Fallen Angel

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I curled the bottom of my hair – leaving long ringlets in place. I touched up my makeup and wore my navy-blue-verging on dark purple halter-neckline dress. It had some beaded and diamante ruffles of flowers around the neck and down the middle. My dress was fitted and then flowed at the bottom where it touched the floor. I was saving this dress for prom but I never went. I stayed at home studying, trying to get my grades up so Richard would hand me over the shop when he was ready to retire. I added my matching sandals which gave me some height and they were safe for the beach – unlike some shoes, where the sand gets trapped inside and never comes out and you end up throwing them away. I looked, for a change, as if I was going on a proper date.

The best compliment I got from anyone was my mum and that was just her saying I look “nice”. Thanks mum.

No one wanted to drive since all the spaces in the car park would be taken up thanks to the concert – also, because they all fancied a drink. So it was no wonder that we got weird looks from people on the bus when a big family of fourteen spread themselves out amongst the seats and standing area. I stood next to a buggy which had a tiny little baby in it. I couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl as it was dressed in pale yellow. It was staring at me with its big baby blues. Feeling very awkward about it, I smiled at the tiny human.

And it smiled back.

Which made me feel all warm inside, causing my smile to brighten, and then it giggled. I wondered if the little baby would grow up to be another ordinary person, or whether the baby would grow up to be an angel – hopefully a white-soul. Looking at the baby, it was possible that even if it was a human, it would grow up to bring some much happiness to the people that it’ll meet in its life time. I mean, look, I’ve just met it – a stranger – and it’s made me feel a little happier.

Stepping off the bus, my tiny bubble of happiness popped as I realised that I was never going to see that baby again. Sure, there’d be other babies but they were all different in an individual way.

We sat out on the back decking of the restaurant. The stars twinkled as if they were a distant diamond blanket covering the sky and warming my thoughts. Our menus were already on the table when we sat down. I ordered the spaghetti bolognaise with chips on the side – I needed comforting. We could see the lights from the stage further down the beach. I had completely zoned out and didn’t realise until I caught the end of the conversation the others were having.

‘So, Sam was only acting to help Electra?’ Rosita questioned.

‘Yes. Luckily, Electra is quite smart as none of us could have done anything.’ Sonny replied.

My spaghetti and chips arrived a few minutes later along with everyone else’s meals. My stomach suddenly rebelled to eating food. I just kept twirling the strands around my fork. I didn’t even put salt and vinegar on my chips – that’s how they knew something was wrong.

‘Electra,’ Aura said from across the table, ‘are you ok?’ She then whispered, ‘what happened with Sam?’

Tears danced on my eye lines at the mention of his name. ‘Don’t worry... its not important.’ I said, but the glare she gave me showed she knew I was lying.