BOOK OF CHRISTIAN

My father left my mother, Madeline, when I was just a baby. He said he wasn’t ready for a family and split. My mom’s family gave up on her after my father left and wanted nothing to do with her. They said it was my fault of being born that made my dad leave and told my mother I was one big mistake. My mom never remarried and it was just the two of us. Most of the time we were just scraping by to make ends meet. My mom finally took a big step and went to school to become a nurse and promised a better life for us. Even though I grew up without a father, my mother certainly was enough to give me the love and guidance I needed. I have fond memories of going to the park to play or going to the zoo. Ever since I could remember, there was one thing that stood out when we would go to special places. There was always a shadowy figure somewhere in the background. Once when I was on a kiddy roller coaster, I caught my mom talking to this strange man. When I asked her about him, she told me he was just an old friend and she would tell me more another time. Anytime there was any mention of it she would quickly change the subject. My mother and I were catholic and even though I didn’t understand a lot of what was being said when I was younger, my mom was very spiritual. She used to tell me special bedtime stories about angels and God.  I had very real dreams about the world and myself but after my 10th birthday I started dreaming about angels. Sometimes they would be in forms of animals and cartoons that I liked, other times they would come in their true form. They always taught me extra special things about God, as they put it. What I didn’t realize is that was when the training started to happen. As time passed and I spiritually got closer to God my mother was physically getting closer to God. She had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and started getting too sick to even work. I was almost 16 when I had to quit school and started to work full time and take care of the bills and my mother. Every night I remember lying in bed crying and praying that God would help her and make her feel better. Every night in my dreams my angels would appear before me and tell me everything would be okay and give me the strength to face another day. One day I was walking home from work. Across the street in the alley I saw a young woman that was being attacked by three members of a gang that used to hang around my school and sell drugs to kids going there. All three were pretty big but the biggest one was attacking the girl slapping her and calling her names while the other two just stood there laughing. I quickly ran over to where they were at not knowing what to do or what to say but I had to do something. As I ran up to the biggest guy, he was picking up the girl from the ground telling her to stand up and was about to backhand her. I ran up and pushed him away and told him to get the hell out of here. I looked at the girl and our eyes locked for only a second, but in that second, I saw a world of hurt and pain. I saw the fear these men had put in her. Such an innocence in her eyes. A gaze that cried out for help. It was only a second and she let out a scream when the biggest thug grabbed me and slammed me into the building. He was holding his arm against my throat choking me. He started yelling, “who the f**k do you think you are? Don’t you know who I am?” I didn’t know what to say, so in a stern voice I said, “yea, I know who you are. You are a coward in a gang that sells drugs to kids.” I let out a grunt as he pressed harder against my throat and said, “my name is Geraldo Martinez and you just f****d up. Tell me something Holmes, have you ever been jumped by a gang?” I shook my head no. “Well today is your lucky day. Cuz I am gonna kick your ass then I’m gonna kill you, putho.” He spit in my face and turned to his friends and started laughing. As he turned back around, I kneed him in the groin and kicked him to the ground. The other two guys quickly ran and started punching and kicking me. All of a sudden, the girl jumped on one of them and tried to stop them. The guy quickly spun around and knocked her off and sent her flying into the side of a dumpster knocking her unconscious. It wasn’t a lot of time but it was enough to get to my feet and space myself from the others. All of a sudden, the biggest guy came up to me getting a knife out. He was about to stab me I froze; I couldn't move. Right before he stabbed me, someone from behind me pushed me aside into the wall and instead of the guy stabbing me he cut the arm of the man that pushed me. He started to bleed but it didn't seem to even phase him as he grabbed the biggest guys arm holding the knife and broke it. He then punched the guy and picked him up and threw him about 5 feet away. The other two gang members then attacked the mysterious man that appeared from nowhere, but the two were no match for him. He was using some kind of martial arts I had never seen before. It was like watching Bruce Lee. Who is this guy? I kept thinking to myself. After knocking the two down several times only one got up this time and pulled a gun. The man quickly grabbed the gunman's hand and as the guy shot the gun, the man had jerked his arm down making the gangster shoot his own knee. I was still standing against the wall stunned by what was happening. The mysterious man then walked over to the biggest guy, grabbed him and held him up looking at me saying go check on the girl as I ran to her, I heard the man talking to the biggest guy telling him next time he will die if he comes after me. I kneeled down next to the girl as she lay there unconscious. I put her head in my arms and held her. She had a black eye and her lip had been busted open and her clothes were torn. I ran my fingers through her hair and across her face as she started waking up. Before she opened her eyes, she was startled and tried to move and let out a groan from the pain. She opened her eyes and looked up at me. She had such a lost look in her face. We just looked at each other for a moment then she spoke. “who… who are you?” I smiled at her. “My name is Christian. Are you okay?” Tears started rolling down her face. “Those guys, they were going to r**e me. I tried to tell them no but they started hitting me and ripping my clothes.” I held her closer and told her it was over and everything was okay. “You saved me, you saved me from those guys,” she kept crying. “It's okay I am here now, you are safe. Her tears slowly stopped as she smiled and said “yes, you are here.” It was then that I realized I knew this girl from when I was in school. We had a class together. All of a sudden, the mysterious man came from behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. “Are you two okay?” “Yes, thank you,” I replied “but who are you?” “We have time to discuss that later. He then kneeled beside the girl and asked her for her name. She looked up at me confused. “It's okay,” I told her. “He helped me. She looked back at the man and softly said “my name is Cindy.” He smiled and said, “well Cindy, I want you to close your eyes for a second. As she closed them, he slowly waved his hand over her face and said “you have no pain, just sleep” and then he mumbled something in a language I had never heard before. She was once again unconscious. “What did you do to her?” I yelled. “Shh, don’t worry, she is okay. Christian, my name is Ben.” “Wait how do you know my name?” “Do you remember the Angels telling you about the defenders of the light? I am one of them just like you, but right now I don't have time to explain. We need to go.” “Go… Go where” “I have been trying to find you, it’s your mother she needs you.” I picked up Cindy and we got into Ben's car. Ben raced across town to the hospital. We were both quiet so I finally spoke up. “It is time isn't it,” “I’m sorry?” Ben tried to act like he didn't hear me. “My mother, it's time for her to go, isn’t it?” He was silent, about a minute past, felt like an hour when he finally spoke. “I’m sorry, stay strong.” We pulled into the emergency parking. I started opening the door, “Christian, if you need us, we will be there for you.” I ran inside tears rolling down my face. The first person I saw was our family doctor. “Where is she?” I yelled between sobs. “First, Christian, you need to calm down and take a deep breath. She is right back here.” “Is she...?” “No, but she doesn't have much longer I'm afraid. I walked into the room very slowly, the room was cold and the sounds of the machine hooked to my mother's body echoed in my head like a drum. Trying not to cry, I walked over to my mother. She knew she was dying and was in a lot of pain yet she had the strength to smile at me. As I got closer, she saw the bruises on my face and asked if I was okay. “Yes, just a little fight. Mom, are you okay?” “Yes Christian, although I will miss you, I am starting to feel better already.” “but mom you can’t go. Please, I still need you here.” She sat up a little and moved over little so I could sit next to her. “Christian, you are a very smart young man. You have a lot of love and compassion in your heart. You are very strong willed and you have a lot to offer the world. There will be many bumps in the road and life at times may seem hard and pointless but don't ever give up. I will be with you always” I sat there with my mom holding me as I cried. “Mom please tell me about the mysterious man, Ben”. “He is here for you, he will help you on your journey”. Trying to hold back the tears, I looked at my mother and smiled. She smiled back saying, “I love you too”, as her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep. Forever.