She walked back to her store as fast as she could and had never felt so relieved when she stepped inside. “I’m not going back outside today.” The pain in her left wrist was gone now, but she couldn’t shake how real it had felt. She let out a heavy sigh as she walked over to the front counter and set the coffees down.
“Did it help any?”
Melina looked up and saw Tessa coming out of the stockroom. “Not really. I think it might’ve made things worse.”
“How?” Tessa asked.
“I’ll tell you later,” Melina said in a shaky voice. She eyed the clock hanging on the wall behind the counter. “We need to open the store.”
“But—”
“We’re running late.” Without looking at Tessa, Melina walked off to unlock the front door. She greeted a couple of customers who had just approached and welcomed them inside. After showing them the section they'd asked for, she made her way back to the counter to unpack a shipment of new books. Tessa left her alone.
The first couple of hours were pretty low-key, as long as she stayed her distance from the customers. But as the noon hour approached, the store became busier and louder. The thoughts no longer sounded like low whispers but more like noisy chatter.
It must be the amount of people
, Melina thought. She still couldn’t make out what was being said, but she couldn’t block any of it out either. By mid-afternoon she could no longer concentrate on her work, and she had had enough.
She found Tessa back in their shared office going through the inventory on her computer. “Tess, I’m going to take a short break, okay?”
“Sure. Are you all right?”
“I’m just a little overwhelmed right now,” Melina said. “I think I need to relax for a bit and clear my head.”
“No problem. I’ll get Carl to cover the front desk and tell Gwen to stay out on the floor.”
“Thanks.” Melina rushed off to the stairs in the back and hurried up to her apartment. She shut the door behind her and leaned back against it. “Whatever is going on with me has got to stop.”
“It can, if you’d let me explain.”
Melina jumped as she looked up and saw Walter, the old man from the park, standing in her living room.
Chapter Two
Fear started to creep its way back inside her as she stared at Walter. Her heart pounded against her chest, and her rapid breathing dried out her mouth, making it difficult for her to swallow. She finally gulped down the knot in her throat and attempted to speak. “How, how did you get in here?” Melina inched her way back toward the door and started to fumble behind her for the door knob.
“I came through the window,” Walter replied as he gestured behind him.
Melina eyed the window and then returned her gaze to meet his. “That window is always locked. And it’s two stories off the ground.” She had a hold of the door knob now and was ready to make a run for it.
“That it is. But you see, it didn’t have to be unlocked or on the first floor for me to come through it. I simply teleported.”
Melina’s hand slowly released the knob as curiosity and disbelief overcame her. “You what?”
“I teleported,” Walter repeated. “It’s quite natural for my kind.”
“Your kind?”
“Yes, I’m an angel. A guiding angel to be exact.”
Melina held Walter’s gaze for a few seconds and then spun around and flung the door open. She had made it down the first couple of steps when Walter’s voice stopped her in her tracks.
“You’re hearing people’s thoughts, aren’t you?” Walter walked over to the doorway and peered down at her. “Have you had any visions yet?”
She slowly turned her head and looked up at Walter. “How did you know that I—”
“I told you. I’m an angel. And you, my dear, have absorbed my powers.”
She stared at Walter in shock, not knowing what to say, when she saw a bright white light flash inside her apartment.
“Ah, she’s here,” Walter said. He motioned for Melina to come back inside. “Please, come back and we’ll explain everything.”
Melina didn’t move at first. She was still scared, but then she also needed to know what was going on with her. “Okay…” She slowly walked back up to the door and stepped inside to see a blonde, fair-skinned woman, dressed all in white, standing in her living room. A slight glow emanated from her as she moved gracefully to the center of the room.
“Who are you?” Melina asked.
“My name’s Adelia,” the woman replied, “and I’m an elder guiding angel.”
Melina looked over at Walter who nodded in confirmation and said, “She’s one of four elder guiding angels. They’ve been guiding angels the longest, therefore, they’re the most powerful of our kind.”
Melina stared at him for a moment and then turned her gaze back toward Adelia. The woman remained silent as she tilted her head to the side, causing her long blond hair to fall over her shoulder. She raised her thin hand up to her chin and scanned Melina over with her pale blue eyes. Even though she was one of the oldest guiding angels who existed, her uncanny and youthful beauty said otherwise.
“So, you’re one of them,” Adelia said as she stepped toward Melina, still eyeing her carefully.
Melina eyed her back, unsure of how to answer. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“You’re one of the rare human beings who was born with the ability to absorb the powers of an angel.”
Melina looked at both of them as if they were pulling her leg. “Okay, that’s the fifth time I’ve heard the word angel today. Do you really expect me to believe that that’s what you two are?”
They both stared at her.
“Show me then.”
“Excuse me?” Walter asked.
“Show me.”
Walter looked to Adelia who gave him a small nod. They both turned toward Melina as Walter said, “Are you ready?”
She swallowed hard and replied in a soft voice, “Yes.”
Walter nodded at her, then he and Adelia both closed their eyes. Melina took a few steps back, unsure of what was going to happen. Then all of a sudden they raised themselves into the air as a bright white light burst out all around them. The intensity of the light made Melina fall backward onto the floor. She lay there at first, shielding her eyes, but then she felt a soft breeze blowing over her. Cupping her hand over her eyes, she sat up and couldn’t believe what she saw.
They almost looked like ghosts, all white and transparent looking, but their massive wings were so majestic. She stared at them in amazement. They really were angels.
A few seconds later the glowing white light disappeared, and Walter and Adelia were back on their feet, looking just as they had before. Walter walked over to Melina and smiled gently at her as he helped her up off the floor. “Now do you believe us?”
Melina couldn’t speak. Her mouth had gone dry, and her tongue felt gritty, like it was coated with sand. The growing lump in her throat was another obstacle. She desperately tried to swallow to make it go away, but it was difficult to do with no saliva. All she could do was stare at him.
“Melina, it’s okay to be scared,” Walter said. “I know it’s a lot to take in at once, but you need to know you can trust us.”
After struggling to clear her throat, she looked into Walter’s eyes and said, “If that’s true, then tell me what happened earlier today in the park.”
Adelia stepped forward and answered for Walter. “When you made contact with Walter, a link was opened between you two that allowed you to absorb his powers. That was the surge of energy you both felt.”
Melina’s emerald eyes widened as she shook her head in disbelief. “I still can’t believe this is happening. I have guiding angel powers? Wait… do you mean
guardian
angel powers?”
“No, there’s a slight difference between us,” said Walter. “Guardian angels help by protecting. Our kind help by, well, guiding.”
Melina turned to Walter, looking rather confused. “Then how come I’ve never heard of a guiding angel before?”
Walter smiled. “Because not that many people have had experiences with us. Everyone wants to be protected, but not everyone is open to being guided.”
Melina’s eyes narrowed as she held Walter’s gaze, mulling over his response. After a few seconds, she relaxed her face and said, “So I took your powers?”
“No,” Adelia butted in. “He still has his powers. You just have them as well.”
“Okay, but what does that mean for me? What’s going to happen now that I have these powers?”
Adelia and Walter exchanged grim expressions with each other.
Melina looked back and forth between them. “What? Tell me.”
Adelia sighed. “I presume you’ve started to hear people’s thoughts, correct?”
“Sort of.”
“And what about the visions?”
“Just one,” Melina replied.
“I see,” said Adelia. “Well, if you’re wondering why you can’t hear our thoughts, it’s because of what we are. The power grants you the ability to hear human thoughts, not those of angels or any other supernatural being. You may also develop a shield, so to speak. While guiding angels don’t have protective powers, we can produce a defensive light shield around us. And the teleporting… that may come as well. But that’s enough about the details of the powers. What’s more important is the effect the powers will have on you.”
Melina’s eyes began to dart back and forth between Adelia and Walter. “What do you mean?”
Walter only responded to her with a solemn expression, so she turned her gaze to Adelia.
As Adelia approached, she gave Melina a small smile. “Your unique situation has only happened to three other humans before you.”
“They absorbed guiding angel powers?” Melina asked.
Adelia nodded.
“Only guiding angel powers? What about guardian angels? I thought there’d be more of them around humans than any other type of angel.”
“You’re right. Every human being has their own personal guardian angel, so yes, there are a lot of them, and they’re around humans all the time. But, we have the ability to take a human form, which is a necessity for the transfer of powers to even happen. As I was saying, though, it’s only happened to three other humans, and unfortunately, none of them were able to withstand the strength of the powers.” Adelia paused for a moment and then continued in a low voice. “The humans ended up being consumed by them.”
The color quickly drained from Melina’s face as Adelia’s words sunk in. “Consumed by them? You mean, they died?”
“Yes,” Adelia said in a solemn tone.
“Why? Why are the powers too strong for us?”
“It all has to do with your feelings and emotions,” Adelia replied. “You see, while we angels certainly have feelings and emotions, they’re not like they used to be when we were human. Human emotions can be so powerful at times, depending on the character of that particular person, and they amplify the angel powers to the point of not being able to control them. The powers more or less take over.”
Melina’s head was spinning now. It was all too much for her to handle, and she didn’t understand why it was happening to her. Her hand began to shake as she wiped at a tear trickling down her cheek. She took in a deep breath and looked over at Walter, a desperate plea in her eyes. “Isn’t there some way you can help me?”
Walter glanced over at Adelia then back at Melina. “Yes, there is.”
“And?”
“Don’t fight the powers. You need to embrace them, see them as a gift.”
Melina’s eyes widened. “A gift? How can you say the powers are a gift when I probably won’t survive them?”
“Because being able to sense those who are troubled and help guide them down a path of healing and understanding
is
a gift,” said Walter. “And in order to have the strength required to handle that gift, you must learn to think like one of us and understand what it means to possess the powers of a guiding angel.”
“Okay, well, how do I do that?”
“You need to use the powers to help someone who is troubled and in need of guidance,” Adelia said as she stepped forward. “But it can’t just be anyone. It has to be a particular individual. You’ll know it when you find him. And the sooner you find him the better. Of course, the amount of time you have will be up to you and how you handle the full brunt of the powers, but I wouldn’t prolong it.”
Melina began to shake her head. “I’m not sure if I can do it.”
Walter stepped toward her and put a firm hand on her shoulder. “You have to, Melina. If you want to survive, you don’t have much of a choice.”
She moved away from Walter and sat down on the couch, trying not to cry as she stared down at the floor. It all sounded so crazy, and she didn’t want to believe any of it, but she was hearing people’s thoughts. And that vision. It was so powerful and painful. But as bizarre as the whole situation was, Walter was right. If she wanted to survive, she didn’t have much of a choice.
“Okay,” she said as she stood up and turned to face Adelia and Walter. “But where do I even begin?”
“I can help you with that,” said Walter. “Come on. We need to visit a few places.”
“I need to make sure Tessa can handle the store first.”
Walter nodded. “I’ll meet you out front.” A second later both he and Adelia vanished into thin air.
Melina stared in shock for a moment but then quickly blinked it away. What was she going to tell Tessa? She tried to think of something as she made her way downstairs, but nothing clever came to mind. Maybe it was for the best. She didn’t want to lie to her friend. “Just be vague,” she muttered as she walked over to the front counter where Tessa stood.
“Feeling any better?” Tessa asked as she looked up.
“A little,” Melina replied as she smiled weakly. “I actually need to run an errand. Will you be okay with the store?”
Tessa gave her a curious look. “I’ll be okay. Do you need to tell me something?”
Melina hesitated then said, “Maybe I can explain more when I get back. Hopefully I won’t be too long.” She gave Tessa a quick wave and then left through the front door. Walter was waiting for her by the corner of the street.
“Are you ready?” he asked as she approached.
“Like you said, I don’t have much of a choice.”
Walter gave her a small smile. “Let’s go then.”