He sat on the park bench and brushed off the dust from his sleeve. He looked over the black pea coat and pick off the lint that clings like metal to a magnet. He has a little dirt on his shoes, those black leather ankle boots that fit him so well.

He was a man with minimal taste in clothing judging by his appearance. He sat on the park bench watching a woman who was sitting across from him. He stood and walked the circle to where she was and sat down beside her.

“Amy can you see me?” He said softly. She looked up and looked in his direction. She smiled.

“Is that you Aranel, I sensed you were near me. I felt a chill as you sat down.” She said.

“But you didn’t answer me, can you see me?” She did not answer.

He brushed the side of her face, moving the hair of her cheek. She recoiled and seemed startled.

“Since when can you touch me and have me feel you? “She thought as she considered it as a new thing between them.
“Aranel if you really want to be a part of our life, to have a relationship with me you have to leap and fall to Earth. You have to be broken to be put back together. I want to be there for you and I know you know how to find me. I have sensed you in my home and at work. But in order for me to see you, you need to fall to the Earth and leave Heaven behind.”

It was finally time that he did it. Heaven had nothing for him. They tried to go own without God, as he packed up and moved to another dimension. Things had not worked out for him here; man no longer needed him. So he left a few thousand Angels to guard Heaven and its castle of gold. He might not be going to live in it, but he would surely still claim it as his own. One hundred undefeatable Angels to stand watch over the battlements. A chasm around the castle thousands of feet deep.

Aranel had been a watcher and his subject had just died of old age. She left behind a granddaughter by the name of Amy. Amy had grown up knowing of Aranel’s spirit. Somehow she knew it was him and that he was there.

Over the years Aranel focused less and less on his subject and fell in love with the grown up version of Amy. A woman of exquisite beauty, at least in his eyes.  They communicated through the Ouija board.  Her eyes lightened up when she read his messages. And she had kept them all in a journal. For fourteen years she had lived with her grandmother, abandon by her real mother at ten, the woman couldn’t get rid of her fast enough. That was when she came to live with her grandmother, she called her Gigi and loved her so very much. She was but a child when she came to live with her grandmother.

The older people of Earth have always been granted Angels to watch over them. Some have the faith it takes for it to work out for both of them. A person can only be saved from humanity if they truly want it.

But Aranel wanted to be a human, and the only way that was possible, aside from the hand of God, was for the Angel in question to fall from a great height to earth and land. He would be broken but he would live.

That night Amy pulled out her Ouija board while her grandmother rested in peace.

“Are you there Aranel?” She asked

YES (the board spoke)

“Yes, I have been studying the ancient text and if you want to be with me you have to fall to Earth from a great height and I will need to nurse you back to health. Are you willing to go through that pain to be with me?”

YES

“How will I find you?”

CHECK THE HOSPITAL FOR ME. I WILL GIVE THEM YOUR NAME AND NUMBER.

“You know my number?”

YES

“When will you do it?”

TOMORROW FROM A PLANE I WILL BE AT COUNTY GENERAL WHERE YOU TOOK YOUR GRANDMOTHER.

“I will be waiting. Are you sure you want to do this. You will become mortal like me. Mortal means one day we die, are you ready for that?

YES

“It must be difficult for you to leave it all behind, and you sure you want to do this for me, so I can see you and touch you. So we can be together. Is it truly what you want.

VERY MUCH

“Then I leave you to it. It’s getting late, I will be waiting for your call.”

Aranel had one last person to say good bye too. It was his closest friend. It was another Angel that he loved so much. Erinel who guarded Heaven. He flew into the realm of Heaven. He made his way to her post where she guarded the gates of the Heavenly city.

“I came to see you one last time Erinel. Tomorrow I will cut my wings off and leap to Earth. I wanted to say goodbye to you.”

“My love, you don’t have to do this. All for love, all for the love of a human.”

“I want to taste their food and live like they do. I want to feel their pain and live a real life. All this has gone to hell since father left. What reason do I have.” Aranel said as he offered his friend a hug.

The next day came and he arrived at he airport to board the plane with the skydivers. He used his knife to cut off his wings and toss them to the side. Oh the pain of the blade on his wings, he suffered through it. He was still invisible to the humans. He climbed into the plane and took it all into account. He made a mortal inventory of his life. He had been alive for thousands of years and was sick of it all. Nothing changed. And when Amy’s grandmother was gone he would be assigned to another to watch die. It was a horrible way to live. To only see death and never feel life. But he had fallen in love with Amy over the years and wanted to be with her as humans live with one another.

The plane started up and took off on the runway. He saw the Earth as it was, as he had seen it many times. When it was time for the skydivers to launch he held his coat together and leapt from the plane. He soared through the clouds, the ground growing closer, he held his breath as he fell and fell. Falling so fast he slammed into the Earth.

Pain, so much pain. They had seen him falling from the plane without a parachute and saw him hit the ground. An ambulance arrived at the scene and they strapped him to a board and loaded him in the ambulance.

“Take me to County General, my human awaits my call.” The paramedics told him he  could have died from the fall to earth and it was a miracle he survived; he didn’t correct them. It was the only way to change from Angel to human. And now he was human. All that was left was a hole in the Earth that he had made when he fell, they still couldn’t believe that he was alive.

They checked him out in the ER and said he had a lot of trauma but it was all healing before their eyes. They wanted to study him and find out how he survived, he just waited for Amy to arrive and claim him as her own.

Amy received the call and rushed to the ER where she found him.

He stood six feet tall and had dark brown hair, long and curly. He had a beautiful face and eyes of blue. Amy was taken by his beauty. She was led back to his room and told that he wanted to check himself out. But it was too much of curiosity for them to see his bones heal and organs to all be healing themselves.

They had questions as all humans do. Amy had the same questions but he would only answer her. It was the last of his Angel spirit that healed him and made him whole.

Amy checked him out that afternoon against the orders of the medical staff. They had much to learn from him but he was not ready for questions. He only wanted to lay on Amys couch. To be with her and love like humans do.

Finally he could touch her face and feel the softness of her skin and she could finally feel his skin. It was a miraculous thing he had survived and now he was mortal. He had seen the blood that fed his body. Thoughts of life and death permeated his mind, he had so many thoughts and Amy could answer them all.

He laid on her couch, she had removed his coat and shirt where she saw the scars on his back. The scars of when he had cut off his wings. Wings that just disappeared into nothing as he left them on the field. His wings were only for his angel form, no longer needed.

The plane had no record of his boarding and nobody knew how he got on the plane and jumped to his death. But he was alive and the ER just chalked it up to another strange event. They had seen it all and would surely see more.

More and more Angels did the same, they cut off their wings and jumped to the ground. All healing instantly as they felt the pain. Life was pain, the essence of life is suffering and desire was the cause of it all. Aranel knew this pain and it was horrible. But not once did he doubt his decision.

She stood over him. Her small body next to him, she had short blond hair and a beautiful body. He could not discount her looks; she was the most beautiful human he had ever seen. And he loved her deeply. She was unaware because he had never had the chance to just stare in her eyes and tell her how beautiful she was. She had made him soup and asked if he was hungry. He said he could eat; it would be his first meal in all of his life.

The French onion soup was so good as he took it down. “So this is living..” He said.

“Yes but you are only feeling the pain of falling, it will take time to feel better. And soup is just a taste of the many wonderful things you will soon partake in.”

Quiet… the sounds of the outside world were hushed as he looked at Amy. She was the reason he fell. He reached up and touched her face, she drew closer and let him touch her as he pleased.

“I am all yours now. You fell to be with me and I give you my word that we will be together for all of our lives.”

“Do you not fear death? “He asked.

“No, the only fear I had died when you were made human. I knew that once you fell I could live my life the way it was meant to be. Something greater than God or Heaven made me want you.”

“There is no more God, he packed it all up and moved to another dimension where he could find the love of man once again.”

“But he stopped talking to humans long ago.” She said.

“That was because men and women stopped believing in him, it was guilt on both ends. They stopped needing him and without their words he just packed and left. He is happier now.

Days went by and the two lovers grew closer to one another. Heart felt love making and talking made them love one another.

It was a week of existence when two Angels appeared in the darkness.

“Aranel, you have given up the life of an Angel. Why did you do this?”

“Love, it was all love. I wanted to be human. I wanted to know what if felt like to touch her face and feel her kiss.”

“God has commanded that you of all the Angels take his place on the throne of Heaven.” He was shocked at the request but was it a request? Did they still have hold over him?”

The tallest angle stepped forward and waved his hand over Aranel, his wings suddenly appeared.

“Why must you do this, is there not another who could take my place.”

“It’s what God wants and he commanded you to take his place.”

“If I am to be the new God I want my queen, I want Amy to join me.” He said.

“Is that an order” the tall Angel said.

“It is, my only order.” The Angels agreed and told him he was to report to Heaven in the next 24 hours.

Amy returned from her shopping and laid out all the best foods for Aranel to feast on.

“I have bad news, and it involves you.”

“What is it my love? What has touched you so deeply?”

“The Angels have commanded that I am to take Gods throne, but I told them I would only come with you if you could be my queen.”

She was struck with emotion. She sat down and gloried at Aranel’s wings.

“They gave you back your wings. What does it mean for me to be queen of Heaven?” She pondered.

“It means we are to be eternals, to live in the most beautiful place and rule all of humanity. And we will do it better than father ever did.” He explained.

“Then we do it. We go to Heaven and rule with an iron fist. We fix all that is wrong with Earth and we make Heaven for everyone. Doesn’t everyone deserve Heaven?” She asked.

“There are the ones that deserve hell for their sins. But that is Lucifers call, he choses who comes to him and who goes to us. That has always been his way.”

“I never knew that. Imagine that, Lucifer is the score keeper of life. Will I see my grandmother again?”

“You will see everyone and they will see you. Heaven is unending and full of things that you will not understand at first but in time…will you come with me. Will you be my queen?”

“I will and we will rule together.”

The next day Aranel stood on Amys balcony and held her close as his wings expanded and he took flight. They soared through the skies into the atmosphere and into a portal that only the Angels know about.

Colors bled and flowed as they traveled through the portal. Streaks of red and blue, pulsing light and colors bleeding into each other. The portal was a tunnel of color. Amy ever amazed at it all, the doorway to Heaven was a portal just big enough for two to travel through.

They arrived on the other side of the portal. Fields of flowers, trees that bloomed roses and fruit. The most beautiful trees she had ever seen. She took it all in, every shade of pink and purple that lit up the heavenly sky. There were beast in the field, some so beautiful that Amy wanted to pet each one, but there would be time for discovery, for now they had to report to Angels in charge.

Along the path of golden bricks they walked. Amy felt they were frozen in time as they made their way to the magnificent castle. They crossed the board walk across the chasm and entered the city of Gold and jewels.

“Your father had magnificent taste and imagination; all of this is but a dream. He created it out of the dreams he had a night.” He said.

He was approached by the two Angels that had visited him on Earth and they handed him a scroll from God. He rolled it open and this is what it said.

Aranel,

You have always been my favorite angel because you feel pain and you know what humans feel. Now that you have thrown all that away I want you even more to take over my kingdom. Be the God I couldn’t be. I grew so tired of the humans and I know you have more patience. But take my suggestion and wipe out all the humanity and start over. Start with two humans who love each other and build on that. Let love be the rule. I made so many mistakes and surely you can do a better job. I am in another dimension rebuilding it in my true image. I want you to do the same, mark my words, humanity is not worth saving.

Go with my spirit.

Father.

So that is what he did, he wiped the world of all humanity and left it for a thousand years for all the plants and animals to enjoy. The people in Heaven worried that they would be next but Aranel gave them his word that he would not destroy them.

Aranel and Amy lived happily together and eventually they were able to create the perfect man and woman and allowed them to love openly. There were no rules except one rule about murder, it would not be tolerated. Everyone was to share with one another and the punishment for theft was a trip to hell.

Lights begin to flash and soon the light was blinding. He rubbed his eyes, blood soaked  his hand as he tried to talk.

“Sir, sir… can you understand what I am saying to you?” The paramedic said.

The light cut through his eyes like knives, so intense and bright. He tried to stand but the paramedics were strapping him down on a board to load onto the gurney.

“Sir you were in a horrible car crash and you were hit by another car. Do you remember the wreck?”

The paramedics continued to work on the man.

“I fell to Earth; I fell so hard and I cut off my wings. Where is Amy?”

“Is Amy your wife?” They asked as they continued to work on him, wrapping his arm in a bandage.

“Amy is my love, my eternal life. Where is she.” He continued to ask.

“We destroyed all of mankind, you shouldn’t be here. Everyone should be gone, we started over. I don’t understand what is happening.”

“They hit him hard, he has a severe concussion. We transport him, what about the other car?” The paramedic asked.

“She didn’t survive. We only have him to transport.”

In the ambulance it all came back to him, he had been at the park with his wife, Amy, and they had lunch and walked around the pond. Somehow he lived hundreds of years in his head when the car hit him and he hit his head.

“Aaron!” “Oh my god are you okay?” the woman asked the man as his memory was coming back to him.

“Amy! I don’t know any of this. We had taken over heaven and we were recreating Earth and rebuilding Heaven. Somehow we got here.”

“Aaron, listen to me. I am Amy, your wife. You are a writer and that is a story that you wrote about a fallen angel, you just finished it and its going to be a new book. You are just a man and I am your wife. We are in love and I am pregnant with your child. Does any of that ring a bell?” She said softly.

“I… I must be losing my mind. It was all so vivid.”

“You have a severe concussion; you might be bleeding in your brain and they need to run test to find out. I will be right here while they take you back.” She said as the attendant rolled the bed down the hall.

Amy sat alone waiting on her husband to come back from the test. She remembered how excited she was to hear about Aarons new story, he was so excited about it. He had turned it into a script for the studio and had hopes of it being a movie.

The hours passed as the doctors stopped the bleeding in his brain and he was taken to recovery. Amy stood beside him.

“Oh the dream he must have had.” She said as she rubbed his hand with hers. “Oh what a dream.”

A wonderful and horrible dream.

Copyright 2024 James Heaton