by H. T. Night
I guessed they had permanently taken over the area. I honestly didn’t care. I went higher up to find a place that wasn’t flooded with Mani.
There was a turnoff to the right. I was feeling so much pain and so much sorrow that I couldn’t even breathe. I was now hyperventilating. I pulled over to the right, near a giant cliff edge, one without a guardrail of any sort.
I parked my bike right near the edge of the large cliff. I looked down below and it was a humongous drop. If it didn’t kill you, it would sure fuck up your life to the point where you wished you were dead. That’s what I wished. I wished I was dead. I had become an alcoholic gambling degenerate. I had pissed away a fortune that I could have lived on. Could have bought a house. Could have started my own MMA fighting movie company.
I suddenly knew that I didn’t want to live anymore.
I can’t go on.
This world had dealt me the worst fucking poker hand. And the worst life. I was a loser!
I climbed off my bike and fell to my knees onto the hard rocks.
“Someone please make this pain go away!” I cried out into the night. I knelt and looked into the night. I looked out at the stars and I remembered songs that reminded me of Maya. Songs like “Just the Way You Are” and “My Girl.” Songs that I softly sang to her in bed, after we’d made love. Songs that had made her beam at me.
Damn it.
“I’m sorry, Maya!” I yelled out into the night sky. “I’ve let you down. I am completely defeated. I have nothing left. Will I see you? Will we be together once more? Will we?” I cried out into the night. My pain was abundant and it had taken over every aspect of my body.
I stood up and I tried to stop crying. I jumped up on my bike and…
Chapter Twenty-One
I jumped up on my bike and I started the motor. I reversed my bike to give me about a hundred feet between me and the edge of the cliff. Thelma and Louise came to mind. I remember how stunned I was that they actually did it in the movie. Went through with it. Like I was going to go through with it. After the movie, I realized that they had screwed up everything so much that there was no other way to end the movie. It had become a debacle of epic proportions. Like my real life.
I couldn’t think anymore. My mind was becoming blank. I knew that I needed to deal with this. This life, as I once knew it, was over. There was one answer and I was here and I would do it now and end the suffering.
I started the motor on my bike.
Suddenly, I thought of Josiah, his earnest face, the hug he had given me. I thought of Maya’s parents, who had been so accepting of my MMA fighting because Maya had been. But then, I thought of Maya. The one true love of my existence.
I looked and I said as loud as I could, “Maya, I love you! But I can’t make it without you.”
I started breathing heavily. It was the best thing for me to do. End it all. I knew it was as selfish as fuck to commit suicide—it would hurt everyone who knew me and leave a hole in their lives, especially Josiah’s, not to mention how it would affect the MMA—but I was to the point I just needed relief from the pain of loss, and the only way I saw to have relief was death.
My death.
It did not escape me that Josiah would be alone in the world, with no friend, no mentor, no trainer, and no family. Truth be told, lately, he had been my friend, my mentor, my trainer, and my family. But I had taken and taken from Josiah and not given back in any equitable form. I was sucking him dry of his hopes and dreams. And I had lied and lied to him about being in the military reserves.
Indeed, the worst was when I had seen his face when I was drunk at my fight. I was dragging Josiah down with me. He couldn’t move forward in his life because I couldn’t. And somehow, our pain that linked us did not make us stronger, but dragged us down together. I was a detriment to his well-being.
No matter how hard Josiah tried to pull me out of the abyss, when I fell, he came with me, further each time, still trying to pull me out, which was putting his dreams further and further away.
First, there was him dropping out of school, and then meeting some random older woman and sleeping with her for his first time. My Josiah! How could he have done such a thing? These things were out of character for Josiah, who had such a pure heart before my own fall from grace had also affected him. He looked up to me and I had not only let him down, I was causing him to take missteps in his own life path. I had to stop myself from hurting him anymore. I was bad news.
I didn’t even know how to tell him that I had blown through eighty grand from my bank account and three hundred grand at the high-stakes poker table. And, I guess I had lost count of other smaller gambling forays because I was too drunk to remember most of it.
Sighing, I threw off my helmet over the cliff edge and didn’t hear it land. It was a long, long way down.
I had heard of werewolves dying from large falls, with no silver stabbing involved. It was rare, but the rumors did make their way to my ears. I didn’t know if they were true. But I was about to find out.
Well, this would be a real freaking large fall off this cliff. I prayed it would be fatal, because there was no way I was going to sip my meals through a straw for the rest of my cursed life.
I revved my motor. I stared at the cliff edge. My stomach roiled.
Suddenly, I thought of Maya. I thought about our good times.
One last time, I whispered to myself, “I love you, Maya. Forgive me.”
I was off…
80 feet from the cliff…
60 feet…
40 feet…
20 feet…
10 feet…
Here I go.
I was about three feet from the cliff and I was getting ready to fly out into the night.
I was instantly afraid.
What the hell am I doing?
Then something out of this world happened.
At first, I thought it was what happened when you died.
Someone tackled you and took you to heaven or hell, or even both.
But I was tackled off my bike by someone in the night. Someone incredibly strong. Someone with a supernatural vice grip.
I hit the edge of the cliff, but I didn’t fall off.
I couldn’t say the same thing about my bike as it went out from under me. It went flying over the edge and was lost in the trees several hundred feet below. I heard the kaboom of a movie-worthy explosion, but was not able to see over the edge because something held me back.
Who or what tackled me?
I looked around to see who it was with an iron grip on my upper arm. All I could see was a big bright light.
Suddenly, I thought I did die. Because I saw what looked like an angel. She had light brown hair and was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
It took me a few moments to realize that I was looking at Maya.
I didn’t care if I was alive or dead. I was looking at Maya. When she let go of my arm, I fell to my knees in front of her.
“Maya! Are you real?” I asked, looking up. More beautiful than she had ever been, she radiated love like it was a tangible force in the universe.
“I’m very real,” she answered.
I got up and felt rays of warmth blazing onto me from her face.
“Have I died?”
“Tommy,” Maya said. “You are very much alive. You never went over the cliff. I managed to get you off your bike just in the nick of time.”
“So, that was you,” I said. “You saved me!”
Tears dripped from my eyes as I looked at the celestial winged creature in front of me, my beloved Maya transformed into a being of light.
“I’m so confused. How are you even here?”
“The question you should be asking is why am I here.”
As I thought about that, Maya looked at me lovingly and my heart soared with joy at being in her presence again. I was having a spiritual experience. One which I hoped would last forever.
“You came to stop me from going over the ed
ge.”
“Great metaphor. But there’s more to it. Tommy, you were put to the test, and you passed.”
“The alcohol blood test?”
“No, Tommy. You unselfishly saved a woman’s life. You did it for no other reason than that you knew it was the right thing to do. I was able to get to her in a dream and convince her to call you back. It was incredibly hard to get you two together in Las Vegas. I even broke a feather chasing you all over Vegas and making you two cross paths.”
“Wow. That was you who spoke to Annie in her dream?”
“Yes, it was my last-ditch effort to see if she’d go to you for help.”
“You’ve been watching over her?”
“I’ve been watching over her and over you and many others, the second I received my wings.”
“So… you’re an angel. A real angel.”
“Yes.” She smiled a dazzling smile. “It’s a great joy to be one.”
“I can’t even imagine. Are you my guardian angel?”
“No. It’s my job to help you move on. In life.” Maya looked at me and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. I’d been a part of some crazy shit since the spiritual and immortal world had opened up to me. “Maya, am I allowed to touch you?”
“Only for short periods of time. If it is intended as a pure touch, then humans are allowed to touch angels. Briefly.”
Tears were dripping from both of our eyes. I ran up to her and held her in my arms. I held her tight. I held her right. I mustered up all the shreds of purity I had left in me so I wouldn’t taint her with my touch. I stroked the softest cheek I had ever felt.
“You’re a beautiful angel.”
“I’m filled with purpose, Tommy. Purpose is beauty.”
“I see that.”
I didn’t know what was happening, but one thing I knew for sure, I was able to talk to and hold Maya again. That was the light at the end of a very long tunnel of darkness for me.
I let her go and stared at her. She was wearing a shimmering white dress that looked like it was made of moonbeams. I’d never seen a beauty such as hers. I’d never had a love as deep as this
I just prayed I wasn’t dreaming.
Then Maya said something to me that made it clear that I wasn’t dreaming.
“Now, about this drinking problem,” she said.
“What about it?” I said, inwardly cringing.
“You need to stop it. It’s killing you on the inside and on the outside. Werewolf or not, you are susceptible to the emotional effects of alcohol, even if you manage to handle it physically. Which, by the way, diminishes who you are, in and out of the MMA ring.”
I grimaced. “Okay, I’ll sober up. It’s about time.”
“I’ll be watching. All of those times when you said to yourself that you hoped Maya wasn’t here to see you like this? I was there, Tommy. I was there, and I cried for you. And when an angel cries for you, it’s bad, the road you’re on. Very bad.”
“I know. I’m ashamed,” I said quietly.
“So, change yourself.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Don’t promise me. Promise yourself.”
I nodded, my heart full of love, but suddenly heavy with a burden of upcoming personal accountability and responsibility, my weakest areas of self-preservation.
“I do want to change, but things were easier when you were here with me. A lot of the good things I did with my life, I did them because you were there, too, and I was making a life for us. Now you are gone and I can’t see the road ahead of me anymore.”
“I know. I want to tell you something, Tommy. You know that saying, ‘I loved her so much that I would die for her?’”
“Yes, that’s totally me.”
“I know it is. But get off that horse,” she said. “How about, ‘Don’t die for me. Live for me.’ But especially, live for you. You deserve to love yourself, Tommy. There are some things other people can’t do for you. You have to do it for yourself. You’re beautiful, Tommy. And you’re worth it. Pick yourself up and do everything you were doing when I was with you. But do it for you.”
I felt a long sigh release as my good intentions kicked in. “Thank you, Maya. Only you could get that through my thick skull.”
“You knew this all along.”
“But I didn’t listen to myself.”
“Well, start doing that. Even your inner wolf knows things and you should listen to him.”
“I will. Will everything be okay now when I go home?”
“No, you have to fix those broken things yourself.”
“Oh. I thought you might say that.”
“Tommy, I need to go.” Maya reached her hand out to me.
“Please don’t go!” I begged. “Will I see you again?”
“I have a feeling you will be seeing a lot of me for quite some time.”
Is this real? Is this seriously happening? Am I going to wake up and throw my bed at the wall because it was only a dream?
I wasn’t asleep. I was wide awake. Maya had saved my life. As crazy as that sounded, that was exactly what had happened.
“Maya,” I said. “Before you go, I need to yell one last thing.”
“What’s that, Tommy?”
Maya looked at me lovingly and smiled as I shouted one more time, “Maya, I love you!”
Tenderly, she replied, “Tommy, I love you, too.”
We stared into each other’s eyes, and held our gaze for a good thirty seconds. Then Maya disappeared.
The End
To be continued in:
Angel Love Story
Return to the Table of Contents
ANGEL LOVE STORY
by
H.T. Night
Immortal Warriors #5
Angel Love Story
Published by H.T. Night
Copyright © 2014 by H.T. Night
All rights reserved.
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my father. My ‘rock’ and my ‘heart.’
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to J.R. Rain, Rhonda Plumhoff, Leslie Whitaker, Sara Wales, April M. Reign, and Alberto Silva.
Angel Love Story
Chapter One
Is this real? Is this seriously happening? Am I going to wake up and throw my bed at the wall because it was only a dream?
I wasn’t asleep. I was wide awake. Maya had saved my life. As crazy as that sounded, it was exactly what had happened.
“Maya,” I said. “Before you go, I need to yell one last thing.”
“What’s that, Tommy?”
Maya looked at me lovingly and smiled as I shouted one more time, “Maya, I love you! I love you more today than I ever have.”
Tenderly, she replied, “Tommy, I love you, too.”
We stared into each other’s eyes, neither looking away for a good thirty seconds. Then, poof. Maya disappeared.
I knew I hadn’t said enough. I knew it would have been impossible to have told her everything I wanted to say to her. Saying ‘I love you’ out loud to Maya’s ears would have to be enough. It was more than enough.
What the hell just happened to me?
I stood there next to a cliff that I was willing to launch my body over just minutes before on my bike.
My bike?
It was lying somewhere at the bottom of this cliff in a heap. I looked down, but all I could see was the top of trees and bushes. Somewhere down there was a bike that was the sole reminder of all the pain I had gone through since Maya’s death. I was glad it was gone. It would be a long time before I bought another bike. That was probably a good thing. Except the fact that I didn’t have a ride back, and I was a couple of miles away from the main highway.
I turned around in the dead of night and looked toward the stars. I smiled. Knowing Maya was watching me gave me a weird rush.
“Well, Maya,” I said out loud. “Let this new journey begin.” I wondered where she was. I wondered what kind of spiritual world sh
e was now part of.
Did I actually speak to her? Or was I in a drunk dream? Damn! It felt real and I wasn’t one to believe in fairy tales.
Something very strange had just happened to me. I had either officially lost my mind, or I had just experienced something far more miraculous than I ever thought possible. Yes, even more insane than the understanding that werewolves and vampires walk among us.
I was just visited by an angel. And that angel was the love of my life, Maya.
Chapter Two
It was incredibly late, or super early. I guess that depended on who you were talking to. I had another huge problem. I had no ride home and I didn’t bring my phone with me. I’d left it back at the house, thinking why the hell would I need it?
Well, I needed it.
I was far away from anywhere that would have a phone. I was a little bit screwed at the moment. I was going to have to find a phone.
Are there any pay phones anymore?
I decided to walk back to the main road. It was going to be quite the hike.
As I walked, I felt Maya’s presence. It was a different feeling than I had when she’d revealed herself to me. I felt her spirit... her energy. It was all around me.
“Are you there?” I asked out loud, into the night air. “I can feel you.”
I waited, but nothing happened. “Am I crazy?” I yelled. “Have I completely lost my mind?”
I cried out into the night, begging for an answer. I began to feel very emotional. “Maya, why didn’t you let me die, so that I could be with you?”
I walked up a hill toward some lights I could see off in the distance. It looked to be about a half-mile away. I was making good time with the pace I was walking. It was a tad chilly and the faster I walked, the warmer I felt. My leather jacket kept me warm, but it wasn’t the thickest of jackets.
I stopped in my tracks and fell to my knees. I looked up and stared at the stars. “Maya, please reveal yourself one more time tonight. I need you. I need to see you. I need to hear your voice. I need to know I’m not crazy. Please, Maya!” I began to run and shout. I was probably attracting animals, maybe even dangerous ones. I didn’t care.
