The Chronicles of Jo-kiel

ELEVEN: Zadkiel

"So, I guess I should answer your question now," I said as we both got seated on the bench.

The sound of the water rushing and the rustling of the leaves as the warm air breezed through them made the place cosier than usual, but I couldn't bring myself to enjoy the serenity of the place. Jophiel's countenance had changed the moment I mentioned her question, and that instantly changed my mood as well.

I stared at her face and breathed out softly. She looked so lost in her thoughts. Her face which naturally looked like she was always smiling was scrunched up in a frown while she stared intensely at the waterfall.

For a minute I found myself wanting to reach out to do something to make her smile again, but I immediately halted.

I slowly dispelled the thought and breathed out loudly, she immediately turned towards me with raised eyebrows. "Are you okay?" I asked.

Almost instantly, the frown on her face disappeared and was replaced with a big smile, and if I wasn't seated with her a while ago I wouldn't have guessed she was faking it.

Just how long has she faked a smile to be so good at it? I gritted my teeth and looked away in annoyance.

"I'm fine, thank you" she replied and I nodded absentmindedly. "So are you ready to tell me what happened on Sunday?" She held my gaze with a big smile on her face and my breath hitched for a brief second. She was so good at faking it.

"Well..." I started and dragged my eyes away from her. "There's nothing much to it. Gabriel and I came to evangelize like we normally do every week when I saw you standing there frozen with your bags on the floor" I rubbed my forehead and sighed as I pictured her in that scene all over again, "at first I thought your bags spilt and you were too tired to pick them up" I paused and shook my head. "That was a very stupid thought now that I'm reminiscing on it." She breathed out a laugh and I glanced at her almost instantly with a gratified smile on my face.

I made her smile, genuinely.

My muscles relaxed at the achievement and I found myself telling the story with more enthusiasm. "Back to the story. After seeing you, I was about to walk away when I felt the urge to go and lead you out of that spot. At first, I ignored it, because I felt you didn't exactly need it but then the Holy Spirit instructed me to go and get you out of there. And only when I yielded and got too close did I realize the reason you were stuck" I finished and she inhaled sharply.

"Wow... The Holy Spirit does tell you everything, doesn't He?" She teased with a smile and turned away to face the waterfall. I gazed at her and shook my head. I can't tell if this smile was fake or not.

I stared at her for a while longer before I dragged my eyes away and faced the waterfall as well. "He tells me the things I need to know" I muttered and from my peripheral vision, I saw her nod before we both slipped into a comfortable silence. I stared at the waterfall, trying to analyze and appreciate it like I always do, but I found myself glancing occasionally at the girl beside me. And each time I looked, I found myself not wanting to look away.

I took a deep breath and rubbed my face lightly, "what is wrong with me today?" I whispered under my breath.

Maybe it's the quietness and cosiness of this place.

I glanced at her again and decided to go ahead and ask the question at the back of my mind. But before I could ask the question, she began talking.

"Those people..." Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke and my muscles tensed up instantly. Was she about to cry? "Those people from that day..." She started again and softly let out a breath "they are not good people" she turned to me and I clenched my teeth. Her eyes were glimmering with tears.

I grabbed her face softly and gently wiped the tear that escaped her eyes. I moved my thumb in soft circles on her cheek when all I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and comfort her. but it felt wrong.

My thoughts have felt wrong all along with her and I didn't want to give myself a reason to want to distance myself from her. "It's okay, Jophiel. You don't have to talk about it" I said softly and she smiled through the tears.

"I don't know why, but I want to talk about it with you," she said. "Please just listen to me" her eyes pleaded with me and the corners of my lips tugged up as I scooted closer to her. Once we were close enough I placed her head gently on my shoulders and gave her a soft pat.

"I'm listening, Jophiel," I said, trying to keep my voice calm and steady despite the loud thumping of my heart.

I looked down at her and released a deep breath. "Those people are my parents," she started and my brows knitted together. "They are my parents, but they never considered me their daughter" I rubbed her arms when I felt her tense up.

"Take your time" I mumbled and she bobbed her head. I was still waiting for her to organize her thoughts and speak when I heard footsteps in the garden and my entire body tensed up instantly.

What would the person think when they see their president and a girl wrapped up in each other's arms? I stared down at Jophiel and muttered a prayer. She was equally tensed and I don't want to add any more to it by panicking, but I couldn't help it.

"What are you two doing over there?" A very familiar voice asked and my muscles relaxed instantly, but Jophiel immediately jumped away from me. "I ask again, what are you two doing over there?" Gabriel asked in a very strict voice and I turned to him with a small smile on my face.

"It's Jophiel and me, it's okay," I said as I turned to him and the frown on his face deepened. "I brought her here to show her the garden," I said to clear up whatever thought he had but it had the opposite effect. Josephine walked in the next minute with a smile, but the moment she rested her eyes on me and Jophiel, the smile vanished instantly and her lips were pulled into a thin line.

I groaned internally and turned away from them, "Jophiel, you'll have to go back to your hostel and get ready for study time. I'll clear up the confusion here. You do remember the route, right?" she bobbed her head lightly and then took her books that were sprawled out on the floor then dashed out of the garden with her gaze lowered.

Once she was out of the garden, I stood up and walked over to my friends who were just staring at me with confusion. "I don't know what you guys want to hear but I brought her here partially to calm my mind and to show her this place of prayer, but one thing led to another and I made her cry. I was simply comforting her"

"In such a lonely place?" Gabriel retorted and Josephine immediately added,

"She's not even a believer yet, why would you want to show her the place of prayers?" She asked and it felt like a bucket of ice water was drenched on me. "Are you sure your mind is right towards her, Kiel? You don't just hug people to comfort them. You don't even hug me, and I'm one of your closest friends. But you're hugging a strange girl within a matter of days, is everything okay? Are you sure you're in the right headspace"

I clenched my fists tightly and subconsciously drew away from her after she was done speaking, she was right. I didn't just hug people but I've hugged Jophiel not once, but twice. I glanced at the entrance of the garden that she just walked out of and I exhaled loudly.

Abba made me in charge of her salvation and I'm taking advantage of that opportunity. He didn't tell me to be her friend and comforter, just her teacher. I gritted my teeth at the realization and lowered my head in shame, what on Earth was I doing? This has to stop before I do something wrong.

"Thank you, Josephine. Let's drop it and pray. I've been convicted" I whispered and she sucked her teeth.

"Not too fast, Kiel. Our prayer time is still far, we came to find you because Gabriel claims you've been acting weird since you came back from the mall" she said and I snapped my head up so fast I almost broke my spine, "we came to talk about that"

******
Happy international women's day to my wonderful ladies reading this❤️
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