THE ARCADE ANGEL
 
In mid-1993, my father suffered a stroke.  Months later he shared with me that he recalled leaving his physical body and rising above the room to a place where there was a great light.  As he felt drawn toward that light, all of a sudden my mother who had passed on in 1974 came running towards him shouting, “It’s not time yet. Go back.  There are two more grandchildren coming and they are going to need you.”

That same day, on a Sunday afternoon, my husband, our daughters, then almost 3 and 8, were at a mall arcade where we often went mid-afternoon when we were in the area.  All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I saw a gentleman much taller than my husband (a six-footer).  You couldn’t miss him!  He was dressed in a long white dress which appeared to be moving in a breeze but I couldn’t feel any wind.  This figure stared at my children.  I moved a little closer to them and noticed that my husband looked very faint.  I knew that he was also experiencing this same vision.  Just as suddenly a woman appeared next to the tall man.  I recognized her immediately as my paternal grandmother who had passed on in 1976.  She smiled warmly.  Then they both disappeared as quickly as they had come.

Feeling a bit disoriented I called the children to tell them it was time to go.  I whispered to hubby that I wanted to call my parents who lived close to the mall to see if we could stop to see them for a little bit.  I always trusted my father to explain these types of visions.  We went up to the street level of the mall to look for a pay phone (this was in pre-cell phone days).  There was no answer.  We decided to head home.  Both of us were very quiet until we reached home. 

After getting the children settled, I finally asked hubby if he had seen what I had seen.  He nodded nervously.  Then I showed him the picture of my grandmother with her favorite white patent leather pocketbook and homemade cotton dress in the photo album.  He had never met her since we were not married while she was still living.  We continued to try to reach my Dad and stepmother that evening.  A few days later we finally reached them when he returned home from the hospital. This was not the first time, nor would it be the last, that the angels would visit my family. 

We are very grateful for their presence among us and the messages they bring.  In time we would understand that there were indeed two more grandchildren coming.  One was born a couple years after this incident and another eight years later.  Dad lived another 11 years.  We were very happy to have him with us during these very difficult times as all the grandchildren and their parents did indeed face many challenges during that decade. 

One of the last things Dad said to anyone before passing was to a nurse whom he told when asked whether the one photo next to his bed was his only grandchild.  He replied simply and proudly, “ I have five children and five grandchildren.”  We still feel his presence among us to this day.  He is now one of our guardian angels. 

~ Mother NANHI-MARIE, 11-13-13