ENCOUNTER WITH AN ANGEL

It was in 1997, before the start of the Mobile Phone era in India. We were travelling by our car to Palakkad, about 6 hours drive. We were going to Palakkad Engineering college for my daughter's joining there the next day. I was driving.  My wife, son, and daughter were with me. It was about 8 at night. The area where we were passing through at that time was a hilly terrain--ups and downs with a number of sharp bends. It started drizzling.  There were large stretches and miles of rubber or teak wood plantations at either side of the road.  No houses nearby. Pitch darkness except for our headlights. Occasionally some long distance buses and lorries were passing by. The situation was like what we read in horror books --- pitch darkness, at the dead of the night, thick forest, rain, no humans around, dead silence except for the crying of owls etc---but no, situation was not that bad, but bad enough if our car breaks down. But that was exactly what happened! Our car stalled, and stopped. It would not move. We were terrified and out of options.

Suddenly, from darkness a drunkard appeared.  While trying to balance himself on the ground, he studied the situation with what sense he had left of him. He was trying to stop the passing vehicles for a lift, none of them stopped. He finally attempted to stop a mini lorry.  He got into it and offered me a lift to get the mechanic from the nearest place he knows--- God knows where! I was afraid to go with the drunkard, but more afraid to leave my family in the pitch darkness. Entrusting my family and car to God, I went with him in the mini lorry in search of a mechanic. After travelling about two kilometers he brought me to a workshop. The mechanic was closing the shop, he would have left if we were late by a few minutes. Together we brought this mechanic back to the car.  I was relieved to find my family safe. The car was fixed in an hour. It was still drizzling when we started the car, and meanwhile the drunkard had disappeared to darkness, never to be seen again. Suddenly my eyes opened.  I knew it was an Angel. An Angel in the guise of a drunkard, to help us in our distress.

I have never read anywhere or knew that Angels can come as drunkards. We may also add to the description of Angels that not only they are beautiful, fair complexioned, blue eyes, golden hair, wings, white overflowing gowns and so on,  but some of them are ugly, in rags, black complexioned, with soiled hands and dirt under the nails, without wings, and even drunkards.

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Statutory warning---Beware Demons in Angels costumes

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