Why Come Back?

The Garden

    The three sit in a private backroom. Luke has been doing his best to explain what is going on. Though he has no real idea either.  Cassie sits there awkwardly. She watches as they slowly shift from talking to arguing. 

    “I don’t know what’s going on!” Luke speaks sharply.

    “You know no one that could have caused that?! Sorry, I think you’re a liar!” Spider shouts back.

    “What are you talking about?” Luke responds. He lowers his voice.

    “You have something to do with the events that take place here. I’ve known about your odd abilities for years. Why do you think I came back?”

    “Boys. Be quiet. Neither of you knows the story.” Cassie says. With her words, they both go silent, “It’s just history repeating itself.” 

    “What are you talking about?” Luke questions.

“It begins in a garden. Two mortals, an angel guard, and a cruel punishment.” Cassie begins as the vague image of the garden surrounds them.

Eons ago, there was a garden with a forbidden tree. The mortals were tricked into eating one of the tree’s fruits. In doing so, they learned about good and evil. The angel watched as the mortals were made to leave. He knew the world was too harsh for their survival. As they left, he offered his halo. It would frighten off the dangerous animals and aid their survival. Little did the angel know, this would anger the one he served. An act he thought was good turned into his curse. His halo would seek his demise, and he could merely wait for it.

As years passed, his wings began to lose their feathers. He continued to tend to the lonely garden, unable to leave. His loneliness only grew with time. 

Until the flood swept a beast to the garden walls. The beast was lost and drenched, hanging on for its life. The angel flew onto the garden walls to bring the beast into the garden. The angel reached as far as he could. He grasped one of the beast’s spider legs. He tried and tried, but the current was too strong. So with what was left of his wings, he wrapped them around the beast. Just as the angel brought the beast to the top of the garden wall, the water swept away his feathers. The beast climbed over the lip of the wall, using the angel’s grip to fight through the current. As the beast stepped over the lip, the angel fell backward into the garden. 

The beast moved to catch the unconscious angel. To the beast’s dismay, a thud echoes throughout the garden. A bed of crushed, golden flowers holds the angel’s bruised body.   

The beast sits by the angel, curious about his savior. Unbeknownst to the angel’s condition, the beast picks him up and lightly shakes him. This causes the angel’s eyes to open and a groan of pain to escape his lips. The beast drops him and runs into a nearby bush. The angel quickly sits up and looks around. In his dizzied state, he spots the beast but can’t make much out of it. As the beast returned to the angel’s vision, the angel was left in awe. 

Thousands of questions ran through their minds, but one stuck out for both of them. The angel approached the beast slowly with weak and wobbling legs. The beast used two of its spider-like legs to pick up the angel once more. The angel smiled and reached his hand out to touch the beast.

The moment was abruptly interrupted by a shadowy mist. It consumed the surrounding area with ease. The angel tried his magic but to no avail. It was gone, just like his wings. Two golden eyes glow in the shadows as the mist poison the garden and the two within it.