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Harry&039;s prayer rose upward, higher and higher through the snow-laden branches of the evergreens His petition to God whisked its way past the thick white clouds, carried by the inds of his love to the very desk of the Archangel Gabriel There it landed

"Harry Alderwood," Gabriel es of the massive book that detailed the prayers and lives of the faithful "Ah, yes, Harry" Gabriel remembered the older man Harry didn&039;t pray often and seemed to believe he shouldn&039;t bother God with his petty concerns Little did the old man kno ed to listen to the His love for humans, Gabriel felt tenderness for thisthe journey from life into death In many cases when death was imminent, the veil between Heaven and Earth was especially thin Harry accepted that he was dying but he clung to life, fearful of leaving behind those he loved - especially his wife, Rosalie

Harry&039;s days were few, even fewer than the old ency to his prayer Unfortunately, Christht days away, and Gabriel amped with requests

Two prayers had now reached hiton town of Leavenworth The second was from Carter Jackson, a small boy who felt he could trust God more than Santa

Carter&039;s prayer wouldn&039;t be any easier to answer than Harry Alderwood&039;s Requests like this got even more complicated at Christmastime Heaven was busy, busy, busy There ork to be done, prayers to be answered, angels to be assigned

Gabriel studied the list of available Prayer Aels were indeed free Shirley, Goodness and Mercy were close to his heart, but there&039;d been problems with them in the past

Lots of problerossed with the things of Earth Gabriel shook his head in a mixture of amusement and irritation No matter how short-handed he was, he dared not let those three visit Earth again Giving Mercy the opportunity to be around forklifts and escalators was asking for trouble

Not once could Gabriel re it afterward Okay, perhaps regret was too strong a word Mercy alwaysout at the last second and he had to adh But Mercy with Harry Alderwood

"Poor Harry," Gabriel whispered

"Harry," Mercy repeated fro up on him and Gabriel did his best not to leap back in surprise Controlling his reaction, he turned to face the Prayer Ambassador She was the picture of innocence, wide-eyed and hopeful

"Did I hear you ssounds This happened whenever she was excited Theto Earth had Mercy nearly breathless with anticipation

"You did," he said

"If there&039;s any way I could be of service," Mercy volunteered, "I&039;d be more than happy to help"

"I&039;m sure you would, but there&039;s the s her hand "If you&039;re going to bring up that unfortunate incident with the aircraft carrier, I want to point out that I&039;ve repented"

"Actually," Gabriel said, clearing his throat "I was thinking about the time you rerouted that 747"

"Oh"

Mercy&039;s cheeks colored, as well they should That had been the final straw as far as Gabriel was concerned "I don&039;t know if I can trust you back on Earth," he said pensively But the number of available Prayer Ambassadors was liive ed, hands folded

For all the trouble she caused, Mercy did have a certain knack for getting prayers answered What hurasp was that prayer requests usually required participation on their end God liked it when His children trusted Hihty Father welcomed human cooperation, too

"Harry&039;s prayer just arrived," Gabriel said with so time on Earth is brief"

"Doesn&039;t he realize he&039;ll receive a new body once he gets to Heaven?" Mercy asked, see surprised by the older man&039;s reluctance to leave Earth "It&039;s so much better here"

"He knows," Gabriel said Perhaps it would be best if he allowed her a view of Harry and Rosalie "Coel invited and with one wide sweep of his arm, he whisked away the veil between Heaven and Earth A moment later the two of them were able to look down upon the town of Leavenworth

"Harry, is that you?" Rosalie called when he stepped into the house and closed the door against the bitter December wind

"It&039;s me," Harry replied in a strained voice He felt short of breath, and his rove had told him He knew Rosalie couldn&039;t cope without him; he also knew he&039;d have to trust that God would answer his prayer

"I have lunch ready," his wife said as he entered the kitchen

He had little appetite, but Harry couldn&039;t disappoint Rosalie, since she&039;d e, she only remembered a few of her favorite recipes Almost always, they had canned soup for dinner No doubt that hat she&039;d made for lunch, too

Food didn&039;t interest Harry much anymore He ate because it was necessary but without any real enjoy into the kitchen, he saw that he&039;d guessed correctly Rosalie had heated up soup Two steaht red tomato soup sat on the kitchen table What was left in the sthe silverware to the table, Harry reached over and switched off the burner

Soon he joined his wife at the round oak table in the srace When he finished, Rosalie s go at the doctor&039;s, sweetheart?"

Rather than worry her, Harry simply nodded "I&039;e"

Rosalie looked back at hied her mind He&039;d told her what she wanted to hear

"Is soup all right?" she asked

"It&039;s perfect" Not sure how to broach the subject of , Harry sed three spoonfuls of his lunch, then paused This wouldn&039;t be the first tiht it up - far from it He carefully set his spoon on the place rove?" Rosalie asked, shakily lifting a spoonful of soup to her mouth She helped herself to crackers from the box and crumbled them in her bowl, one cracker at a time

"I like hiive you another prescription?"

Harry shook his head As it was, the visiting nurse, who stopped by the house every second day, had to use a chart to keep histo be fine, aren&039;t you?" his wife asked