Angels and Other Maladies

© 2013 Vivian Ditzler. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/18/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3439-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-3440-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013920554

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, places, persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Departures

Guten Tag

Cybernetic Fight

The Stranger

Letter on Fire

Boyfriend Dilemma

The Deal

Back to Clover

Confrontation, Etc.

Senior Year Detention

Ancient Book Discovery

Veil of Confusion

The Underworld

Newcomer Fever

Study Hall

Emotional Disturbance

Alexander, the Not so Great

Pitch Black Surroundings

Trick or Treat

An Angel, Impossible!

Don’t Take Sides

The Ex-Boyfriend Effect

Jealousy Bombshell

Counseling

Change of Heart

Confession Blowout

The Guardian Angel

Christmas Ball

Help me Understand

Angels and Other Maladies

Acknowledgments

Vivian Ditzler

This Book is to my Parents

Thanks

For Everything

The yoke of my transgressions was bound ~ They were woven together by His hands ~ And thrust upon my neck ~He made my strength fail ~ The Lord delivered me into the hands of those whom I am not able to withstand.

~Lamentations 1:14

1

Departures

M y mother hugs me good bye and kisses me on the forehead. Besides everything that had happened between us, I know she loves me. I can tell she disagree with my decision of me spending the entire summer with Grandma Eleanor. She doesn’t show it, but I know deep down in her heart she is upset about my choice. My decision breaks my heart, because I want to stay here especially now that I have a boyfriend and trustworthy friends, nevertheless it is necessary for all of us. I have to distance myself after everything that had happened during this past year; too much to bear. My parents divorce brought a series of unwanted events; I am not ready to accept the fact that mom and dad are separated for better or for worse. It’s been almost a year since they signed the divorce papers and began the process of moving on with their lives. And it’s been almost a year since Ryan and I moved to Clover Boarding School, still I haven’t managed to move on about my parents’ pronouncement. Shit, if I have something weird to say about what happened this past year during my stay at Clover, the list would be ridiculously extent.

For starters, I was too busy dealing with tormenting shadows thanks to my best friend and roommate Amanda Miller the moment she discovered the box underneath my bed, which contained the many letters I wrote to my Guardian Angel. This cataclysmic event leads to the aperture of my Pandora’s Box. Shadows that have been in my life for quite a while and for what reason? I do not know the answer, well I think I have a clue… not really… all I know is they want me dead, dead as of extinguished, erased, deceased, as of my body and soul departed from this planet. So yep, no pressure. To make things more interesting I had to deal with stuck up bitches that had no other things to do than to pester my life with their presence and vicious intentions, with dilemmas like that I honestly didn’t had the time to even bother thinking about my life outside Clover. My life at the moment is chaos in the aftermath, for that reason I have to put some distance between my family and my friends. I need to reflect on a solution away from this chaos.

Suddenly, my reverie was interrupted when Ryan my little twin brother (by only a minute and thirty seven seconds) smacked me on the head with his cap.

What the hell! I snapped at him rubbing my head.

Sister, time to let go of your belongings including your shoes and surrender to the TSA. Ryan responded with a scrawny smile, I knew he wanted to spend more time with me, yet again after all that happened between us at Clover. I took my shoes off, checking my pockets for any metallic gadgets. Ryan handed the laptop and carryon bag. Placing my belongings inside the plastic tray I looked up at my dear brother squeezing him tightly.

Are you going to be okay? I asked apprehensive.

Yes my adorable sister. Don’t worry about me; the Crystal euphoria is almost out of my system. You know me… I will forget eventually… too bad is her loss. He pealed of laughter returning the affection; by the way, when did he grow like ten inches more than me? Geez, he is freaking tall!

As long as you keep your word about forgiving me for been an asshole, I’m okay with the after effects. He responded waiting for a confirmation of some sort. I blew him a kiss, the only person that managed to be with me during departure, sighed all jaded and turned towards the x-ray machine; disturbing, we are all treated like criminals at the airport these days.

My poor little brother, he has been the guinea pig of Crystal Coleman and her macabre plan to ruin my life. The Crystal enchanted hates me with passion, the second I put a foot in Clover she was determined to brake me down. I had never understood why, until recently when I discovered the core of such hatred was none other than Zadk Giordano, my boyfriend. Crystal born with a crush towards Zadk, but he has always been attracted to me. Poor Crystal the bimbo, she thought that becoming Ryan’s girlfriend and digging any dirty little secret about me would give her what she needed to destroy me for good. Unfortunately, her Machiavellian plan backfired, because that’s not how the story ended. Crystal found out a vague rumor about the shadows, not understanding the seriousness of the situation, of course there is not much this bully in Louis Vuitton shoes could possibly know about anything, she is dumb and stupid. Crystal contemplated I would received an expulsion by using my brother against me, thinking that I will lose my cool and messed up; an expulsion that never happened. She anticipated a breakup between Zadk and me the moment he found out about my mental instability, which my boyfriend never did. However, the story went differently:

1.   Ryan slipped to Crystal my drama regarding some kind of hallucinations with shadows.

2.   Crystal rat-out to Zadk about my psychological unbalance and the shadows dementia in which Zadk understood and supported me instead of dumping me.

3.   The situation became chaotic when Crystal provoked me by pure desperation during school, making me vulnerable to the monster toad Sister Murphy, the ugliest and meanest teacher at Clover.

4.   When the bombshell exploded, Crystal broke my brother’s heart during the Spring Break Bonfire by confessing out loud her deep feelings for Zadk. Humiliating Ryan in front of my friends, causing a chain reaction where my brother ended up humiliating me instead.

5.   I ran away from pandemonium making things even worse when Crystal followed me into the woods. The moment I got lost and disoriented, that’s the moment when darkness falls upon us leading to an almost fatal encounter. The shadows were there awaiting the opportunity to take me, Crystal was obviously in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong enemy. She became a casualty of this disaster. The shadows took hold of her, dismantling her mind or perhaps her soul. In the commotion I confronted the shadow in order to salvage Crystal’s mangled body. I discovered by pure act of futile bravery that the shadow was once an angel now fallen and distorted.

6.   In the end, Crystal was barely alive. I almost lose the battle with these creatures, but my Guardian Angel appeared in the last second to save me from doom.

That night replayed inside my head like a movie trailer, giving me the goose bumps. I shivered by the horrifying experience. Now as a result, Crystal’s soul might be lost forever. We have no idea until what extent the shadow damaged her mind. I cannot wait to hear from my second best friend Mark Norwood, the super intelligent and know it all. He promised me to do some research about the subject matter and to keep an eye on Crystal. So far all we know is that her parents took her back to Martha’s Vineyard and that she never finished the school year.

The music on my iPod stops by the incoming call. I checked the screen coming back to my reality. I was submerged in my own recollection of events loosing track of time and space. I was sitting by myself at the gate waiting to be called to board the flight to Frankfurt International. Amanda’s name materialized on the screen.

Hey how are you? Sorry for not being there with you, but you should know by now that my parents oppose our friendship.

Don’t worry about it, I understand.

Oh Liz, I’m missing you already, and Mark, and Zadk, and the school. Can you believe it, I miss Clover Boarding School. Amanda confessed with a hint of exasperation in her voice.

I must be delirious, I miss the school too. As for you guys I don’t think I’m gonna make it. As soon as I get on the plane I feel like my life is over. I admitted at last that this hideous school got into my skin. Sadness engulfed me, the airport was full of people and yet I felt lonelier than ever.

Did you talk to Zadk regarding our latest discovery? Amanda was anxious to know.

No! I think that picture is just a glitch. He is my boyfriend for crying out loud. I can tell you for a fact he is real, human and not a possible angel taken out of an ancient book. Even though he kisses so heavenly good with the little extras in between you might think he could possibly be. I grinned daydreaming about Zadk and his glorious kisses.

Okay I don’t need to hear about your unseemly acts with your boyfriend. By the way, did you hear anything about Crystal?

Nothing. The last time we all saw Crystal; she had been carried out of Walden Pond in Zadk’s arms out of harm’s way (me). I feel bad for everything Amanda. I know she has been a total bitch with me this past year, but that is no motive to be pleased about. If she hasn’t followed me into the woods that night, none of this would have ended so badly. My heart was full of guilt and regrets.

Elizabeth O’Connor this is not your fault. You have to remember the shadows are to blame. This is only bad luck. Regardless of what happened we should pray for her prompt recovery. Mark told me that she is home and her parents are not allowing any visitors.

Knowing that she is back home only ignites my curiosity about Zadk. They are neighbors and he was the most affected when the tragedy occurred, I wonder if he had the opportunity to see her. My head started to race at the speed of light with unnecessary assumptions. Jealousy started to build up in my blood, and then it all crashed when the blood reached my stubborn pumping heart. Loneliness was burning inside me like a furnace in the middle of a freezing winter. He couldn’t make it today, just to say farewell to his girlfriend. Actually, the last time I saw him was on our last day of school a week ago. This is just devastating.

Amanda I’ve got to go. I guess we could have a chat whenever we can minus the time difference. I didn’t felt like talking anymore.

Okay, you take care. Have a nice flight and please let me know as soon as you get there. I need to be at peace you made it all right. Amanda said good-bye like six times until eventually I hang up on her.

I don’t know why but I have this feeling that the aftermath between the shadows, Crystal and me has left a deep scar between Zadk and I. Somehow our relationship has suffered a catastrophic event, where the wounds are going to be very hard to mend. ‘Once the glass is shattered there is no going back, until it breaks in thousand pieces and the only thing one can do is to discard it and get a new one. You could at least try and salvage the shattered glass, but it will cost dearly, because when you fill it up, the glass will leak. And when you try to drink from it, your lips will bleed. No matter how much you try, the end result will be the same.’ Okay, that’s it! Enough, right now is not the time to duel on the possibilities, I need to stay positive. We love each other very much. I hate summer vacation!

The voice on the intercom announces its time for me to board the plane, my heart flip flop no longer interested in anything, only because of having been overexposed to everything. It is absolutely exhausted of too much bullshit. People say the last thing you lose is hope and I held to it with claws, expecting my super hot boyfriend here beside me with a good-bye kiss. All I received were the disastrous news that ‘hope’ was all but jiggery-pokery, a big slap on the face, an illusion of the foolish heart. My life was over now that hope went down the drain. I realized that is nothing more than reality check telling me how cruel life is. I managed to drag my feet towards the gate. Patricia smiled at me from ear to ear, yes, did I forgot to mention that Patricia would be my escort for the duration of the flight. My beloved mother marked me as an unaccompanied minor. Yes! She was my incarnated shadow for the next eight or nine hours. Whoop-de-doo!!

At least I gave my mother kudos for booking a first class seat. With a pair of blindfolds, my iPod, and a cozy blanket for sure I will be sleeping like a newborn baby during the flight. Well, I demanded my wake-up call Patricia to bother me only when dinner and breakfast were to be served. Now that’s a more natural gesture. Patricia’s fake smile disappeared to a more I’m pissed off with this stupid rich girl smile. That a girl!

Once at the airport, I walked with passport in hand and waited in line for customs. There were two lines, one for visitors and the other for residents. I wish I could be a resident because that line went faster. The polizei at the station asked me my motives to be here. I explained briefly I’ve come to visit my grandmother for the summer, he responded very serious, welcome to Germany and handed me the passport. I picked my suitcase waving good bye to Patricia that was more than happy to release me to my grandmother. Once outside, the air felt cleaner and fresh. Everything was somehow different the cars, the roads, and every building in the area. I loved the architecture, in particular the hotel in the shape of a cruise ship. My Grandma squeezed me tenderly; it has been years since we shared quality time together I was super exited. Somehow her presence is always soothing, her smile is contagious, and her charisma makes you instantly happy. On our way back to her village, I had to embrace myself she was driving faster for an old lady. The tachometer was passing the hundreds mph,

Slow down Granny, you’re driving like a maniac. I pleaded and her response was torturing.

Darling we don’t have speed limit on the Autobahn. Don’t worry just relax we have like an hour drive with traffic, home is about eighty miles southwest. She was laughing out loud surprised by my panic reaction. She expects me to relax when she is doing a hundred and twenty behind the wheel. Please!

The scenery of Europe was indeed a refreshing transformation for my aching heart. Departure has been torturing plus the much needed time out from the drama motivated me to enjoy this moment. I sighed with relief,

Is everything okay? Granny asked me noticing the tremendous sighing that came from deep within.

Yes Granny, you have no idea how much I need it this change of scenery. I replied content and satisfied with my decision. She immediately squeezed my hand grinning with pleasure; I turned my head towards the window devouring every single detail this beautiful place has to offer.

2

Guten Tag

G ranny’s house is very cute. A low-German house or Fachhallenhaus is a type of timber framed farmhouse, now updated with the commodities of the 21 st century, the house is really small with a gable roof and a well manicured front garden. Every window and door in the house have Rolladen s – a metal curtain I think to protect the house from intruders like a fortress, but Granny says is to block the light especially during the summer nights. The house is comfortable with many impressive pieces of furniture; mostly antiques. One thing I dislike about this house is the lack of closet space. Instead each room is decorated with a shrunk for storage. It is a different way of living, simple and modest. I have spent only two days in Granny’s house and I already fallen in love with this country.

Go visit the neighbor. They’re Americans with a teenage daughter, I think your age. You go while I fix something to eat. Granny stated, after a long silence from my part, Okay I go with you. She responded.

We went through the backyard; she had a vegetable garden with plenty of apple trees and a plum tree around the perimeter. Also a BBQ area with comfy chairs and the famous beer table for eating succulent meals outdoors, it was lovely. I texted Amanda before she reprehended me for not reporting my status. "Amanda just checking – in, I made it just fine. Sorry for the delay. TTYL 28355.png " and then click send. We meet the neighbors, they were a military family station in Germany, the Military Base was close by (that’s where my Granny works) their daughter Karen Russell was charming; she had the power to delight or attract people by the first impression. I’m glad I could make a new friend minus the drama. All happening away from my obscured reality, I reminded myself over and over that I was on vacation from everything that tormented my existence. The only problem was Zadk, that asshole hasn’t texted me yet. What’s wrong with him? This crisis is driving me insane!

I’m glad to have someone to spend the summer with. Most of my friends PCS right after school and the few left are traveling which really sucks, because my parents work and this year they couldn’t accommodate vacation time in their schedule. Karen interrupted my disoriented head.

What is PCS? I didn’t understand her military lingo.

Oh! That stands for – permanent change of station – is practically when people receive orders to move somewhere else. She smiled as if I asked the silliest question ever.

While I was sitting in Granny’s backyard with Karen, my cell phone buzzed with a text message. It