His name was…well his name didn’t matter. He was a man who was part of this mundane world that we all seem to exist in. Working full-time just to stay alive. He doesn’t even remember when life wasn’t that way.  A seemingly empty void that involved work, sleep, and eating. He hasn’t seen any of his friends in months. They all worked like he did. He wished it was different. They all fought for some semblance of a better life someday, but we all know for most people this will not happen. But he was different, his line of work is different. He had plans of his own. 

Those plans still didn’t help much when his back was so tied up from work that he could scarcely walk. It didn’t help the leg that had been sprained months before and wouldn’t make the arthritis go away. He swore he would have to learn to hobble faster just so he could get everything done and get to go home on time to relax. Home didn’t mean much to him, but it involved a comfortable couch or his nice warm bed. Simple comforts that eased the stiffness he felt throughout his body everyday. He was too young to be feeling this stiff. Too many odd hours.

While drinking coffee and reading, he turns. His breath catches and his eyes go wide. He see’s an old friend. He was a regular at this coffee shop, it wasn’t located in his city. He liked it that way, no run-in’s with anyone from his life. Too many questions he’d have to answer. He doesn’t know how differently to answer where he has been. His old friend was probably just near this coffee place, because he made sure it wasn’t a popular place for people in his city. His hands shook slightly, surprise and some deeper feeling of joy swelling in his chest..it wasn’t everyday he saw somebody he knew and even if it was for only a moment it was all it took to make him feel human again. This was a special friend too. A kindred spirit. In the years before they had discussed everything and their friendship had been lit by a beacon of honesty. A truth that sometimes hurt but there was no reservation about what was said. A light in the darkness that burned with the fury of the mid-day sun.

Her car was having trouble. He offers to help her out. It’s scorching out today and there is no wind to move the stagnant air. It’s almost oppressive. Yet being able to speak to someone he truly cares about makes him forget the heat, it makes him forget the stiffness and lack of connection in his life. For a few bright moments, he has felt alive.

He fixes her problem and turns to her with a smile. It’s an elusive thing with him. He has never liked his smile. They hug and everything goes away. All he is aware of is the fabric of her shirt underneath his hands and the feel of her hands resting on his shoulder blades. They stay like that for a minute. It feels like an eternity though. A single blissful moment where the difficulties of life doesn’t get to him. He whispers after a moment, “You know, I really don’t want to let go.”

She smiles and pulls back after another moment and says, “I know, but I don’t want to get in the middle of your day. I’m wanted back at home anyway. Give me a call sometime; I never get to talk to you anymore.”

He’s never going to call. He can’t. But for a few minutes he had gotten the strength and uplift to get through the day. He is in a much better mood now. Yeah, his work sucks, but he feels more alive than he has felt in quite some time. Though he notes one thing as he turns to read his book. He can still feel where her hands were on his back. It’s like a subtle pressure against his back. A fragile ghostly, ethereal caress softly reminding him of that single moment. Perhaps it was simply his shoulders finally loosening up because of the heat working its magic on him.

Either way, to him, it was an angel’s touch.