“Where are you taking me?” She asked, eager to hear the answer. Reece had been tight lipped about his plans, insisting it remain a surprise.
“You’ll see,” he replied with his eyes sparkling with anticipation. He was enjoying her torture of not knowing something. “I promise you’ll have fun.”
“Fun seems like a foreign concept these days.”
“Well that’s all about to change.”
Jerome rolled his eyes as he padded along behind them. He wished he could dispose of the human, despite his oath to protect them. He almost wished he would hurt Leila just a little, just enough to give him a reason to hurt him back.
The trio walked all the way to the park four blocks away. The grass was a brilliant shade of green, having grown back from a fire almost a year earlier. Someone had set it ablaze just for the sake of it, the playground had copped the brunt of the vandalism. On one end was now a community garden, full of fresh fruit and vegetables. It was the first step in trying to erase the memories of the past.
“Here we are,” Reece declared. He took off his backpack and pulled out a woolen blanket. He laid it on the lawn.
“Are we having a picnic?”
“Do you not like picnics?”
Leila sat down on the blanket happily. “I love picnics, it’s perfect.”
“Good, you had me worried there for a second.” Reece sighed and mocked wiping his brow. The entire time he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Neither could Jerome. “I have sandwiches and muffins. All baked and made fresh this morning.”
“You cooked? I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, well, you spend a couple of years holed up in your home and you have to learn a few skills.”
Leila wasn’t going to be fooled. “Your mom made you, didn’t she?”
Reece laughed, nodding. “I can’t get anything by you, can I? In my defense, I thought cooking was a good skill to have anyway. I didn’t know how long we were going to have to spend indoors.”
The reminder of those difficult times living in fear cast a shadow over their light heartedness. “I hope we never have to live like that again,” Leila commented, trying not to let the memories weigh her down. They were in the past and that’s where they needed to stay. Otherwise she could never imagine a future.
He placed his hands over hers, making sure he knew his words were sincere and heartfelt. “We will never go back to that. I will never let either of us go through it again.”
Leila nodded, hoping he was right. She knew better than to wish for too much but for now she was happy choosing to believe him. “So these sandwiches look really good.”
Reece handed her one. “Try them.”
Jerome wandered to the other side of the park, unable to listen any more. He watched from afar, trying not to feel the emotions running through Leila. He wanted her to feel that way about him and it was becoming apparent she would only feel them for the human.
He wanted to rise above the petty jealousy. More than anything, Jerome wanted to stop feeling that way and just be happy for Leila. He wanted her to be loved and she was – by someone who wasn’t him but more appropriate. He should have been soaring with happiness that she had found someone who cared.
But he couldn’t. Jerome didn’t know how to turn off his own emotions and let her go. How did he turn his feelings off and move on? Until he could answer that question, he was stuck.
The hours passed by as Leila and Reece sat in the park, people came and went. Families ventured out, people walked their dogs, and kids played ball. The entire time, the conversation between them did not lull.
Out of boredom, Jerome returned to sit with them. He tried to make a concerted effort to turn off his feelings. Instead of staring at Leila, he listened to both of them instead. He had to build up a resistance, a strong coating around himself so he could deal with it.
The giggling wasn’t helping. “Did you seriously eat a grasshopper?”
“Only once and I was told it would taste much better than it actually did,” Reece grinned.
“Did it taste like chicken? Everything seems to taste like chicken.”
He started shaking his head. “Nope, more like dirt.”
When she wouldn’t stop laughing, Reece wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. When she realized their close proximity, she stopped laughing. The butterflies in her stomach started fluttering instead with the anticipation.
They locked eyes as they started to lean in. Within seconds, Leila felt his soft lips on hers. She surrendered to him, letting her mind go blank as they kissed. She stayed in the moment, refusing to let the past get in the way of her future.
But she couldn’t silence her mind completely. The memory of the tall man flashed into her mind. She suddenly pulled away, the kiss didn’t feel as right as it had.
Reece tried not to notice, despite feeling the slight sting of rejection that he couldn’t understand. “So… perhaps we should get back, it’ll be dark soon.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s okay, we’re taking it slow.” He started to pack up the empty plates and cups.
“Reece, can I ask you a question?” Leila started, waiting for a nod to continue. “Do you think you can miss someone you can’t even remember?”
He seemed to think it over, silence lingered as he did so. “If you can’t remember them but you still think about them, then yes I do think you can miss them. Do you miss someone?”
Jerome was suddenly giving his full attention to the conversation. His eyes went from one to another, hanging on every word exchanged.
“It’s silly but I think I do. I keep having flashes about this person and I know they were important to me but I just can’t remember why or how.”
Reece asked the question he feared the most, noticing how she had avoided assigning a gender to this mysterious person. “Was it a guy?”
“Yeah.”
“And you can’t remember anything about him?”
“Only small pieces, not enough to put anything together. I don’t know why I would have forgotten him.”
“Are you sure he was real?” Reece grasped at straws. “He wasn’t just in a dream or a book or on television? Perhaps you saw him somewhere?”
Leila had been racking her brain trying to answer that same question. “I don’t know, but Toby and Maree remember bits of him too so I don’t think so. I think he’s real.”
It wasn’t what Reece wanted to hear. Still, he wasn’t going to be scared off by some imaginary shadow. “To answer your original question, I think you can miss the idea of someone but until you can remember them, you can’t actually miss them. You need to either remember them or focus on the real people that are in your life now.”
Even though it wasn’t entirely what she wanted to hear, Leila could understand what he was saying. She had told herself so many times before that she needed to stay in the present and not get lost in the past. By trying to remember a ghost, she wasn’t listening to her own advice. And now that it was coming from someone else’s mouth, someone she trusted, she knew she couldn’t ignore the advice.
“You’re probably right,” she said before helping him fold the blanket and replace it back into his backpack.
As much as he didn’t want to agree, Jerome had to concede the human had a point. By keeping Leila in the past, she wouldn’t be able to move on. And wasn’t that what he was trying to hope for her? Perhaps the same advice could be said for him too.
CHAPTER 8
Jerome awoke feeling like a different person, but he wasn’t entirely convinced that was a good thing. He was trying to emotionally distance himself from Leila so his new rule was to not think about her. He would only respond to emotional tugs, he wouldn’t let her consume his every thought. And visits with no reasons were completely off limits.
To keep his mind off Leila, Jerome stared at the ceiling and thought of Michael. His disappearance was puzzling, something he couldn’t figure out – much like the human ra
ce. He couldn’t work out why Cassidy, the receptionist at the council, had been cagey with information on his whereabouts. Ambrosia hadn’t seen him and nobody else he had spoken to could remember the last time he had shown his face.
So where would the angel go? If an angel wasn’t in the village then they were normally on Earth protecting their human. It wasn’t like they could take a vacation and laze around a tropical beach somewhere. They didn’t have time off, they didn’t need it.
The only other place an angel could be was in the higher realm. Ordinary angels could only go there when they retired. Nobody ever came back from there in that instance. But councilors could come and go as needed. The highest being lived in the higher realm, they travelled there when they needed to speak with him.
Perhaps Michael was on a mission in the higher realm? But why had he been gone for so long? What could be so important that he needed to be away for an extended period of time? Jerome could only guess, but he figured Michael had probably been missing for at least four months. That was an extremely long period of time to spend in the higher realm.
If Michael was on a special mission, only the other council members would know about it. He doubted Ambrosia would care enough to know, but perhaps someone else could be convinced to loosen their lips? Jerome jumped out of bed and went on a mission of his own.
He found himself standing on the pathway between the council building and the largest of houses. At some stage, every council member in the village would have to walk past him. Either they would be going to work, or leaving it. One way or the other, they wouldn’t be able to avoid him.
He had to wait for over an hour before his first victim came along. Council member Helena was casually strolling along, she didn’t appear to be in a hurry which was promising. Jerome went to work as soon as he spotted her.
“Councilor, lovely day, isn’t it?” He started, trying to be as charming as possible.
“Beautiful, angel Jerome. I hope you are just as well as this fine weather?” She slowed down but didn’t stop her walk entirely. Jerome was glad it was Helena that had crossed his path first, she was one of the few councilors he could actually stand. She never said much in the meetings so he couldn’t think of anything she had done wrong. Perhaps being a pacifist was bad enough by itself, but he couldn’t hold it against her at that point.
“Great, thank you. I was hoping you’d have a minute for me, if I may?”
Helena finally stopped to look at him curiously, trying to work out what he might want. She had no idea. “Perhaps. What can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you’ve seen council member Michael lately? I have a message for him that I need delivered urgently and nobody seems to have seen him.” Jerome crossed his fingers hoping the ruse would work. At least she didn’t seem to be running away from him anyway.
“You know I can’t talk about council business,” Helena replied. “I’m sorry I can’t be of any help, Jerome.”
“So Michael is on a mission then? On official council business?”
Helena looked around, making sure they couldn’t be overheard by prying ears. They were alone on the path, nobody else was even in sight. “How important is this message for Michael?”
“Very important.”
She hesitated once more while deciding whether to divulge the information or not. Eventually, just when Jerome was giving up hope, she spoke. “Michael was summoned to the higher realm. He hasn’t returned.”
“How long has he been gone?”
“Close to six months.”
Jerome was taken aback, he hadn’t realized the councilor had been gone that long. He couldn’t believe no-one else had missed him. It showed how much people really didn’t care about the council these days.
“What was he summoned for?” He asked, hoping Helena would have all the answers.
“Nobody knows. He received the summons and left immediately to go home and pack. He didn’t get a chance to tell anyone the details. We thought perhaps he was in trouble because he hasn’t returned.” There was doubt in her voice, Jerome picked up on it immediately.
“You don’t think he’s in trouble though.”
Helena shook her head. “Michael is a good angel, he doesn’t have it in him to do wrong. If the higher being wanted to see him, I’m certain it’s not for punishment.”
“Why else then?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been racking my brain but I keep coming up empty. I have no idea what fate has befallen him. I wish I did.”
Footsteps hurried behind Helena. She quickly turned around, her guilty conscience playing tricks on her already. When they saw Gabriella, it didn’t put her any at ease.
“I’ve got to go, please keep this between ourselves,” Helena urged. She barely let Jerome nod before hurrying away.
Gabriella soon caught up with Jerome. She held up a clipboard with paper blowing in the breeze. “Look what I’ve got.”
“A clipboard?”
“Not just any clipboard, check out the signatures. I’ve got three thousand signatures of people all willing to sign their names in support of you,” she said proudly.
Jerome took the clipboard and leafed through the paper. Pages upon pages of signatures filled every piece. He had never seen so many names before. “Gabriella, this is amazing. How did you do this?”
“How do you think I did it? I knocked on a lot of doors and spoke to a lot of people.”
“And they willingly signed to support me?”
“I didn’t hold a pitchfork to their head, if that’s what you mean. They love you, Jerome, they all think it’s you we need to lead change in the council.” When Jerome could only stare at the pages, unable to comprehend what was going on, Gabriella continued. “You’re it, you’re the angel they want. You wanted support and these signatures prove you’ve got it.”
“I can’t believe this,” he finally said, trying to fit words into sentences. “Thank you, seriously, I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“Thank me by doing what you said you would: lead us. Change everything so we can help the humans better.”
Jerome found himself wrapping his arms around Gabriella and giving her a hug. “I will, I promise.”
When he let her go, she stood there in surprise. “I should get going, I still have some more people to talk to. See you around.”
“Thank you,” he called after her. He wanted to dance he was so happy. He had thought perhaps a few angels would support him in his ambitious endeavor to take over the council, but never could he have imagined so many people. It was enough to get them to listen to him.
But he couldn’t allow himself to get swept up in the honor. It didn’t change the big task he had ahead of himself. If anything, it just added to the pressure of needing to get it right. With so many people relying on him to succeed, he couldn’t race into anything. He had to get the details right before acting.
Coming back to reality, Jerome tried to push the thoughts aside and focus on the task immediately at hand. Helena had said Michael was summoned to the higher realm six months ago. That was way too long for him to have gone on a normal council mission. Whatever was keeping Michael away, it wasn’t usual business.
Could it have been a coincidence that he had been summoned at the same time the war ended? Jerome couldn’t be sure of anything, but it seemed like it was a big coincidence for the two events to have happened at the same time. What he didn’t know was how they could be connected. The war ending was Leila’s doing, she had been the one to slay Septuses and send the demons back to hell. Michael had nothing to do with it so why was he summoned at the same time? Perhaps they weren’t connected after all.
Jerome knew one thing: he wasn’t going to get any answers standing on the path. If Helena didn’t know what had happened to him, then none of the other council members would either. Nor would they be likely to speak with him if they did.
He flew back to the house he had stood in front of only days before. H
e knew Michael’s house would be empty, he had to get inside and see if there were any clues to why he had been summoned. If nobody else was looking for him, then they probably hadn’t gone through his house either. Everything should be exactly how Michael had left it.
Locks weren’t required in the village. It was probably how so many demons had managed to get a hold of angels in their own homes. But still, with all they had lost, the angels refused to lock themselves indoors. They trusted the other angels, they could never believe they had to lock their doors.
Jerome walked straight in through Michael’s front door, making sure to close it behind himself. What he was doing went against the angel code, if anyone found him he would be in a lot of trouble. The only way he could allow himself to do it was because he knew it was for the greater good. He was worried about Michael, even if he was a councilor, somebody should be looking out for him.
The living room was still and sparse, angels had few possessions so it was normal. The bedroom was the same, the bed neatly made. Jerome stopped at the chest of drawers next to the door. He picked up a picture frame with a photo of Michael in it. His arm was around Benecio, the two of them smiling happily together. The picture didn’t look recent, it had be at least decades old. Jerome never knew the two angels were so close. But, then again, he didn’t really know either of them very well. All he knew was that they served on the council. And he didn’t like one of them.
Careful to replace the photograph exactly where it had been, Jerome moved on to check the bathroom next. Inside the small room, it was chaos. The shower curtain was ripped from its hanger, lying broken and torn on the tiled floor. The ceramic cup that held Michael’s toothbrush was smashed into a thousand pieces in the shower recess. Whatever had happened in there had been violent.
Jerome didn’t touch anything, he didn’t want to disturb one piece of the scene. If something bad had happened, he didn’t want anyone to know he had been there.
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