She had lost about twenty pounds from her already tiny frame. Things had been steadily getting worse for the sickly six year old. Lucy had been fighting a losing battle with cancer for a year and a half, and it was about to come to a close. Her family knew it, and she knew it.
Her mother, father, and older brother were in her room spending their last precious moments with Lucy as intimately as they could. Trying to hold back tears, they would talk about camping trips, family dinners, baseball games, and anything that would take their mind off the situation. Lucy’s brother was stroking his sister’s hair, just trying to take it all in when his thoughts were interrupted by a small voice.
“Really? You mean that?” Lucy was staring up at the ceiling and clutching her brother hand in her own. The two were very close, and his heart was breaking watching his beautiful little sister waste away like this.
“Babe, what is it?” her mother asked. By now, everyone was standing around her bed, hearts pounding.
“Mama, you’ll like what he told me.”
“Who’s he?”
“The angel. He was speaking to me, mama. He was so nice, and he even touched my hand.”
“And what did he say, baby?”
“He told me I was gonna live. He said that, mama. Told you you’d like it.” She smiled and let out a small giggle, one that hadn’t been heard in a long time.
“Oh, now that was sweet of him, wasn’t it? Did you thank him, baby?” Everyone was crying now, knowing it was almost time.
“I believe him, you know. I really do.” She closed her eyes and took a long, labored breath.
Her brother was weeping beyond control. Hang on, baby girl. Do not give up fighting yet. We need you here. I need you here.
“I really am gonna live, mama. You’ll see.” Her grip on her brother’s hand relaxed, and the steady beeping they once heard was replaced by a long, continuous, and monotonous tone that shattered their hearts into a million pieces.


The rain came that night. Lucy’s brother walked the dark street, soaked to the bone. He couldn’t help but think about the way Lucy had laughed. The way she spoke of the angel. The way she believed. But he knew.
He knew she was laughing, and playing, and dancing. He knew that she had found what she had been promised. She believed she would live, and now she was. Lucy was living with God in heaven, and she lived in the hearts of all those she left behind.