Sketch of an Angel

a habit i cant help since a long time ago: making sketches ... writing story could be very exhausting due to the minutely-planned plot development but sketches are free of such an obligation. so i make lots and lots of sketches, out of the blue, out of context, out of nothing ... where my imagination is the only limit i have

so this is one of my sketches and this is about an angel who falls in love with a little girl

An angel fell in love with a little girl for whom he was supposed to be the guardian angel. At first he complained to God when given the task. He'd been a warrior angel, the one who fought side by side with the Archangel Michael, the one conquering the kingdom of darkness, the one sheding blood and winning battles. Then God said to him: it's time for you to learn something else. And he was given the task to be a guardian angel. All children in the world have their own guardian angels who protect and accompany them all the time until they reach the age of five. On the day the child turns five, the angel will be taken away and entrusted another child to guard.

This angel wasn't happy at all with his new task but God wouldn't have a second thought. 'You could come back to your regiment after this,' God promised. So the angel was sent to earth, to a house where a newly-born baby girl was sleeping in the craddle. She's so small and beautiful that the angel held his breath for a while in amazement. And right at that time, the baby opened her eyes and smiled to him then she went back to sleep. But that split-second smile changed the angel's heart forever.

As the girl grew up, the angel fell more deeply in love with her. He guarded her first step, listened to her first word, kissed her goodnight every day, and answered all her questions. When it's time for him to leave her, he felt pain he'd never felt before.

'Will I ever see you again?' asked the girl.

The angel knew it was impossible and he couldn't lie because he's an angel. 'No,' he said, 'you won't even remember me after a while.'

The girl cried and held him tight, 'I won't let you go. Please don't leave me.'

But the angel had to obey his order. He left with a bleeding heart and came back to join his troop. But he no longer wanted to be there. He thought about his little girl who was about to enter primary school, he wondered if she would like her new friends, and he's worried if she could sleep well alone at night. Finally he couldnt take it anymore. He went to God and asked Him to turn him into human so he could go back to earth to look for the girl and he could love and protect her for as long as he lived.

God frowned: This is outrageous. Are you sure? You'll be born as a baby, you'll suffer like other human beings, and your memory will be deleted so that you wouldn't even remember why you are there, let alone find her among billions and billions of people in the world.

The angel said: I'll take my chance. I'll find her. I know the moment I see her again, I'll recognize her and I'll remember why I choose to come to the world.

God smiled when He heard that: Go ahead then. You have my blessings.

So the angel spread his beautiful white wings and let himself fall down down down to the world. As he fell, he remembered less and less, until finally all he's aware of was the blanket wrapping him and the toy next to his little pillow. He didn't know that thousands of miles away in a different continent, the girl he loved was about to go to her new school. He didn't know that his complexion and hair colour will be totally different from hers. He didn't know that they will speak different languages, live in different cultures, have completely different backgrounds.

But despite all the obstacles, they will be given a single chance to meet one day years ahead from then in a strange place and in an unexpected time. It will be raining and a guy will open his umbrella to protect a foreign young woman from the rain.

'Do I know you already from somewhere?' the girl will ask with her accented voice.

'Perhaps,' he will smile, 'I have a feeling we've met before.'

They will spend the afternoon talking and looking at each other in a cafe, watching the rain falling from the large glass window. It will be a spell-binding moment but when the rain stops, both will be awakened from the enchantment.

'I have to go. I have an appointment with somebody somewhere.'
'Sure, and I have promised to meet my fiancee this afternoon.'
'Thanks for the lovely time.'
'It's my pleasure.'

He should kiss her then and tell her that he loves her and asks her to marry him so they could share rainy days together for the rest of their lives. She will say yes, she will recognize him, and she will know that he's crossed not only the oceans but the sky to find her again. But it's not the way things work in the world and they have lived too long in it to still have the courage to listen to their hearts.

'Good bye, then.'
'Bye. Take care.'

And so they will leave and take different paths from each other, both with unexplainable tears in their eyes. Several blocks later, the woman stops walking because she suddenly remembers where she has seen his face before. It is from the most treasured part of her childhood memory, the one that continues to fade away although she has guarded it with all her might. She immediately runs back to the place where they have just met but she will not be able to find him there. Then she will know that their one chance in life has already passed.

Angel, I found you once then I lost you. Someone told me that if you love somebody, you have to set him free. If he comes back, he's yours forever. If he doesn't, he's not and will never be. Is it possible that we'll be allowed a second chance in this life?

a flowery sunday

ribbon stitch, lazy daisy, french knot, and voila ... all the flowers suddenly spring up. despite the clumsiness, it's eventually done. all by myself!!! makes my sunday so flowery ...

stolen title

'life began in the rain' is the title of a photograph i saw in an exhibition in regent campus foyer. perhaps a million years ago. well, not that long surely, but feels like it is. it was a black and white. a pic of oxford street under the rain. taken from a double decker. by a japanese student who was taking EFL course and a photography class. and i think it was one of the most beautiful things i had ever seen in life.

the student put a poem next to her pic. she said when she took the photo, she hated london because she just arrived and it was always raining there. but then, having seen the pic she took, she began to love the rain. she wrote: the rain is beautiful/it's like the music of mozart/ it always rains in london/ here i began my new life.

i was on my way to class then but i just had to stop in the foyer. stop dead and breathless. her photo had captured the very essence that i had been trying to convey in my writings for my whole life (again - hyperbolic but i feel like it really is!!!). the liquid essence that was still shaping itself and went unrecognizable. but suddenly, here it was, materializing right in front of my eyes like a miracle.

later her teacher, margot, who became one of my good friends, told me that she was indeed a very difficult student. well, arent all artists?

a rainy day in oxford street

this is a sketch of me who just started my shopping day in oxford street when it suddenly rained (so typically London!!!) and i had to go back to my student hall near park crescent ... my brother made the sketch for me. he is a very talented artist, an architect. im always amazed (and a bit envious) of his capability to 're-locate' everything into his sketch book ... while me, i could barely draw a straight line without ruler. his first task when he entered the faculty of architecture was to draw rows of lines in a large sheet of paper by using hand only. i would definitely fail from the very beginning ^^

APRIL RAIN SONG

Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
The rain makes still pools on the side walk.
The rain makes running pools in the gutter.
The rain plays a little sleep-song on your roof at night -
And I love the rain.

Langston Hughes