Scared and Not Alone

Let’s be angels for people in need. My work took me to a city serviced by a small regional airport with only one flight in and one flight out each day. I planned ahead. I did my research. I read the reviews:

Great hotel. Sketchy area at night.

The reviews for the city were all the same. Beautiful during the day. Scary at night. 

Flight delays and a rental car mishap had me stranded at 2 AM in an empty airport. No cabs, Ubers, or Lyfts were available.

I travel often. This wouldn’t be my first time spending the night in an airport due to travel delays. Or so, I thought. 

The maintenance staff said I couldn’t stay. It was their job to lock up and reopen again at 6 AM. I moved to a bench outside. 

To push away scary movie scenes and horrific crime show thoughts, I kept refreshing the Lyft app with hopes a car would magically appear. Eventually, it did – with an additional hundred dollar surcharge. Money has no meaning when scared and alone.

This was the first time my Lyft driver had seen a fare show up in the middle of the night. They had trouble sleeping and had never seen a fare for more than $10 in this small city. At that moment, we both felt lucky our paths had crossed.

Feeling Blessed When Life is a Mess

My travel itinerary involved multiple stops throughout two states over the next two days. A rental car was no longer an option. Before I exited the Lyft, I hired my driver for the duration of my stay. They promised not to ax murder me, and I promised to pay them well to drive me to my destinations. We agreed to meet in three hours at the same front door of my hotel.

I felt lucky and blessed. I thanked the driver. As they drove away, I stood at the front door of the hotel and thought:

That Lyft was exactly the lift I needed.

My luck felt short-lived when I realized moments too late that the hotel doors were securely locked with no staff in sight. No one came to the door after repeated knocks.

Unfortunately, the driver couldn’t see me as they pulled away. I was, however, being watched much too closely by two nefarious characters across the street. As I nervously struggled to call the hotel staff, the characters made a beeline directly towards me. 

Two steps across the centerline, the characters were stopped by a car quickly coming around the corner. My driver, henceforth known as The Angel, had circled back to be sure I was ok. I wasn’t.

I hopped back in the car and the characters made a fast retreat. The Angel said they had a bad feeling about not seeing me walk all the way into the hotel. They felt better coming back, and I was grateful they did. The Angel waited with me while I reached the hotel staff who escorted me inside the hotel. 

Daylight Comes after The Darkness

At daylight, The Angel picked me up in front of the hotel. The city and surrounding areas were indeed beautiful. We had a long drive ahead of us, and we counted our blessings along the way. 

Partway into the trip, a friend of mine called with news of their mother passing away. As I spoke on the phone with my friend, I could see tears streaming down The Angel's face. When the time was right, I mentioned to The Angel:

When my mom died, my eyes leaked for a long time. 

The Angel said their eyes leaked a lot this past week, but they usually told people it was just allergies. I invited The Angel to tell me the truth if they thought it might make them feel better. 

I held space as The Angel’s story spilled out over our remaining days together. I mostly listened.

The Angel said their wife died 10 days ago. A heart attack unexpectedly took her life at the age of 42. The Angel's young stepson was legally required to live with a different relative because an old will hadn’t been updated. Since it was too painful to live in the family home without both of them, The Angel traveled 1500 miles to this small city to stay with a best friend. 

The name of the best friend was also Elaine.

The night The Angel rescued me was their darkest moment. They hadn’t eaten or slept much. They kept seeing the numbers 3456. They didn’t know what it meant.

3456

I told The Angel the numbers 3-4-5-6 were often a sign to keep making small steps forward. Beginning with the highly spiritual number of 3, the message was a reminder to keep walking forward – even when the path is hard. 

We talked about ways to move forward and grow from our struggles. Mostly, we talked about the amazing gifts The Angel had to offer the world – gifts the world desperately needs.

The Angel said the call to help me was the wakeup call they needed to keep moving forward out of the darkness of grief and despair. After helping me for two days, they were finally able to eat and sleep again. 

On our third and final day together, The Angel said they knew everything would be all right now. They said their Angel Wife had sent them two angels named Elaine to help them heal.

In this small city, we were all angels for each other.

Let’s be angels for each other –especially when we need it the most.

This is the day in the United States (the 4th of July) when most people are celebrating our Independence. For me, I am celebrating our Interdependence.