad car is sitting outside. It is sunny for a morning hour, but I wouldn’t expect anything else with my luck.
“Now, my captain said it is okay for you to be out here, but you have to stay in the car until we give the warrant, I will roll down the window, but you have to stay in here, do you understand?” Josh says.
I nod to show my understanding.
Josh gets out and walks up Nick’s walkway, following him are the local police. I watch from my window as this things unfolds. I just can’t wait until Nick receives the warrant.
Josh knocks on the door, and Nick opens it. His face seemed shocked. His mouth was open. He was trying to be all innocent, but I had seen his true self at the cabin. Josh gives Nick the warrant and he takes a minute to read it. While Nick is reading the warrant his wife appears at the door. She is holding Piper, I can see her bundled in her blanket, how I want to jump out of the car and take her from her wife’s arms.
The officers take Nick and place him in handcuffs. Josh takes Piper from the wife’s arm, and walks toward me. The officers struggled with Nick as they walk behind Josh.
I step out of the car, waiting as Josh had instructed. I see Nick behind Josh, he is kicking and screaming. I do not move.
I focus on Josh now; he walks toward me, my baby girl in his arms. I watch as they approach, and I see my future. I see her grow up and have children of her own. I lean against the car.
Josh hands Piper to me and I take her in my arms. My chest begins to ache, it must be the broken ribs. But it turned into a good pain. It was the pain of love. I look at the sky, and say “Thank you.”

Months have passed since that incident, but I still remember every second of every minute. If I ever forget I remember as soon as I look in the mirror. The scars are still over my face. They will remind me forever of what one man is capable of.
I am going to court today, the jury has come back with their verdict.

“We the jury, find the defendant Nicolas Benedict, on the count of attempted murder in the first degree…guilty.”
I would jump for joy, but I restrain myself. I sit quietly holding Josh’s hand.
The next day we go to work. Josh works above me in the police station. I work in the abused women shelter, I am a counselor. I get paid by both the center and the police station since I help them with cases.

Not long after the juries verdict I told Josh about my out-of-body experience, he was amazed. Now whenever I see him looking at me he smiles. He knows how much I fought and how lucky he is to have me.
I wear a ring on my left hand.

A month later we say, “I do,” with tears coming from both Josh and my eyes.
As soon as we are announced ‘husband and wife,’ Josh signs the adoption papers. It is official, he is now Piper’s father. My joy is inexplicable.
From what I have heard, Nick was diagnosed shortly after the trial with bi-polar disease, he is at a mental prison in Nevada. Josh heard that Nick is constantly making threats on my life, but I don’t really worry because the prison he is in is so safe.

Since my out of body experience I have not become a more religious person. I can say that my grandma was right all those years ago when I was child in saying that there are angels. There are guardian angels which watch over all of us. I believe there was a guardian angel watching over me that day in the woods, and another watching over Piper when Nick took her away. I also believe that it was an angel that brought into our lives.
I believe that I have learned from this experience, I have become more mature. I learned the value of life, and how to use my judgment before doing anything.