Iris

Noah, an angel whose sole purpose was to guide souls to heaven after death, stood silently in the sterile operating room. His transparent form hovered beside the monitor, watching Dr. Iris Smith with a quiet intensity. Iris, a brilliant heart surgeon, was working tirelessly on Mr. Thomas Miller, a patient whose life hung in the balance. The surgery had started smoothly, but as the minutes ticked by, Noah sensed the impending collapse of Miller's heart. A failure.

Iris didn't know it yet, but Noah could feel every beat, every fragment of a soul slipping away. He saw the weight of her gaze, fixated on the monitor, as if she could win the life back into her patient. But it was too late.

For the first time, Noah saw something in a human that he hadn't seen in others: vulnerability. He followed her after the surgery, an invisible shadow in her life, observing her sorrow. Her depression was palpable. She blamed herself for Miller's death, even though there was nothing more she could have done. And it tugged at Noah's heart in ways he didn't understand.

Then one night, he took a chance. He appeared to her in the form of a visitor—Mr. Miller's relative, he said. Iris, looking exhausted and broken, invited him to talk. She was grateful for the company, though she didn't ask too many questions. He spoke kindly to her, but he couldn't bring himself to reveal who he truly was.

Curiosity began to grow inside Iris. She noticed odd things. How he appeared seemingly out of nowhere. How she could never catch a glimpse of his departure. But she didn't question him, not directly. He became a mysterious figure in her life, a soothing presence in a world that felt increasingly empty.

Days passed. Iris' boyfriend, Dr. Romeo Ross, planned a short vacation with her, and Noah, hidden in the shadows, watched their closeness. He couldn't help the pang of longing that gripped him when he saw them together. He wanted that. He wanted to be human. He wanted to feel. But he couldn't.

And then, one fateful day, Noah encountered a patient named Mr. Nathaniel Moore—a fallen angel like him, now living in the world as a human. Nathaniel could see Noah, and they exchanged quiet words about their shared existence. Noah listened intently as Nathaniel spoke of the price of becoming human. He told Noah that he had been a guardian once, just like him, but he had chosen to fall to understand the life of a mortal.

That night, Iris visited the library where Noah resided in spirit, and she spoke to him again. But something had changed. She told him Romeo had proposed to her. "I'm having second thoughts," she admitted, looking at him with a mix of confusion and longing. Noah listened, heart breaking at her words. She didn't know him, not truly. She didn't know his name, where he came from, or who he was. And that was the truth that tore him apart.

She asked him for answers. "What's your surname? Where do you come from? Who are you?" But Noah could only remain silent. He couldn't answer. Because angels had no surnames. They were created for their task, for their purpose. And Noah had forgotten his surname long ago.

Iris, disappointed by his silence, left, her heart heavy with unanswered questions. The next day, she went on her short vacation with her dog, Earl, but Noah, too, followed her. He couldn't stay away from her, even if it meant watching from the shadows.

On the way, she spoke to Nathaniel Moore again, and this time, she learned the truth. Nathaniel revealed that Noah, too, was a fallen angel, just like him. He had chosen to forsake his immortality to experience the fleeting joys and pains of human existence. And in that moment, Iris understood. She understood the price Noah had paid, the loneliness he felt, and the depth of his feelings for her.

But Noah's anguish grew. He wanted to be human so badly that he could hardly bear it. One night, standing on the edge of a building, he took a step forward, his immortality vanishing as he leapt from the precipice. He wanted freedom, to feel what it was like to be truly alive.

He found Iris in the province, and there, in the quiet of the night, he confessed. "And I gave up forever to touch you 'cause I know that you feel me somehow. You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be and I don't want to go home right now," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

They held each other then, a fragile connection between two souls who had found each other against impossible odds.

But fate, as it often does, took a cruel turn. One morning, as Iris biked through the streets, a truck swerved toward her, striking her down. She lay on the ground, unconscious, as Noah appeared beside her. He could feel the coldness of death creeping in, and he panicked. He cried out for her, his heart breaking.

"I'm here," he whispered. "Don't be afraid."

Iris, barely able to hold on, saw him. Her eyes fluttered open, and she whispered, "Don't leave me. I'm scared."

And in those final moments, they wept together. Noah, the angel who had fallen for a mortal, knew that he would lose her. But he didn't regret a single moment of the love they shared.

Phineas, his old friend, appeared beside him as they both watched Iris' death. "Do you regret it?" Phineas asked. "Do you regret giving up everything for her?"

Noah didn't hesitate. "I would rather have one touch of her hair, one kiss of her lips, and one hug until her death," he said, his voice breaking. "Than an eternity without it."