Crossroads (22 page)

I stood there feeling dumbfounded,
looking into the empty space where they had stood. They had
vanished right before my eyes. A part of me felt empty. I hadn’t
realized I had grown attached to them, even though I had only seen
them a couple of times. It was quiet and still for a few seconds,
until Michael broke the silence. “Hello.”

I looked at him. “Hello there.” I knew
the inevitable would happen, and I had to prepare myself for the
emptiness I would feel when he left me again.

He cupped both of his hands around my
face. “I’m sorry. Are you all right?”

“
When you leave, I won’t
be.” I didn’t want to make him feel guilty, but I wanted to tell
him the truth.

“
I’m sorry for all this.
Sorry for doing things that make it harder for both of
us.”

“
It’s not your fault,” I
said.

“
If it would be easier for
you, I could talk to Phillip and appoint you another guardian
angel.”

“
No,” I pleaded. I
couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing him again. Then I crossed
my arms, looking quite upset. “You expect me to go on living as if
I’ve never met you?” I spoke angrily.

“
Well, perhaps time will
set you free. It looks like I have done too much damage already for
you and me.”

“
You could forget about me
that easily?” I was hurt by his words.

“
Of course not, but my
pain doesn’t matter. Yours does. I don’t want to see you waste your
life wanting something that cannot be.”

“
There must be a way,
Michael.”

“
Impossible. You are a
human, and you belong here. I am an alkin, forced to live
elsewhere.”

I could feel his pain and I didn’t
want him to think that this was his fault. “I’ll be fine. I’m not
as fragile as I look, and I promise I’ll be fine when you leave, so
don’t send anyone else, please!” I demanded.

He gave me a huge smile. “Then let us
not waste a minute. What would you like to do?” he
asked.

“
I think I should go back
and explain my absence first,” I said as I realized I had left my
cell phone inside the tent.

“
Don’t worry, already
taken care of.”

“
How and when?”

“
Before you
awakened.”

“
What did you tell
them?”

“
I spoke with Andrew. I
basically told him that I was in charge of the campgrounds, you had
a slight accident, and you were to stay with me for medical
observation.

“
And he believed you?” I
asked, surprised. “He didn’t ask any questions?”

“
They actually had no
choice. I used my angel power on them. They were instructed not to
come and not to ask any questions. Something like “Just do as I
say.”

“
How do you do that?” I
asked, astonished by his power.

“
The best way to explain
it is that it’s like being in a trance-like state, the way Aden
lured you to this place. We are not allowed to use this power
unless it is absolutely necessary, and I thought it
was.”

“
Wow,” I said softly. Then
I realized that I didn’t have to go hiking and felt delighted.
Without a word, he grabbed my hand and led the way.

“
Where are we going?” I
asked.

“
Hiking. That was on your
agenda today, but we are going on a different trail.”

“
What?” I couldn’t believe
what he had just said. I gave him a big frown. “I hate
hiking.”

“
How do you know? Have you
been hiking before?

“
No.”

“
You’ll love the places
I’m going to take you,” he said, grinning.

He knew I didn’t like hiking, but he
was taking me anyway. As I slapped his arm lightly to let him know
I wasn’t happy, he immediately fell to the ground. Surprised by his
action, I reached for him. “Michael!” I shouted.

Then next thing I knew, I was lying
wrapped inside his wings as he floated slightly above me. We had
locked eyes, and everything else ceased to exist. All my senses had
shut down, and I couldn’t control the emotion that had taken me
over. I was utterly and completely head over heels in love with
him. He was right. It would cause me too much pain if I could never
see him again. The damage was already done.

“
Hey, you tricked me,” I
said, smiling, not minding at all what he had just done.

“
There, much better. You
shouldn’t frown, even when you are upset, because you never know
who is falling in love with your smile. And you…have a beautiful
smile. It’s brighter and warmer than the sun. It lights up the sky.
And your smile warms me up in many different ways,” he said,
lifting his brows wickedly. “Let me show you one way,” he said, and
lightly caressed his lips to mine.

That sent shivers up my spine, and I
melted deep into the Earth. He can show me more, I thought. Next
thing I knew, I was standing upright still dazed by his tender
kiss. It was one simple kiss, but that was all it took to make me
feel as light as a feather.

He started walking without me. “Don’t
worry; like I said before, you will love the places I’m going to
take you! Trust me!” he shouted with excitement from
afar.

I ran to catch up to him. “Great!” I
mumbled, not feeling pleased at all, but at the same time, it
didn’t matter what we did, as long as we were together.

Chapter 14

Walking along the edge of the cliff
turned my stomach inside out. Why is it that some of us are afraid
of heights and others not? I couldn’t recall any terrible incident;
I only knew I was one of many who was terrified of heights. Every
nerve in my body was telling me to back away to a place more in my
comfort zone, but I had to do this for Michael. He wanted to take
me somewhere that was special to him. Aside from my fear, I
couldn’t wait to get there. I kept telling myself not to look down,
so I tried to think of other things. The best distraction was the
view.

“
Hurry up, slowpoke,” he
said jokingly, walking right behind me.

“
Hey…just because you’re
not afraid of heights. I could just pee in my pants right
now.”

“
What are you afraid of?
Falling? You know I’ll catch you if you fall.”

“
Don’t tempt me. I might
purposely fall just so I don’t have to endure this,” I replied,
feeling slightly queasy.

“
Hold my hand, I’ll help
you up.”

“
No, thanks, I can do
this,” I replied with a little attitude, wondering if I would
regret the response I had given just to sound tougher. “Are we
almost there yet?” I asked, feeling hopeful and out of
breath.

He laughed hard. “Almost; that’s like
the tenth time you asked me.”

“
Maybe it’s because you
keep saying…almost.”

He laughed again, “I promise this
time, we’re almost there.”

“
Okay, we better be, or
else you’ll be in big trouble.”

“
Oh really? What will you
do?”

“
I’ll…I’ll…” Then I
realized that I didn’t know much about him; his likes or dislikes.
“Well, it’s a surprise,” I said, like it was something
big.

“
I don’t know if I like
surprises. Make sure it’s a good one.”

The view was magnificent, but the heat
was starting to make its way up. Sweat was already dampening my
skin. Michael must have noticed because he gently wiped several
drops that were trickling down my forehead. I brushed my bangs back
with my hands to allow the heat to escape. How was it possible that
he didn’t even break a sweat? I knew the answer, but I couldn’t
stop marveling at his capabilities.

We walked while holding hands and
enjoying each other’s company. Then, it suddenly dawned on me that
I wasn’t wearing any makeup and that I was wearing the sweats I had
worn to sleep. I quickly sniffed my sweatshirt to make sure I
didn’t smell bad.

He gave a crooked smile as he eyed my
actions. “Don’t worry. You smell nice, even when you are
sweating.”

I blushed from embarrassment. He
noticed everything, even when I tried to go unnoticed.

Timidly I asked, “Can I ask you a
question?”

“
Of course. What’s on your
mind?” he asked, giving me his full attention.

I wasn’t sure if this was the right
time or place to ask personal questions; maybe it was because I was
afraid of what his answer could be.

Hesitantly I asked, “How did you know
Aden?”

He looked straight ahead. I thought he
was trying to find a way to avoid my question.

“
To make a long story
short, Aden strongly believed that we should live freely among
humans. Shortly after we were taken to the Crossroads, Aden
convinced many alkins, including me, to follow him. This is what I
meant when I said he brainwashed us. I thought the world of him. He
was like a father to me.”

He paused, looking heartbroken. I
wanted to reach out and console him. I didn’t want to see him like
this.

He continued, “I didn’t like the
things Aden did. He killed alkins who wouldn’t follow him, and many
of them were my friends. I tried to stop him when I realized what
we were doing was wrong. There are two separate worlds for two
kinds, angels and humans. Alkins weren’t supposed to be born. We
were created in sin.”

I placed my hand on his arm and said
compassionately, “No, Michael. You were created by love. How could
you say that?”

“
I shouldn’t exist. We’re
nothing. I’m not a human, and I am definitely not an
angel.”

“
You were created by two
people who loved each other.”

He interrupted. “Or maybe lust or
temptation.”

“
Regardless of the reason,
it’s not your fault. You didn’t create yourself. And it’s not like
the Earth angels or any of the Twelve Angels who were on Earth were
emotionally detached. They were able to feel as humans,
correct?”

“
I suppose,” he said
nonchalantly.

“
Then in order to
understand us, they needed to feel what we feel–anger, hatred,
lust, greed, sadness, and even love. And it’s not like they had an
emotional button they could just turn on or off.”

“
You need not make excuses
for them.” His voice was low.

“
I’m trying to understand
them, and so should you. You need to forgive them so you can be at
peace with all of this.”

“
I did many bad things for
Aden.” His eyes were filled with anger and regret. “I don’t know if
I’ll ever find peace in what I did for him,” he said
sorrowfully.

“
But you are not that same
person.” I cringed for saying the wrong word. “I mean, alkin. So
what happened after that?”

“
It becomes hazy after
that. Aden knew I was turning against him, and I was attacked by
numerous fallen. I know for sure that Aden pierced me with his
sword, and I was badly wounded, but then I woke up in Halo City. I
don’t know how.”

“
So Phillip, Margaret, and
Agnes took you in?”

“
Yes. They gave me a
second chance, and I’m very grateful.”

“
They saved you because
you are worth saving. They saw good in you as I do,” I said, gazing
deeply into his eyes, trying to read his thoughts. Pain and anger
were in his eyes. Could he ever forgive them? Could he ever forgive
himself? “What happened to Aden?” I asked, changing the
subject.

“
Aden was banned from the
Crossroads, and his soul was stripped.”

“
What does it mean to have
your soul stripped?”

“
Having a soul grants you
permission to have life after death. If you have no soul, you
simply vanish. Some believe soulless beings are banished to a
lifetime of punishment. Humans call this place “hell.” When an
angel’s soul is taken, their powers are weakened. That is why Aden
needs the fallen to do his dirty work.”

“
Do you have
your—?”

He didn’t let me finish. He knew what
I was going to ask him. “Yes,” he said looking down, but his tone
revealed he didn’t think he deserved to have one.