Angels on Overtime: A Divine Romantic Comedy

…and appear in the heart of Skid Row on New York’s Bowery.

Several drunks snore in a doorway. David notices that they shimmer with light. Their computing angels compute, their watching angels watch, and their whispering angels whisper to them: “You are loved. You are a blessing. You are a miracle. You can wake up to the light that you are—any time. You are loved. You are a blessing.”

Angela and David watch them for a while, until she taps him on the shoulder and points to one particular man. “Look, he’s about to die. You can see his family, his friends, even his dog—they’re all lining up to greet him.”

David notices that the dying drunk shimmers more than the others and that light beings, including one in a canine shape, hover over him.

“But don’t beings move on to their next incarnation, their next phase, whatever that is?” David asks. “How can all of them be waiting for him—and all those beings for all those humans—when they die?”

“It’s a hologram,” Angela explains. “One piece represents the whole. We’re all part of this whole, plus we can be anything at any time, anywhere. So our beloved ex-humans/light beings here can be on to their next phase, whatever that is, and they can be there to greet their loved ones when they pass on and congratulate them for a job well done.”

“But this one was a drunk!”

“That was his disguise, yes. We’re all drops in the vast ocean of infinity, cleverly disguised as a drunk or an angel or whatever we choose. And just living a life on Earth is a job well done. It’s not exactly easy here, you may have noticed.”

The drunk slowly opens his eyes. As he notices his three angels sitting around him, he blinks. When they don’t disappear—they’re really there, he realizes—he tries to sit upright but fails. The computing angel puts away his computer.

“Look, he’s about to talk to his angels,” Angela says. “He’s at the point where he can see between the worlds.”

“Am I dying?” the drunk asks his angels.

“Yes, my love,” responds an angel. “You are. But it’s not an ending. It’s a new beginning.”

“Anything’d be better than this.”

“You did well, my dear,” says another angel. “Earth is one of the toughest places in the universe.”

“Probably could’ve done better.”

“Yes, perhaps you could have,” responds the third angel. “Perhaps next time you will. It’s your choice. And it’s all good.”

Tears roll down the man’s face.

“Your family and friends are waiting for you.” An angel points to a shaft of light that has appeared overhead, much like a spotlight shining in a theater.

“They hated me!”

“They don’t any more.”

“I didn’t do too well here.”

“You evolved your soul. That’s all you needed to do.”

The drunk leans his head back and slumps as the life force leaves his body. His human-shaped form of light detaches itself from his physical body—hands and feet first, then his head, and then the rest of the light body follows. His light form starts to rise. A chorus of cheers and party sounds—barks, too—erupt from the group of light beings as his light form rises up to meet them.

“Atta boy!”

“Welcome home!”

“Mom! Dad!” the man cries. He throws his arms around them, but not very successfully. He tries again, and this time his arms pass through them a little less rapidly. Third time’s a charm: becoming accustomed to his arms of light, he slowly wraps them around his parents. After a few moments relishing the reconnection, he turns to the next being in the receiving line. “You! You sank my business! You took my entire life away from me! You turned me into a drunk! No—oh my God!” he hoots. “That was you?” After a couple of pats on the back that pass right through his former nemesis, the third pat meets its target. “That was you all along? Holy moly, you sure had me going!”

The shouts of welcome and greeting slowly start to fade up and away. The dog barks more raucously.

“Hey Buddy—how ya doin’ ole pal? It’s been such a long, long time!”

Angela and David smile at each other.

“Quite a homecoming,” David says.

“Oh, yes. They all get something like that.”

“What’s next for him? What’s next for his angels?”

“Whatever they want, whatever they choose.” Angela takes David’s arm and they disappear…