dialogue with an angel

I’m back in the studio working, but am still decompressing from the holidays, which seemed to go on and on for a good two weeks this year. Holiday parties bring interesting moments. At one such event, one of my relatives presented the following scenario.

“Pretend that I’m an angel. I know it’s not much of a stretch.” Everyone laughed. She continued. “Now, as an angel, you can ask me anything and I must tell you the truth. What would you like to know the truth about?”

She paused for effect. We all thought.

I was the first up, since I sat next to her. “Knowing that our politics and religious beliefs differ, I wouldn’t ask you anything about the current state of affairs in the world, or what to expect after January 20th. I suppose I would default to the obvious. I would ask what my purpose is in life — how can I do the most good.”

And so around the room we went. When everyone finished with their say, my relative didn’t answer me or anyone else in the room. That wasn’t the point of this exercise. I think she just wanted to make us think. In retrospect, I don’t think she really needed to answer us; we already knew what our truths were, even if we sometimes didn’t like to admit them.

And what about you? What question would you ask? In this new year, what would you dare know the truth about?

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The Cupid/Angel art was published in my illustrated novel The Lover’s Path. It was an opener to one of the chapters; the border is based on Renaissance map designs. Art © Kris Waldherr (Abrams Books).

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