First of all, I would like to say that the fact than I speak of an angel in this document is only because I don't see what else it could have been. I do believe in a higher authority, but am not sure what it is. I grew up in a Protestant household and was very religious for many years. It doesn't matter to me whether anyone believes what I am about to say or not, I did experience this.
I am an expat (US) living in Amsterdam. In 1997, I found myself in a very bad relationship. I shared a flat with my boyfriend. He was an illegal alien (absolutely NO pun intended!!), and had no work. I took him in because he had no place to go (not entirely true, it would later come out, but c'est la vie). I was very unhappy at home. Fortunately, I have a full time job that I love (I am a legal translator), so there was at least one bright spot in my life. He did nothing, except the daily shopping. When we first met, he was very caring, cleaned, helped out generally. To make a long story short, he was very self-centered and I became very unhappy.
One summer afternoon, I was sitting in my living room, feeling sorry for myself. I smoked a joint (and no, I do not believe my experience was drug induced. I was quite wide awake) and sat on the sofa, staring at the closed curtains across the room. I was at the end of my rope. I had asked him to leave, but he had no place to go. (Hmmmm....). Suddenly, I had the feeling that someone else was in the room (he had gone out for the day). I 'felt', rather than 'saw' a light behind me. Just as I was about to turn, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Then a female voice. 'Don't turn around, but don't be afraid.' My fear was immediately replaced by a feeling of extreme peace, and comfort. The voice went on. 'We've been watching you, and we're concerned' (that is literally what I heard). 'We just wanted to let you know that everything is going to be ok.' I longed to turn my head and see what or who was speaking to me, but this was somehow prevented. I could not turn my head. I heard some noise behind me, I don't want to say rustling, because then everyone will think that I think I was visited by an angel. I don't know what it was, but I was touched and moved by the visitation. I did tell a girlfried about it, and started to cry when I did.
A few days later, I finally decided to kick my boyfriend out. Things have been going great ever since. Maybe it was my subconscious talking to me, but how can my subconscious touch me on the shoulder, make noise?
I would like to correspond with others who have had a similar experience. I must reiterate that I don't know what or who visited me. I do believe in life elsewhere in the galaxy, but haven't quite formulated any ideas about who or what may be out there. Look forward to hearing from believers/sceptics. I would also like to say that only serious replies will be answered. I've no time for people who use e-mail as an opportunity to be witty or rude.