Fucking… ow. Son of a bitch, this is the worst.

Ah, excuse my French. I’m just trying to get across here that I am in the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life right now.

So, little backstory. I was walking down this alleyway on my way home, right? It’s my usual route, never had any trouble. Then, right out of nowhere, this complete nutjob in a black sedan comes round the corner, screeching tires.

Cars aren’t even supposed to be back here! Where’d he come from?! The alley’s too narrow, I had nowhere to go, and this asshole wouldn’t stop for nada. Didn’t even brake. So he barrels into me, I roll over the top of the car, like in an action movie.

But action movie heroes just walk away from that kinda thing. It looks like I won’t be doing that. Can’t move. Can’t even reach for my phone to call an ambulance. I’m just laying here on the wet stones. Jesus fucking Christ, it hurts so much. Just telling this story in my head to distract myself from it, but it’s not working.

Yeah, I’m definitely bleeding. My abdomen feels like it’s got a thousand knives in it. And my legs… I think they’re bent at an angle they’re not supposed to be in. I can’t see what it looks like from the position I’m lying in, but I’m almost glad for it.

Why? Why was that car here, and why was he in such a hurry? I guess I’ll die never knowing the answers to those questions. What did I do to deserve this?!

I’m starting to get lightheaded. Suppose this is the end. I stare up at the inky clouds in the evening sky, the drizzling rain staining my face. Any moment now, I’ll lose consciousness, and I’ll probably never regain it.

But before that happens, I notice something bright out of the corner of my eye. I look over and see a woman standing a little ways away, or a woman-like figure anyway—she’s entirely clad in white robes, complete with a hood over her head. She literally seems to radiate light, and… I might just be seeing things on account of the lightheadedness, but she seems REALLY freakin’ tall. Like, head at least four stories up in the air-kinda tall, maybe even five. Hard to tell from down here, my vision going woozy and all. Seems as if there’s just barely enough room for her in this alley without having to move sideways.

Well, is this it? Have I died, and is she going to escort me to the afterlife? I hope not, because that’d mean the pain doesn’t go away when you die. That would suck.

She begins pacing towards me. Her being so massive and all, I’d expect the ground to tremble with her footfalls or something, but no—it’s really quiet. She’s barefoot, I notice. Her enormous feet land on the damp pavement with only the slightest noise, like the slapping sound of somebody walking over a tiled floor. It’s the uncanniest thing.

With those long legs, it only takes her a few strides to reach me. Yeah, she’s definitely no ordinary human. Her toes are each as large as my head, easily—hell, the big ones are as wide as my waist. She’s five stories for sure, could be even taller than that.

She sinks through her knees and looms over me, her body shielding me from the rain. I try to say something but only end up coughing. She brings a finger to her lips and shushes.

“Rest easy. I mean you no harm. You are not going to die. I shall bring you to a hospital, if you would allow me to,” she says to me. Her voice is barely louder than a murmur, yet it has a firmness to it, a hint of authority.

I just lie there for a second, taking in the sight, too stunned to process her words. Her whole body glows with a gentle light. It’s not glaring to look at. Calming, rather, like a dim lantern. I see her eyes studying me way up above, past that wall of pristine white robes—not a speck of dirt on them by the way, even the rain doesn’t seem to stain them! Or rather, she’s studying my injuries, I should say. Those eyes are a brilliant golden color I’ve never seen on anyone before. Her skin, on closer inspection, is a light tan shade—couldn’t tell before on account of my poor vision and that light radiating off of it. Her hair is a darker shade of brown, and it hangs around her face in thick locks that curl towards the tips.

All in all, her beauty is immaculate, there’s an inhuman flawlessness to it—again, it’s as uncanny as it is captivating.

“Time is of the essence,” she speaks up again, snapping me out of my distraction. Right, I’m dying, should probably get that looked at. “You urgently need medical attention. I fear that human physicians would arrive too late to save your life, even if they were promptly alerted to your situation. I would like to help you, but I will not touch you without your permission. Nod once if you understand and would permit me to attempt to save you, or shake your head if you prefer to be left alone.”

Again I feel at a loss for how to respond at first, but this time I manage to snap myself out of it after a couple seconds. Time is indeed short, so I better decide right away. I just nod. I have no idea who or what this lady is, but what do I have to lose? I need first aid or else I’m going to die and she’s the only one around to help. I don’t want to die.

“As you wish. Please try not to move. I will be delicate."

It doesn’t take long before I find out what she means by that. She reaches her hands down and scoops me up, very carefully, as if I’m a wounded baby bird she intended to nurse back to health. Well, I guess that’s not too far off.

Once I’m safely in her palms, she stands up straight again. She moves nice and slow for my sake, but I still feel all woozy again. I can feel my consciousness starting to slip away. That’s not good.

“Hey,” I manage. “I don’t… feel so good. Is the hospital far?”

“It will take us a little while to get there, I fear, yes,” she replies. “And your condition appears to be critical. Thankfully, I should be able to stabilize you for the time being. Once again, please remain still.”

Before I can tell what’s happening, she brings her hands—with me in them—up to her face, and then slowly presses her lips against my body, directly over the wounds in my abdomen. I don’t get the chance to protest, so I just reflexively tense up, expecting whatever she’s doing to hurt like a bitch.

…Whoa.

There’s… barely any pressure at all. Wow, how do I even describe it? I expected to feel all sorts of things, but instead I… almost don’t feel the contact. The pain’s gone, too— It all slipped away within a second of her lips touching my body. And it doesn’t even feel like something’s pressing into me, more like… I’m being caressed. Well, I am, she’s cradling me in her hands, but, I mean… Her lips are large enough to cover my whole torso, and it feels like I’m being gently massaged everywhere all at once, all tingly and relaxed. It simultaneously is and isn’t overwhelming: I can’t process all these stimuli coming in, and yet I’ve never felt so serene.

I have no idea how much time has passed. It could’ve been two seconds or the rest of my life. But at some point she moves her face away from me, and only then do I start coming to my senses again. I can’t help but smile like an idiot. For the second time tonight I wonder, what did I do to deserve this? I must look pathetic, lying here in the palms of her hands with a dumb grin on my face, but I’m well past the point of caring.

She doesn’t seem to care either. “There,” she says, “that should seal your wounds and keep your mind and body stable, if only for the time being. We must get you in a hospital bed while it lasts. I will begin moving now. Do not be alarmed.”

Sure enough, she begins pacing out of the alleyway, carrying me in her cupped hands. She only moves one step at a time, and yet it’s as fast as I could run. I actually manage to sit up straight. Still can’t move much, but instead of pain there’s just a numbness.

It’s a relaxing ride. I still feel all tingly, and her walking creates a sort of gentle rocking motion. It might’ve put me to sleep if I didn’t just have a near-death experience. To our left and right I see the fourth and fifth floors of the buildings we’re passing by—it’s not every day you see those at eye level.

Then I look behind me and— Wow. Hadn’t really noticed before on account of her robes and the pain I was in, but now that she’s carrying me at chest level, I can certainly tell that she’s quite… shapely. I snap out of it and quickly look up to her face. Wouldn’t do to be caught staring now. Luckily, she’s preoccupied with looking ahead of where she’s walking.

“How’d you do that just now? And who or what are you? Um, if you don’t mind me asking, ma’am,” I meekly ask her.

She casts her eyes to the ground. “Regrettably, I no longer have a name to introduce myself with. As for what I am, or what I previously was… I suppose ‘Angel’ is the closest concept in human culture. My kind has limited dominion over life and death.”

The ‘Angel’ looks at me again. “For instance, our blessing can still your pain and briefly alleviate the worst effects of your injuries, as you have just experienced. Yet I and my kin are not permitted to use this miraculous ability, save for extraordinary circumstances. Our intended role is not to save humans from death. Instead, we are meant to console the lonely and the abandoned on their deathbed, to guide them towards acceptance of their fate, and to escort their souls to their appropriate destination afterwards.”

She lets out a quiet sigh. “I… did not accept that designated purpose. I wished to help the living, not just the dying. I overstepped my role. And for that prideful defiance, I was exiled.”

“Gosh,” I said, processing all of that. “An Angel, you say? Like, from heaven? I thought angels had wings? Or were actually a flaming ring with eyes on it, or something?”

“I merely used the human concept of angels as the closest analogy,” the Angel coolly replies. “I am not precisely the being you are thinking of, but it is the best description available. As for my appearance, my kind is able to take various guises as needed… Well, usually. I was relieved of that particular ability when I was exiled, so I am now stuck in this form. Although, I can still pose as an ordinary human if need be… but that would prevent me from carrying you like this.”

I look over the rim of her cupped hands to see where we are. She’s already made it several blocks in just the minute or so we’ve been talking. I see a few groups of people wandering up and down the street, but they don’t seem to notice the gigantic Angel walking in the middle of the road at all. I’m guessing no-one can see her unless she wants them to? Would explain how she’s gone unnoticed all this time.

I look back up at her. “Well, I’m not complaining. Your appearance right now is lovely, if you don’t mind me saying,” I tell the Angel. I’m not usually so forward with someone I just met, but I’m still riding the high of that ‘blessing,’ plus the whole situation is just surreal. I can’t help but just say what I’m thinking.

“That is kind of you to say, but know that your flattery has no effect. Vanity is strictly forbidden for my kind.” She says that, but with her face being so large and close to me, I can definitely notice that faint blush on her cheeks.

As we continue moving through the backstreets of the city, it strikes me that this Angel must not get to talk to people very often. It really does seem like no-one except me is able to see her.

“Does it get lonely? Like, do you just live by yourself?” I ask.

“That is correct. My life in exile is solitary by design. Most of the humans I rescue are already unconscious by the time I come across them. My kind is supposed to never think of our own wants, so it is shaming to admit it… But I do enjoy the opportunity to talk like this, even if only for a little while.”

For just a second, she gently smiles down at me. Then the expression is gone again and her eyes are back to the street ahead of her. It just occurred to me that she must be watching to make sure she doesn’t step on anyone.

Heh, imagine having that conversation. “Why are you late?” “Sorry boss, an Angel happened to catch me underfoot on my way over.” “Have you been smoking something funny again, Bill?” Ah, I amuse myself.

I can tell we’re nearing one of the city’s main thoroughfares by the distant cacophony of beeping car horns that’s slowly getting louder. Sure enough, we emerge from a side street and look out over a sea of traffic stuck in a massive jam. Hundreds of people in their little cars (well, they seem little from up here), each of them staunchly convinced that they should get to go home first.

Huh. It’s a busy road, but congestions are rare at this time in the evening. Let alone this bad.

“How were you planning to get past this?” I ask. She might be effectively invisible to all of these people, but there’s no way she can get through without bumping into something. There’s no room for her to put her foot down anywhere.

“Do not be concerned,” she curtly replies.

Before I can say anything else, the Angel lifts her foot and delicately places it on top of one of the cars waiting in line. I’m utterly baffled as I watch her lift her other foot as well and place it on the next car in the lane beside it. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Surely she must weigh… like, a lot? I’d expect either car to have gone ‘crunch,’ but their suspensions barely reacted.

“You’re, uh, a lot lighter than you look, huh?” I mutter absently. Then I realize what I just said and hastily add, “Not that I thought you were heavy or anything!"

“Fear not. There is nothing you can say that would offend me, though politeness is of course appreciated,” the Angel tells me. “As for your question, you assumed correctly: Ordinarily, my weight would be far too much for these vehicles to withstand. Thankfully, my kind is able to temporarily make ourselves much lighter relative to our surroundings. It is normally used to fly or hover, but it is also useful in these situations.”

I figure that she must’ve also lost the ability to fly, given that she hasn’t used it. Maybe she did have wings, once? Probably a sore spot if that’s the case, so I don’t ask.

“I must concentrate to maintain this state, however,” she says. “For the sake of the people we are passing over, I would ask that you try not to cause a distraction.”

I do as she says and just try to sit still. I can’t help but look down at the sight below us, though. It’s unbelievable. Her feet are so big that her toes droop over the edge of the car roof she’s standing on. Heh, those people have toes practically covering their windows, and they don’t notice a thing! It almost makes me laugh, it all looks so… insane. Maybe I’m just experiencing a dying dream or something. Well, I’m having a blast either way.

We get about halfway across the road. The other half is for traffic going the other direction, and it’s pretty much empty, so it should be smooth sailing from here. Still, what on Earth created this whole mess?

The Angel seems to be wondering that too. She stops, turns her head, peers down the road. I look over as well. There seems to be some kind of pileup a little further ahead blocking most of the road. I can see bodies lying on the asphalt amid broken glass, and they look bloodied… That ain’t good.

“That must be the cause of all this chaos. An accident has taken place on the road ahead of us,” she says. “I apologize, but I must take a detour to investigate right away. I hope that you are able to hold out a while longer?”

“Oh, yeah, no problem. That blessing of yours literally did wonders,” I assure her.

She turns and begins striding along the road. We’re technically going against the tide of traffic, but nobody’s using this lane at the moment anyway. That being the case, she no longer needs to watch her step as much, so she’s moving a lot faster. I feel the air rush past me and see the rows and rows of cars down below. It’s quite a sight.

We soon arrive at the scene, and… Gosh, there’s quite a few wounded people. Even from up here I can tell that it’s bad. Several have lost consciousness from the looks of it. There’s some bystanders who seem like they have no idea what to do. Guess they’re waiting for an ambulance to arrive, but I don’t hear any approaching sirens yet...

“I will need my hands free to help them,” the Angel said.

“Help them? With all these witnesses?” I’m not sure how she operates, but I figure the idea is that nobody is supposed to notice her. It’s not common knowledge that there’s an invisible giant lady going around town saving people, after all.

“Let me worry about that.” Her voice has an urgent tone to it. Right, this is probably not a good time for questions.

“You seem well enough to sit upright. If you please,” she says as she moves the hand I’m sitting in to her shoulder. It takes me a second to understand what she’s asking. My legs don’t work properly, but I manage to crawl my way over and pull myself up by the fabric of her robe. It’s a little scary considering how high up I am, but I can’t complain if it helps save a bunch of people the same way I’m being saved… Plus, this whole experience seems so dreamlike that I barely feel like I’m in any real danger.

As soon as I’m settled in she steps closer to the crash victims and begins singing a song in a breathy voice. It’s a melody I don’t recognize, but it’s pleasant to listen to. Very much so, in fact. Her voice echoes through the street. The victims who are still conscious stop writhing in pain, the bystanders’ eyes seem to glaze over, even the car horns die out. Everyone has forgotten what they were doing to stop and listen. I can feel myself slipping into a trance, too…

“We’re ready. Shall we go?”

“Eh?”

I blink. Where am I again?

Ah, that’s right. Hit by a car, giant Angel, on her shoulder, I remember now. Heh heh, that’s funny now that I think about it—usually it’s the Angel that goes on your shoulder.

I look down. She’s holding half-a-dozen unconscious people in her cupped hands.

“I was asking if you are ready to proceed to the hospital,” she repeated, looking at me from the corner of her eye.

“Oh, sure.”

Probably for the best that we get a move on. The numbness is starting to give way to a dull ache. I don’t look forward to the pain returning with full force.

As if she’s reading my mind, the Angel gives me a reassuring smile. “We will be there soon. I shall move quickly.” She walks over to the empty side of the road with quick strides and prepares to cross it.

Unfortunately, she is in such a hurry that she almost fails to notice a car zooming through the lane she was about to step into. She manages to retract her foot just in time, but her entire body lurches back in response, and it causes me to lose my balance!

I quickly try to adjust, but overcompensate and start tumbling forward. In a reflex I flip around on my belly and try to cling onto her robe, but I find no purchase in the folds of cloth. I want to clamber back up but my legs still won’t respond. I panic and shut my eyes as I begin sliding off the front of her shoulder…

But before I fully enter a freefall, I hear the Angel let out a small cry of surprise. A split second later, something shoves against my back, and I feel like I’m being squished.

I keep my eyes squeezed shut. It takes a while before I realize I’m no longer falling, and I’m not dead.

Once I do, I open my eyes. All I see before me is the taut white cloth pressed up against my face. It’s rather soft, like I’m hugging a mattress… a really nice brand new one.

“A-Are you quite alright?” I hear the Angel’s voice above me ask. I wriggle a bit to free my neck and look up. There, past the folds of white, I can see her face. She looks very flustered, quite unlike her unflappable demeanor so far. Her cheeks are so flushed that I can tell from down here.

Down here… I turn my head around to try and see where exactly I wound up.

I can tell that it’s her arm pressing against my back. Her hands were already full, so the only way she could break my fall is by squashing me against herself like this.

Squashing me against… her… tit.

Yep. Now I get why she’s so flustered. I can feel my own face heating up.

This is either the worst or the best day of my life. Maybe both.

The Angel clears her throat. “Um, we are a-almost there! Let us hurry!”

Wait, she’s not gonna pull me back up first—Whoa!

She’s on the move again, and I feel utterly helpless. My arms are pinned, and my legs wouldn’t do me any good even if they worked right now. I can’t look ahead, either. All I can do is bury my face into her… Well, into her, and hope for the best. My whole world is shaking like an earthquake.

At some point midway, the pressure keeping me in place loosens up too much. I feel my body beginning to slide and let out a very manly and brave cry of alarm. She responds immediately by pressing her arm against my back even harder, stopping my descent but burying me even further into her breast. It’s getting hard to breathe…

I can barely see anything now, and black spots begin to dance around my vision. I was already in bad shape, so this is all too much for my body to bear… I…

“I beg of you, awaken,” I hear the Angel say.

My eyes flutter open. I see her face looming above me, her hood down, forehead gleaming with anxious sweat and tiny rain droplets, eyebrows knitted together. Her expression softens when she sees that I am conscious.

“Oh, thank goodness, you are alright.”

“In a manner of speaking,” I say with a wince. The blessing is clearly wearing off, and now my everything hurts. I look around and see that I’m being cradled in her hands again. She’s kneeling in what I recognize to be the parking lot just outside the hospital.

“I cannot apologize enough for this… incident. I promised to rescue you, to offer you safe passage, yet I very nearly claimed your life. And in such an unseemly way, too…” Her body is perpetually framed in light, but now her cheeks are glowing red too, and her eyes are wide with various emotions. Her reserved demeanor from earlier is nowhere to be seen. “I would also ask that you forgive my disorderly appearance at the moment. It has been a very long time since I have had such intimate contact with anyone, and it was quite sudden,” she confides in me.

“Don’t worry about it, accidents happen,” I tell her.

“Not with beings such as I. We are supposed to be above such… flaws.” She casts her eyes to the ground. “And that is not the end of my mistakes tonight. I should have handed you over to the hospital as soon as I got here, but I wanted to save you myself. I gave you special treatment because I grew attached to you. I am selfish and a disgrace. It is no wonder that I was exiled.”

I sit there awkwardly in her cupped hands, not knowing what to say to make her feel better. The drizzling rain still isn’t letting up.

I decide to change the subject. “Where’d those other people you were carrying go?”

“They are currently being attended to by the hospital staff. Them and I have an agreement to keep my existence a secret so that I can save humans in this manner,” she says.

“I see—Augh!” My face involuntarily scrunches up as a sharp pain courses through my abdomen. It’s getting worse by the second. “I think I better head in as well, then.”

She smiles sadly. “Yes. I am glad to see you off safely, at least. By means of apology, I shall ensure that your recovery will progress smoothly and with minimal pain. Goodbye to you, little one.”

“Ah, but, before you go,” I say, raising a hand. She raises her eyebrows in surprise and curiosity. My vision starts to swim, I don’t have much time, but this is my only chance to ask. “Will I ever… see you again?”

She pauses for a moment, then closes her eyes. “Worry not. I will always watch over you from afar.”

“That’s not… what I meant…” I say between ragged breaths. The pain is even worse than I remember. “You shouldn’t… have to be alone… I want to—”

“Ssssshhh,” she shushes me. “Do not fret over me. I will be alright. You, however, must rest now. Good night.”

Before I can manage to force out any further words, she brings me up to her lips and buries my face in them.

I am in heaven again. In an instant, the pain is gone.

The next instant, so am I.

Slowly, my senses come back to me. I carefully raise my head and look around groggily for a few seconds. My eyes are still bleary, but I soon recognize that I am lying in a bed in a hospital room. How’d I wind up here again?

I hear footsteps echo down the hall. The owner of those footsteps, a woman in a white coat holding a clipboard, steps into the room not long after

“Ah, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” she says to me.

“Well, a bit sore, but mostly confused. What happened to me, exactly?”

“You were involved in a hit-and-run accident. It makes sense that you don’t remember it, since you suffered a minor concussion and lost consciousness en route to the hospital.”

“Oh,” I manage to utter as I attempt to process that. After a few seconds, I think of a good question to ask. “Any complications or lasting injuries I need to worry about?”

“There were some internal injuries in your abdomen and bruising across your body, but they will heal completely with a little bedrest,” she explains, studying the clipboard she’s holding. “Your legs suffered the most severe injuries. When you arrived here, they had multiple fractures and were seriously bent out of shape.”

My eyes widen. I look to the foot of my bed for the first time and only now notice that they are indeed covered in casts. “Is it… Am I going to recover from this?” I ask, barely louder than a whisper.

“Yes, I have good news about that,” she says as she looks at me with a reassuring smile. “The bones have set properly, and there appears to be no lasting damage. It looks as if you’ll make a full recovery, and much faster than expected at that! Doctors are calling it a miracle.”

I let out the breath I’ve been holding as I collapse back into my pillow. “Oh thank God.”

“You’ve been unconscious for a while, so we’ll be monitoring your health for now,” the woman tells me. I guess she’s a nurse. “But the prognosis is excellent. It’s likely that you’ll be able to leave the hospital quite soon.”

“Well, that’s… great! It sounds like I got really lucky.”

“Someone must’ve been watching over you,” the nurse quips.

“Haha, I guess so. I think I actually had a dream that an angel came to save me,” I tell her. I don’t know what compelled me to mention that. Might be because I’m still lightheaded.

“I’ll tell the paramedics that. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the compliment,” she says with a wink.

“One more thing: Any hospital bills I should worry about after this?”

“It’s already been taken care of, no need to worry,” she tells me. Alright then? “In any case, I should leave you to rest now.”

She turns to leave. Some subconscious part of my mind screams at me to speak up. “Wait!”

The nurse looks back at me with a quizzical look. “Yes, is something the matter?”

I only just now notice that her eyes are a really unusual golden color. It’s strange—Don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone with eyes like that, yet they somehow seem familiar. I stall for a second or three, having completely forgotten what I wanted to say.

“Uh, just—Thank you, I guess,” I eventually manage to utter.

She smiles again, cradling the clipboard to her chest. “You’re welcome.”

Today I’m finally getting discharged from the hospital. Well, I say ‘finally,’ but given how grave my injuries apparently were it really is a miracle I’m able to leave so soon. And on my own two feet, no less.

I never saw the nurse who greeted me when I first woke up again. I asked some of the other staff about her but they didn’t know who I was talking about. Strange, that. Shame, too—I’ve had her on my mind a lot while I’ve been lying around. I think I would’ve liked to get to know her better.

Oh well. Better luck next time.

On my way home, I keep having this weird feeling of being followed, as if someone’s watching me. I even looked behind me a couple times but I never saw a glimpse of anyone. Didn’t make the feeling go away. It’s as if I can sense something—or someone—looming over me, even though the street before my eyes is vacant.

The weirdest thing, though, is that it’s not an unnerving feeling. If anything, I feel comforted. I’ve never been religious, but now I can’t help but think there must be someone watching over me, like that nurse said. It’s a pleasant thought.

That night, as I’m settling into bed in my apartment, I catch a glimpse of her—the angel I remember from my dreams. Her eye peers through my window, settles on me for a few seconds, then relaxes and pulls back. I hop out of bed and stumble to my window but she’s nowhere to be seen.

She’s there, though. I know it, even if I can’t confirm it. Smiling upon me, pleased and relieved that I made it home safe.

I smile back and wave at her.