Angel

"They're beaufitul.." The little girl mused as she gazed out the window at the snowflakes that were descending from the night sky. She watched from her cold hospital bed as the frozen wonders touched the ground, some sticking and others vanishing almost instantly. She liked it when they stuck. Maybe it was because they looked pretty, maybe it was because of their contrast to the night sky. Or maybe it was out of pure happiness for the snowflakes. Maybe she felt joy from knowing they were allowed to end their life, which was much too short, after actually living it.

A warm tear fell from her wonder-filled eyes, accompanied by a smile more beautiful than the scenery outside. As the snowflakes fell, so did her tears. She didn't bother to wipe them away. She let every tear represent her sorrow. She allowed every tear to symbolize her complaints. She let it all leave; she let everything go but the one thing that kept the smile on the face. She kept the love. She allowed the love she received to stay with her as she neared the end. She grasped it and hugged it right to her chest. She closed her eyes and didn't let the smile fade until it was forced to do so by the life that was slowly detaching from her small, withering body.

The gleaming full moon seemed to smile at her, reminding her that this was not the end of her journey. She felt her hand tighten in her mother's. She turned to see her face, which was stained with tears that fell much too often.

 "I love you, mommy. I always will." She kissed the woman's forehead, making the sobs that were racking through her body grow. She laid back in bed and didn't let the smile leave her face. Closing her eyes, the little girl drifted away to a world without sorrow. She flew away, like the angel she always was, to a place where all she could remember was love. In front of her own mother's eyes, the little girl's heartbeat diminished, but the smile? The smile remained.

She fled the world, taking her grace with her. All that was left was the body, which was home to the heart that loved so many.