Signed & Sealed

{F o u r}

Finally, able to grieve for a few moments in silence, I could tell the stranger stood behind me, but he remained quiet. I kept my hands tight on Noah's small fingers, and my head remained tucked while I prayed to God with blessings for sparing my brother. These few moments of tranquility felt relaxing to my soul, but sadly all good things must come to an end. When I knew it was time to return to my room before the nurse discovered my absence preferably, I sighed and gave Noah one final glance.

Breaking that solitude, a cold firm grip attached to my shoulder, and like an electrical shock sent through my nervous system, I clenched in a frozen state. "You should not pray to God, it was not he that decided to spare the boy's life," the stranger sounded far different than he had that night, or even in my hospital room. This voice he portrayed was deeper, full of mockery and pain that scared my soul more than my body. Something told me that he couldn't be an angel, and yet I wanted so hard to believe he had been.

"Are you suggesting that I pray to you, whoever you are?" I found my voice barely enough that it could be heard just above a whisper. My raspy throat still trembled with the damage caused, and fear glued me to my spot.

"Well, you might if you'd like, but it is not necessary. However, you did make a deal with me, and it is time to bind that deal with finality," the stranger explained and removed his tight grip on my shoulder. Unsure of what he meant, I was confused by this deal. The pain after the wreck was so great that I have forgotten what he said.

"What deal are you talking about?" I struggled to rise from the floor, where I had sat to relax next to Noah. Like a dangerous gentleman, the stranger did indeed help lift me from the tile that left my legs numb. When I balanced without him having to hold me up, I took a second to look over my shoulder at his face. The handsome man was like a breath of fresh air with each glance. As if forgotten, his face etched a familiarity that grew with seething hatred as he stands there talking like he is above God. Not that I was that big of a worshiper, I did believe because my parents had to go somewhere pleasant. "Do not play coy woman, you agreed to exchange your life in place of his lost one, or should I revoke that right?" He chuckled under his breath and left me at a loss for words.

How did this man plan to get away with this act of criminalism? How did he save Noah, because I remember him dying in my arms? Unless the hospital was able to bring his life back, there was no way this man could do such a thing. Though the man wore an angelic face of beauty that no other man had shown to me before, he reeked of darkness below his cloak of an angel. Something about him felt divine when he came to our rescue that night, but perhaps with the recent loss and the trauma to my head, I had mistaken him for a God sent divinity. "You brought us to the hospital, and they rescued my brother. What reward do you seek in that?" I questioned and turned to face him directly, trying to wash away the fear that had settled down in my belly.

What could he do inside of a hospital, especially when all I needed to do was scream out, or press the nurse button on the arms of the bed where Noah rest silently still. "Reward? No, ma'am. I made a deal with you on his death bed that night. Perhaps you don't believe me?" He questioned while raising a perfectly shaped brow with inquisition.

Everything about this man's presence screamed lustful thoughts that were hard to control like impulses. With short dark brown, almost black, hair that reminded me of a raven cropped close to his head on the sides, his top length grew a bit longer and swept back neatly. As if his fingers have combed it far too many times, it tried to regain the natural shape it wanted to take rather than the direction he meant for it to go. On the strange man's facial features, blending from his sideburns down to his jaw, a light stubble shaped his sharp features like carvings that came from perfect carpenter hands. He resembled that of an angel, but what is it that makes that beauty fade with an evil presence? I couldn't understand what it is, but it lies right there against the surface just below the skin, an answer that I cannot explain.