Memories

Choice Regained

Chapter 7

He awoke in his bed and immediately, without any pause, cried. It was a cry that came full force and was unstoppable. Slowly Caleb curled into the fetal position and hugged the spare blanket tightly.

 Jane.

 Jane.

 Jane.

 The name looped his thoughts unrelentingly. Her smile, her eyes, her kindness, and especially her love for him. The loss of her hurt more than all the pain he had endured in Hell put together. But this hurt he appreciated. This hurt he basked in. Because with every second of hurt he felt was another second he remembered her.

 Abruptly he threw the blankets off of himself and rubbed at his eyes. Caleb knew where he had to go. Quickly he scrambled out of bed, into his shoes and out of the door. As he entered the street he saw the sun had yet to set, but he didn’t care. Caleb no longer feared the heat of the sun, the warmth and beauty of it reminded him of Jane. With this reminder he felt a surge of energy and sprinted down the street, unable to account for any sense of time.

 He found himself at the park, where a tree stood tall on the top of a hill. It was not his and Jane’s tree but he felt a pull towards it. The sun began to dip behind the hill outlining everything with a bright light, providing him with a divine sensation.

 He approached the tree and rested his palm on the rough bark of its trunk.

 “I remember…” he whispered.

 A crackle shook the air around Caleb causing him to dive for the ground with his hands around his head, protecting it from whatever was to come. The Devil has returned to claim my soul, Caleb thought immediately. He clenched his jaw and lifted his head, attempting to show no fear in his horrific fate. But he was not met by a man in a charcoal black suit. Instead he was met by several figures. They peeled themselves away from behind the tree; one, two, three, four, five and finally six figures emerged.

 As Caleb’s eyes readjusted to the bright light of the setting sun he realized that the tree was in pristine condition, even healthier than before. Slowly his eyes, wide with shock and confusion, shifted to figure after figure. They all were the same height and approximate age. All appeared to be made of solid marble as the sunbeams that caught the surface would dance. Three males and three females stood in a crescent shape using the tree as the midway point between them. All of them wore identical robes that flowed freely to the ground where they stood barefooted. Caleb could see quick white flutters from behind their backs that began to settle down the longer they stood. Each bore a gleaming white smile that was sincere and slightly excited.

 The one female near the middle stepped forward and said with a voice booming with pride, “Caleb, thank-you for coming.”

 Confusion caused Caleb to pause and ask, “Coming to what? And how do you know my name?”

 “I thought you said you remembered?” the voice asked almost teasingly. The female began to shrink and grow younger. Before his eyes the female became Hael. “We can take your order now, as you are our only customer.” Caleb froze, stunned with amazement.

 The others slowly grew and shrunk, aged and became younger, everything that had made them so frighteningly striking faded away and they became the six people he had helped. Now he realized they had been helping him.

 “So what are you? You obviously aren’t human,” Caleb said uncertainly, his voice shaking with bewilderment.

 The little boy on the end that looked identical to Nate said, “We are Angels silly! And we were human when we met, completely vulnerable to pain.”