It was an early Saturday morning when my cousin, Ellen and her boyfriend, Seth picked me up so we could go to band practice at our high school.
It was bitterly cold and it had snowed the night before. We lived in a small rural community in the Midwest. It was a 20-mile drive to the parking lot where we practiced.
Seth offered me a thermos lid of coffee he was drinking as Ellen explained that she was going to take a brief detour from our destination. She wanted to visit Tommy’s grave. Sadly, Tommy her younger brother, had died in an accident the year before.
As Ellen drove into the cemetery the road was covered in ice and snow. She drove up a steep incline and stopped the car on the top of the hill, she got out. Seth and I watched as she walked over to Tommy’s grave. Seth glanced back to where I sat, “It is way too cold to be doing this today.”
Ellen must have agreed because she hurried back to the car and turned on the engine. But when she put the car into reverse in order to turn it around the back wheels just spun.
Seth got out and pushed but the car didn’t budge. We were stuck. Ellen always the drama queen got out of the car and started to argue with Seth. I huddled in the backseat freezing.
I gathered from their argument that Ellen didn’t want to call her parents for help. They had not visited the cemetery since their only son’s funeral and Ellen didn’t want to upset them. Ellen started to pace back and forth which she tended to do when nervous.
Seth leaned against the passenger side door. Ellen walked back over to her brother’s grave. We heard her state loudly, “Tommy, send help.” Seth locked eyes with me, laughed and shook his head.
I looked over to where Ellen stood and was surprised to see a man with long blonde hair standing between her and the car. I looked around but didn’t see any other cars.
Ellen addressed the man. “My car is stuck, we can’t move it…” The man quietly smiled and replied, “ I know.”
Before Seth could protest this stranger got in the car and turned on the engine. Noticing me in the back seat he turned and smiled, “It’s okay.” He then backed up the car and turned it around without the wheels spinning.
He got out of the car and left the engine running and the driver’s side door open. I heard Ellen thanking him profusely. “You asked for assistance–glad I could help.” He then walked around to the back of the car.
Ellen and Seth got into the car quickly. The three of us sat for a while in stunned silence. Ellen then drove the car slowly down the hill. I looked out the rear window and the man was not anywhere in sight.
More odd was the fact there were no footprints in the snow near where he had stood at the back of the car. Ellen looked at Seth and stated, “Did you notice he didn’t have a coat on?”
Ellen and I at the time agreed that he must have been a guardian angel that Tommy sent at her request. Seth refused to talk about the incident afterwards.
It has been years since I was in high school but I still remember this man’s gentle blue eyes as he looked at me with reassurance.