Five Years Later

I sat on the porch, staring into the distance.

A light breeze swept around my house, causing the windchimes to sing their familiar tune.

Lush forests surrounded me as far as the eye could see, but beyond that, what I’d affectionately named, Cloud City, loomed large. It was nothing like anywhere I’d seen on Earth.

A shining metropolis visible from every corner of the Heavens. Don’t ask me how. I was no expert in physics, but everything here seemed to defy logic.

The Heavens consist of thirteen planets. The largest is where I call home, but we’re free to visit the other planets as and when we wish.

I’m never lonely as I have friends in other parts of the Heavens, and I suppose I could live elsewhere, but I take comfort from the fact Cloud City is close by.

Though it’s never been confirmed to me, I was certain Angelo was here, or he is when he isn’t back on Earth helping more souls find their way home.

I’d asked the question so many times.

Where is he? When can I see him? But I was wasting my breath.

Eventually I decided to take the human approach and go straight to the big man at the top. Not as easy as you’d think.

Two days ago, I stood outside the golden arch, the entrance to the shining metropolis, requesting an audience.

“Excuse me,” I asked a passer-by, “Does God live here?”

No answer, but he gave me a curious look then hurried past.

So, I asked the next person and was greeted with silence.

Nobody would tell me anything.

It seems we weren’t permitted to see him. Only his angels were bestowed that honour.

I knew I was wasting my time and in the blink of an eye, I was back in my little house.

“Goodnight, my darling,” I said, peeping my head around the door.

“I love you, Mummy,” she replied.

I’d just closed Aria’s bedroom door when I heard somebody at my front door.

“Hang on,” I called, rushing down the stairs to greet my visitor.

There is no need to rush, Gabriella. I could hear him in my head. I will wait.

I opened the door, pleasantly surprised by my visitor.

“Michael. It’s so nice to see you.” I stepped aside as his wings folded behind him and disappeared. “Please come in.”

Michael was part of the inner sanctum. One of God’s right-hand men so to speak, and with that position came authority that demanded the highest level of respect.

He stood over seven-foot tall, hair like spun gold, skin reminiscent of alabaster, the irises of his eyes red with speckles of gold. Beautiful in every sense of the word to me, but for a human being, he would appear monstrous and terrifying.

“Thank you,” he said, speaking, rather than communicating telepathically, as was his usual way.

“Please take a seat,” I said. He accepted the offer.

He looked decidedly odd, or was it the sofa that looked odd accommodating such a large being?

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, but we need to talk.”

“Oh?” I asked, curious as to the nature of his visit.

“Angelo,” he said, capturing my attention. “Why do you still seek him out?”

“You know why.”

“He has important work to do, as you well know.”

“But surely…”

“No, Gabriella, we broke the rules for you once, and you should be happy we did that.”

“You allowed me to give birth to an angelic child–Angelo’s child,” I said, feeling angry for the first time since I’d arrived here. “What else were you going to do?”

He chuckled. It seems I’d amused him. “With one wave of His hand, Aria would cease to be.”

“The God I love would never harm a child.”

“The God you love expected Angelo to follow the rules put in place millions of years ago.”

“Angelo was given a heart with which to love.”

“That may be so, but more was expected of him.”

“So, you punish him for falling in love with me and fathering a child. Why was I not punished?”

“You did nothing to deserve punishment,” he said. “As for Aria, we love her very much, but she is the first of her kind. We don’t know what she will be capable of.”

“She’s a child, Michael.”

“A very special child,” he said. “You must see it from our side–your mortal life was coming to its natural end, your body dying, decaying from the inside out. Your soul had broken free, ready for its final journey and you were never supposed to conceive–it wasn’t your destiny.”

“But it happened.”

“Yes, it did, and we still don’t know why,” he mused. “Aria is the very first of her kind. It has never happened before.”

“So, He didn’t tell you why he allowed me to conceive her?”

“Our Lord does not answer to us,” he replied, curtly. “We answer to him,” he said, an air of finality. “If He deems it to be...”

“Talk to him, please.”

“And say what?”

“That my daughter did nothing wrong and deserves to grow up with her mother and father.”

I’d caught his full attention. “I’m not saying I disagree with you, but Angelo is an angel with one very strict purpose to his existence.”

“But Angelo is one of God’s children, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Michael replied. “But I fail to see the comparison.”

“He knows his father, Aria doesn’t.”

Michael bowed his head. “Your argument has merit, Gabriella.”

“Then help me, but if you won’t help me, help Aria.” I would do anything for my daughter, even beg if I have to. “She asks more and more questions as the days go by.” I had to make Michael see sense. “In Earth years, she is five years old, but all she knows are the Heavens. I can tell her where I come from, and of my own family, but what of her father’s family–if he even has one? I don’t know.”

“Tell her of Earth,” Michael encouraged.

“I’d be telling her about things she could never understand because she’s never seen what I’m talking about.”

Thunder crashed outside.

He rose to his feet. “It is time to take my leave.”

“Will you help me?”

“Yes,” he said, and in a heartbeat, he was gone.