-----As Gloria perched atop the steeple cross, gazing over her hometown, she remembered how she had become the temporary replacement for Michael, the Archangel.

-----Simply put, like his Father, Michael needed a rest every once in a while himself. And he had come to her, randomly chosen out of those most qualified to bear his burden while he enjoyed a long-deserved vacation.

-----There had been a brief problem with having to become a male (since that was the image everyone recognized in relation to Michael), but it was easier to accept the duty after a little beautification. And, now, she was doing Michael's work, as Michael, while he was away.

-----Yeah, it wasn't all that much of a big deal... Not that she wasn't overjoyed to be able to help people on a higher level, because she liked helping people, often volunteering to help for one thing or another, starting or donating to charities, et cetera: she just wasn't much of a religious person.

-----Well, at least her choices in life don't seem to be "wrong", in the sense that she'll end up in Hell. She'll just continue to live how she always did once the real Michael returns to his job; he'd only be gone for one day. Which was a thousand human years... She wondered if she could handle his job for that long.