by RAVENC JAMES
“It’s an interesting choice of book. I’m Curi. What’s your name, angel with white rays?”
I turned to face an angel with pink wings.
“I’m Orieumber. I’m new here.”
“I know. I can tell. You skipped a lot of books to get here,” she replied.
“Oh, so we have to read them in order?”
“Not necessarily. Just a word of advice. You’re doing a disservice to yourself by missing the opportunity to acquire the knowledge written on those books you skipped just because they are unintelligible to you. With patience, you’ll get there, and your navi will match up the level required to read them.” Pointing at the book I was holding, she continued, “There are books here that are unreadable and are considered mystery books designed to feed our curiosity. They can’t be read no matter how many books you’ve completed. And that one in your hand is one of them. Sorry, I think you need to get a new one.”
My gaze shifted down on the tablet in my hands. The title Five Entities in One looked readable to me. Either way, I humored Curi and so placed it back on the shelves.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Don’t worry. You’re new. If you need some help, just ask me,” Curi replied. Was that a smug grin on her face?
“You’re almost finished with this wall,” I said, hoping it would come off as a compliment to her.
Excitedly, she replied, “Except for those considered mystery books, I read all the books on the first and the second walls. And now I’m almost done with the third wall. They said I’m advancing fast, and it’s a good thing. I really want to reach Dede and pass Dedui.”
I read from the first book that Dede meant the tenth house called the Great Ordeals.
“Oh. That’s great. Congratulations! If you don’t mind me asking again, though we’re not supposed to ask a lot of questions here, how many of the books on the first wall are mystery books, just in case I picked them up again since Icanactuallyrreadthem…I meant…just out of curiosity?”
“They’re thousands of them.”
“That many, huh?”
She nodded, and the smug grin on her face returned like she were the queen on this side of the academy.
“And now I shall go back to the first wall. Thanks again,” I said. It was really just an excuse to get away from her. Instead of going back to the first wall, I went to check on Venir. He glanced in my direction when I was within earshot.
“Did you finish the whole row?” he asked.
“Nope. I was told not to skip every single book that is available for me to read.”
Venir raised his eyebrows. “Says who?”
“Curi. The so-called leader of this section.”
“Huh, I saw a few angels skip a lot of books and still were able to move on to the next level. I think the law here is that you can read whatever books you want as long as you have the required level of navi,” Venir said and then shook his head. “This book, for example, is giving me a headache. I can’t read the half of it, which got me thinking I don’t have the level of navi needed to read it.”
“You didn’t start with the first one, so try that one first before reading that,” I said.
He gazed over at the first book in the row and sighed. “I think you’re right.” He placed the tablet back to its spot. Then, looking back at me, he grinned. “Are you planning to watch me read?”
I responded with feigned annoyance, “Why don’t you go get your book?”
Chuckling, he went to get it at the farthest side of the row. Despite my protestation, I actually did sneak a peek of him reading. While standing, he was leaning against the wall with his legs crossed. He was not doing anything extraordinary, but I did not know why even little things like this amused me. Thinking that I was being extra stupid, I decided to go to the fourth wall. I read book after book, skipping a few. And only when Curi was not watching. Every time I finished a book, I visited Venir. He was reading at a much slower pace. In fact, the more books I finished reading, the more I realized that I was reading way faster than everyone else at the ‘bottom’ level.
I had had several energy-sleeps, and my wings grew even bigger, that I now looked like the odd one in my level, earning unwanted attention from several other fledglings. How to hide my wings. Perhaps Curi knew a book like that? I tried to ignore her when her gaze went my way again. I went back to the first wall to hide. The first book I picked was the book that had the title Navi. I was reading the first page of the book when that one thing I once thought would never happen in Heaven happened.
The place all suddenly went dark.
CHAPTER 5
Screams dominated the once-quiet place and tapered down into a cacophony of murmurs, cries, and a few whimpering sounds.
The darkness reminded me so much of when I was in the Womb. I shivered just by thinking about the possibility of being back there. If dying would be like sleeping in total darkness, being born would be like awakening while still in it. At least, this was true in here. Was this occurrence normal in Ether? What if the light would not return? What if the darkness would become permanent? My mind was spouting more questions when all of a sudden, I heard a voice.
At first, I thought it was humming, and then later, I realized that the voice was singing a beautiful song that, though incomprehensible, was pleasant to the ears.
All the crying and the whimpering stopped. As much as I longed for the light to come back, I also wished for the song to never end. And the longer I listened to it, the more I understood its lyrics. It was a repetition of the lines: Sleep little angels and have a sweet dream. You are in the Garden where the darkness cannot reach, and the light prevails.
I lost track of how long we were in this state when the light finally returned. But upon its return, of which the darkness disappeared, and the singing stopped, an even bigger surprise arrested my eyes.
Everyone around me was on the floor.
Asleep.
Or were they dead?
I looked up and saw the others were floating with their eyes closed as though they were having their energy-sleeps. One name quickly made me jump into action.
Venir.
With my heart slamming in my chest, I went to where I last saw him, cautious with my steps to avoid stepping on those who were lying on the floor. I found Venir huddled against the wall.
“Venir,” I called, shaking his shoulders. My heartbeat continued to race. And when Venir started waking up, I whimpered a sound of joy.
“What happened?” he asked.
I helped him up to his feet. His eyes widened when he took in the vision around us.
“What’s going on here?” he asked.
I shook my head and said, “I have no idea.”
Venir and I decided to wake as many fledglings as we could. We went around, shaking them up to wakefulness. Many of them woke up disoriented. The others went back to their business reading. A few looked rattled.
I glanced toward the angels floating above us. They were mostly awake. Since they were reading books that were definitely advanced, I wondered if they knew about what happened. It would have been nice if there were experienced angels in our company who could explain to us what the darkness meant.
“I’ve made some inquiries,” Venir said, coming to stand beside me.
“And? What have you found out?”
“Nothing. None of them knew what it was. Some of them even asked me what to do.” He tilted his head, following my line of sight. “Do you think they know something?”
“They might, though they all seem to be back in business now.”
“That’s what everyone in our level noticed, so they followed them.”
This was true. The fledglings imitated what the fledglings above us were doing, which was to go back to reading.
But this did not feel right. Eternity should not be spent reading books for the sake of learning or learning for the sake of itself. It should have a purpose.
“What’s the matter?” Venir as
ked, frowning as he studied my face.
“This is not right, Venir. Something happened here, and yet everyone is treating it as though it were just normal. “
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look around you. I meant, study them, their faces. They’re not okay. They are rattled. Scared. They’re just putting up a front to emulate our betters above us.”
An angel to my right was holding the book he was reading with tears rolling down his cheeks. He looked shorter than both Venir and me. Sizes. This was one of the things I also wanted to learn here in the academy. Why were angels born in bodies that were on different levels of physical maturity? Some were grown up; others were children. And then there were others like Venir and me who were teenagers.
“Look at this hall. It is so huge. Don’t you think one of these books will tell us about that dark phenomenon? And if it’s not at this level, maybe it’s up there or up there. And if it’s not in this house, then it may be in the other house.”
I studied his face. He looked dead serious.
“So, we’ll look for the answer like a quest,” I said.
“Like a quest,” he repeated.
I went back to the last book I read, the one with the word Navi on the front. I floated cross-legged as I read.
The book stated that all the trees in heaven were called kalaskig and came in various colors: blue, red, pink, white, yellow, purple, golden, brown, and green. The green ones were only found in Emerald’s Garden.
Kalaskig could temporarily replenish navi, but it was not permanent. Where it was planted and how it was raised influenced its taste. But the best part of the book was the one where it gave its origin.
When the house of the Navi was pregnant,
The heirs of the gods had foreseen
That the balls of life required sustenance
To grow and to recreate themselves.
Michael, the First Born of the First god, rose.
Downcast yet calm, he spoke to the unhatched,
‘Alas! You are born in the sea of life,
Yet you die in deprivation of it.’
Sapphire, with her blue rays, rose beside him.
‘Despair not, Michael, chief of the archangels,
For there remained portions of the gods in us:
A gift to wield and bend energy to our will.’
Then she gathered her two hands together
And into a circular motion, she caressed
A brilliant glow in the shape of a sphere.
Then on her palm revealed the seed—
Kalaskig
In jubilation, Michael’s rays were ablaze,
Then he smiled, and to his archangels, he spoke:
‘This tree of energy, Heaven shall have
In the walls, in the houses, in all of the gardens!”
And so be it in all eternity.
These were the moments when the archangels had found bliss in their artistry. While heaven was their canvas, they created masterpiece after masterpiece, all in preparation for the birthing of the little angels. Michael then realized what it was that drove his God to sacrifice his own life.
The moment I finished the book, I fell asleep. I woke up lying on the floor.
“You’re amazing,” Venir said, helping me to my feet.
“What?” I said, feeling a little disoriented.
“Your wings are a lot bigger now,” he said. “Look on the floor.”
And I did. The floor was shiny enough that I could see my own reflection, my reflection that turned out to be so darn pretty. My wingspan had extended in size and was now bigger than Venir.
My grin was wide when I glanced back at him.
“You know what this means?”
“It means you can fly higher now.”
The thought of flying even higher and reaching the next level made my heart swell. I held Venir’s arms to refrain myself from jumping up and down.
“I can go up there and ask,” I said and then stopped. “What about you? Aren’t you coming with me?”
“Hey, I’m still stuck with this book. But put it this way, we’re partners. You go up there and investigate while I continue my search here.”
I found it to be a brilliant idea, but maybe I could convince him a little more. “You don’t need to read the books I already read. I’ll tell you everything about it. Oh, how about I’ll help you read this one.” I pointed at the book in his hand.
“Nah, that’s cheating,” he answered. “I’ll read it at my own pace. But you go ahead, angel with white wings. Find the answer we’ve been looking for.”
I leaned over to him and kissed his forehead. But before I moved to the next level, I picked the book lying on the floor.
“Huh, you forgot to return that one,” Venir said.
“I slept so quickly with this one,” I answered. I padded toward the wall where I found it, but, when I was about to put it back on the shelves, something glowed below the title. The name of the author appeared.
“Oh, wow.”
CHAPTER 6
I fluttered my wings, and slowly they lifted me into the air. The wind was soft and gentle against my long hair. I glanced up and urged myself to fly faster. My heart started pounding in my chest when I neared the height where I was once blocked and fell. A few more inches. Five inches. And then.
I swooped past my limit and reached the second level, where the books were yellow.
The first order of business? Investigation.
Since there was no floor to hold my feet, I put myself in a hover mode just like the rest of these angels. No one seemed to notice me or care that I’d reached this area. Instead, they were focused on what they were reading. Surely there should be at least one angel who was curious to know what the darkness was about.
I decided to start from the first wall and made my way over to the other side while sneaking a glance at some angels who looked friendly or inclined to talk.
I randomly picked a book and hovered toward an angel who glanced my way.
“Hi. I’m Orieumber.” I offered my hand, which the angel merely stared.
“I’m Tarain,” she said, ignoring my hand, so I put my hand behind my back.
“So, do you know anything about that darkness?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Aren’t you curious about it? Don’t you want to know what it was?”
“Of course, I do. That’s why I’m reading. I’m looking for the book that may lead me to my question.”
“Have you found anything about it so far?”
She gazed at me with his forehead wrinkled. “Why would you even ask me about the answer? Don’t you want to read it yourself?”
“Well, so we’re not supposed to share information?”
Her frown deepened. She was staring at me, seemingly assessing whether I was deliberately obtuse.
“So, you just got here.”
“Yes?”
She smiled at me in a patronizing manner.
“You know that possessing the knowledge about the darkness is valuable?”
“Oh. Glad to know.”
She leaned closer to me in a conspiratorial way.
“If you find anything, anything at all about it, since it’s valuable information, you don’t tell it to anybody without an appropriate price.”
“Well, how much is the information?”
She chuckled. “I wish I had some. But let me read some more, and I’ll get back to you for a price, although…” She gave an appraising look. “I don’t think you have anything valuable to trade.”
“I think I have.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Down there at the first level.”
“Mash. Its complete name is Mashsphere, but we all call it Mash.”
“What?”
“The first level is called Mash. So, you haven’t read that book? Huh. Consider that a freebie. But there’ll be nothing of that sort next time.”
>
“Okay. Agreed. Going back to my valuable piece of information. There is one book at the Mash that is believed to be one of the mystery books, yet I was able to read it.”
“What is it called?”
“Navi.”
“Huh. Navi is not a mystery book, but it’s, indeed, tough to read. I didn’t get to finish that.” Then she leaned closer again. “Did you really finish it?”
“Yup. And I know the author,” I whispered.
“Wow.” Her jaw dropped. “Okay. I’ll find you the information you want in exchange for the name of the author of The Navi.”
“I will not only give you the name of the author, but I will also provide all the information you have missed.”
“Orieumber, please price your information well, lest you render ours worthless.”
“I…will…yes, I will…next time,” I said, stumbling over my words.
When she returned her attention to her book, I took it as a sign of dismissal, so I decided to go back to my wall and started reading. That wasn’t so bad at all, though the conversation was enlightening. At least now, I knew that all the knowledge I acquired had its worth.
A couple of books later, I went back to the Mash to meet up with Venir. Surely we could take a break from reading, right? Since both of us knew nothing about the place, we followed a few angels, and they led us to the garden.
Glittering colors of kalaskig adorned the tree-walls, the shrubs, and the slabs for tables. Now that I knew the name of those energy fruits and how they were created, I saw them with an added layer of beauty to it.
Most angels preferred to sit on the tables with their legs crossed, and so Venir and I copied them. With plenty of kalaskig in our hands, we chose a table near the water fountain.
“So, how is it up there with the betters?” Venir said, adding extra sarcasm with that last word.
“It’s quiet, not a lot of talking, and a whole lot of reading.”
Venir stared at me like he was trying not to laugh. He laughed anyway.
“I haven’t met a lot of angels, but you’re the first one I know who doesn’t like reading.”
