Regina collected angels. All kinds of them. Every wall of her two-story Victorian home displayed several angels. One day, she purchased an angel that stood two feet high and that contained little solar panels, so the angel lit at night. She placed the angel in her garden with an American flag beside it in honor of her twin brother Reese who died in Afghanistan while fighting terrorism. He and mom are with the angels, Regina thought as she sunk the little flagpole into the ground.

The white stripes on the flag, which accentuated the angel’s purity and innocence, also brightened the darkness. The red stripes reminded Regina of Reese’s hardiness and valor and the blue field reminded her of the vigilance, perseverance, and justice of their mother, who as a lawyer, worked for and fought for the poor in her position at the Pittsburgh Housing Authority. Reese loved to garden as much as she did. They were planting her red and white roses in the garden’s middle and heavenly blue morning glories to climb her garden wall when he told her he joined the military to become a journalist. She was horrified. Not that Reese wanted to defend his country, but that he could have easily gone to college for journalism here. Their roses and morning glories had bloomed especially full and fragrant this year. Reese had died in the fall of last year, after the roses. The roses were his sign that he was there with her. A terrorist, who had been hiding among the soldiers as a translator, blew himself up and killed several soldiers around him, which included Reese.

The angel lit Regina’s garden at night for an entire year.

Then, one night Regina looked out her kitchen window and into her garden while her boyfriend Robert sat at the kitchen table.

“Hey Robert, my angel isn’t lit,” she said. “That’s strange.”

“It’s probably because of all the smoke from the wildfires out West,” Robert said. Enough sunlight can’t get through the haze to charge her little solar panels.”

Regina sighed. Her garden looked forlorn without the angel’s light.

After about two weeks, the wildfire smoke cleared, but the angel still didn’t light. Regina replaced the batteries in her angel and waited anxiously for the night to come. She looked out her kitchen window. The angel stood dark. Regina huffed in frustration.

Robert stepped behind Regina and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Those batteries were old, Honey. They’re probably dead.”

Regina laid her hands over Robert’s. “I’ll buy some more tomorrow after work.”

At twilight the next day, Regina replaced the batteries again, and waited for night to fall. Robert looked out at the kitchen window with her when darkness fell. The angel still didn’t light. A tear rolled down Regina’s cheek.

“Don’t cry, Babe,” Robert said and kissed the top of her head. “You can get another angel.”

Regina continued to look out the window. “No, I can’t. The company no longer makes them. I know it seems silly that I’m upset about something so…simple, but I can’t help it. Her darkness makes me sad. She made the garden so much prettier at night.”

“What do you plan to do?” Robert asked.

“I’ll keep her,” Regina said. “I can see her during the day. I just wanted to see her light all the time, just like I always see the roses’ and morning glories’ vibrant colors.”

That night, Regina prayed. In two days, she had an appointment with an oncologist. Regina had found a weird bump behind her left earlobe while putting on some earrings. Her dermatologist suggested that she get the lump biopsied.

“Dear God,” she whispered while she lay in bed. “Put my angel on my shoulder and tell her to give me my brother’s courage and to anyone else who needs their help. Watch over your angels, my mother, and my brother, and ask them to be with me and my doctor during the procedure.”  

The night before Regina’s biopsy, Robert looked out the kitchen window. “Regina! Come and look! Quick!”

Regina ran to the window and looked out. She gasped. “I don’t believe it! I see it, but I don’t believe it! She’s lit and bright as can be! It’s a sign from my angel. Last night, I asked God if she could watch over me. My angel is telling me that she’ll be with me tomorrow.” Peace drifted over Regina. Everything would turn out all right.

Robert smiled at her. “I love you and all your faith.”

The next night, the angel didn’t light, and she stayed dark for a week.

At the end of that week, Regina sat in her office, typing her article to the local newspaper about the new services at the library. Her cell phone vibrated on her desk. It was the oncologist, Dr. Vedder. Regina answered the call.

“Is it good news, Doctor?”

“Yes, Regina. It’s good news. We got all clear edges, and the cancer is gone.”

Regina smiled.  “Oh, thank you, Doctor. I’m so relieved.”

“Make a follow-up appointment for next week to check on your healing.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Regina said. “I’ll call as soon as we hang up.”

“Alright. See you next week.”

“Goodbye, Doctor.” Regina disconnected the call.  

That night, the angel lit, but then remained dark again for months.

One night, Regina stood at her kitchen window, looking out at her angel in the garden.

Robert walked into the kitchen and laid his hand on Regina’s shoulder. “Are you okay, Honey?”

Regina laid her hand over Robert’s. “Yes, I’m fine. My angel isn’t lit, but she is with me always, and Reese and my mom are watching over us too.”

Robert squeezed her hand.

“If you ask for help, the angels are there for you. I saw the sign and felt their presence. My angel gave me my brother’s courage. She responded and was responding sight unseen most of the time. I was lucky. The angels stay with us, but most of the time we don’t see a sign or feel their presence.”

Robert kissed Regina on the top of her head. "Regina, you're right. So, so right."

Regina and Robert stood quietly looking out the kitchen window for quite a while before they walked hand in hand to the living room to watch television.