When Angels Fall In Love

Chapter 11: I Don't Want to Leave this Dream

Erelah and Samuel talked long into the night.  Many questions were answered and stories shared but Erelah still had every intention of leaving when dawn broke across the horizon.  It made her heart ache, just the thought of never seeing this human, this man...Samuel again felt as if a dagger was being plunged unrelentingly into her chest.  Never in her life had she felt so drawn to another being, so how could she ever convince herself the right thing to do was to leave without a trace.  Dare she say this?  She liked Samuel.  There was an instant connection between them, it was tangible at least to her...

Everything about him drew her in like a hunter baiting a trap.  The way he talked, the way he smiled, the way he looked at her...How was she to let go?

As they talked this was her internal battle though she did not show, did not dare verbalize it.  She didn't want to see him beg, she didn't trust herself enough to be able to rise above his pleas.  God knew how badly she wanted to stay...Erelah and Samuel's fate was purely in God's hands now, what he did with their paths would depend on him and his plan.  She was not to interfere with it but that fact that she hadn't been immediately struck down from the Heavens the moment Samuel laid eyes on her gave her hope that maybe their paths would cross again...It was the slightest hope but if it meant she could see this incredible being that sat across from again she would hold it close and never let go.

For probably the third time in the last few minutes Samuel yawned, a deep exhaustion just barely suppressed in his green iris'.  Dawn wasn't far off now, maybe another hour or so and it would be upon them...The realization had emotion rising in Erelah's throat, tears pricking her eyes but did not let them fall, she only smiled when he looked at her again.

"Should you be returning home soon?"  Erelah's question was innocent enough, hoping he wouldn't see right through her as he looked toward the sky.

"Has it really been that long?"  He asked with a lighthearted chuckle.  "Yes, sadly I should return."  Erelah nodded before raising to her feet.

"I shall go then."  She stated, shifting her wings and spreading them slightly.  Her body was eager to leave but her heart felt rooted to the spot.

"So soon?"  The sadness in Samuel's voice made her pause as he rose to his feet as well and brush off his trousers.  Erelah gave him a weak smile and began to turn away.  Warmth latched around her wrist and stopped her once again.  Erelah looked back and found Samuel, his lips turned down in a grim frown as he stared at her.  "At least walk with me...it's not a far trek.  I don't want this to end just yet."  Her chest felt unbearably tight and it became so hard to breathe.  She would go but she had to stay strong...With that final thought Erelah nodded.

Erelah looked at where he held her wrist and hadn't let go, wondering at the tingles that sparkled at the touch of their skin.  When he turned away he took the contact with him, leaving her feel even more empty than she already did in that moment.  Samuel moved back toward the fire and began the slow process of putting it out.  She knew he was stalling...She wished she could tell him how much she didn't want to leave but the words were stuck in her throat.  Drawing a bit of power up, Erelah manifested a bit of wind to suffocate the fire out of existence.  It went out with a whisper of smoke causing Samuel to look back at her in a bit of awe.  Erelah just shrugged her shoulders and gave him a small smile.

"Shall we then?"  He asked walking back over to her.

"Lead the way..."

The sky had started to lighten as they made their way through the woods and towards Samuel's home.  After a while of walking, they had come across a path leading off into the woods either way.  They followed this path, silently walking side by side as the morning birds began to shake themselves of their sleep.  It was a comfortable silence but Erelah could feel the dread weighing heavily on her body.  This feeling followed her all the way down the path and eventually to edge of the forest before they crossed through a field and finally came upon a simple cottage situated atop a soft grassy hill.

Moss grew on the cobblestones and it smelled of old wood but Erelah guessed it was a proper enough home for a human as Samuel walked on.  Erelah however halted her steps, standing just a little ways away as the sky lightened and the tall grasses of the field shifted lightly in the soft breeze.

"Erelah?" Samuel called to her, his voice drew her eyes away from the beauty of the sunrise.  It was more of an excuse not to look at him, the tears were so close now to falling down her fair cheeks.

"I must go, Samuel..."  Her words were barely above a whisper.  The wind blew a bit harder, tousling her long blonde hair.

"Erelah..."  He slowly approached her.  Erelah however began to unfurl her wings, ready to take flight.  "Erelah, please..." He was before her now, grasping her wrist once more as the contact made tingles dance across her skin.  "Don't go...I don't want to wake from this dream."

"It's not a dream though Samuel...I am just as real as you are but I do not belong here."  Erelah's lips quivered as a single tear slipped down her face.

"Will you come back?"  His question drove the knife in her chest home and through her heart as it hit her at full force.

"I don't know.  I'm sorry it has to happen this way.  And if I had the capacity to dream such as the humans do I wouldn't want to leave this dream either...Goodbye Samuel."  Erelah took to the sky, breaking free of his hold on her.  Her heart beat quickly and painfully in her chest as her wings took her higher into the sky.  She didn't stop flying until she knew she had left the human and his home far behind.

There was still that slight hope clutched tight though...may they meet again someday...