It was years and years ago that the third had fallen. The beautiful creatures, 1/3 fell to the evil. He had been one of the angels that had stayed in heaven. He rejoiced that he had made the right decision, it was so wonderful to stretch his wings up to the stars and feel the power wedged between his shoulder blades.
Often he was found with one set of wings stretched forward, the other set wrapped around his perfect body, his head bowed so he resembled the cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant. All the while, shielding his human from danger.
But now, as he watched in misery as his human was brutally killed, he was almost ashamed to be on the side of good. “Its his time”. He closed his eyes and an angelic tear fell on the ground making it shimmer. He opened them, then snapped closed again as the attacker’s knife found its way once again into the human’s stomach. Blood gushed out and it came spilling off the man’s lips as he cried out. His attacker cursed at him for being hard to kill as he finally slit the man’s throat.
He carried the man’s soul off to rest and he wondered who he would guard next.
As it was, it was a new born girl-child. He would guard her for her lifetime.
He watched her grow up with both joy and sadness. She was wonderful to watch, but so full of pain. He loved to stand by guarding her at night, watching her sleep. She often had dreams of a bright being. She never could make out the face but she always remembered the beautiful steel blue eyes, and shining, curly hair. He saved her many times from danger, and she often said thanks to him though she didn’t know he was really there. So one day he decided to thank her for being grateful for his service.
She was sitting on her bed late one night, scarcely clad, but wrapped in a sheet. He settled in front of her, wings held out to impress, and made himself visible. She was, as he expected, scared to death. But he calmed her down, his angel’s voice soothing her. She looked up and their eyes met.
This was the beginning. Soon every night he came to her, they would sit on her bed talking, his wings wrapped around her. The angels, God, and Satan had never seen this happen before. And soon enough, he was saving her from death everyday. It became too much one day and he cried out for it to stop. Time was put on hold as the brakes on her car gave out. God gave him permission for him to pardon her life this time but he must not go to her anymore. He agreed.
But now she cried at night, wondering why she had been deserted. He tried to wrap his wings around her invisibly but she shied away. After weeks of this, it overtook him. He became visible in a bright flash and quickly told her of his plight, hoping not to be noticed.
He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, seconds later, he was brought to his knees by the sight of her. He felt powerless under her gaze.
“Your wings,” she whispered to him. He looked at himself for the first time as a man. A fallen angel. Wingless. He looked at her for the first time as a man looks at a woman. He smiled and wiped away her tears, then said, “I love you”.