Foley's Tails From Rainbow Bridge: Searching for Hope

 

A prayer request came from seemingly nowhere. It could not be traced back to any person, animal, or even an instinct. The Power That Be assigned me, who has an excellent record of making dream wishes come true.

But this was going to be my most difficult case.

Because this prayer was only four words long

“Help me find hope.”

I assumed that Hope was a pet, so I assigned Pocket to check the missing pet prayer hotline. She found four missing animals named Hope, and we returned two cats, a parrot, and a cockapoo to their families.

I went to sleep knowing I had done the impossible again.

But. the next morning there was a prayer in my inbox. ‘’Help me find hope.’’

I asked Pocket to see if there were any people named Hope that recently went missing, but there were none.

Who was this Hope?

‘’Maybe it's not a living thing,’’ Pocket said.

I didn’t have time for Pocket’s silly theories. I needed to think so I threw Pocket’s ball for her to chase but she did not move. She must be serious. I tried to hide the annoyance in my voice when I asked how someone would want to find something that didn’t exist. 

‘Emily Dickerson said hope is the thing with feathers?’’ Pocket has become very well-read since transitioning to the Immortal side.

‘’There are a billion things here with feathers. Am I supposed to visit that big chicken coup in the sky and ask if any of the chicken's names is Hope?’’ This was a dangerous proposition. Most of the chickens hold a grudge because they were killed for food and every soul at the Bridge ate them. Chickens carry a grudge and I don’t blame them. Very few chickens die from natural causes.

Pocket explained that hope lived in our minds. It is what we have when we have lost everything else. The dogs wasting away in shelters with little chance of adoption have hope, those being held against their will hope, in the worst places, from German concentration camps to the top floors of the Trade Center on 9/11 they had hoped to keep them going, even if they went into the dark.

And that is when I knew.

We were born with hope, and we cling to it as we die. It stays near us while we live in case needed.

‘’I may know how to find hope,’’ I said. ‘’But I don’t know who asked,’’ I said.

Pocket looked at me wisely and said it probably came from a dream, of someone who didn’t know what hope it but does now.

Pocket at improved a lot since becoming an angel

So my advice is, whatever hope is, hold on to it. You are given it at birth, and never lose hold of it, no matter how dark things become.