An Angel With Borrowed Wings

Last Chance

Persephone's POV
I've arrived at Gabriel's 'office'. It wasn't even an office, just an ordinary table and two chairs on a particularly exquisite cloud. He did it to make it more 'human' for me. I felt a sudden twisting feeling in my stomach. I was terrified, the last time Gabriel talked to me was a year ago, when he told me that my wings were going to be removed because of my sins. I didn't want to talk to him, as I was about to make a run for it, I heard a stern voice call out to me.

"I wouldn't think of running, if I were you Persephone."

I screamed mentally and turned around to see him sitting in one of the chairs.

"Hello, Grandpa Gabriel."
I mumbled, making my way over to him.

He pointed to the chair, indicating for me to take a seat. I reluctantly sat down and faced him, trying not to make eye contact.

"I'm going to cut to the chase, Persephone, so you need to listen carefully to what I say. Okay?" He asked, his emerald green eyes piercing into mine.

"Yes, grandpa." I answered immediately, knowing that he didn't possess as much patience as angels should.

"Good. We both know that as a divine being and a purebred angel, your thoughts and actions are appalling, not to mention your constant failure in carrying out your duties. You have been punished once before for your incompetence and I was afraid that this time we would have to exile you to hell. However, our almighty and ever loving God, has decided to give you yet another chance to prove yourself to him."
He paused for a brief moment to assess my response. I nodded my head, eager to hear the rest.

"And so, I have chosen a particularly easy task for you. Something even an ordinary angel could do, so for a purebred it shouldn't be difficult at all." He explained, stressing the word 'purebred'.

I felt my heart lift a little. At least Gabriel had decided to go easy on me, I met his gaze again and nodded for him to continue.

"Your mission is simple. There is a human that is being targeted by a demon on earth, a very pious and righteous human who will change the world for the better. Your job is to protect the human at all costs, if you succeed, you will not only be allowed to stay in Heaven but, you will also be given your wings back." He stated simply, watching my reaction.

Shock struck me as I realised what he had said. Tears sprung to my eyes and cascaded down my cheeks unwillingly. My wings, the things that truly made me an angel, I could get them back and the mission seemed easy enough. I looked gratefully at Gabriel, unable to put my joy into words.

"You must be careful though, for you see, the human is not yet religious and is living recklessly in a life of crime. He will act unholy and almost demonic. He will only convert to God's ways after you have successfully protected him from the demon." Gabriel warned.

"I have a photograph of him, so that you do not get confused between the demon and the human, because after all demons are devious and it is hard to spot them in human form, especially for a day dreaming angel like you." He snapped, annoyed that I was fantasising over my wings, instead of listening to him.

He pulled out a picture from his robes and held it in front of my face.

"This is the human." He explained, while pointing to it.

I let my eyes flicker quickly over the picture, without paying too much attention, it showed a young boy, with straight black hair and dark brown eyes. He seemed to be scowling at nothing and was dressed from head to toe in black. Saying that he looked unapproachable would be sugarcoating the situation. Was Gabriel being serious? I flashed him a sideways look and just my luck, he caught my eye.

"Not what you expected, is he? This is why you must take extra care to have your wits about on this mission. Remember you also have a demon to deal with." He reminded me, while somehow managing to not scold my ditzyness.

"Yes, Grandpa. I promise to try my absolute best to protect this human and earn back my reputation as an angel." I replied, putting on a confident look although I felt the exact opposite, my heart was telling me that I was going to mess this up somehow.

"No, Persephone. Your best is simply not going to be enough this time, you've been given enough chances and this human is very important. You either complete the mission successfully or fail and get sent to hell." Stated Gabriel, slicing through my fake confidence in his severe tone.

Without any warning, he got up and told me to turn around. As I obeyed, he pressed his hands to my back and then turned away. I felt a rush of warmth flow up my spine and then experienced a calming tingling feeling before the warmth stopped abruptly. My back felt lighter and slightly warmer still, and... soft. Soft?

"Grandpa, What just happened?" I questioned as I reached to touch my back. I remember this feeling, the feeling I lost a year ago.

"You've been given temporary wings in order to complete this mission, however be warned," he said as he noticed my ridiculously happy expression. "These will deteriorate the moment you think sinful thoughts or begin to stray from your mission. They will quite literally begin to shed the feathers and fade as the bones shrivel and decay. This will cause you horrendous physical pain in order to alert you of your wrongdoings" He muttered darkly, as I listened in horror.

What? How far could heaven go with punishments? I don't think I could handle the trauma of having the wings decay on my back, even if they were temporary, especially if it would cause me pain. I wanted to tell him how cruel and wicked this method was, but I knew I'd be brutally punished if I spoke against the heavenly authorities, and stayed quite, nodding obediently.

"Now that you understand, make your way over to earth quickly, for I cannot say when the demon will approach the human. I have sent a message to St. Peter who has already opened the gates for you. Now, I have work to be attending to, so take my blessing and leave." He said swiftly, already flying away as I watched.

What just happened? My mind was in a swirling flurry of confusion and a there was a dull ache in my heart. This mission seemed easy enough, but imagining the consequences of failing this mission was enough to make my knees wobble with uncertainty. I was doubting myself. I was definitely the worst angel ever, clumsy and disorientated and always thinking sinful thoughts. How would I be able to protect a human, when I couldn't even save my own wings?

These thoughts continued rushing around my head, making me feel horribly giddy and sick, as I walked out of the gates of heaven. I was out. I liked this feeling of freedom, heaven couldn't control me anymore. I could leave and never come back, I could live as a human.

"Ah!" I grimaced as a sudden burning sensation shot up my spine. I writhed in pain as my back stung as if I'd fallen on a bed of glass shards. I put my hands to my back to somehow soothe the red hot pain, when I pulled my hand back, there was a single white feather laying in my palms. It must've come from my wings. Panic flooded through me as I realised that I was still under the control of heaven, these wings, they would cause me pain if I disobeyed.

I curled into a ball, clutching my head, as the pain slowly faded, reminding me of my burden. I had to do this. As bad as heaven was and as much as I hated it, hell would be much, much worse.

I thought of the unbearable pain I would have to go through if I somehow messed this mission up and got to my feet. I straightened out my wings and jumped slightly and began to flap, gaining speed with every beat, until finally, I lifted into the sky. I had missed this feeling, the rush of wind through my hair and the purity of the air, that I had longed for since I lost it. Without wasting any more time, I made my way to earth.