A Light in Darkness

Chapter Four

I gaped. When I was in school on the Higher Earth, my teacher spent days at a time teaching my class about Michael, God's right hand angel, or Archangel. He was known as one of the greatest and fiercest fighters on the border of Higher Earth, and was sometimes described as the Angel of Death because he killed so many monsters. Frequently through out my studies I wondered if he was actually an angel because he slayed many entities so mercilessly. But, on the other hand, these beings do come from hell, and I would kill to protect the Planet and the Higher Earth too.

"Hello, Michael," I said, closing my mouth and smiling. I tried to smoothen out my rumpled sundress, dirty from Raphael carrying me and from Jenne's black liquid vomit. Jenne. I remembered my sister once again, and a pang of regret shot from my head to my toes. My once enthusiastic smile dimmed and I wondered where she was. A prison? No, there are no prisons on the Higher Earth. Then where could she be? Was she killed? Tortured? My shoulders sagged and I tried to keep myself from crying, to no avail. Fat, salty tears rained down my cheeks and onto the ground. Small flowers sprouted where my tears landed, growing higher with every drop.

I should have stayed behind and tried to save Jenne. I could have saved her. If I was an angel, surely my powers would have shown through at that moment and the guards would have let her go in my presence. I could have taken her, healed her soul. I could have exorcised the demons with my power, but all I was doing now was growing flowers with my tears. I sniffed, and wiped my face.

Suddenly, I realized the pros of my situation. I was in HEAVEN. I had all the angels on my side. They could help me save Jenne. And if I had stayed behind, something much worse might have happened to me if I tried to launch my rescue mission. I could be projected in the well, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of judging people. I would be ridiculed forever. And the guards were probably working right now to help exorcise my sister.

It seemed like hours had passed when Michael finally stepped forwards, humor showing on his face. "Well, little one, I usually don't receive this reaction when people first meet me," he said, eyes twinkling. My lips turned slightly up at the corners. Michael slightly cocked his head. "Is there a reason for your sadness?"

As he turned his head, I got the image of Jenne painfully wrenching her head to the side. I nodded my head, deciding not to speak about it just yet. Michael watched me the way Raphael did before he read my feelings the one time not so long ago. Raphael was also watching me, arms crossed. He tapped his foot on the marble, causing a small vibration to pass through my toes and into the rest of the area. I took this opportunity to turn around, gain my composure, and look at my surroundings. I was standing in a large circle area. Little marble blocks made up the flooring and spiraled around and around until they reached the center, where a hole was drilled into the ground. I could see a staircase spiraling down, down, down into the ground, and spiraling up, up, up into the infinitely blue sky until it faded from view. Huge evergreen pine trees surrounded the circle on one side, and long, wavy green grass dotted with wildflowers surrounded the side of the circle we were on.

I swiveled back to face the two men. While I was daydreaming, Raphael had grown wings of pure light. Michael had also grown wings of the same stuff as Raphaels'. I, on the other hand, still had not grown any wings yet or received any powers, except for my tears spawning flowers. I looked down at the aforementioned flowers, and while doing so, Michael also looked down at my flowers. His eyebrows scrunched together and he whispered something to Raphael. He then motioned for me to give him my hands. "Come, little one," he said, "let us go to the Kingdom in the Clouds." I grabbed one of his hands while letting my other hang at my side.

Time seemed to be in a standstill while Michael, Raphael, and I walked up the long staircase to the sky. Michael's arms pulsed with every movement, and I couldn't help but notice his muscles. Then, I realized that all angels were related and I stopped thinking thoughts I shouldn't be thinking.

When we finally reached the end of the staircase, I asked Michael, "how much time has passed?"

He responded, "twelve minutes." I wiped yet another gape off of my face and took my first step onto a cloud. It was slightly dense and damp and seemed like it could hold no weight, but absolutely perfectly held me and the two certainly heavy guys on either side of me. I raised my vision and a purely white city greeted me. Huge spires on top of buildings reached into the now deep blue sky. I could see smaller buildings also that surrounded the bigger white buildings. Pops of color I recognized as people peppered the scene before me. There seemed to be no cars, which probably attributed to the perfect atmosphere. There were also no factories, and no pollution of any kind. We seemed to be walking on a white, marble road into the city. As we walked closer and closer, houses started to creep into my vision. Sprawling mansions, homely one story houses, and wood cabins were all built alongside this road. I saw many other angels either harvesting some cloud for water, all having wings. I even saw some babies that had the most adorable tiny wings. This made me wonder where mine were, but I never got the chance to ask that question. I heard bells urgently toll and Raphael scooped me up once again. The angels I once saw playing and gathering cloud rushed their children and themselves into their houses. The angel baby started to cry, and its mother desperately shushed it as she noticed us running by. Michael flashed her a smile, but I could clearly see he was troubled. This tolling seemed to be anything but good.

We passed now desolate houses that grew into apartment buildings and finally into the city. Only a select few angels remained in the streets and they joined us. Raphael started to gallop again, and we entered the biggest building I had ever seen. Its spire seemed to scrape the very top of the sky and it was made of the same marble that of the road. The building was rectangular and had only one window that stretched all the way around. I realized the road led to this very building as Raphael, Michael, and our small following entered through huge double doors. A woman wearing a toga made of light, satiny blue fabric, blue flats, and a small necklace greeted us. Raphael and the others bowed. His beard fell into my eyes and I sneezed.

The woman motioned for Raphael to set me down, and after doing so she addressed the other men surrounding me.

"Hello, Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Jegudiel, Selaphiel, Uriel, Barachiel, and..." she paused, "Melli." I recognized the other five men as Archangels of God, and realized Raphael and Michael were also parts of this seven-angel group. "Melli, welcome to Heaven," the woman continued. "We welcome you as Guardian of plants, of trees, of flowers. We welcome you as Mother Nature."

"But my name is Melli," I feebly responded. The angels all chuckled and the woman stared at me with piercing brown eyes.

"You were Mother Nature since the day you were born. You were lost to our world in the womb, when an angel fighting Satan died. Your soul was sent to another baby's in your new mother. You were then born into the Higher Earth and raised as a child. Your wings were imprisoned in you and could not break free due to your human upbringing and birth. Now, you are brought to Heaven and my hand to help free your powers and help you fight for our cause." And once again, I was hit with another huge bout of news. I was just told I was an angel, and now I'm Mother Nature? My name was Melli. I had a sister named Jenne who I needed to save. As soon as I was granted my powers, I would...

"Help fight the bad things in hell," the blue lady finished for me.

I was getting done with the idea of people reading my mind, so I stomped up with as much strength as I could muster and I said, "who exactly are you?"

The next words spoken changed my life.

"I am Mary, the one who has unlocked your powers."

Excruciating pain sliced through my body, and I fell. The last thing I remembered was being caught in Raphael's soft, warm arms and hearing Michael say, "it will be over soon, my once little one."

Then stars criss-crossed my vision and I blacked out.

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Author's Note: Today was one of those days when you don't want to write in the beginning, but as you get going you don't want to stop. This is the longest chapter I've written so far, and I am just getting started!!!

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I am thinking of starting a romance book, so stay tuned and look for messages in the 'Conversations' tab on my page. :)

Keep on reading, my extraordinaires!

xoxo, Ellie <3