Above Our Pay Grade
This cosmos contains things that are beyond our understanding and kept a secret until some perplexing forces make them known to us, possibly as a symbol or warning.
It is not uncommon for a marriage to be like that from time to time. In the eyes of some, Angela Haye's union was the pinnacle of perfection. However, there were a few secrets that could only be revealed by an enigmatic, powerful force.
The Story Of The Hayes
John and Angela Hayes lived in Arizona and seemed to be the perfect couple. They had everything going for them: they had been high school sweethearts in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Then, John moved to Phoenix for university, but they continued dating. Angela followed him and also enrolled in the University of Phoenix a couple of years later. They married shortly after John’s graduation and lived happily after.
The Perfect Couple
They had been living in Phoenix ever since then and were very well-known and appreciated in their community. Everyone who knew them thought they were the very image of a happy couple.
They found their high school sweethearts story endearing, like the type of thing you see in the movies. But every marriage has its secrets. And at some point, they would have to come out in one way or another.
Suspicions
In all fairness, Angela had always had certain thoughts in the back of her mind. Sometimes, she felt like there was a side of John that she didn’t really know.
She felt like there was some part of John’s personality that he had never introduced her to. She always had that feeling ever since they started dating back in high school.
A Strange Feeling
Back then, Angela didn’t have the experience or maturity to be able to word that feeling or be fully aware of it. But as years passed, shortly after she started university and John graduated, that suspicion became stronger.
She couldn’t put her finger on what exactly could be making her feel that way. She would only find out years later.
Something Hidden
It wasn’t like she distrusted John; he was the kindest, most wholesome man she had ever met. He had always treated her like a princess and demonstrated his strength of character and compassion time and time again.
Maybe that was the problem. Perhaps it was all too good to be true. But what could John be hiding from Angela?
Was It All A Front?
She had never caught her husband in any compromising predicament, and he had never given her any reasons to suspect that he might be doing something behind her back.
But sometimes, this added even more to her suspicions. Sometimes she wondered if that appearance of irreproachability was just a front polished and perfected for years. Little did she know, she was about to find out.
They Went On A Hike
John worked as a financial consultant in one of Phoenix city’s big firms; he had been granted a few days of vacation, and he and Angela had decided to take a little leisure hike in the outskirts.
Little did they know that their sense of normalcy would be shaken forever by that trip. Nothing would ever be the same again.
Everything Seemed To Be Going Well
At first, the hike seemed to be everything they had been hoping for: fresh air and beautiful sights, far away from the stress and noise of the city. They finally had the chance to relax, enjoy each other’s company and have some quality time together.
But what seemed to be a bucolic scene would soon become a dramatic episode that would threaten everything they thought they knew about marriage, life, and the universe.
But Something Unexpected Happened
They both were climbing their way up along a crag. John was going first and letting Angela know which were the best shortcuts and rocks to grab to make her way easier.
But suddenly, something unexpected happened. John heard a thud behind him. Alarmed, he looked back, and what he saw made his heart stop.
Angela Had Fallen
Angela had fallen to the ground from a significant height, and she was not moving. With bated breath, John climbed down the crag to see if his wife was alright.
But she had lost consciousness. What had started as a pleasant weekend on the hills had become a nightmare. John called the emergency services and prayed for a miracle.
They Took Her To The Hospital
The ambulance arrived, and the first thing the paramedics did was perform CPR on Angela. But the prospects looked grim. Immediately, Angela was carried to the closest hospital.
But Angela’s heart stopped right before she could get taken to the emergency room. Everyone feared the worst.
Several Resuscitation Attempts
There was still one last resource. One of the EMTs brought out a defibrillator and tried to restart Angela’s heart. For a few seconds, that seemed to work. But then her heart stopped again.
They tried a second time, and the same thing happened. They tried a third time, but Angela’s heart stopped again. Everyone was almost ready to give up.
It Was Not Working
After six attempts of resuscitation, Angela’s heart kept stopping. Everyone on the medical team was already thinking about how to break up the bad news to John.
But then, suddenly, something happened that everyone thought was impossible. Angela’s vital functions started working again, and she slowly started coming back to life. Would she manage to come back all the way through?
She Had Something To Say
After recovering consciousness, Angela seemed extraordinarily serene, considering what she had just gone through. But there was one reason for that. She had to give one important message. Or better, two.
She was still unable to talk, so she asked for a pen and paper and started scribbling something.
Angela’s Message
Her hands were trembling as she wrote her message; it was hard for the doctors and John to decipher her scribbles, but they were about to find out what she was trying to say.
After a few hours, once she was able to speak, Angela uttered the word: “Lorraine”. And when John heard that name, he instantly felt his stomach drop to his knees.
What Was The Matter?
Angela was experiencing a strong feeling of elation. Later, she explained that she had had a vision of heaven. A figure of a man wearing a long robe had come close to her. Instantly, she knew it was Jesus.
But he came with a woman, and it took Angela a while to see who she was: it was her sister Lorraine, dead 7 years ago. “I’m so happy here,” she said to her in the vision.
Lorraine
Lorraine and Angela used to be like two peas in a pod. Her sister and her husband were the two most important people in Angela’s life.
Lorraine wasn’t only someone she was related to by blood: she was her best friend, her confidant, and a shoulder to cry on. She was three years older than her, and she had guided her through adolescence and young adulthood.
Pillar Of Strength
There were a few differences between the two sisters, aside from age; Angela had always been kind of a homebody, while Lorraine was a lot more adventurous.
Since they were teenagers, Lorraine always had a more complete perspective of life and a lot more life experience than Angela. She had gone through many things, and anytime Angela encountered a problem in life, she could be sure that Lorraine had already gone through something similar.
Guidance
She always used her knowledge to give her sister advice and guidance. Angela could never forget all her sister had done for her.
She could never forget all those evenings together in her bedroom, crying about some problem which, as Lorraine would show her without fail, wasn’t that big of a deal. When her big sister passed away, Angela’s world came tumbling down.
A Car Accident
It happened in a tragic car accident. Lorraine was coming back from a late shift at work and, apparently, fell asleep at the wheel in the middle of the night.
The following morning, Angela received a call. After she heard about the disaster, her head started spinning, and she broke down. She couldn’t believe Lorraine was gone.
Grief
It took her years to get over the grief, to come to terms with the fact that her biggest supporter, her pillar of strength, and one of the people she loved the most, could no longer be with her.
Only God knew what would have happened to Angela if she didn’t have John by her side when the tragic incident occurred. However, when he heard that name, different thoughts came to John’s mind.
John’s Past
John knew about Angela’s sister and how deep their bond was, but he had never seen her in person. The woman traveled around a lot for business, and John never had the chance to see her at a family function.
However, now he immediately remembered a particular episode of his past, something he had never told anyone about.
Someone Else
When John heard that name, he thought about a completely different person. He remembered that woman called Lorraine with whom he had a one-night affair years ago while out on a business trip.
It had been the only time he had cheated on Angela and even the only woman he had ever slept with apart from her wife. It happened when they were dating, a year before John proposed to Angela.
Two Reactions
Angela was ecstatic. She had been grieving for her sister Lorraine since she died in a car accident years ago. But now she knew that Jesus was with her and she was alright.
Angela was a religious woman, and this vision strengthened her faith. But at the same time, there was something very different on John’s mind.
Bated Breath
Angela told John and the medical team about what she had just seen. As she found out later, visions of the afterlife and deceased family members are a relatively common occurrence among people who go through near-death experiences.
John listened to his wife’s story about her vision with bated breath, his mind filled with thoughts about Lorraine.
Guilt
John felt guilty. Now, after Angela’s description of her vision, he was positive that the woman he had slept with years ago was, unknowingly, his wife’s sister.
He had been carrying the guilt of that encounter for years and never said anything about it to any living soul. But now, he saw it was even worse than he thought. He felt the guilt like a thousand knives puncturing his flesh.
Driving Back Home
Angela’s and John’s attitudes while they were driving back home, were the image of stark contrast. Angela was absolutely elated, more strengthened in her faith, and glad to see that her sister was in a better place.
But John stayed silent. He was still having a hard time coming to terms with the revelation that he had, in fact, cheated on his wife with her sister.
John Broke Down
Finally, after they came back home from the hospital, John couldn’t bear it anymore, and he broke down. He confessed to Angela about his past affair, swore that it had been just one night and that he didn’t know it was her sister.
Angela was shocked by the confession. While John cried, kneeling in front of his wife, she remained silent for a while and then said some words.
Angela’s Resolution
She forgave her husband, despite his outrageous infidelity. If there was something she had learned from her vision, it was this: she had been right in her religious beliefs. There was an afterlife, there was a superior, magnanimous good, and it was her duty to be righteous and forgiving.
After this episode, the Hayes were more united than ever and became strengthened in their compromise, their beliefs, and their values. In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.