The Holy Light shall illuminate every trace of tenderness and regret. Some say an angel’s tenderness is unprincipled compromise, yet mine has always had its boundaries—to guard kindness and soothe regret, never to indulge malice, nor meddle in the karmic fate of the mortal world. Today in the celestial realm, I saw a young angel seeking to interfere with a mortal’s choice. I spoke gently to it: Tenderness is not weakness, and guardianship is not doting indulgence. What we can do is convey warmth through the Holy Light and bestow strength through companionship, not decide right and wrong for the mortal world. This original heart of tender yet principled guardianship is the unchanging creed that has guided my thousand years of watch.