Original Sin

Chapter 12

Exile from the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3:13-24

Michael watched the scene unfold in what was left of the Garden. He listened intently and grinned in satisfaction as God spoke, His voice booming with hatred and malice.

"You are henceforth to serve as the courier of lost souls to their eternal damnation!" He roared at Lucifer, the strongest angel ever birthed in Heaven. There were times, long ago, when Michael thought of Lucifer as a sort of brother among his fellow angels. However, times have changed. With Lucifer gone, it would be Michael's turn to rise. 

"You, child!" God turned to the woman, a human, the daughter of Adam and Eve, the first human child on Earth. She was God's perfect creation, so beautiful and pure. "You shall live for all eternity, and you shall witness firsthand the cost of your unholy lust! Wherever you go, you shall bring death and destruction along with you!"

Then Michael watched as God receded back to the Heavens, taking  the promise of a perfect world with Him. Michael's grin widened into a wicked smile. Humanity had corrupted itself in just a few years, a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. There was no going back now. 

Yet, God did not smite those whom He punished. Instead, Lucifer took the woman's hand and walked into an endless desert.

This was it. This was the opportunity Michael had waited for. God's creations made Him weak! All Michael had to do was wait for right time to act. Oh, the power that could be his! He had already waited in the crevices of Heaven for so long. What was a few thousand additional years? What new corruptions would humanity think of to accelerate the process? 

A devilish, breathy laugh erupted from Michael's lungs, one simple statement occupying his thoughts and nothing else: 

God. Has. Faltered.

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Alex was eyeing the key suspiciously. Hailey twirled it on the chain in the air. She was enjoying the soft grass on her skin. The Botanical Gardens were fortunately closed for the weekend; they did not have to worry about prying eyes and ears.

"I don't like this idea, Hailey," Alex stated bluntly. "The Rock of Ages must take an awful lot of spiritual energy to use. I don't believe a human can withstand it for very long." The concern was evident in his voice, but didn't seem to reach Hailey's ears. 

Hailey nodded her agreement. She already thought about it. However, since she was prepared to die for the betterment of all mankind the news did not come as a shock to her. The concept was a bit frightening- She'd been alive so long, seen so much death, that ultimately she was numb to the idea of dying herself. 

"Are you at all concerned about losing your life?" Alex's voice became a low rumble. Hailey stopped fiddling with the key and look up at him. He sat across from her on the grass, dark eyes glaring at her. His jaw twitched, and he'd balled up his fists so tightly that his knuckles were white. It pained Hailey to see him struggling with this. She gave a small sigh, not wanting to go on with this sort of relationship. He refused to do things the easy way, with good reason, she knew. However, because of this, she needed to resolve things the hard way...alone.

"I know it's not what you want, Alex, but if you don't want to take the action required to set things right, then I will find an alternative. This is how things go back to normal..."

"I DO NOT WANT THINGS TO GO BACK TO NORMAL!!!!" Alex roared. The grass underneath them suddenly grew brown, and the lush soil disintegrated into dust. Dark clouds formed overhead and the wind blew a violent gust through he trees. Hailey thought she felt a tremor in the ground as his anger rumbled through the earth. His eyes turned from their dark brown color to pitch black, and she thought there was a glimmer of literal fire burning in the far reaches of his irises. If she thought being numb was frightening, see the devil himself appear momentarily was sheer horror. Her breath hitched in her throat, and Hailey involuntarily flinched at the man she'd loved for centuries. 

It did not go unnoticed. He shook his head, ridding his mind of the anger that threatened to overflow and rear it's fiery head. Alex stood and paced in the now crunchy dead grass and dust, trying to calm himself, calm his fury before it caused any more damage. 

His heart was breaking, but so was Hailey's. She desperately needed him to understand her motives. "I'm a human, Alex," Hailey said, standing up in an attempt to remain strong when she felt like breaking down. "I'm supposed to be mortal, to live one fulfilling life. I should be able to watch my children grow up, and their children grow up, and then leave the world's troubles to the next generation and pray they do a better job at running it than I did. But I've thrown the whole universe into a downward-spiraling pit of chaos, and I am tired of suffering for everyone." She paused, the gravity of their situation sinking and settling in the pit of her stomach. "I do not regret my actions, but I miss the possibility of what could have been. Now Michael is going to use this opportunity to overthrow God, and when that happens he will kill us and everyone else anyway!" Slowly, she unclenched her fists, breathing in and out, a rhythmic mantra she'd perfected to conquer stress-induced screaming. "I'm trying to keep that from happening."

Silence. 

Alex turned his back to her. His chest heaved up and down. The slightest sheen of sweat cover his broad shoulders and arms. His head hung low. 

The truth was, Hailey didn't want to be alone in this endeavor, though she would deny it until her last breath. If only he could love me through this...If we could get past our selfishness... Hailey's thoughts betrayed her spoken words. All she wanted was to stay beside Alex forever. How selfish she really was! 

"I can't win against you, Hailey." When he turned back to face her, she saw a single tear escape and slide down his cheek. Hailey's eyes went wide. She'd heard of angel tears before, but never once saw her angel cry. Legends said an angel cried when they found true love. What was so special about this moment? They had been in love for ages.

"You don't know how long I've wished I could be human for you. I've looked everywhere for a way to make that happen, but I never found it. I can't give you the life you deserve, one that doesn't deal with supernatural bullshit. You take on the weight of the world like it's no big deal. I float around picking up souls, and I keep doing it because I know you'll eventually show up again. I've been selfish, and you are the very definition of selfless." Alex paused, reaching up to wipe a stray tear that had fallen from Hailey's face. His eyes grew serious. His voice became so low it penetrated the depths of her soul. "If you are so intent on doing this, then we are going to do it together."

"You realize this means we basically accepting death, right?" Hailey's voice barely managed a whisper.

Alex's speech was firm, resolute. "If eternity doesn't have you, I don't want it."

That broke her. Hailey let the waterworks fall from her eyes and buried her face in her husband's chest. How stupid was she? How long had she been so petty and ridiculous? Alex had been living for every moment they shared in the present. Hailey's dreams and wishes had stayed locked in a past that no longer existed. Now they were going to write their own future, together. 

"I love you," Hailey whispered, closed her eyes, and placed a tender kiss on Alex's lips. This was the beginning of their ending, a good ending, as it should be.

Rain began to fall, washing away the mistakes of the past, creating space for the future.