Please read Chapter 1 prior to this one. Otherwise, this chapter will not make sense to you.
Again, there is no erotic content in this chapter. Wait until Chapter 3 for that to begin. Remember, this is fiction.
Enjoy!
We arrived at the cabin and I again parked in the visitor space near the front door. Pam was absorbed in one of the books and just looked up as we parked.
I walked around the car and opened her door. She smiled, marked her spot in the book and gathered the others. We unloaded all the groceries and her CVS bag and entered the cabin.
Pam put her purchases in the bedroom as I put away the food and loaded the beer in the fridge. I brought in more kindling and used old newspapers to get a new fire going. She walked up behind me as I worked but waited until the fire caught.
Once it was blazing, Pam handed me the book she'd been reading and said, "Tom, I want you to read this chapter. I think it gives some clues to what's been happening."
The chapter was an account by a dad whose son had died as the result of a car accident. He recounted how the accident happened and how it was his son's fault. The son was in a coma for several days and was alive primarily because of the life support devices. All of their friends were praying for the son, as were he and his wife.
One night, during his sleep, a messenger appeared to the dad. He was not afraid and he remembered how comforted he felt while the messenger talked. The messenger told him that his son's body would die but that his spirit would be transferred to the place of eternal life. The messenger then seemed to embrace the dad's spirit and comforted it. The dad's spirit asked the messenger how it knew the son would die. It told him that Gabriel had sent it.
I said, "Wow."
Pam asked if I'd read the part about Gabriel.
"Yes, that's astounding. Gabriel, according to the Bible, is the angel that God sent to Mary to tell her she would be pregnant with Jesus. He was also sent to Zechariah to tell him about a son to be born to his wife Elizabeth when she was very old. Her son was John the Baptist. Gabriel also appeared to Daniel and interpreted his dreams."
"How do you know so much about the Bible?"
"I read it a lot during Lydia's illness. She told me about a few dreams she had and I got interested and looked up all the dreams recorded in the Bible. That led me to read about angels and messengers from God that often appeared in dreams."
"Tom, do you think we're being visited by angels or messengers?" We looked at each other and just stared.
I finally responded, "I've no idea. But that would explain why we knew things that we shouldn't have known."
Pam replied, "There's one more thing that happened recently. Until now, I really discounted it as just another dream. About a week or so before the incident with the policeman, I dreamed about my dad. I've dreamed about him many times so that wasn't unusual. But this dream was a little different. I distinctly remember he told me to go home and that he was concerned about me. That's the only thing I remembered about that dream. I thought it was just a coincidence that I got the crap beat out of me a week later."
I reached for Dr. Graham's book,
Angels,
opened it and started reading. Pam continued reading her book on dreams as the fire popped and cracked, warming us.
****************************
Late in the afternoon, I suggested we take a break and have a beer. I handed a Stella to Pam and asked, "Can we take a walk down to the lake? I need to stretch my legs and get some fresh air."
"I'd love to. This book is getting a bit deep for me."
The afternoon temperature was quite pleasant; therefore, we grabbed only light jackets and began walking down the lane. Part of the gravel lane is steep and somewhat slippery with the leaves and loose rocks so I offered my hand to Pam. She gladly accepted. We continued on, holding hands as we walked through the fallen leaves down to the water's edge.
Pam said, "I'm really glad you invited me to stay today. This is a beautiful place and I've enjoyed spending this time with you. Would you mind if I stay a little longer?"
"I've been planning on it."
"You have?"
"Why do you think I bought all the extra food and beer today?" She grinned.
We walked along the lakeshore and I stopped to skip a few flat rocks across the water just like I was still a child. She had never tried it but became a skilled rock skipper after just five throws.
As we threw the rocks, Pam told me about the book she was reading.
"It's a collection of personal accounts of people who had dreams that came true or revealed something unique. Some of the people only remember a hazy outline of their dreams but others remember the details. One mother was telling about a dream after her small child was hit and killed by a drunk driver. In the dream, she asked a messenger why the child's guardian angel didn't protect her innocent son. She said he told her that angels are around humans all the time but have no guardian role. They are really just advisors or guides for those who God chooses. They exist to help make decisions but they can't influence or control the outcome. Tom, that sounds to me like what we call a conscience."
"That would imply that not everyone has a conscience, or at least one that determines right from wrong," I replied.
"I've always wondered why some people are so willing to kill someone else over pennies or cigarettes or just petty stuff. It's like life has no meaning or value at all to them. How did Hitler and Stalin kill millions of innocent people without batting an eye?"
I added, "That touches on the Baptist doctrine of free will. They believe that people are free to act badly and do evil to others although God could have stopped it or changed the outcome to be a good one. How many times have you heard people ask why bad things happen to good people when a disaster occurs, almost like they're accusing God of doing the evil by allowing it."
Pam responded, "I've been guilty of that. I was very angry with God when my dad died and when I got the crap beat out of me a week ago."
"And I was really angry when Lydia became ill and died. I could see no reason for it and I thought God was the cause or at least allowed it. I'm still not over it."
We turned around and started back up the hill to the cabin. Pam said, "You know, I'm getting a bit hungry. I'd like to prepare dinner for us if you don't mind."
"That'd be fantastic. We have chicken pieces. We have cubed steak. We have plenty of ground beef and several steaks and we can even roast a turkey breast but that'd probably take too long."
