My guardian angel

When Woman’s Woman’s World World reader Mary Clark of Wilmington, North Carolina, asked the angels for a sign from her brother, they gave her a muchneeded smile! She writes:

My older brother, Ron, and I were always very close, and when he passed away, I was completely brokenhearted.

Ron was a real prankster and especially loved playing tricks on me on my birthday. Giving me gift-wrapped empty boxes was a favorite gag. One year, he even reset all the clocks in my house.

On the eve of my first birthday after he had passed, I was feeling particularly low. It would not be the same without Ron. My tears fell as I asked the angels to give me a sign that my brother was nearby.

That night, I was up late working to meet a deadline. Just as the clock struck midnight, I heard what sounded like a bomb going off in my kitchen. My heart pounding, I ran into the room and was shocked to see water on the floor and running down the walls, fridge and microwave.

At first, I thought the water line to my refrigerator ice maker had burst. Then

I saw the large bottle of club soda I had just bought sitting on my counter. It was now empty with a long jagged rip down its side.

How bizarre! I thought. Still overcome with sadness, I was now irritated too. How unfair that my first birthday without my brother had begun with a big mess.

Sighing, I started mopping up, and that’s when I saw the photo lying in the puddle on the floor. I had many pictures on my fridge, but only one had been blown off by the force of the exploding bottle.

Picking up the snapshot, I saw it was a picture of Ron and me lifting my red canoe onto the roof of my Jeep. I remembered how we had laughed that day as muddy water dripped down our faces while we struggled with the canoe. As I gazed at the picture, suddenly I felt Ron’s loving presence.

You did this, I laughed through tears, realizing the angels had answered my prayer.

Over the years I’d left countless bottles of club soda on my countertop without any of them ever bursting. Surely, the angels had orchestrated the event, helping my brother play one of his trademark pranks to make me laugh— and what a wonderful birthday gift it was!

“The angels gave me the perfect birthday gift!”