Unhuman (short story)
Walking through a multitude was the loneliest feeling he ever experienced, so many warm bodies, and he felt so cold.
December had just begun, the sun tried its best up in the sky to keep on shining through the cold winter, although no one felt its presence unless they stopped and ignored the freezing wind coming from the snowed mountains. Daylight was shortened by darkness, and people hurried home at the end of their workday as if the night released demons upon them that they could not confront.
And so, he was walking home alone, going about his trivial, boring life without any expectations or hopes. He had just got out of work and was already mentally planning his evening, with nowhere else to go, just like everyone else, although darkness did not possess any of his demons. He thought about what he would eat and what he would watch. The problem is that he had most of the afternoon free and no plans, no one to call. He had friends, but none would pause their lives to go and fill the void of time he had to kill. This was someone without hobbies or projects, all he did was work to make money and travel the world during his vacations. His free days were filled with hunting and having sex, but he did not feel like any of those that day. It was too early, and yet there was too little time to devote to those activities.
Before the thought formed in his own mind, he turned felt on the intersection, walking opposite to his home. There had been a while since he grabbed a book, he could not even remember the last time he had read anything that was not work-related. The bookstore was not totally empty, he hesitated to go in, but shook his doubts away thinking ‘get in, find a book and leave, don’t engage with people.’ Getting inside, he walked towards the classics without hesitation, feeling quite proud of himself for ignoring the horror and thriller sections. He annalized their classic offers, they had quite some length due to the bookstore’s position in relation to the university.
He picked up John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and read the synopsis, involved. The book’s feeling on his hand gave him a sense of familiarity, he wondered what other people thought of the book and how their lives were influenced. How stretchable is an author’s reach? Pouring their soul into some pages and giving it wings to go anywhere without a promise of success, there was something he could never do. Blaming it on his lack of creativity, he was a reader but could never fill a page with his own thoughts. There were no creative vanes under his skin that left tiny room for expression, how could he explain himself if there were no words, color, or sounds that helped him say what was inside his mind?
“If you never read Steinbeck, I wouldn’t start there.” A voice said beside him, interrupting his thoughts, he raised his head, and she looked into his emerald eyes surprised, there was a light in his eyes that almost took her breath away. “That book is not all that easy, and it might ruin Steinbeck for you, I’d start with To a God Unknown, here.”
The girl was handing him the book she’d named. He did not move, she smiled at him, but he could not distinguish reality from fantasy, feeling confused. She was no better but kept her composure considerably, as his hand reached for the book and touched her skinny fingers, his eyes did not leave hers. Her features were beautiful; she had a small perky nose holding up her reading glasses behind them a pair of grey eyes evaluated him curiously. He took his time to answer, no one said anything as she considered his posture and tall stature, hard features and laminated jaw, he had full red lips and looked well-built. The silence went on longer than usual for the air’s tension was palpable, there was no lust involved yet, simple curiosity reigned between them.
“I’ve read everything from Steinbeck, I was only contemplating to re-buy the book.” He finally spoke, returning both books where they belonged on the shelf.
“What’s your favorite Steinbeck work?” She was wearing leggings, seemed like she had stopped by the store after a run, with a crop top and a squared shirt around her small waist. There was no way she worked there, was the conclusion he arrived at, which meant she had another objective than selling him books. Her dark hair was pulled up in a tail, curls falling, and touching the back of her neck; she was attractive, which for him meant she had no need to start a conversation with a man.
“None, I’m not sure I even like his stories, I simply enjoy his writing.”
“What do you like about it?” She asked, following him as he walked away, for her he was a book she would never get to read again, a mystery she had to find the answer for, and there was no way she would let go of that, like a dog with a bone.
“He helps me relate to people, understand their thoughts, and motivations.” He answered even if he did not need to, contemplating going out of the shop empty-handed to avoid any further conversation. Still, just like her, he was hooked, way too interested to be able to turn his back on the situation.
“Don’t you think he has a simplistic way of seeing things?”
“And what if he does? humans aren’t as complicated as we perceive ourselves to be.”
“I believe humans are complex, more than we can explain or put into words.”
He was now looking through some English novels, acting like he was not paying attention to her words, she frowned to the riddle in front of her eyes.
“Humans want to please or be pleased, it comes down to one of those fundamental questions and nothing else, it’s quite simple.
She pondered for a while, he wished he could read her mind, but one hard rule to follow was that he should not read people’s minds, he knew better than that. He crossed his arms and looked at her, she blushed, embarrassed by her own hesitation.
“You’re very peculiar.” She finally said, crossing her arms as well.
“That makes two of us, do you work here?”
“No.”
“Then, why have you intervene on my purchase?”
“I wish people would read more, I was worried you would read that book and get turned off on reading.”
“Yeah, you said that before, but why save me from illiteracy? There are five other people here, and I’m sure minimum three of them will make a bad choice today.”
“Are you implying that I want something from you?”
“The thought has crossed your mind.”
She got flustered, and he knew he should have left, he knew exactly where it all was headed. Looking into her eyes, he could see the rest of his evening, the morning after as well, that was not enough to stop him. Certain doom did not scare a soul like his.
“I clearly made a mistake and wasted my time here.” She tried, turning around and preparing to leave him behind, silently hoping he would not let her.
“Go on and try to be unpredictable,” he chuckled pretentiously, making her more angry and determined. “I have nothing better to do tonight, let’s keep discussing human stupidity.”
She turned to him one last time and fired a questioned look onto his eyes, she wanted to leave, yet those green eyes seemed to ask her to stay more politely than his words had. She rolled her eyes and gave up.
“Fine, but only on public places.”
That had never stopped him before, but he did not tell her that, he nodded and both left the store together. No purchases were made, and yet they were not empty-handed. His voice of reason was flashing warning signs that he was too good at ignoring. He had been there before; he knew exactly how everything would play out, and even though his consciousness was trying to remind him how hard it would be to clean this mess, to pick up the pieces and move on, nothing made him change his mind. On the other hand, she was calm, certain things would play out well, it never hurt to get to know someone.
Outside the store they stopped and looked at each other, he extended his long big hand at her saying:
“My name is Wrath, what’s yours?”
“Eline, pleased to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine.” He said as he kissed her hand instead of shaking it as she had expected, even if she was just pursuing a mystery, he clearly was mistaking his curiosity with lust and pursuing her.
“How old are you?” she asked after a while, sounding like she had been pondering on the expected answer for quite some time but had no other option than to request the truth.
“What do you think?” He did not remember the answer, it has been quite some time since he needed to share that information.
“Late twenties?”
“Yes, 27. What about you?” He did not keep track of his age, could not even remember his birthdate, only needed it for documents.
“I’m 23, as of last week.”
“Congratulations, then.”
“I did not accomplish anything.” She retaliated, and he smirked, that was his opinion about birthdays as well. Although he usually did not share it with humans, it seemed even to him a bit pretentious to think that an immortal did not care about growing old. Her opinion was to him a pleasant surprise.
“That’s true, I don’t understand the human need of making a celebration out of the fact that they survived one more year on this earth. Unless you’re a child or an ancient person, there’s nothing to celebrate.”
“Exactly! Young and old people actually have something to celebrate, it’s after all harder for them to stay alive, I mean.
They smiled at each other; he felt slightly flustered, which he was not used to. Walking through the city’s park, they talked for hours, creating a bond, they had more in common than they expected. They lost track of time until the moon started to shine, stealing the sun’s place in the sky, they were utterly alone. She broke the conversation’s flow by telling him she was hungry, that was when he realized that more time had passed than he expected. He considered inviting her to his place and cooking dinner, but she had made a point about not wanting to be by herself with him, even though they were at the moment, there at the park, anyone could walk by.
“What about we go to this Mexican restaurant downtown?” She suggested before he could say anything, he simply nodded. They started to walk outside of the park and into the central train station, it was dark, but that was not why the streets were deserted, people were mainly eating by this time, and every shop or form of entertainment was closed. She did not seem afraid of walking with a stranger through the darkest part of town, leading him through downtown, which he perceived as odd and not courageous, there was something off about her, how could she not be afraid or suspecting while a man that she had just met walked her through the night. But then again, he was not the one leading, he did not suggest to walk this way or to get food downtown; she did, she was the one that wanted to be alone with him in the dark, he just could not figure out why. Was she perhaps texting him?, did she expect him to do something to her?
When they were walking through the park, she told him she was a university student, studying Religion and Mythology, she said it was what her father studied and wanted to follow his path. Having the advantage of living with her father for the past 20 years (he passed away due to cancer), her studies were going smoothly, and she was graduating that summer. She seemed excited to leave the country and go on a religious tour to the places she had read about for so long. He asked if she believed in religion and was pleased with her response, “I only believe in what I see.” She was smarter than he perceived, there was undoubtedly no god guarding earth, that much he was sure of. “I do believe people’s beliefs change their lives, and it is wonderful how much faith can do for a person.” She had added to her answer, he nodded but said nothing, she wasn’t wrong.
She had been so open during their walk, and yet he felt like she was hiding something, there was something about her that did not fit the equation, but then again he was also hiding something crucial about himself. He decided all he could do was play her game, so he answered her questions, and they kept the conversation going as they walked downtown, looking for a restaurant he even doubts existed. The road was too dark and depressing to be the host of a Mexican restaurant. It had been so long since he went out for dinner, he wouldn’t know where to eat if it came down to it, he could barely carry on a conversation with most humans, yet she made it easy, talking a lot and giving little space to awkward silences. He usually did not get out of his own way for people, he preferred his freedom, his time alone, humans were too distracting or annoying, sometimes both at the same time. But she was fascinating, she was not annoying him in any way, and his thoughts did not get mixed up in the conversation, he felt safe to be himself around her, and maybe that was the problem, he did not want to lie to her about who he was. He should not feel safe around someone who was not being honest with him, someone leading him through dark paths he never crossed before, and yet he was not afraid at all, shoulder by shoulder they walked and found the restaurant she had talked about. “Their nachos are so good, they are one of the most real restaurants around, you know when you visit a country, and you discover that the food your country offers in their name is nothing like what they really serve there?, well I had that with most restaurants, but not this one.” They walked in, and she talked with the waitress in a language he did not understand but was most likely the countries’ idiom. “As I was saying, I went to Mexico three months ago, and I stayed with some locals, I tried all the goodies they had to offer, and this place has the nearest flavors, I heard they actually import most of the food into the country, which is so worthy.”
They sat down and got offered the menu, she fell silent, and he looked through words he never saw before, cursing himself for putting off to learn Spanish for so long, thinking about how many dead languages he knew. He did not eat meat or fish, and at home, he cooked what humans called vegan, he just could not accept that humans used other animals to feed themselves, in any way, it was a form of cannibalism. Humans are animals, so feeding on a cheese made with cow milk or human milk was the same in his eyes. He learned he could not explain that to humans, they did not understand. He got excited knowing that the menu had plenty of vegan options he could choose from, which he considered unusual. “They have so many vegan plates, I never thought of this cuisine as such.”
“I know, right? One more reason to love them. They are so advanced when it comes to this, they have nachos with vegan cheese, would you like to share it as a starter? Or are you not vegan and only impressed…? She asked after seeing the surprised semblance still on his face.
“No, I mean, yes… I am a vegan and not simply impressed, I’d love to share the nachos with you.”
He was flustered now, which left him way more uncomfortable than it would a human. She simply smiled and looked through the menu one more time, looking for a main dish.
After they ordered he asked to be excused and left to go to the bathroom, he did not need to go, but he wanted to wash his face and try to make sense of what was happening to him. This girl he just met was not of this world, there was something about her that he could not place, something special. He dealt with people for a living, he studied humans for years, and he knew everything about them, nothing ever about a human had surprised him before. He knew their emotions and feelings, he knew every possible reaction, he knew exactly what to say and do to get humans to work in his best interest, and yet… when it came to her he was disarmed, she was unpredictable and so relatable. No human was ever relatable to him.
He washed his face and tried to clear his mind, looking at himself in the mirror, his short hair was oily, and he noticed he must have been sweating quite a lot, something even more unusual. His green eyes were calm and reliable, that’s how people described him at least. He was tough, and even though this girl caught him by surprise, she was but a girl, and he was exceptional in resistance.
He walked out of the bathroom and into the restaurant sitting in front of her, the nachos came, and they ate, she was drinking white wine as if it was water and soon the waitress left the bottle, he drank as well, but much slowlier, alcohol was not is favorite taste, far from it. Still, it felt good to drink something different, the kick had also kept him more centered.
She talked about her trip to Mexico while they ate, he listened, agreeing with some statements or telling her the few facts he remembered reading about the country. She told him about the country’s religion and political division, she knew a lot about what was going on there, almost as if she lived there. When they finished eating they fought over paying the bill, she backed down once he assured her that she would pay next time they went out to eat, although in his mind he did not intend to meet her again. They left and had nowhere to go, he asked her where she lived, and she said she could not tell a complete stranger her address. She had a point, but he insisted that there was no way he would let her leave by herself in that part of town.
“I don’t need your protection, but I know you mean well. I won’t tell you where I live, but you can accompany me somewhere near if you insist.”
He agreed because he had no other option, and it was better than letting her walk all the way through the darkness by herself. They started to walk, the night was as dark as they come, he was not used to walking outside during the night, he felt out of place but not her, there were too many hidden promises of mischieve available to him in the dark. She walked carefreely and confidently. He asked if she was cold, she denied his jacket but thanked him, after a while of walking they heard a sound, like a muffled scream, he tried to stand in front of her, separating her from whatever danger was hiding in the dark alley the sound came from. Another strange sound followed, and even though they could not recognize what it was out of experience, they knew what was happening. He wanted to barge in the alley and help whoever was in danger, who sounded like a woman, but he did not want to leave Eline if it meant putting her in harm’s way.
“You stay here, hide, I’ll be right back,” he told her, slowly moving towards the sound, trying not to make a sound, but she stopped him and told him to stay with her, he looked her in the eyes, and there was no fear in her cold eyes, which left him confused.
“It’s better if we don’t get involved.”
“Someone needs our help, we have to help.” He said, confused by her words.
She looked around and bit her lower lip, the endangered woman seemed to try to scream as a male voice said: “Stay quiet!” Triggering Wrath, he made her a sign to wait and ran after the sound, deciding to catch the offender by surprise, he knew he should not hurt humans, but he could undoubtedly scare one away.
“Leave her alone!” he screamed, pushing the guy into the ground, big enough to seriously hurt him, but he was not afraid, keeping himself on hold so that the humans didn’t suspect him.
“Who the fuck are you?” The man under him said, proceeding to punch him on the face.
The girl he had just saved screamed in fear, he fought back the abuser, punching the guy back the strongest he could without making supernatural damage on his skull, trying to keep his strength in check was really hard to do. He allowed the guy to punch him several times, wondering when it was humanly possible to stop the act, getting bored by the rolling around. The guy was clearing perceiving that he could not hurt Wrath and getting anxious about it, he would have to knock him out soon.
All of a sudden, the weight that laid on him was lifted, and the guy was not there anymore, he got up rapidly to see where the scumbag went, but he was nowhere to be seen as if he had vanished in the air. He walked to the girl and tried to help her get out off the ground, she was injured and bleeding, he feared he was too late. The blonde girl whispered harshly, “thank you…” He grabbed her, lifting her in his arms, wrapped her arms around him, and hid her face in his chest, she was trembling, he told her she would be alright, reassuring her. Walking back out of the alley he felt weak realizing Eline was not there, silently hoping she would be hiding, he called out her name. He felt dividing between waiting for her to come out of her hiding place and exposing the wounded girl to the time she might not have left, or leave Eline behind with the possibility of the deplorable man hurting her.
The girl in his arms lost consciousness, and there was nothing else he could do for Eline for she was nowhere in sight, he called out for her again, ready to give up and head for the hospital.
“Wrath?” Eline’s voice called him, and he felt the weight lift off his shoulders, he could not explain where she came from, there was no time to debate or ask anything. He signed to the girl in his arms, which she couldn’t overlook, and she nodded, walking in front of him, towards the nearest hospital, she knew this part of town better than he. They both evaluated the girl’s medical condition, while they walked, trying to figure out where the blood was coming from, she had some on the corner of her mouth, but the rest was all over her clothes, they could not differentiate. None of them knew what to say or do, they both had questions, but none could answer honestly, so they stayed silent.
They arrived at the hospital, and a nurse instantly took the unknown girl from his arms and laid her on a stretcher to guide her into the emergency ward. He crossed his arms, aware he was covered in blood, another nurse came and told them they should wait to be interrogated, but how could they explain what happened?
Wrath went and got some water for both of them, sitting next to Eline on the uncomfortable white chairs, in the cold waiting room smelled like alcohol and latex.
“Did you see where the offender went?” he asked her, breaking the silence between them. Trying to hide his suspicion, but again what another explanation was there besides that she was hiding and had seen nothing?
“No…” she lied, and he knew she was lying, she was not a good liar.
“Where did you disappear to? I told you to hide and wait.”
“You don’t…” tell me what to do, was what she wanted to say, to contradict him, making him understand he was no one to tell her what to do, but the look in his eyes stopped her, he was simply angry, he was suspicious. He wanted to know the truth, no, he demanded to know it, and he had the right due to the situation they were in. “I can’t tell you.”
He looked away, she sighed, how had complete strangers gotten into such an emotional mess. They were not supposed to share their true colors with the world, but they could actually trust each other if their colors match. Both were pondering on what to do when a doctor came with a cop and asked them questions.
They were questioned together, mistaken by a couple, the officer asked him first and told him the truth: he had heard the screams and ran to help the woman in danger, he fought the offender who simply disappeared without a trace. Eline told a lie, saying she was hiding the whole time as Wrath suggested, she had seen nothing.
The policeman thanked Wrath and told him he had done the right thing, that girl was safe thanks to him. He felt pride in that he did not care about human lives, but he would save any type of animal from being hurt if it was up to him. He did not say that to the cop, though, they do not understand.
Eline bought coffee for two, which warned Wrath of how late it actually was. She handed him the coffee looking him right in the eye, “I believe I can trust you, I live nearby, would you like to crash at my place?” she asked him as soon as he sat next to her sipping on the coffee.
“Yes,” was his simple answer, so they went, but not without before leaving his contact with the police if they found a suspect needing identification.
She guided him to her place, both silent, trying to digest what had happened and wondering what big secrets both were keeping.
They arrived at her place, the building was not at all downtown; instead, it was located in the business part of town, just outside downtown in the suburbs. The colossal building, she guided him towards, was covered with glass, reflecting the moonlight. The entrance had two rotating doors that started rotating after a face scan of Eline, then they entered a hall, almost as tall as a church and there were six elevators, three on the right and three on the left, two glass panels between each and she walked to the nearest one. Tapping with her fingers on the screen until a voice announced ‘Elevator C to floor 27a.’ They got in, and he tried to question nothing, she was going to tell him the truth, or try to murder him, what was the worst that could happen?
The elevator was surrounded by mirrors with a black glass panel to stop or call for help in case of emergency he imagined, the floor and ceiling were made of black marble, reflective as well. He felt like he was walking into a trap. Glad he had a reflection, wondering if he had done something to raise her suspicion, he could not recall doing something inhuman, but he had a peculiar way of speaking that might have thrown her off. She was looking at her own reflection in silence, wondering about something as well, lost in her own thoughts. The lift was fast, and they walked out as the doors opened again, there was a home hall, no other entries, the elevator doors were the apartment’s doors. Once it closed behind them, he looked back in disbelief. Calling it an apartment was an understatement; it was a penthouse, four times bigger than his humble home. She took her shoes off, and the shirt wrapped around her waist, showing off more curves than he had predicted. She asked him to take his shoes off and walked to the living room, in the middle of everything there was a big sofa and a plasma tv, by the right side there was a bar, she walked towards it and took two low glasses from the vitrine. He took off his shoes and started to walk; the floor was warm, contradicting the cold decoration, the white marble covering the floor, the dark walls, the renaissance art hanging on the walls, art he had never seen before. She did not ask him what he would like, she simply poured something in both glasses and offered one to him. There was a big glass wall and what he guessed to be a balcony, big enough to bare a pool, which it did. She did not show him around, probably feeling like he would not stick around.
“Sit down, I will show you what happened back in the alley.” She said, drinking her whole drink at once. He sipped on his, it felt like pure alcohol in his tongue, he did not enjoy it, evasive and rude. He sat down, wondering about what she was to reveal. “If you freak out, the lift’s code is 11271; without it, you can’t leave.”
He kept that in mind, although he had no plans to run away like a little bitch, independently of what she was about to show and tell. Eline took her glasses off, leaving them in a table between the sofa and the tv, she started to undress her black crop top, revealing her black bra underneath, she took a deep breath and walked out of the glass door into the balcony, she took off her bra, her back turned to him. For a moment, he thought she would jump into the water and gain a fishtail; if he was real, why wouldn’t mermaids be? Instead, she grabbed something near the pool and put it on, something backless, she did not turn to him or did anything for a while, he sipped his drink and felt the alcohol burn its way down his throat.
Without warning, taking him by surprise a pair of wings grew from her back, angelic wings, that were dark as the night, she leaned forward, and flexing her knees she jumped and flew away in the night, the only thing he could see from a distance was her white legs. He got up and out into the balcony, walking pass her bra, wondering where she was headed, taking a longer sip he thought if she would mind him grabbing the bottle and serving himself. She was an angel, what was she doing disguised as a human, and why would an angel study religion? were some of the questions spinning in his mind. So much confusion in his mind, as he turned around to get more of whatever liquor she had poured him earlier he noticed the big painting by the side of the bar, a fallen angel, its wings turning from white to black as the angel kept falling towards the earth, it was her. He heard a bashing sound of something hitting the ground. He looked towards the balcony to find Eline holding a man down, under her left foot. Her wings were still there, and she did not look him in the eye, she looked down at the man on the floor who seemed paralyzed with fear, telling him something before kicking him on his ribcage with her barefoot, the guy coughed blood onto the white marble floor.
“What are you doing?” Wrath asked, seemingly upset with the violent scene, getting close but not trying to stop her.
“This is the jackass you caught hurting the girl.”
She did not raise her eyes from the man, kicking him again, tougher as he begged her to stop.
Wrath walked closer, grabbing her shoulders and pinning her against the glass, dividing the balcony and the living room, making her raise her eyes from the man on the ground to him. She gazes at him angrily, there was so much hatred in her eyes, looks like daggers trying to carve a hole through his skull in the other guy’s direction. But she did not try to release herself, making him wonder if she could have, who was the strongest? He could tell she was surprised by the fact that he did not leave, surprised and confused seemed to be the prominent feelings they both felt the most the past 24 hours. He was thinking about the best way to tell her that he was not human either, even though she probably suspected that no human would have confronted an angel.
“He’s not worth it, fly him somewhere a human cop might find him, can humans trace your DNA?”
“No,” was the only thing she said, answering his question. She obeyed him blindly, taking the human she flew away with him, all Wrath could do was hope she would do as she told him, and pour himself another glass. Sitting there, a new question popped into his mind, something that let him know it was that time of the month again, where instead of bleeding like a human woman, he needed to feed on blood. The question was: what does angelic blood taste like? Blood was not something in his mind when his body did not need to be sustained. This also explained why he stuck up to this girl-angel all night. The animal in him was hunting, planning on feeding on her before the sun came up, even it the civilized character he frequently hides behind did not know this, he indeed expected and let it happen. She came back; this time, without hesitating, she packed her wings back into her flesh, somehow, he understood the process, but he could not start to imagine how it was possible to put four meters of wings inside her small fit back. She walked inside, he stood near the bar, she approached him, stopping very close to him, and tried to intimidate him, he took a sip and offered her glass back, filled with the liquid she had chosen for the night.
“What are you?” she asked before taking a sip, looking up at him with incredulity in her icy grey eyes.
He took out his fangs and showed her his true self, his eyes glowing like rubies; she didn’t tremble or seemed surprised. “Thought as much.”
“What do you mean?”
“You got into a fight and have no wounds or bruises, I thought you might be an angel like me. I did not expect vampires to walk under the sun.”
“I’m no vampire.” He felt enraged by her words and turned around to head out into the balcony once more. “My race doesn’t belong in that category, we’re not animals, we do not need to feed to survive as often, we do mostly to stay young and cease hunger. We aren’t weak under the sun, we aren’t as easy to kill, and we are far more powerful and ancient.”
“I apologize, all I know about vampires is folklore, things I read or saw on movies. What does your kind call itself?”
“I’m a Vyrmt, now tell me about yourself.”
They leaned on the balcony’s glass surrounding the outside, they stood near the illuminated pool. She took a sip and weighted her words, what was she pondering on?, he wondered. “I’m a fallen angel, I was kicked out of heaven five years ago, and I’ve been trying to find my way back, that’s why I’m going to college, I won’t bother you with the details.” “Believe me, there’s nothing you can say that will sound boring to me.” Wrath said, looking out into the night, into the sky, speculating what it felt like to fly and be free like she was a moment before and yet feel so cloistered… locked outside of the home. “God sent me on a mission to earth, and I fell in love with a human… I wanted to tell them the truth and bring them with me through the gates of heaven, so I went back and asked my Father for permission, needless to say, he wasn’t pleased, so He kicked me out.” “I’m sorry for your pain, did you find your human?” “I did, they married someone I believe my Father put in their path… They are happy now, and I’m in my personal hell since then, trying to go back home.” “Why would you even want to go back?” “It’s my home, my siblings are there, I have nothing keeping me here.” “How will studying religion help you go back?” “Enchanted objects are hiding amongst humans; if I find one, I might be able to contact one of my siblings, and they might help me tell my Father I repent and want to come back… I need to try.” “I’d like to help you if that’s what you really want to do.” “Why would you help me?” She asked, confused, looking at him for the first time since she started talking. Why would he help? was a great question that he did not know the answer to either, was he curious?, was it the lust of angel blood?, or the goodness in his heart?, he would only find out if he saw the whole thing through. “Because I know what it is like to feel lonely and want to go back, but unfortunately time travel is not possible, as far as we know, so I’d love at least a distraction.” Looking into his eyes she seemed to ponder if he was speaking the truth, she did not care, she was tired of going at it alone, and did not have many options, having a Vyrmt by her side could not hurt. “Alright, I’ll let you help me if there’s anything you can do…”
There was a bond binding them together that neither could explain or admit it even existed. They met once a week and discussed what they found out, drank and talked for hours, somewhere down the line they forgot their personal goals and simply started to enjoy each others’ company, beginning a relationship. Both immortal and with so much to explore, they began to travel the world, reading books, helping people that needed them, and enjoying the richness earth had to offer. Love was a word none of them knew the meaning to, and yet it was all they felt when they looked at each other. I looked upon them; happily, everything went according to plan, my daughter could not love a human and spend their human life span searching for immortality without enjoying the feeling love offers to those in it. So I gave her an immortal she could love throughout eternity, which would never break her heart. My children deserve happiness, Azael is on his way down, I better start searching for his immortal spouse.
