AGNES by Nigel Byng

AGNES by Nigel Byng

When she slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of her, she knew that the truck behind her was not going to stop as quickly. It’s amazing what you can process in less than two seconds. That’s how long it took for the truck behind her to send her SUV spinning across four lanes of the Interstate, and crashing into the barrier which separated the slum from the city.

Another dizzying four seconds later, she came to a stop on the other side, facing the wrong direction and upside down. She could feel the blood running back up her face, trickling into her eyes, blinding her.

The CEO of her own thriving fashion line, Agnes didn’t believe in God or angels. She counted seven of them running toward her car as the fire erupted. Their voices were panicked, and they rushed in without fear of personal harm. Agnes knew she was badly hurt and in big trouble. She blacked out before they could get to her.

It was Christmas Eve when she had found the last of her angels. They were poor, unemployed and one was homeless. But her people found them all. She invited them, along with their families to a Christmas dinner at a lovely restaurant. Management had done all the work behind the scenes on her behalf.

The six men who kicked and smashed the windows, and with bare hands tore apart her car and extracted her, came with their children and wives; Forty. Then there was the one homeless woman, who had held her fractured arm and talked her through and out of the shadow of death. She came alone. Agnes counted forty-one angels that had saved her life.

She dressed as Santa Clause, and treated all of the children to presents. Squeals of delight filled the room. No one had ever seen Santa cry before. Forty-one strangers, who never knew each other. Six men and one woman, who three months prior had saved the life of a stranger on a busy highway. Their children never had such a treat, and they didn’t care that Santa was in a wheelchair.

When she finally took off her costume, and with much effort, stood up out of her wheelchair, and made the first labored steps after months of therapy, the room went silent. Her therapist walked beside her as she went around to each table and said thank you. Her doctors had said she would never walk again. But Agnes had forty-one reasons why she wanted to prove them wrong.

 

 

Author’s Bio

Nigel Byng is a freelance writer, living in the USA. He recently contributed to Happiness in Unexpected Places; an anthology of stories compiled by authors and media professionals from across the globe. His writing can be found on Signs of the Times Australia; MasticadoresIndia, or on his personal blog www.hytsdaily.com where he displays his love of fiction and poetry under his pen name, Jerome Kenrick.