Gabriele

About 10 years ago, I was living in South Florida. My wife and I, and our young children were celebrating a very joyous Christmas Eve. I remember that things were really going well in our lives. We were all happy and healthy. It was a beautiful Christmas Eve to be sharing as a family, the kind that you would look back to years later, in remembrance. 

We were just sitting down to dinner when there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find a very attractive young lady in her early 20s. I had never seen her before. 

She quickly explained, “I am between planes on my way to the West Coast. Someone at the airport told me that quite possibly you might welcome a stranger.” 

We told her that of course we would, and added her in. She immediately sat down to dinner with us. 

She was apparently from someplace in southern Europe. She spoke with a lovely accent. She told the most beautiful stories. We were fascinated by her accounts of all the places she had seen, and the things that she had done. She made us all feel very happy. 

After about three hours, she got up to return to the airport. I walked her to the door. As she was leaving, I said to her, “We didn’t even ask your name.“ 

She replied, “My name is Gabriele.”  With that, she stepped outside and closed the door. 

I stood there for just an instant, a matter of only a few seconds. I thought to myself, “I need to get an address, a last name – I’ve got to know something more about how to get in touch with her.” 

I opened the door. She was gone. There was nothing. She had walked through the door and it was as though she had simply vanished. 

Our family has considered the incident to have been a true angel experience – one bringing good tidings and cheer. 

Billye Jones 

Excerpt from Angel Power, Angel Love. Other books by Billye are The Essence of Loving and Women Pioneers in 12 Step Recovery.