The Fallen Angel
A fortnight ago I fell onto this planet supposedly named Earth. I have heard many stories about this hostile planet, stories about how its society has devoured itself and where the human beside you is no longer your brother but has become your enemy, but nothing prepared me for the sight I would experience with my own eyes.
I have observed these filthy humans from above, but actually being here amongst them, causes a shiver of disgust to run through me.
I am called Ignitio. I am an Angel from Utopia. How it is I got here, I fail to remember. All my powers have subsided; it takes much more effort to heal or to even read the human mind. It may be due to the unfamiliar atmosphere or maybe the close contact with humans, either way, all I can do is wait and hope that one of my brothers or sisters will notice my absence. How better to disguise myself than by not disguising at all.
Act human? It's easier said than done.
*
The palms of my hands were sweating as I slowly climbed out of the vehicle. Here it goes, I thought as I quickly locked the car that I had stolen yesterday, before making my way through the parking lot.
It had been a week. A week of being stuck here, acting like a human and most importantly trying to avoid them. Now and then I’d walk past a human that carried with them such a wretched odor that it would almost cause me to faint.
Why was I cast into this hell? I thought.
The parking lot in front of McAllister High was almost empty besides the teachers' cars parked at the very front. I made sure to come extra early today. A human girl was leaning against the front door of the school chewing some gum animatedly and nodding her head to the beat of the music that she was listening too. I had had an orientation in the weekend. If I was stuck on this planet then I might as well try to fit in.
I had been told that I would have a guide for the day; a fellow student that shared the same classes as mine. This must be her, I thought.
I stepped in front of her slowly, not knowing how to begin the introduction.
Should I shake hands? She was singing along to the song with her eyes closed. I extended my hand nervously. I had observed that this was a ritual greeting, but I couldn't help but feel nervous, this would be the first contact I'd have with a human and God knows how my skin would react.
Being an angel I had the power to transform into any being that had a shape. The only thing I needed was a replica, meaning I would be someone else’s clone.
I had been standing there for a solid three minutes when her eyes fluttered open. She gasped, backing up against the wall, taken aback by my proximity. She took off her hearing device before giving me a hateful look.
"Don't ever do that again!" she growled whilst slipping her apparatus into her school bag. Her eyes flickered to my extended hand and she gave me a 'what a weirdo' look. Yes, in preparation for entering high school I took the pleasure in watching some sitcoms and soaps to become familiar with the human ways and their sayings.
"Eh, I'm sorry." I murmured dropping my hands to my sides and lowering my gaze. She lifted her bag from the floor and without giving me a second glance, she pushed the front door open leaving me standing outside alone.
After two steps she stopped, probably noticing that I wasn’t following her. “Don’t just stand there, I’m giving you a tour,” she said bitterly while giving me the stink eye. Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of bed, I thought. Either that or the dropped Starbuck’s coffee cup by the stairs belonged to her. It was probably the latter.
Without hesitation I followed her, turning left and right now and then as we walked through this maze. She stopped at a locker numbered 231. “This is your locker,” she said in a bored voice. She turned to face me and all of a sudden concern was written all over her face.
“Why is your face…your face is….?”
“It’s what?” I put my palm to my face and caressed my cheek. What was this human talking about?
“It’s blue.” As soon as she uttered the words I ran straight for the lavatory we had passed a minute ago. How could I forget? I had forgotten to breathe. I looked in the mirror and indeed, I was bright blue and I felt a searing pain in back. My wings were growing back. As I had found out early this week, I had to breathe often in order for the replica to stay in place.
I glanced once more in the mirror to see that my wings had torn through my clothes and the feathers were growing. I groaned, this was the painful part. The creaking of a door brought me back to my senses. Had I forgotten to close the door?
In came the human girl. She threw her bag on the floor and laughed. She actually laughed. She’d probably never seen an angel before and her first thought was to laugh?
“Had fun this week?” She raised an eyebrow smirking at the bewildered expression on my face.
“You can come home now. Your punishment is over. I’m getting tired of this spying game and I don't think I could stand the smell of humans anymore.”
