Wing Beats

Chapter 4: The World Turned Upside Down

  "Hey Ange!"

    I turned to see Daniel weaving his way through the crowd towards me.  "Hey, do you want to come over to my place after school tomorrow?" he asked.

    "Uh, sure," I said.  "Why?"

    "Um," he glanced up at the clock, "I need to tell you something, anyways, I've got to go, see you later."

    "Wait-," I began, but he was already disappearing around the corner.  I continued to my next class, wondering why Daniel was so sudden?  I handed in my history paper and found my seat, forgetting Daniel's behaviour and focusing on my work for once.

    I rang the doorbell and this time Daniel answered the door.  "Hey, come on in," he said, ushering me inside.  I stepped inside and followed him into the sitting room, his father was there, seated in an armchair facing the sofa. Daniel and his Dad exchanged a glance and I was suddenly felt very uncomfortable.  "Hello," I said unsure of what to say.  Daniels father smiled at me.

  "Hello Angelina, you're probably pretty confused as to why your here right now," he said looking at me the same way Daniel always would, like he knew something about me that I didn't.

    "Uh, yeah," I looked over at Daniel, he had walked over to sit across from his Dad.

    "Ok, this is really hard to explain so just listen to what we have to say before you decide whether you believe us or not," said Daniel, his face betraying no emotion.  I nodded slowly, I felt like I should leave, like I didn't know whether I wanted to hear what they had to say.  "Ok well first of all, something you will find easiest to believe, I am not Daniel's father," said the man in the armchair. 

    "Then who are you?" I asked, shifting uncomfortably.

    "He is my mentor," Daniel interjected.

    "Your mentor?"

    "Yeah, I'll explain that in a minute, but first, do you believe in ghosts Angelina?" asked Daniel.

    "Mentor, ghosts, what are you talking about?"  

    "It will all make sense just allow us to explain," the man said.  "Angelina have you ever had the feeling you are being watched or have you experienced anything unusual?"

    "Yes, why are you asking me all this?" I took a step back.

    "Because, Angelina, ghost's exist!  There are several in this room at this very moment!  That's why you often feel like your being watched, spirits are attracted to you.  They are attracted to me and Daniel to," he paused, "because we are angels."

    "What?" they must be crazy, I thought, they must be, "do you really expect me to believe you without any proof?"

    "You want proof?" Daniel stood up and unzipped his sweater, dropping it on the floor beside him.  I could see something behind his back, moving out from his shoulders.  I saw white feathers, stretching outwards.  I gaped as a pair of wings spread from behind his back, the feathers ruffling.  They stopped more than a foot from the floor, the feathers were white and flecked with black.  I just stared at him opening and closing my mouth, unable to get words out.  "That enough proof for you?" he asked, smirking.

    "Can you fly?" I asked, one of a billion questions I wanted answered.

    "Uh huh," he answered, smiling at my disbelief.  I approached him slowly, reaching out a hand, to confirm what my brain told me I was seeing.  I ran my fingers over the feathers, recoiling at the soft downy touch.

    "They're real," I breathed.  Daniel nodded and stood as I circled him.  Two slits were cut in his shirt were the wings connected to his shoulder, if they were fake they looked very convincing.  "Were you born with them?" I asked quietly.  

    He shook his head.  "No, here I'll show you," he said as he reached up behind his neck and undid the gold clasp on his necklace.  The cain fell away, into his hands, and his wings began to tremble.  I stepped back from him as his feathers turned from white to flesh coloured, as they flatted, sinking into his skin.  I put my hand on the spot where his wings had disappeared into, his skin was smooth and flat, as if the wings had never existed.  Although they had disappeared so quickly, I wondered whether I had imagined them altogether.  I watched as Daniel draped the necklace back around his neck and redid the clasp.  As his wings reappeared I sank into the couch and held my head in my hands, trying to take it all in.

    "Why are you telling me this?" I asked.  Daniel came and sat down beside me, placing his hand on my knee.

    "Angelina, me and Roland," he said gesturing towards his mentor, "we're angels."

    "What?"

    "The necklaces don't just give us wings they allow us to see ghosts, it's our job to help them 'pass on'."

    "How do the two of you help every ghost in the world there must be millions?" I asked, trying to wrap my brain around it.

    "We don't need to help all of them, you see, when a person dies and they accept it, they allow their energy to be absorbed into the universe.  Some people when they die resist the pull to let go, sometimes they want to say goodbye to loved ones or are confused or angry.  They know when someone can see them or in your case sense them, and are attracted to you, look to you for help.  Most people are able to accept their deaths so there are less then a few hundred ghosts we need to help," explained Roland.  "There are currently eight angels all over the planet, we each have a necklace and when one of us dies we need to find another to replace them, there are ten necklaces in existence, one was lost centuries ago in an accident near the Galapagos Islands.  The other, right here in my pocket."

    That's when my brain made the connection.  "Is that why I'm here, you want me to become an angel," I said, my hands shaking.

    "Only if you want to, if you decide to come with us you will have to leave your family and friends behind, Daniel told me you don't have a very good relationship with your parents so we thought you might agree to come with us."

    "Go with you?  Where?" I asked.

    "If you want to be an angel we will take you to Europe.  Your parents will probably report you missing to the police so we will have to avoid coming here for awhile, another angel will probably come to take our place," answered Daniel.  "If you were allowed to stay with your parents they would eventually notice something odd, even if they ignore you, and we can't afford to let everyones family in on the secret, eventually someone would let it slip.  Imagine what would happen if the government got their hands on something like this?"

    I nodded slowly.  It made sense, and I would miss my parents but I could live without them, I would probably miss Ella and Bella the most, but I can make new friends and maybe I could get my own dog one day.  Still, do I really want to leave my life behind, everything that made me who I am?

    "You know if you ever change your mind you can come back, you could give us your necklace and tell your parents and the police you ran away," said Roland.

    "Ok, I'll go with you," I said, trembling slightly.  My mind was reeling, was all this really happening?  My mouth felt dry and I asked for a glass of water.  Daniel brought me some water and Roland rose from the armchair.

    "You won't regret in Ange," Daniel said.  "I ran away when I was eleven, Dominic and Xavier (two other angels) found me after I nicked Xavier's wallet, I thought about returning home when I was offered my necklace, but I didn't and I am actually happy with my life now."

    "Ok you two, we only have a couple hours until darkness, we takeoff then so no one sees us,  Angelina you go home and pack whatever you can fit in your schoolbag, me and Daniel will meet you at the park where you can do some practice runs before we leave," said Roland, leading us to the front door.

    "Ok" I said, stepping outside into the cool air.

    Roland smiled at me before closing the door and I began walking back to my house.  I was going on autopilot, unable to quite comprehend what had just happened.  I didn't have to meet them at the park, I could still change my mind and just forget Daniel and Roland.  I reached the end of my driveway and I knew I would go to the park that night, because I knew that if I didn't I would spend the rest of my life wondering, what if I had?