Holding On To Heaven

by Melyssa Winchester

  Chapter Eight

  Gabriel

  It has been years since I have been back to this place. As I take in the scenery around me, I realize that in all of that time it has remained much the same. The seasons seemed to change with each passing year, but nothing else had.

  I have always enjoyed this time of year. Of all the incarnations that the world takes on, by far this one is the most beautiful in its simplicity. There is a rustic feel upon entry here. Things were very basic, homely even and the more I take in of my surroundings I realize that I have missed it.

  As I stand in place watching, leaves make their descent from the trees, slowly floating in space until they reach their inevitable final resting place on the lightly frosted greenery below. There is a sharpness in the air that secretly makes me yearn for the modern convention of a fireplace. The weather cold, but not so frosty that it requires anything more than a lined jacket.

  Houses line the streets, in an order that seems to go on for miles. Each plot of land filled with trees both in front and back, some of which holding tire swings from earlier generations of children having grown up and moved on. If I did not already have the most splendid and beautifully crafted home, this would be what I would imagine the perfect home to be. It is quiet, but not so much so that it seemed abandoned. It really is a vision to behold.

  The last time I found myself here had been to take a human form. Back then it had been imperative that I do so and Father had gone ahead and found me the perfect one. Now, two years later, I was back again for a repeat performance. Only this time, it is different in that the subject in question was going to give me his permission so I could enter his body.

  I always see this time of year as a change. It is the ending to something that had been started months before. It is the time where the weather changes from warm to cool, the green of the grass becoming white with frost that would turn into snow, the leaves changing colors from the brightest greens to the shadier reds and browns. It fit perfectly with what I am here to accomplish. I was here for a change of my own.

  To become someone else, something else.

  Graham Hudson embodies every quality that I could ever need and want in a vessel. He is strong, able bodied and more importantly, warm and giving. His heart is strong. He reached out to those in need and did whatever he could to help, in an effort to make things better. He did not lead his life the way most humans chose to, choosing instead to lead with his kind heart and leave the rationality of his mind in the background. If an angel could walk the earth as a human and not be one of the fallen, then Graham was the one we would call on.

  He is also the first boy Serenity ever loved. Whether or not they were aware of it, I had known because I lived it.

  When an angel takes a vessel, it is true that we override them, but when I joined with Graham the first time I had done things differently. The core parts of him that made him the perfect human host I wanted to keep. I didn't want to override his natural temperament with my own. It did not seem fair. It was unheard of to do things the way I had then, but that was me. I was different, much like the boy I had taken over.

  His caring nature with Serenity, the patience he showed her during their time living in such close proximity to each other had been all him. Where I could have gotten involved I did not. I chose instead to remain in the background and let things play out naturally.

  Which is exactly what I planned on doing again this time. I am hoping that what had been started over two years ago would remain and I would be able to connect with Serenity in a way through Graham that is as natural as possible. I did not want it to be a forced experience. Finding out that he had not left the neighborhood was a bonus in my favor because it meant that at least unconsciously, he is allowing himself to remember that time in his life.

  I would reach out to him much the same way I had with Serenity, and if that went according to plan I would explain myself and ask for admittance. There could be no one else. Graham is the one. Yes, it is more than a little selfish, me doing it this way, but I really have no other alternative. I cannot tell her the truth. Not until the time is right. Everything has to be aligned perfectly.

  I spot him walking down the empty street, dodging the sparsely placed rain puddles on the sidewalk, his hands gripping his jacket in an effort to fend off the chill that has taken over the air, as he made his way back to his family home. The bag on his back only solidified my belief that this is his primary residence. He is a student here, remaining in Green Haven when all his friends carved their own paths elsewhere.

  Graham had aged generously. His height well over six foot, his shoulders broad and thick. His hair showed that it had retained its light coloring and was just long enough that you could make out the split ends under the edges of the winter hat he wore. Positioning myself on the side of the street where he walked, I noticed that his face showed slight creases, the sign of hard times and even harder work. Whatever the reason for him staying in this place, it is obvious he had been working tirelessly throughout.

  Following him as he made his way into the house I knew that the time had come for me to put my plan into motion. Knowing exactly what I had to do to make it happen made me hesitate just slightly. I was about to use my power to manipulate a human, something that for my brothers would be as easy as batting an eye, but for me caused a great level of distress. I did not enjoy having to do things this way, but given the alternative I knew that I had to see it through and deal with the consequences later.

  Taking great care, I chose the perfect image of Serenity, the way she looked back when Graham had known her and using my power pushed the image into his mind.

  Graham has only fond memories of his time with Serenity and I was banking on that being his response to the random image implant now.

  The smile I witnessed, the one that caused his entire mouth to lift, strengthened my position. I had been right in my judgment call. He did indeed remember her fondly. That would most definitely make things move that much smoother when the time came.

  “Serenity.”

  Her name fell from his lips, the last syllable coming out higher pitched then the rest, as if in question. He is remembering her, but also questioning the randomness of the vision. As I read his mind I watch the questions flash through in quick succession. Yes this is going to much easier than I thought.

  “I wonder what ever happened with her.”

  I saw my opportunity and I ran with it. I have the answers he wants. It is time I gave them to him.

  “She moved to Stephenville and went to college. She is planning on becoming a doctor.”

  Graham spun around, hearing my voice, believing someone to be in the room with him. Typical human reaction to those that have never heard voices before. I had to take every step from here on out with extreme care. The last thing I want to do is spook him before I got to the heart of the matter.

  “Very funny. Who said that?”

  “If you want an answer to that, you must move back.”

  Surprisingly he did as I said and seconds later I shot out a burst of power, making the light that was hanging in the room explode, bathing the kitchen where we now stood in darkness.

  Humans were interesting in this way. Most of them could never handle seeing an angel in their true form. The myth that seeing it was too much and burned their retinas was false, but it did leave them with an overpowering nausea like feeling, which sometimes resulted in the expulsion of their stomach contents. Since Graham had once been my host, he was immune to those affects, something I was grateful for.

  Making my presence known, I covered the room in the brightest of light. To him I would only be a large bright orb, but I was there in my form, my wings in full length span.

  “Who— better yet, what are you?” he stammered, trying to make his mind come to terms with what his eyes were witnessing. Another typical human reaction and one I had been expecting.

  “I am Gabriel.”

  “Gabriel? That's i
t? You're leaving a little bit out don't ya think?”

  “You would be correct. What do you think I am?”

  “A figment of my extremely overtired imagination?”

  “I assure you, I am not. I am very real.”

  “Prove it.”

  Overriding his thoughts, I began implanting his mind with memories from his childhood, one after the other until he put his hand up in an attempt to get me to stop. There is no one other than people present in the visions that knew about them, so it was the easiest way I could think of to make him see that I am very real.

  “Okay, so you're real. What are you exactly?”

  “I am an angel. An archangel in fact.”

  I sensed his mind running a mile a minute and it was solidified as a nervous laugh escaped his lips.

  “Right. Okay. So what does an angel want with me?”

  “You will not remember this as it happened when you were much younger, but we have met before. Something that was erased when our time together concluded.”

  He pulled the chair out and threw himself down into it, his eyes locked on the floor, afraid to look in my direction. He is becoming overwhelmed by what is taking place and I understood it. It is not every day that one of the heavenly hosts visits with you. I actually expected more of a reaction then I was getting.

  He is most definitely not your typical human.

  “You didn't answer the question.” he said looking up in my direction again, using his hand to block the light that was shining directly at him.

  “I am here because I need your help.”

  “Why me? If you're an angel then what can I possibly do for you that you can't just do yourself?”

  Graham Hudson is a bright human. Whatever he had been told of Heaven in his childhood or from the time after I used him as my vessel had been enough for him to know that we were all powerful and all knowing. I really had underestimated him.

  “Your help is required for something that I cannot touch in my true form. It requires you and you alone.”

  “And what would that be? If you can't already tell, I'm not exactly living the high life here. Unless you need me to fix something for you, I don't think I'm going to be of much use.”

  One of the greatest abilities that I had in my arsenal was the ability to sense deceit. With a combination of tone of voice and our ability to read minds along with the inner workings of the human body we are able to determine when someone is not being the most truthful.

  This is not the case with Graham. He is telling me the truth. He does not believe himself to be anything special, when in actuality he couldn't be further from the truth. He was the only one that could do this with me, which made him very special.

  “You, Graham Hudson, student of the arts at Green Haven Community College, protector of his family and primary caregiver for an ailing mother, are of more use to me than you can ever imagine.”

  He seemed taken aback at my admission. I knew of his life now. There were no walls I needed to break through. He is an open book to me.

  “Okay fine, I'll bite. What do you need me to do?”

  “This is not for me. This is for someone you care about. They need you, which in turn means that I also need you.”

  “I don't understand.”

  “Serenity Richards.”

  “What about her?”

  “She needs you, but we cannot proceed any further until you agree to help me in the manner I require.”

  “I haven't seen or heard from Serenity in over two years. Why would she need me? Last I knew she moved away with her mother and was living her life happily someplace else.”

  “You would be correct in your assumption, but she is not living her life as happily as you seem to believe. You know of her gift, not the full magnitude of it, but you have seen it. You know from experience that living with it the way she has been has never been easy for her.”

  Realization settled in across his features. He knew exactly what I was speaking of though he had not wanted to admit it aloud.

  “How am I supposed to help her? I already told you, I haven't seen or heard from her in years.”

  “You are to help her by allowing me one simple thing. You could be the very thing that saves her life and the lives of those attached to her.”

  I am being vague, but there is only so much information I am permitted to share with the young man. As it is, he knows more than even Serenity herself and I was dangerously close to breaking all of the rules in order to get what I want.

  “What is this one simple thing you're talking about?”

  “In order for me to help her adequately, I need a vessel. A human host if you will. With as much power as I have, I can do anything I need to in this form, but I cannot be of any more help to her this way. I need to become human.”

  Shaking his head I listen as he laughs, unable to wrap his mind around what is being said and what I am asking of him. Given the range of things that had been happening to me as of late, I could sympathize more than ever. If I was completely human, I would think I was crazy too.

  “You want to use my body so you can save Serenity?”

  “In a manner of speaking yes, but you would be the one saving her.”

  “How the hell am I supposed to do that? She probably doesn't even remember me.”

  “She remembers you fondly.”

  “Okay then, let’s say that she does, how the hell am I supposed to save her?”

  This is the moment of truth. I could very well tell him the real reason I needed him and what he would be a part of, or I could just give him the bare essentials and hope he would agree and we could move forward. Giving my answer some thought, I decided on giving him a little bit of both. I couldn't deceive him for my own gain, at least not entirely.

  “By making her believe.”