Fine Looking Day Angel, by Denise Landry

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Fine Looking Day Angel

by Denise Landry

Are angels needed on fine looking days?
Yes — for even the nicest days can turn on a dime.

No matter the language they speak,
No matter the form they take,
Any angelic help is welcome on days like these.

A hot summer sun hits my waking eyes.
Its warmth stirs a need for an outing.
I tell my brother let’s go to the rapids,
let’s picnic, let’s enjoy the day.

In Quebec, where French and English share the air,
we head out —
me in my four‑wheeled chair,
my brother walking besides,
rolling along life’s rocky path,
thinking I am secure.

Then a wheel loosens.
It falls.
I tip.

My brother scoops me up as the chair collapses.
He sets me gently under a shady tree.

No phone.
No tools.
No way to fix the chair.
No way home.

We curse the chair.
We think.
We wait.

Then suddenly —
a cycling angel appears.
« Besoin d’aide? » she asks.

My brother lets out a panicked, “Yes!”

He gestures for a wrench.
She nods, turns, and glides away —
crossing the street as if carried.

Moments later she returns,
wrench in hand,
like a small miracle on two wheels.

My brother fixes the wheel.
We thank her with all the gratitude we have.
She smiles and says, « Bonne journée, »
before riding off,
and we never see our angel again.

Are angels needed on fine looking days?
Yes — for days that turn on a dime.

I am grateful, always,
for any angelic help
that comes on the bad days
and the fine looking ones of my life.

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Photo: Digital collage of vintage lady cycling through poppy fields. Public Domain.