True Heaven Is Inside You

Day One

I stared out into the lake. The water slapped against the rocks, knocking some loss to join its kin underneath the blue depths. I sat down on one, watching the seagulls in the sky. They called for others in a tongue unknown to me. My mind began to play flashbacks, but I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. I wondered how deep the shores were here. I had never explored, so I had no idea. I hoped they were deep. I hoped the waves would drag me under and no one would ever find me, here or at all. They could label me as missing forever and I wouldn't care. It would spare people the trouble.

I stood up and prepared myself. I took a deep breath and looked at the sky. It was over. They had won. I was just about to jump when the sky flashed. There was a bright yellow twinkle that suddenly morphed into a person. They splashed into the lake and submerged into the water. Without thinking twice, I jumped in after them. They were sinking slowly, and I managed to bring them up to the surface. I swam back to shore and carried them to a cave near the bottom of the cliff. The water entered the cave and made for a nice comfortable place.

I brought the person onto the rocks and watched them cough up water. I looked at them closely for the first time. They were a girl, around my age no less, with tan skin and curly brown hair. She was wearing normal jeans and a tee shirt, but on her it was equivalent to a magnificent ballgown, possibly donned by a princess from the 1400's or someone of equal value. She opened her eyes and they were a wonderful shade of brown. I crouched down beside her and ran my hand down her back. "Are you alright?"

There was a bright flash, and a pair of white wings appeared on her back. She coughed. "Yeah, I think so. I'm alive, it seems."

I gasped and stared at the wings. She turned around, noticed them, and sighed. "Oh, you must be wondering about those. Yes, I am an angel. Or rather, I used to be."

My eyes widened. "Those actually exist?"

She nodded. "Of course they do. As do demons." She gave me a weird look. "You have a lot of those, don't you?"

I nodded solemnly. She looked me over and pressed her thumb to my forehead. She hummed and nodded. "I can't tell why you have so many. I guess I lost that power when I fell."

"Why did you fall?" I tilted my head.

"Well, I was trying to-" Her explanation was interrupted by a fit of coughing. I made her sit up and rubbed her back soothingly. When she was done, she sighed. "I'm sorry for that."

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. Continue your story."

She nodded. "I tried to steal something from the angel government, and they don't like stealing very much. They threw me away, and I found my way down here."

I smiled slightly. "And I found you." She nodded and hid a smile. "Are you hurt at all?"

She moved and flinched. "I'm really sore.. and I think.." She moved her arm to reveal her right side, bruised and bleeding.

I gasped and stood up. "My house is just up the cliff, I'll go get you bandages, or something.." I ran out of the cave through a pathway connecting it to the cliff face.

I got to the ledge outside of the cave and made my way upwards. I slipped on a rock when I was halfway up the cliff, but I soon regained my balance and made my way up the cliff. I opened the back door to my house and walked to the main bathroom. My mother tried to stop me on the way to engage in conversation, but I was too determined to stop. I had a purpose again.

I grabbed the bandages and made my way back to the cave. As soon as the angel saw me, she smiled. "Is that for me?" I nodded, and she moved her arm away from her stomach.