It was a bit strange, and I admit it, disheartening, to return to Earth after the celebrations in heaven. I have said, again and again, that I love the Garden, as we all do. I even feel it is not unfair of me to say that my fascination with the human realm exceeds that of many of my fellow angels. But until what was Stolen is reclaimed, Earth can never possess the full beauty that it was meant to hold.
In comparison to the pure joy and hope that comes from honoring our Counselor, Earth seems cold and grim. Even my own assignments, people I have come to see as lights in the dark, quarrel and make mistakes and hurt one another. Pamela is not the only one who struggles with the Enemy’s influence—all of my charges feel his touch now and again. I choose not to write about these moments most of the time, because I wish to show in my work the good that is in them, and not the bad. But it is there. It is always there.
This is why I was grateful for the warning from our seniors. All of us who have never had to return to work after the celebrations were gathered together so we could be braced for that return. Zezette herself took the time to speak to us, saying that we have been desensitized to the darkness while we were in heaven, that it would perhaps be difficult to return.
“But you are needed, make no mistake,” she told us. “Christmas is perhaps the only season in which so many angels can leave the Garden and not return to disaster, but many of you will find that your absence has resulted in negative effects. You may have to work harder than ever, and you may find yourselves fighting despair.” She smiled then and spread her wings, all five gleaming with the light of her long service to the Father-King. “But know this—it is a simple matter of letting your eyes adjust. You will see the light again soon. Do not lose hope. Thanks to our Counselor, the outcome of the battle is already decided.”
She was right about negative effects—I have much work to be done, and I should return to it. I wished only to let you know, my sisters and brothers, that though I feel the difference, I will not let it affect my work. Even with the season of joy behind us, I will find the light again, and so shall you.