Authors: Heaven Liegh Eldeen
Opening my eyes, the water
whoosh
ed
as it moved closer. Hesitant, I stopped again.
When had I become so fearful?
I had already lost what matter
ed
most to me. What more do I have to lose
? And a
t
the rate I had been going
,
this would take all day. Needing the strength to continue
,
I thought about
w
hat
Etta would
say
if she were with me now.
I know what she’d say. “Quit
yer
lollygagging
, put your big boy undies on
,
and get it over with.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I decided the best course of action would be to get whatever may be lurking over with as fast as possible. Without further stalling, I tore off in a sprint. At
the halfway mark, a crystal blue orb broke away from the wall, hurdling at me. It had been a set up.
Flaring out my wing, I released a battle cry as I
prepared
to battle the orb. Less than a yard away, I came to a full stop, assuming a battle position. The sphere continued at great speed. Bracing for impact, I flapped my wing in front of me when suddenly the ball burst around me.
“Dang it!”
Etta’s voice exclaimed
,
giving me a start.
Standing in a puddle, I spun around searching for her but
found no physical presence of her
.
“Etta! Where are you?” I called out
.
“I’m right here
,
silly goose.”
“Where?
I don’t see you!”
“Hold on. Let me get myself together. Okay
?
” Etta’s voice echoed behind me. Spinning on my heels, I turned to find a mass of crystal clear, blue water rippling as it start
ed
forming a humanoid appearance. Alarmed
,
I stepped back as Etta’s features took shape in the liquid.
“Ah, much better.” the vertical puddle spoke in Etta’s tone. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” it continued.
“It can’t be.” I whispered under my breath. My mind raced with possible explanations for Etta’s current state.
I had heard of only one time
that
a soul returned in a form other than demonic or angelic.
Tall tales
ran wild about
when Lilith fell,
and
her soul shattered. When she reappeared in the celestial world, she did so as stone. Father had tried to make her whole again
,
but
Lucifer had the last piece of her soul
locked in a pendant around h
is
neck. Because her soul had been incomplete,
she took
on
a
completely
different
type of being
; not
quite an Angel but not quite a D
emon
.
She had become what Father called a Wraith. Incomplete,
Father
had
banished her to what is now known as Purgatory. I had assumed the story
had
simply
been
that;
stories
used to scare little ones.
“Can’t be what?”
Etta asked
.
“No. This can’t be you. This isn’t possible.” I said, examining her. All of her features were right; her eyes, hair, her
smile, everything right down to the beautiful shape of her long legs
,
except she had been transparent.
“Well, it is me
,
Ra, so it must be possible.” Etta giggled. Unsatisfied with her response, I poked her arm
,
causing the water to ripple and distort her image.
“That tickled.” Etta laughed.
As much as I wanted to believe it
to be
her, I wouldn’t allow myself to take it at face value. For all I knew, this had been one of Lucifer’s stunts to distract me. I needed proof.
“Tell me something only you and I would know.” I prodded
.
“Okay. When I first met you, you were wearing a yellow palla that made your eyes pop. You were searching for your sandals. Gabriel had hid them on top of the fountain outside of your mother’s house. As you climbed the fountain, you fell, splashing
Ooneimme
and
me
. I’d been wearing my favorite white dress
,
and you soaked me, making my dress completely see
-
through. You started stuttering like a fool
,
apologizing and staring at my breasts. I tried to cover up with my arms when you took off your palla and tried to wrap it around me. There you were in your
undies, gawking at me with drool running down your bottom lip
. I
was
so mad and embarrassed I started beating you with my sandal. If memory serves me right, it wouldn’t be the last time I called you a pervert and beat you with my shoes.”
“You chased me into my house calling me a deviant. I spent four hours at the infirmary with cuts all over my face and head. But everyone knows th
e
story. People still bring it up. I need something more.” I rebuffed
.
“Okay. You’re a horrible singer. I mean when they coined the phrase ‘voice of an angel’ they weren’t talking about you.”
“So.
Everyone who attends Chapel knows that as well
.
” I replied.
“
You get up every morning
f
rom your '
larm
clock's warning
.
Take the 8:15 into the city
.
There's a whistle up above
” Etta sang.
“People pushin’, people shovin’.”
I whispered under my breath.
I didn’t need any further proof.
Since the night we played sleepover, goofing off
,
it had been our song. After I found my way back to grace, Etta and I would
lie
in bed cuddling as we talked about
our first
night. It had been the night everything we thought we knew change
d
. It
had been
the night I had fallen in love with her…again.
“See what I mean. Your voice is much too gruff.” A jovial Etta winked.
“Etta!” I exclaimed. In my excitement I tried to wrap my arms around her
.
S
he popped as if she were a water balloon, splashing me yet again.
“Whoa, tiger.
I don’t have this down enough to be giving hugs just yet.” Etta said as she slowly took shape again.
“I’m so sorry.” I exclaimed
.
“It’s okay. Sorry about drowning you earlier. I got so excited when I saw you at the gates. Guess I don’t know my own strength yet.”
“That was you? Man, this just gets weirder.” I rubbed my forehead.
“Weirder? So I’m weird now?” a defensive Etta asked.
“Yeah.
I mean, I never seen anyone come back in the form of a tidal wave. You got to admit, this is flippin’ weird.”
“I suppose you’re right. Since we got all of that out of the way, can we go inside now? This place gives me the creeps.” Etta said as she turned toward the gates
.
Mesmerized by fact Etta didn’t walk but glided
,
I stood back, watching her intently
.
S
he stopped and turned to me.
“You coming?” she asked.
Jogging up to her, I wanted so much to hold her hand as we approached
,
but the fear of popping her kept me from trying.
Dumbfounded by her state, I kept glancing over at her
out of
the corner of my eye. I half expected her to disappear or
me
to wake up. But hearing the commotion at the gates, I knew it
hadn’t
been
a dream.
I
t seemed the whole popula
tion had gathered around the gates and towers, watching Etta and
me
approach.
Poised in front
of the assembly, Father grinned from ear to ear. As Etta entered the gate, the crowd
roared
into anxious whispers.
“Welcome home
,
my child.” Father spoke, silencing the congregation behind him.
“Hello
,
Father.” Etta replied, lowering her eyes.
“I know you must be tired
,
but we have a few things to do before you settle in. Come with me.” Father said
,
reaching for Etta’s fluid hand
.
Etta gave me a frightened glance
,
comparable to
a child
’s
on their first day of school. As much as I wanted to stick by her side, I knew Father would have his work cut out for him to make her whole again
.
It’s
all I wanted.
If I had to step out of the way in order to finally get back to the way my life
was
meant to be, it would be a small sacrifice.
“It’ll be okay.” I said, giving an approving nod.
“I’m scared. I don’t want to leave you. Can Ra come with me?” Etta pleaded with Father
.
“I am afraid not, my child. This is the last part of your journey
;
you must travel alone. I promise you, it will be al
l
right.” Father replied with an understanding smile.
“Go get it over with
,
and by the time you come home I’ll have a nice meal and warm bed waiting for you.” I said, hoping to comfort her. Etta caressed my cheek down to my chin then turned and followed Father.
A whirlwind of emotions fluttered through me as I made the long walk home. A pang of anger for Etta’s life on
E
arth being cut short with a sprinkle of bewilderment due to her present state, and a cup of happiness because she came home to the Heavens. Tonight I would sleep with my wife in the same bed without worrying about the commute between worlds.
It also meant her deal with Lucifer had come to a close
,
and we’d have to be on full alert.
As much as I wanted to start planning out security and defensive details I had a much bigger problem at hand.
I had to figure out how to cook the meal I promised
Etta
.
Etta had always taken care of the cooking
,
since she had usually been home before me.
I
did
attempt to cook once
in my whole existence
. Unfortunately, Etta hadn’t been happy about her kitchen being set ablaze or the black scramble
d
eggs I dished out
.
Approaching my house
,
I noticed a small group gathering outside the door. Holding casserole dishes, pie plates, and pots were
the Arch
e
s
,
minus Gabriel
,
and their significant others. The Arch
e
s stood stoically watching the women chatter like a
brood
of hens at feed
ing time
.
“
W
e thought we’d give you a hand with dinner.” Liwet
, Uriel’s wife
snickered.
“Don’t need you burning down the Heavens, Brother.” Ramiel joked, embracing me.
“Ha-Ha.” I sarcastically replied. “I appreciate it. Where’s Gabriel?” I asked
,
hoping to get off the topic of my lack of culinary skills. The women passed nervous glances at one another then entered my home leaving me with the guys.
“He’s still down on Earth with Amy and John breaking the news of Etta’s death
, dealing with police
,
and planning her funeral.” Michael explained.
So much had happen I hadn’t thought about the aftermath. Someone had to explain how a girl had been stabbed to death in her home
, and
then put her body in the ground as if it were her last stop.
“
T
he funeral
?
I didn’t think they would be planning it so soon.
What’s the story?
” I
asked.