When Angels Fall In Love

Chapter 15: Finding Peace in an Unexpected Place

Erelah had flown this sky many times before, the wind whipping at her face while a certain wildness took hold in her chest and didn't let go.  She had felt so free and without worry, she only wished now that that was the case.  She found no joy to behold, her head was muddled with thoughts and emotions that tangled together like a complex knot.  And it wasn't the fact that she didn't have the time to pick apart this knot of emotions, it was more along the lines of pretending it wasn't there even though it made her chest feel tight and her heart hurt.

Erelah felt lost even though she recognized her surroundings.  She didn't want to return home but down here, there wasn't anything for her.  Confused and feeling quite empty, she flew onward for what felt like an eternity.

After a while the sun began to fall low in the sky, hues of orange and yellow painting the sky in a breathtaking sunset as shades of blue and purple trailed close behind.  Soon enough, the moon would rise and the world would fall still as the nightlight hours crept in.  It was what Erelah had been searching for, stillness and peace that you could only experience in the hours when the moon ruled the dark blue sky and casted the world in silent shadows.  It was what she needed, a bit of stillness to ease her torrent of troubled thoughts but she hadn't expected to find it here...

She had only been here once before but it felt like such a lifetime ago.  Erelah found herself on a familiar dirt path, her bare feet sinking into the cool dirt while tall grasses rose just above her shoulders and swayed in the chilling night breeze.  It made her heart ache just a bit more to be here and be reminded how she had left things.  She had sworn to herself she would never return but deep down even then she knew that was a promise she could never keep.

The path winded in gentle curves to which Erelah followed silently up a pleasant hill.  The higher she went the more the landscape was revealed as a vast field of grasses stretched out under the moons soft shine.  That's when Erelah finally came upon it, her fated destination...

The cobbled home was modest as it sat atop the hill crest.  A singular oak casting large shadows over the doorway as Erelah paused and contemplated.  She felt drawn to this place, a feeling she was only able to place now as she stood  before the lone cottage.  The second thing that drew her here was the remnants of the life she knew dwelled inside the humble abode.  A pair of boots rested on the porch, a plume of smoke rising from the chimney, the smell of a single human male...

Her feet moved of their own accord, bringing her ever closer to the porch and up the rickety steps that creaked under her weight.  Then she stopped, Erelah standing just a few feet away from the door as it beckoned her closer.  She still had many reservations about being here, her head and heart subsequently at war within her as she hesitated.  Erelah knew the punishments she faced being here, it didn't stop her though, she was here now...And Michael...she couldn't go home to face him.  At least here the storm roiling inside her seemed to settle and she could think without feeling like she was drowning in confusion.

The door handle was cool against Erelah's fingers but the door didn't budge as she turned the nob and didn't turn but about half the way...Locked.  It's a sign, take it and leave, Erelah.  Sighing heavily, Erelah stood there, her head rest on the rough wood of the door as emotion rose in her throat.  She felt so overwhelmingly conflicted as tears pricked her eyes.  Erelah turned away from the door, wet eyes looking out beyond the porch to plains and the far off forest.  The wind blew, rustling the oak's reaching branches, shadows dancing across the wooden porch, it was then that her eyes were drawn to the pair of boots next to the door.  The slightest bit of moonlight shining upon something tucked into the boot leg before the shadows casted over it once more.  Erelah bent down, reaching inside the boot for her fingers to brush against something cool and hard.

The object that lay in her hand made Erelah's heart give a thump of anticipation as she straightened and studied the iron key.  Quickly Erelah turned back toward the door, fingers searching for the keys insert before finding it and shoving the key into the lock.  There was a click from inside the door as soon as Erelah turned it, her heart leaping inside her chest.  She opened the door slowly and it was almost a tangible feeling then, the feeling of being pulled forward by an invisible tether as she stepped across the threshold.

Everything was so still and quiet as Erelah stood just beyond the door.  She felt like an intruder, the little cottage opening up to her as she observed just how the humans lived.  She recognized the hearth first, the cobbled stonework housing a small flickering fire that danced happily despite being almost burned out.  It offered enough light that Erelah didn't feel as intimidated as she closed the door softly behind her.  Deeper inside she found a table scattered with papers and rack that housed a hunting bow and quiver filled with arrows.  Erelah deafly fingered the feathered tails of the arrows before her sensitive ears caught the slightest disruption in silence echoing softly off the walls.

Erelah followed the sound like a dog that had caught a scent, finding herself wandering deeper into the quiet home as she passed two other doors and another small room bathed in moonlight.  Though it peaked her curiosity, Erelah passed it by as she continued down the narrow hallway.

The sound drew her to the far end of the house, stopping her dead at a door that stood just slightly ajar.  A familiar scent wafted to her, so much stronger here than the rest of the house as the smell of burning sage and masculine musk warmed her senses.

It took every ounce of her courage to push that door open, the pull on the tether that bound to her becoming impossibly stronger as her eyes fell upon a bed and the sleeping form nestled beneath the cover of blankets...

"...Samuel..."