Marcus burst out of a brightly lit cloud shouting, “I won’t do it!” He wasn’t crying; he was simply angry. His face was an unaccustomed red and his entire body was shaking. In defiance, he searched his senses for Piet, found him, and settled on the shore beside him and Alex.
Piet saw Marcus’s red face, and touching him, he felt him quivering. He asked, “What’s wrong, Marcus?”
Gaining control of himself, Marcus replied, “The Council wants me to stop helping you so much.”
“What’s The Council?” asked Piet.
Marcus sighed. “I guess I need to explain some things to you.” He thought a moment before saying, “I suppose you’ve figured out that I’m not an ordinary human.”
Piet nodded.
Marcus continued, “I’m not a human at all.”
“Then what are you?”
“Your people would call me an angel.”
Shocked, Piet asked, “You mean like Gabriel?”
“I wish,” said Marcus, grinning. “No, Gabriel’s an Archangel. He’s near the top of our order. I’m near the bottom.”
“Why don’t you have wings or a halo?”
“It’s a common misconception among humans that angels have wings and halos. We don’t; we don’t need them. We can go wherever we want without them. We simply think of a place and we’re there.”
“Do other people have angels?”
“Everyone has an angel, but they don’t get to meet their angels like you have. People are assigned angels at birth.”
“So why do I get to meet you?” Piet asked, as Alex tried to lick his face again.
“There are a very few people in the world who have a special power, the ability to see angels.”
“And I’m one of them?”
“Yes.”
“And The Council wants you to stop helping me so obviously?”
Marcus nodded.
“And you’re being as contrary as I’ve ever been.”
Marcus nodded again with a grin on his face.
“You said that most people don’t have the gift of seeing angels,” said Piet. “Does that mean that if you and I were walking down the street together and we met someone, that person would only see me?”
“Exactly. And if you spoke to me, they’d probably think you were a little crazy,” Marcus said with a giggle.
“Why does The Council want you to stop helping me?”
“They want humans to be on their own, with as little help as possible. They think I’m helping you too much.”
They were both silent for a while, just watching the water lap on the shore, before Piet asked, “So, where can I go now? I don’t have any hope of getting taken in by my brothers and sisters. I have no place to go.”
“I think we’ll have to hide you for a while to figure that out. But first, you need to eat and get some clean clothes. Frankly, a bath would also be appropriate. Why don’t you wash off in the lake? I don’t think anyone will see you.”
“I don’t have any soap.”
“Here,” said Marcus, producing a bar.
“Where did that come from?” asked a surprised Piet.
“I don’t know. I just know I can get things you need. Now take off your clothes and get in the water.”
Piet removed his clothes until he was as naked as Marcus. He tried to hide his privates from Marcus, who laughed. “You don’t need to hide, Piet, I’ve seen you every day since you were born.”
Sheepishly, Piet took the bar of soap and climbed into the water. At first it felt very cold, and he stood shivering. Then it seemed to grow warmer.
“Are you doing that?” he asked Marcus.
“Yes, I can’t get the water too warm or it will kill everything living in it, but I can heat it a little for you.”
“It feels like a heated swimming pool,” said Piet, as he sat in the water and let it flow over him. He washed himself as thoroughly as he could, even washing his hair. Then he lay in the water to rinse off the soap. When he stood to get out, Marcus handed him a towel.
“Another something you got out of thin air?”
Marcus nodded and handed Piet some new clothes. Bemused, Piet put them on. They fitted perfectly.
“Now what?” he asked. Marcus waved a hand and a blanket with food on it appeared on the ground. Piet sat down and dug into a casserole of ham, macaroni, and cheese, saying it was the best he’d ever eaten. Then he asked, “Why aren’t you eating?”
“Angels don’t need to eat. I’ve never even tasted food.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” smiled Piet.
“Maybe, but I don’t have to pee or shit either, which doesn’t bother me in the least.” They both giggled.
When Piet finished eating, Marcus glanced at the blanket and leftovers and everything disappeared.
“Now what?” asked Piet as they stood together.
“We need to find you a place for the night,” Marcus replied.” Let me think.” After a few moments he took Piet’s hand.
Piet didn’t remember closing them, but found his eyes were shut. When he opened them, he saw that he was in a barn. While Marcus was beside him, there was no sign of Alex. He saw through the one window that it had grown quite dark outside. There was hay on the floor and the smell of animals nearby. He heard a cow moo which was answered by another. He heard hooves moving quietly on wood below and decided he must be up in the barn’s hayloft.
Marcus produced some blankets and said, “We can’t make any light so you might as well get some sleep. If anyone comes into the barn, just stay silent. They aren’t likely to come up here.”
“Are you going to sleep here too?”
“Angels don’t sleep,” Marcus replied, but I’ll be around if you need me.”
Piet removed his clothes to keep them from wrinkling. Then he lay on one of the blankets, so he didn’t get pricked by the hay, and pulled the other one over him. He lay for a few minutes thinking about all that had happened and wondering where Alex was. But before he could think of much, he was sound asleep.
The next thing he knew, he heard a door open and someone walking about below him.
Marcus appeared beside him in the early morning light and put a finger to his lips. Piet nodded. He hoped that whoever was down in the barn wouldn’t need to come up to the loft.
He lay listening silently. He heard hooves on the barn floor, a loud smack, and a cow complain before it headed out of the barn to the pasture.
“C’mon, Rocket,” a voice said. It was answered by a whinny, and a horse walked out of the barn towards the road. Piet carefully looked out the window and saw a man riding the horse down the farm lane and turning right on the road. Piet stood and put his clothes on.
“Well,” said Marcus, “we should probably get out of here before he returns.”
He held out his hand to Piet after he’d dressed and immediately they were back in the meadow by the lake. Alex was there, waiting. In no time, Marcus again produced a blanket and food. It looked like pancakes and scrambled eggs, but when Piet took his first bite, he found that the food tasted better than anything he’d ever eaten before.
He tried feeding a few scraps to Alex, who refused them.
“Why won’t he eat?” Piet asked.
“For the same reason I don’t. He has no need of food now.”
As he finished his meal, Piet asked, “Where are we?”
“Have you ever heard of Elysium?”
Piet shook his head.
“What about the Isle of the Blessed?”
Again, Piet shook his head.
“Clearly, you haven’t been introduced to the Greek gods yet,” said Marcus. “This is the place where those blessed by the gods go to their rest when they die. It’s peaceful here; there are no storms and no wars.”
“Is that why Alex is here?”
Marcus nodded.
“But why am I here?” asked Piet. “I’m not dead…am I?”
Marcus smiled. “No, you’re not dead. Occasionally, a mortal is granted permission to visit. Often, it’s for his own safety. The Council will probably be very annoyed that I brought you here. You can only come with my help, and you can’t stay, but you can find peace here and rest while you think about what to do next.”
“It’s beautiful,” observed Piet, looking around. “The wildflowers are some I’ve never seen before. How long can I stay?”
“Only a few hours,” Marcus replied.
“But Alex can’t come with us when we leave?”
Marcus shook his head. He glanced down and the blanket, plates, and food all disappeared. “Now,” he continued, “you haven’t yet visited all of your siblings. Can you think of one who might take you in?”
Piet shook his head. “I just don’t know many of them. They’re all so much older than I am.”
“I suppose we should just try them in order,” Marcus suggested. “Take my hand.”
Piet did and found himself standing in front of an apartment building which had clearly seen better days.
“Where should I go?” Piet asked.
“To apartment 14B.”
Piet walked to the door of the building. In the vestibule he saw buttons with apartment numbers next to them as well as a name for each button. He pushed the one for 14B.
He had to push it three times before a woman’s voice asked, “Who is it?”
Piet identified himself. At first the woman said she didn’t know anybody by that name, but when Piet said, “Amanda, you’re my sister,” he heard a sigh.
There was a buzz at the door. Inside he saw two elevators. He entered one and pushed the button for the fourteenth floor. The elevator lurched and wobbled as it rose, making him very nervous, but eventually it stopped and the door opened.
Piet walked out and saw a disheveled woman standing in a doorway and holding a squalling baby.
“Are you Amanda?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she answered. “You might as well come in.”
Piet went into what he thought was the living room. There were dirty dishes on the floor. The only furniture in evidence was a large TV. Some blankets were pushed aside to the walls. Amanda led him into the kitchen, where there was a table and two chairs.
She sat on one and indicated that he should sit on the other. She proceeded to open the front of her dress, pull out a breast, and stick the nipple into the baby’s mouth.
Piet was uncomfortable at the casual way Amanda displayed her breast, but he tried not to show it.
“So, what do you want?” Amanda asked.
Piet told her his story, once again ending with the death of Alex. Then he said, “What I need is a place to stay where I’m safe.”
“Well, you can’t stay here. That’s for damned sure. We have a one- bedroom apartment, and besides me and my husband, and Lily here there are four other kids.”
“Maybe I could help you take care of them?” Piet asked. “I’m good with kids.”
“And where would we put you? We can’t afford to feed everyone as it is.”
Just then, Piet heard a lot of shouting out in the hall, and four children of various ages burst into the kitchen. He noticed that none of them was very clean, and they all wore clothes that looked more like rags than shirts and shorts.
He looked at them all and said, “Never mind.” Standing, he worked his way through the flock of kids and went to the elevator.
Outside the building, Marcus was waiting for him. “Three down,” the angel said. Next oldest is Arthur. There are some interesting things about him, which you may or may not like.”
“We can’t fail any more badly than we already have,” said Piet. “We might as well give him a try.” And with that, they held hands and were gone.