Things Not Subject To Gravity

QUANTUM LEAPS: 18

18: MARIA CARUSO

The angel of love was upon me

And Lord, I felt so clean

Like a preacher on Sunday

My heart was serene

(Angel, Depeche Mode)

Maria slowly opened her eyes. At first, she found a white ceiling, then her body lying on a bed. Both looked clear and shining, beautiful without a reason.

Her mind was pleasantly empty. She was like a spectator at the cinema, simply enjoying the view.

She shifted slightly on the bed and a subtle pain stung her right temple. A sharper one pierced her left shoulder. Her body was as sore as if she'd just set a new record at the hundred meter race.

She wasn't the running type though.

Her left elbow, knee, and foot burned. She tilted her head to look down at them, but even that wasn't enough to disrupt the deep sense of peace pervading her.

Her heart was so light it could've flown away, leaving in her chest just a puff of laughter and joy. She felt like a blank canvas, immaculate before the painting.

She moved her hands and just then she realized that her left one held onto something. The contact was warm and comforting. Her eyes moved along her arm and found another hand resting upon hers. Her gaze trailed over an unusual white robe until it reached the face of a stranger, sitting beside the bed. Maria blinked a couple of times.

It was a divine creature.

Androgynous features, sharp yet delicate, like an ice sculpture. Hair that shone like strings of pearls, eyes like sparkling obsidians washed by the river and left under the sun—and those gems bestowed upon her a loving gaze.

"Are you an angel?" she asked in awe.

His smile reminded her of Flora in Botticelli's Primavera. As an art student, she felt the urge to take a shot of him so she could paint him later.

"I'm Sybil Vain, a seer, not an angel," he replied calmly, his voice as deep and evocative as his eyes. "How do you feel?" he inquired.

"Inexplicably good," she said, still hazy.

She had no idea what had happened, where she was and why the stranger had popped up. While she tried to get the gist of the situation, her right hand moved to touch her temple. Her fingers brushed the rough fabric of a bandage and suddenly she realized she was in a hospital. She took a deep breath and the smell of antiseptic filled her nostrils. A flash of the crash came into her mind and she recognized Sybil Vain as being the one who had pulled her out of the car.

Her mind woke up and started spinning at full speed. A vortex of unstoppable thoughts submerged her.

"Where's my mom?" she gasped.

"I'm sorry..." he replied, slowly shaking his head. "They declared her dead at the crash."

Her blood chilled in her veins while her body was taken over by a shiver that traveled up to her lips. She couldn't stop her teeth from clattering. Burdened by the weight of thoughts, her mind blamed her for enjoying that temporary peace and forgetting about her mother. She pressed her lips together, trying to get a hold on herself.

Sybil Vain squeezed her hand, dragging her out of her thoughts. As if a magic spell was cast upon her, her heartbeat and breathing slowed down, her emotions quieted. She couldn't speak anymore, but she swallowed back the tears, concentrating on the warmth of his firm hold. She couldn't explain why, but his presence itself was oddly comforting. For a moment she hoped he could stay with her forever.