LIABILITY - WILCO SOLANGELO

Ch. 2

WILL POV

I should be in the infirmary, helping out but here I was strolling to the woods to collect some medicinal herbs from the secret Apollo garden. As head doctor, I was seldom made to do such tasks, especially with so many patients at hand but today, I had been out of it all day. Kayla noticed and sent me off to clear my mind. A week had passed since the war and only a few major patients were left behind. The rest were almost ready to go, counting down days till they could leave. Only a handful of them were in a dangerous position now - in coma or or on the ICU. Even the Roman healers had left as their assistance was no longer needed.

However, today, my mind wasn't occupied by my patients nor was I overworked. Instead my mind lay with an Angel. I sighed. "di Angelo" - such a perfect surname for such a perfect boy. I found myself wishing he had had an equally perfect past. But he hadn't been lucky enough - everyone knew it. I wanted to help Neeks so, so desperately but I didn't know how or where to start. The boy hated being touched for starters which would make a simple check up a messy affair. He clearly had a mental illness - depression or anxiety or both. His eating habits were anything but healthy and I was fairly sure he had an eating disorder too. And then of course he physical injuries from the war - wounds he tried to hide. But as a trained professional, I knew they were there. The slight limp in his walk and the way he kept stretching his arms like his shoulder bothered him were clear indicators. And there was the darkness too. I swore the other day I had seen him lean against the wall only for his hand to pass through. I might have been seeing things but the alarm in his eyes were a clear give away. I was worried for that boy and I needed to help him.

I continued walking deeper into the forest when I heard a voice - soft and sweet. It sounded like a boy's voice but it wasn't hoarse and rough but, instead, quiet and smooth. The melody was pain filled and the boy evidently was crying as he sang for his voice shook and cracked. Who could it possibly be?  I found myself wondering. Sure, us kids of Apollo sang phenomenally but we were performers. This, on the other hand, was raw, imperfect and real. It was an apt melody to fit the phrase 'perfection in all its imperfections'. 

The medicines long forgotten, I followed the direction of the voice until I reached a clearing with big boulders, a small lake, black roses and cool canopy from the tall trees. And there on a boulder by the lake lay the singer. When I saw who it was I was, my breath was snatched right out of my lungs. Lying in the cool shade on the damp grass lay none other than my  fallen angel - Nico di Angelo.