Faye’s is a Hospice Nurse in Pacific Grove, CA, and is facing her first Christmas without her late husband. She knows all the polite and not so polite things to say to her patients and their families. Her mind, however, is not hearing anything but words of loss and aloneness. That is until a small ceramic angel flies into her life and breathes warm hope into her heart.
Angel Breath is the first of a series of Christmas stories which are being developed for future Holiday seasons. A second one, “A Different Point of View” will be presented as one of the short stories in the “The Runaway Series.” The third Christmas story, “Rainbows and an Angel” will be offered as a stand-alone for a future Christmas offering.
Angel Breath
Faye’s occupation as a Hospice Nurse is familiar to me because I worked in that field from 1981-1985 when my family and I moved to Northern Mendocino County. I chose Pacific Grove as it is well known to me and will prevent readers from trying to figure if I am writing about someone they think they know. All characters are purely figments of my imagination. The topic of grief, however, is very personal, and the way Faye faces her first Christmas without her husband is familiar. She knows all the polite and not so polite things to say to her patients and their families. Her mind is not hearing anything but words of loss and aloneness. That is until a small ceramic angel flies into her life and breathes warm hope into her heart.
Angel Breath was first written as a long convoluted story in response to a writing challenge given through an online writer’s group of which I am still a member. Many drafts, edits, and readings later, I was able to extricate this short story from the other two intertwined tales. The second Christmas Story, A Different Point of View will be presented as one of the short stories in the “The Runaway Series.” The third Christmas story, Looking for the Real in Christmas, will be developed as a stand-alone for a future Christmas offering.