"Ann" by ARK

As she gracefully descended from Heaven, I laughed and said to myself: "Ha. Looks like they finally kicked her out."

Ann. The wish-granting angel.

She's the best angel in town. (Aside from me and Dev, of course. Not to mention the fact that we are the only angels in this town.)

But even then, when we lived there on top of the clouds, she never failed to catch my attention.

Why? Because she's the very opposite of how an angel should be. Hyper, energetic, adventurous and just a little bit crazy. She's just like Dev, only without the horns and the tail.

But she's also cute, and funny, and she always had the wildest ideas. She was unpredictable, and so very different from the usual boring angels up there.

Her job as a wish-granter is to give them to the humans who deserve it. Dev and I are in charge of watching and protecting humans from harm. Ann is one of those angels who made sure everyone is happy.

She has the tendency to break the limits of her job description. She grants wishes here and there, no matter how deserving those people are.

She grants silly, nonsensical wishes just for the heck of it. She grants serious, heartfelt requests with compassion.

And I have never met an angel like her before.

Apparently she grants wishes for deserving angels too. But with our magical talents, that was almost never necessary. The only thing I wanted from her was to stay by her side a lot, because I enjoyed her company.

"Hey Ark!" she said, as cheerfully as ever.

We were never friends. We were less than acquaintances back then. I could only adore her from a distance.

But as you can see, she's friendly to everyone.

"Hello." I smiled and welcomed her to Jen's humble apartment. "What brings you to this wonderful planet?"

"Is it really wonderful?" she countered, just for the sake of countering. "Just kidding. I've been here a few times, and it's an okay place."

ARK: "Are you gonna stay for good?”

ANN: "Maybe. There are an awful lotta wishes to grant. The people here are depressed!"

ARK: "So you'll stay here until you make everybody happy?"

ANN: "That's impossible. But I'll do what I can."

My heart was racing. She is by far the biggest crush I've ever had. And she was far from perfect, but I never did want perfection. She's beautiful the way she is...she always was.

ARK: "So... maybe..."

ANN: "Maybe what?"

ARK: "Maybe you can start by making me happy."

She smiled.

ANN: "You want me to grant you a wish?"

ARK: "Yes. Though I'm not sure if I deserve one..."

ANN: "Of course you do. C'mon, what is it?"

She made a cupcake appear from thin air, and grabbed it. Just as she was about to take a bite, I told her my wish.

ARK: "Stay here. With us... I do not know why, but you are such an amazing person to me. I would be so happy if I could spend more time with you. Stay with me."

She smiled again...she almost laughed, actually. Instead of eating the cupcake, she handed it to me.

ANN: "Eat that."

ARK: "Umm, no thanks, I'm full."

ANN: "Just do it."

I took a bite of the most delicious cupcake ever. It was magical-- a flavor I never knew existed.

And then I just knew my wish has been granted.