FATE

Delusion

This is not how I exactly pictured Mandy to be, but you cannot imagine how difficult it is was to find dark-skinned characters (What the hell, Pinterest). So, for now, this is Mandy.

FATE WON THE BLOOMING AWARDS! This is extremely exciting for me, for the judge had  said that, if she had not known better, she would have perceived it as  a published story! 

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The body was nowhere to be seen.

The sheer, ample and raw looks of overwhelming concern were etched on everybody's faces. Every single person in the room looked automatically at least a decade older, with creases decorating the once blank canvases. The weight of the excavation's results was burdening their hearts.

Alecander was the most distraught; the ghost of his past doings had foreshadowed what had really happened to his dear friend's corpse. Such tribulation was to haunt him forever, and would eventually take its toll on the strong man that was right in front of me.

Azrael, man of few words, had bestowed his condolences. He had seen the demons that had taken her limp body away. He had always mourned over souls that were destined to be troubled in the afterlife. Nancy was one of them. His hands were tied behind his back as the event was to occur, as it was not of his business to interfere with bodies after their souls had been carried. He left with nothing but more questions to be answered.

Matters like that were usually deemed insignificant enough for us not to be informed about, as the system we have put would have ensured that justice was to prevail, yet important enough to be looked upon by the Angel Guard. However, this case in particular was anything but. Had they noticed that Nancy was the keeper of many important talismans, they would have informed us right away. The fact that they had overlooked such important chunk of information is petrifying to me, as it left me wondering- what else had they missed?

Hilaeria's miniature body enveloped Alexander's sturdy one, lean fingers brushing his knotted shoulders loose. They then moved to his cheeks, wiping a couple stray tears that had cascaded down his angular face. With each passing second, the grieving man felt more tranquil.

After a while, the silence in which the room was engulfed in was no more.

"Nancy's occupation had been kept secret for her own safety, as she would have been deemed a target if her true identity was revealed. I had never seen a soul as pure as her own. She was one of the most amazing companions at all times. I love that woman, and I will not rest until justice is sought," Alecander said, voice enlaced with confidence.

Everybody in the room nodded, ushering him to continue.

"Nancy had always asked for one thing all her life, and that is to keep her goddaughter safe." Alecander pinched the bridge of his nose, "Calls are to be made so that we can find out who that girl is. Am I clear?"

The Angel Guards nodded at once, disappearing into thin air.

Hilaeria whispered a series of  words that appeared to be soothing, yet were too imperceptible for me to decipher. The man's tense features were more lenient as each second that had passed, and a ghost of a smile could have been spotted by the end of the funeral. A feathery kiss was then planted on Hilaeria's smooth cheek, and all eyes lingered in awe at the delicate portrayal of affection happening in front of their eyes.

The moment was short lived.

Azrael re-entered the church, slamming the enormous wooden doors shut.

Everybody had already forgotten about the loving gestures, for the room's air was thick with formidable tension again.

"We have found an eyewitness."

Cries erupted. Some were of shrill joy, and others were of pure agony. Stealing a glance at Alecander and Hilaeria, who were supporting each other in the confinement of their embrace, I walked towards them.

"Let's check this out. Come on, Hil, Alec."

Both courtly nodded, standing up and dusting themselves off, as if they needed to be cleansed off of the gruesome truth that was unraveling right in front of all our eyes.

Following Azrael's hunched frame, we walked out of the church. And, right in front of us was a man that had been haunted by his own choices. One that had fallen into the traps of immortality, and not in a good way. Clad in black was Death.

"You're the witness?" Hilaeria asked in pure astonishment. She rushed towards her old friend and gave him a hug.

"I've missed you, Hil," he said, smiling. "And I miss you both as well."

Alecander shook his hand, and a nod was more than enough for me.

"I am the witness," he replied, giving us a timid smile. "That's not exactly unusual, you know. However, It's the information that I hold that is, well, not what you're expecting. When I saw Nancy, she wasn't dead."

We all could not help but gasp. She was deemed dead and was buried afterwards. Was she alive when she had been buried?

Was she entombed when she was breathing? I thought.

"But when I left," he continued, "she was."

Alecander was on the verge of madness, and his chivalry was long gone by then. He wasted no time in seizing his old pal's neck with his bare hand, lifting him up the ground.

"Explain. Now."