Picture source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-furry-cat-lying-on-the-floor-137049/

It was so hard to hold in that laugh that one summer morning. Phila woke up, stretched, took one look at the window and gave me The Stare.

“Hey, in my defense, we both love cheesy-chips.”

“Aiden, stop making it rain cheese puffs.”

I opened her window and caught one of the crunchy joys. “Come on, aren’t’chu hungry!? Forget that question, you're always hungry. Just enjoy it while you can!”

“I’m trying to stay away from cheese puffs, remember?”

“Oh yeah, that dumb diet you started for no reason whatsoever.”

Phila got up, and walked over to her dresser, hardly paying attention to me. “Dumb diet or not, you’re my guardian angle, and you must listen to me, no matter what you think.”

Oh, so she was gonna pull that card huh? Well, luckily I had a retort. “Yeah, but I’m your personal guide, so technically, you’ve gotta listen to me!

That’s when I popped out of Phila’s room and straight to heaven. The sky was a sunset yellow color and storks were gliding around from cloud to cloud in the distance. Dumb birds. A huge, puffy cloud sat before me, his fluffy edges endlessly evaporating.

“Oh, hi God.”

“Aiden Troten! This is the ninth time you’ve denied Philadelphia’s request!”

“She didn’t request anything.”

“Don’t play. She requested you to stop making it rain cheese puffs. I heard everything.”

“Of course you heard everything. You can’t not hear everything!”

“Aiden, arguing with me is pointless! I know you miss your wife, and I know you miss your children.”

God just had to rub the fact that I’m dead in my face. I mean, did he have to mention my wife, who was busy crying her eyes out everyday since then? Or my children, who would forever now feel the etch of my presence missing? Why’d I have to die? I was only in my early seventies. I was just working on getting close to my only son when I died. Since he had grown up and moved out, we had never really been that close. Despite that, I had felt his presence at my funeral. The rule up here was that I couldn’t watch over my family until I ‘helped make the world a better place’. I mean, how is being the guardian angel for one measly person gonna make the world a better place!?

Oh wait, God was still talking.

“You had a long life, and died at a ripe age. Now it’s time for you to help others with their lives. Guide them.”

“Sure. Sorry boss. I won’t make it rain cheese puffs again because apparently, having fun is not in the guardian angel handbook.”

“I’m serious Aiden. You’ve got one more time to screw up before you have to start over again with another person.”

“I promise. I won’t screw up again.” Maybe.

That was good enough for God. he transported me right back to Philadelphia, who had changed into a bright red dress.

“Back from another lecture?”

“Yeah. what’s it mean to you?”

“I’m just saying, maybe if you quit acting childish, you wouldn’t get into so much trouble. I mean, you're not a child. You had a human life before this, right?”

Oh, even better. I just got back from a ‘talk’ with God, and now Phila was interrogating me about my past. Why were we talking about my life!?

“...yeah. What’s it to you?”

I mean, I’m just curious. What were you in your past life?”

“...truck driver.”

“Was it fun?”

“No. Kind of.”

Did you have any family?”

Ok we REALLY needed to talk about something else.

I spawned myself a tiny book and sat on her shoulder, my usual seat

“Didn’t you say you had some type of great idea you were working on?”

I swear I saw Phila’s eyes sparkle at that comment. “Oh yeah! My gamification school game! See I was thinking, all those reading packets they hand you at school really suck, so what if I could make learning to read efficiently fun, by making a game about reading stories and stuff? I mean, my friend at work could be the programmer, I could make the stories, my other pal could be the game designer and…”

Ha. I knew getting her to gab on about her game project would get us off the whole ‘family’ topic. She was actually really good at making game ideas. She was a bright kid. Well, bright and always hungry.

I kept reading my book while she pedaled her bike down the road. She kept looking at me and smiling, her mouth moving a mile a minute. I was starting to feel kind of bad. She really thought I was listening to her.

And then BOOM! A woman screamed at the high pitch of a boiling tea kettle. I was knocked onto the road. The world was spinning, or appeared so because I was rolling down the street. When I finally stopped myself, I saw everyone looking on with wide eyes at something. I turned and my heart dropped.

Philadelphia had been run over by a car.

I was immediately poofed back right in front of God who was now gray and thundering.

“Let me guess. It isn’t your fault?”

I didn't say a thing. My mind was already yelling at me.

You were supposed to be watching her.

You could have told her to look out.

You're the one who told her to talk about her job.

She wasn’t paying attention to the road.

All because of You.

“No. That was all my fault.” I looked down at the fluffy cotton ground below me.

“Now Philadelphia can’t make her gaming project a reality. Now her family will be broken. All because you hadn’t watched her.

My fists clenched. “Why’d you assign me to her anyway!? You knew this wasn't going to work out! She’s all bubbly and I like to be chill!”

“Doesn’t matter. Would you have let your family ride a bike on the road without paying attention?”

Too far.

“She’s not my family!”

“SHE IS! REMEMBER THAT SON YOU WEREN’T SO CLOSE TOO!? THAT WAS HIS DAUGHTER!”

--

Wait. what?

My son. I hadn’t seen him in so long. He had said he had a family. Then I died before we could get any closer. And now, I had taken his daughter from him. My granddaughter.

It must have been getting really dusty in Heaven. Tears rushed to my eyes, but I fought my hardest to keep them in.

“No. NO! Please God! Make her be alive! Please! Don’t let her die! I promise I’ll be better! I promise I’ll pay more attention! Please! Anything! Punish me for a million years, but don’t let Philadelphia die! Please! Please!”

“There is no going back.”

“PLEASE!”

That’s when I jolted up and yelled. Silence. II looked around myself. I was in a very messy room.

Around me, I saw a nearly empty chip bag, a bunch of colorful pens, and a notebook flipped in half, showing a bunch of doodles. Yep, I was on Philadelphia’s dresser. I was in the trinket box-turned-bed she had made for me, a patch of sewing silk being my covers and a tiny food plushie my pillow.

I looked directly at Philadelphia’s bed, where she laid asleep, her hair a fuzzy mess and her covers a snake, wafting around her body.

I smiled. I laughed. A tear rolled down my cheek.

This made her rich, dark brown eyes open and she stared at me. How had I not noticed she had the same eyes as me and my son?

“Aiden? What’s so funny- are you crying!?”

“Ah, no! It’s these onion-garlic chips you got open over here. the onion stings my eyes.” I told her.

She shook her head and grabbed her phone, the light soon making a faint glow on her face. She smiled.

“Cool! Dad wants to take me somewhere! Today should be fun!”

I smiled as well. “Um, weird question, but who’s your father again?”

“Thomer Troten. Why?”

I could feel my cheeks rising into a smile. “Funny story, but you know that family of mine that I hardly talk about?”

She nodded.

“You’re in it.”

My name is Shila Williams. I am 16 years-old, and I’ve had a passion for writing and drawing ever since I could spell. I grew up in North Carolina, as well as lived and traveled abroad. I write to inspire kids' minds to imagine and take them on a fun and adventurous journey.

I'm now a published author! Please support my debut book! Check it out here on Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/Imagination-Shila-Williams-ebook/dp/B09YXKWZJX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=15MR85DQDQCA&keywords=imagination+shila+williams&qid=1651670532&sprefix=imagination+shila%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-1