SEPTEMBER 17, 1841

When I held my fourth charge's soul I didn't want to deliver it to the body of the child just created, for his life would be one of slavery, hardship and trials.  But it also held the potential of such a magnificent future that I braced myself and delivered my Nathan's soul to his body. 

This fourth charge of mine wasn't created in love as my other charges but out of rape.  The white man that owned Nathan's mother gave in to his lust and broke his marriage vows to his wife.  How I wished to visit the same pain on Mr. Sinclair as he had just done on Nathan's mother, but I could not.  When his time came he would have to face the Lord and his victim, only then would he face final judgment for his despicable deeds.  Even thought I could do nothing to punish this man, there was something I could do for this child; I gave him a little piece of my spirit, enough to give him the strength to carry on in overwhelming odds.

I sat and cradled Nathan's mother in my protective embrace so I could try to heal the worst of her injuries and give her the strength to carry on.  Then doing as Archangel Michael asked, I erased the memory of the rape from her mind.  Once that terrible memory was gone she calmed, for beatings were known to her and accepted as part of her life - something she could deal with.

That night and every night I stood as a guard between her and the man that had raped her.  With the help of both Tess and Monica we interrupted Mr. Sinclair's intentions of repeating his crime and in time he forgot about her.   Mrs. Sinclair didn't forget and sold both Obediah and Megan away before the birth of their child.

MAY 25, 1842

Today my Nathan was born, born into slavery.  It was a hard delivery for Megan.  To help her I wrapped myself around her straining body and allowed my strength to flow through to her.  After five hours of labor to see the happiness on both of my Nathan's parents' faces was reward enough for me.

Even though he was a slave I rejoiced in his cries as much as I had in my other charges, for it meant that he had arrived.  His mother and the man that was the father of his soul marveled at their newborn and the other slave woman cooed at my little Nathan.  The midwife asked them what they wanted to call the child, and Obediah named him Nathan Moses.  Then all present looked to heaven and thanked God for this precious gift and both his parents silently vowed to raise him to do only good.  From that moment his parents earned my protection as much as he did.

As with each of my other little ones, I waited till the tired parents were asleep before I made my introductions to my newest child.   When I materialized I went and placed a simple kiss on the brows of Megan and Obediah as a reward for bringing my little Nathan into the world.  Smiling down at the loving couple, I wished that I could do something to ease the pain in store for them; but I could not, for this was part of the path my Nathan had to walk.

I then turned toward my charge and picked him up.  The dark eyes looked so solemnly into mine and the strength and compassion that was in this little one made me breathless.  As with my other babies I was greeted by an Angelic power that called to me as a brother and Nathan's eyes lit up with delight.  That was the fourth time this had happened and none of the other guardian angels ever heard of this greeting.  I would have to ask Tess or Monica next time I saw them.  But on to more important matters.  I looked down at my happy Nathan and said, "Well, Mr. Jackson." I paused, for that name just came to mind as I was addressing him.  Snuggling the dear little face against mine I continued, "I have waited a long time to meet you, sir.  Let me introduce myself to you, my name is Ezra and it will be my great pleasure to be your guardian angel.  Welcome my babe, my Nathan."

Unknown to the little guardian angel, Megan had awakened from her sleep at the touch of that gentle, healing kiss and watched in wonder as a glorious heavenly visitor greeted her son with such joy and love.  To see her own son's face lit from within as the angel's beautiful face was touched her soul and heart, for this was a sign that her son's destiny would be magnificent.

JANUARY 17, 1849

Rage!  

Pure Rage burned through me as I looked at what that thing did to my little Nathan.  How could anyone hurt my sweet child like that? 

I struggled to free myself from both Tess and Andrew's grip and snarled, "Let me go Tess.  Let me bring down Hell's fire and damnation on this Sinner.  Let me rip him from his mortal coil to stand in judgment for what he did to my babe!"

Why was Tess stopping me after what she told me had happened? 

I knew that animal Catchings had lusted after Megan for months and I had run interference to keep her out of harm's way.  But when Chris and Vin needed me I had to go.  He then finally caught her working in the plantation's stilling room, alone except for Nathan.  He tried to force himself on her then but was attacked by my little warrior, who stabbed the animal in the thigh.  That ... that ANIMAL then grabbed my little Nathan and shoved him into the arms of one his men to take him outside.  He then threatened to sell my little Nathan away from his parents if she didn't agree to share his bed with him. 

That bastard!

Then that animal had Nathan whipped as a warning to her and Obediah and had my poor babe thrown into this room alone without anyone to care for him. 

I struggled to be free from both Tess and Andrew's arms, snarling my rage, when Tess stepped in front of me and drew in her power and coldly said, "Ezra, you're thinking only of yourself.  Nathan needs your comfort more at this minute than your vengeance."  Then pointing to my little one who lay still with his back covered in whip marks she continued, "If vengeance is more important than Nathan, then leave. But I warn you, he will be taken from you."

That brought me to my senses and then the little whimpers of pain from my precious child reached my ears.  A cry of heart-wrenching pain was heard and I realized that it was I who made that cry.  All the rage disappeared as I flew to comfort my stricken Nathan. 

Without check, I materialized and gathered the poor, beaten little body in my arms.  His little cries of pain tore at my heart.  I could not have prevented that from happening nor could I take vengeance on that animal, but I could take his pain as my own.  I gasped as my back began to burn with his pain, but I wouldn't fail him in this.

Tess realized what I had done but it was too late for her to do anything about it.  Her voice was as shocked as her eyes and would have been funny under any other circumstances, but I could care less.  "Ezra! Angel child, what have you done?"

I ignored her, for my little one was looking up at me and there was fear in his eyes.  Fear because I appeared white to him and it was a white man that had whipped both him and his mother.  He struggled to pull away from me and my heart broke.  Before full panic set in I allowed all my barriers to drop so he could see me.  I started to rock him and whisper to my little one, "Hush! Hush my little one.  I won't hurt you.  I could never hurt you."

He stopped struggling and I felt my tears slowly work their way down my face.  He sat up and touched those tears with wonder and looked into my eyes, seeing only the truth.  "You're cryin' for me, Master?"

Master.

Looking at this child who had been taught all his life to call anyone who appeared to be a white man 'Master', my heart broke.  "No, Nathan ...don't call me Master.   I'm your guarding angel, my little one.  Please ... please forgive me, little one, for not protecting you better ... I failed you."

The little child solemnly looked at me and in wonder asked, "You're my angel?"

I could only nod my head at his sweet little question.

He head dipped a bit as if he was working out a problem, then he looked back at me and asked, "Did ... did some else need ya real bad?"

I could only nod my head, for Chris and Vin had needed me today; this was the day they were separated.

Nathan bit his lip and asked, "Did you know this would happ'n?"

"No! Little one, I would not have left you if I knew," I answered him in a broken voice.

Then, to the surprise of us all, my child of compassion patted me on the head and said, "You did good.  Others needed ya and that's your job, to help them."  Then realizing that the pain had gone away he looked at me and asked, "Ya took the pain?"

I swallowed and answered, "Yes, little one."

He tilted his head to the side and asked, "Do you have a name?"

"Ezra," I answered.

"Thank you, Mr. Ezra."

MAY 22, 1849

I sat with my arms and wings around my little Nathan and tried to comfort him.  He seemed to know that I was there and took comfort from me.  Mr. Catchings, the monster, had sold my little one, his siblings and his father to Mr. Jackson in Alabama. 

I would personally see him rot in hell for what he did to my Nathan's family. 

I spared a glance at Monica as she sat with her arms around Obediah, trying to comfort the poor man.  To suffer in quiet the death of his wife, wanting to spare his children his pain over their mother's death, he instead gave them hope that someday they might be reunited as a family.  I asked Monica to look after Obediah, for it was a terrible burden to place on anyone's shoulders and I feared what might happen. 

Megan sat near her husband and kept whispering words of comfort and strength to the man that was part of her soul.  By the look in his eyes he was starting to hear her and determination settled in his eyes and soul.  He would look after the children and make sure nothing would come to harm them.

His eyes settled on Nathan and for a moment I swore that he looked right into my eyes, asking me to watch over this child of his.  I was stunned and nodded my head.  He then smiled right at me.  This could not be possible, for mortals cannot see angels unless we show ourselves, but this man gave every indication that he saw me.  I checked with Monica to see if she had witnessed the same thing I had; her shocked expression and Megan's smile confirmed my conclusion.

"Obediah and ah have seen you lookin' after our Nathan from the first.  We figured that he was destined for somethin' great, that's why ah taught him herb healin'.  Figured it might come in handy for him."

Both Monica and I looked at this special couple, for Obediah could not only see me but also Monica and the soul of his dead wife.  Obediah's slight nod was his only answer to my silent question.

JUNE 4, 1860

My Nathan was going to break free from the chains of slavery and I used all my powers to see him free.  He had learned many things here on the Jacksons' plantation to help prepare him for his future. 

David and Katherine Jackson were good people and treated their slaves better than most, but they still didn't see them as people.  Going against many of the laws of the south they had their slaves educated in reading, writing, arithmetic and in the arts of white society.  Their reasoning was that it doubled the value of the slave from simple menial to a fancy plantation slave.

I saw to it that Katherine Jackson had taken a liking to Nathan and allowed him to work in the stilling room with her to increase his knowledge of herbs and medicines.  But I could not have foreseen that David Jackson would also take a liking to my Nathan and use him as his fencing partner and teaching him the arts of war.

The first time that they fought with naked blades had me wanting to take Nathan and run with him, but then I watched and saw how he fought.  It was almost as if Nathan had known how to fight with a sword all his life but the knowledge had grown rusty.  Even so he challenged Jackson's ability with the sword and it was only by luck the man defeated my little warrior.

The Jacksons had sold off his brothers and sisters over the last eleven years so only his father remained with my Nathan, and tomorrow would be his turn to be sold away.  I had no intention of my Nathan spending one more night in slavery. 

I was there to comfort him when the beatings occurred and told him stories of my other charges.  I tried to give him my strength to survive this ordeal, to forge him into a weapon that would fight evil.  I could feel the evil coming towards him, coming to claim my little one.  I could feel the evil one and knew he would be here at the auction tomorrow, but my Nathan would not.

Earlier I gave the overseer Campbell a false memory of locking the door so that Nathan could escape once I removed the shackles.  I had to wait till nightfall to help him escape.  With a simple touch the shackles fell from my child's ankles and wrists; he was freed.  I had been whispering in his dreams to flee to the north and he had made preparations to do it, but he hadn't been fast enough.  Now he took the chance and quietly exited the shed and made his way to where his father was locked up.

"Daddy! Daddy!" whispered Nathan at the barred window.

Whispers sounded in the room and then Obediah appeared.  His eyes made contact with mine to thank me for helping to get his youngest free.  Then reaching through the bars to clasp his son's hand he whispered, "Son, run. Run and be free.  Go on, boy, and know that I'll always love you." He then let go his son's hand and continued, "We will see each other again.  God will see to that. Now run, boy. Run."

My Nathan's heart was breaking but he knew he had to go and whispered back brokenly, "I love you too, Daddy.  I'll come back for you!"

I then led my child out of slavery.

JUNE 5, 1860 to JUNE 25, 1860

That first night I had to encourage and push my child to put distance between Lucifer and him.  Lucifer had known that he escaped, but I would see to it that he would fail in capturing my warrior healer.

That night I led my charge to a hollow tree where he would be invisible to anyone who might come across him and kept him warm the whole night.  The next morning I led him to a field where wild strawberries grew and he picked enough to see him through a couple of days.

Days and nights followed in the same pattern until we came across slave hunters and I had to take physical form in order to help my charge.  I knew a grown white man would be feared but a child would not cause any fear.  I materialized a short distance from him and when he was about to move and be discovered by the slavers I grabbed his shoulders.

Nathan spun, ready to fight when he saw me.  I put my finger to my lips, silently telling him to be quiet and motioning him to follow me.  Taking his hand I led him around the various patrols and hid him when it was required.  I tried to leave him at sunset but he kept me from leaving, fearing that I could be hurt.  I was so proud of my little one, for he saw beyond my skin color to see a child that need protection.  I stayed with him till he fell asleep and then I left, blurring his memory of me so that all he could remember were my eyes.

The next morning my Nathan tried to find me and almost got caught by a patrol.  Fearing for my child I called out for him to hide and be still.  For some reason he heard me and did as I asked.  The next day I delivered my child into Tess's hands who would help him to get to Boston and freedom.   That night I returned to Obediah and told him his son was free.

APRIL 25, 1875

I watched as my two charges played a game of chess, each perfectly comfortable with each other and the beautiful spring day.  I simply enjoyed the presence of my two boys, watching as a friendship blossomed between them.  It was strange, they seemed to know each other at first glance and became fast friends, but I took joy in it anyway.

My Nathan still woke from nightmares that recalled the cries of the wounded, flashes from the cannons and other weapons, the stench of blood and sweat, and the air clouded by gunpowder.  Of watching young boys and men dying in pain and confusion and not being able to help them but only to be there so they didn't die alone.  The pain of holding down wounded men as they sawed off limbs too damaged to save without the use of morphine or any other drug.

He called himself a stretcher-bearer, but with too few doctors and nurses to care for the wounded he'd had to take on the job of sorting the wounded.  He'd helped to determine which ones were beyond saving, who had to see the doctors, and which ones could be helped by him or one of his fellow healers.  I was so proud of him as he worked to save lives, not caring that these men were from the north or south but only men who needed help.

Unknown to my Nathan, he had helped to break many of the southern soldiers' beliefs about black men and had opened their eyes to see what their pride had done.  My Nathan had saved many souls during the war, turning them from the path of destruction and hate to the path of love and hope.

I had whispered for him to come west so he could start over fresh; he'd traveled around trying to find news of his family but had found none.  I directed him to a town called Four Corners where a doctor was looking for a young man to help care for the people in town and the surrounding area.  Dr. Jennings was a good man that didn't care what skin-color a man had; only the character of the man mattered.  He knew that he had only a few years left to him and didn't want to leave his people without a doctor, and he saw in Nathan an answer to his prayers.

Dr. Jennings taught my Nathan everything he could to prepare him to take over his practice.  He also encourage Nathan curiosity about Native herbs and healing techniques practiced by the surrounding tribes.  Dr. Jennings went toe to toe with many of the bigots in town and with my Nathan's compassion for the sick and hurt they won over many of the folk in town and out.

When Dr. Jennings drew his last breath I greeted him along with Andrew and thanked him for the kindnesses he had done for my child.  He then told me that he should thank me for sending a young man that had become like a son to him.

I could feel my other children getting closer and closer, pulled here by my whispered pleas for them to go to Four Corners.  The devil was not pleased with my interference, but I would see my children together and I fought him at every turn that could prevent my family from uniting. 

Since gathering my babes together I had been seeing flashes - or more like echoes - of what might be.  True, I could not see what the future might hold for my babes, for their choices had not been made. But I knew they would form a brotherhood that would protect them from evil and help provide a safe harbor for those seeking protection, and I would make sure that this echo, this Magnificent future, would come to pass.