On Meeting An Angel At Kroger's...

I met an angel the other day and now I don’t know now whether I’m supposed to recount this experience. When elements of the supernatural are involved you have to decide whether they are a gift or a warning. Of course, you must first decide if it was just a weird.

I exit my truck in the grocery parking lot and I see this wisp of a lady snatch a cart and march toward the entry. She’s looking around and does a little zigzag as she spots me. She almost seems to be trying to determine if she recognizes me but the moment passes and she resumes her trek. As we near the doors though she pauses and seems to be considering something. I hesitate, giving her room to regroup but she has made her decision. Evidently my character has been judged strong enough to be entrusted with something vital.

This gray-haired waif with her scarf and her granny specs plants herself in front of me, now less than 2 feet away and murmurs “Mmmm has a gun… over at Tapioca’s”. Now my hearing has been damaged by years of industry and rock music. I say “He does? Where?”, indicating that I didn’t hear plainly. She ignores this and goes on, “Yeah… and you know what? They don’t even care”.

I say “Oh yeah?” but this is a matter of fact so she nods and turns back to her other journey. Once inside the double-doors I take my time getting a cart. As her confidant I am also her co-conspirator and I’m trying to avoid a lengthy discourse. I walk into the store, a man on a mission. But she has set up shop at the service counter and barely glances as I pass so I go to work on my list. Several times as I shop she appears in the corner of my vision but I avoid eye contact. At one point she appears in front of me, little more than her purse and a deli takeout plate in her cart. But evidently my involvement is over and she soon disappears from view.

Which brings me to my point: why did this meeting become the defining moment of my day? What made me think of her later, bringing the apparition back to life? What if she were an angel; why would an angel contact me? A message? A reminder? “You need to listen more closely”. “You need to interact with those around you”. And why would an angel look you directly in the eyes and deliver an encrypted message?  That should be rather obvious… to make you think about it later of course.