Seraph

  Andrea heard those words and her heart was putty in his hands. She leaned in to kiss him, but just then a remote-control car hit Oscar’s leg and the moment fled. The young man apologized, and Andrea didn’t make a big deal of it, but Oscar showed the young man a terrifying glare that made him run off screaming, leaving his car behind. Andrea didn’t see the exchange, but called out to the young man to retrieve his toy. But the young man didn’t even so much as look back; he ran as fast as he could away from the couple.

  “Well, that was strange. I wonder why he didn’t come back,” Andrea said picking up the small car.

  “Never mind that. Tonight is going to be an amazing night. I must go to prepare, but I want you to go and buy the sexiest dress you can find and anything else you want. Money is no object because tonight is going to be unforgettable,” Oscar said, taking the car away from her and dumping it in the stream under the bridge.

  “How did I get so lucky to meet someone like you?” Andrea asked. And then she took his credit card and left to find the sexiest dress in Missouri.

  Oscar watched Andrea leave. Lust was in his eyes as the shapely figure seemed to glide out of sight. Oscar really did have to set plans in place to make the night a truly memorable night for her, but first he had another order of business to attend to. He walked off the bridge to the stream and found the remote-control car. He intended to return it to its owner. By simply touching the car, he could see in his mind’s eye who the owner was and where he lived. Timothy Fitzgerald lived just a few blocks from the park, and Oscar began walking in that direction.

  Once he arrived at the young man’s residence, he could hear loud heavy metal music blasting through the door. Even if he had knocked, there would have been no way for Timothy to hear him. Oscar concentrated as hard as he could and walked through the locked door. He walked around the young man’s tiny studio apartment and searched for him.

  The loud music came from the bedroom and that is where he went. He opened the door to the room and saw Timothy with his back to the door. The loud MP3 stereo was next to the door and Oscar smashed it to bits with his bare hands.

  “Timothy Fitzgerald!” Oscar screamed.

  “Holy crap!” Timothy shouted, wiping a white powdery substance from his nose. “How the hell did you get in here?”

  Oscar didn’t answer so Timothy asked again.

  “Who are you? What do you want?”

  “I want you, Timothy Fitzgerald.”

  “How do you know my name?”

  “I know many things about you.”

  Oscar looked at the white residue on the young man’s nose and bed.

  “Cocaine,” he smirked. “It is amazing how it has proved its usefulness for years.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “More than six millennia ago I helped teach your ancestors how to grow coca seeds. We taught them to transform the plant into the drug that you use to get high . . . this isn’t even a good batch.”

  Timothy looked at him, his face caked in the substance.

  “In those days cocaine wasn’t used for recreation. The hallucinations it caused were one of many doorways for a seer to communicate with the spirit world. However, what is about to happen is no hallucination.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Understand this, I know you, Timothy Fitzgerald,” Oscar replied. “I know that before you were a user you were a seller. I know that you used to sell this poison to your little sister, Jackie Fitzgerald, which led to her overdose two years ago. I know that you’re so dependent on your addiction that you will sell your own body to feed it.”

  “How do you? That was a long time ago, and I’ve been drug free for fifteen months. I’ve changed my life,” Timothy cried, sweating.

  “And yet the sweat in your pores is oozing with cocaine residue. You are a liar, and most importantly, I know that seven months ago your best friend attempted to tell you about Jesus and you cursed him and rejected your salvation. You see, I know many things about you,” Oscar continued.

  “How do you . . . ?”

  “I know that your time on earth is up and the hour of your judgment is at hand!” he said, transforming into a hideous demon right before Timothy’s eyes.

  “I BELIEVE! I BELIEVE NOW!” Timothy screamed and fell backward onto his bedroom floor.

  “It is too late for you to believe now. Timothy Fitzgerald, you have been weighed on the scales and have been found wanting,” Ornias replied, hovering over Timothy before taking his life.

  The day flew by for John Summers. He took a personal day and stayed home from work but worked via remote access. He simply didn’t know what to do about his new stature, especially at a job he had had for two years. But none of those problems mattered nor deserved a solution at the present. Tonight was a night he had dreamt about most of his life but never actually believed would happen.

  To his surprise, he didn’t even have to go shopping because his clothes began to grow to fit his new body much like the Israelite clothing grew in the wilderness those forty arduous years. He put on his best suit that snuggly embraced his body. The tan suit and lavender shirt without a tie gave him the look of a model. Even he was surprised at how handsome he looked. He never thought of himself that way, but his reflection proved that way of thinking was in the past.

  John headed out to pick up his best friend and date for their first romantic night out. He took a cab over, and when she came down, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Camilla wore a tight, white and blue dress that hugged her curves like a Formula One car on a Grand Prix race track. Her soft lips were dressed with a tiny hint of gloss, and her beautiful curls bounced around her face. Her white heels offset the leather blue clutch she carried. John’s eyes took in every inch of her, and Camilla’s eyes did the same.

  When they finally arrived at the jazz restaurant, they were ready for a night of eating and dancing. They nervously small-talked, both shy, both wondering what the other was really thinking. Since John and Camilla knew each other so well for many years, there wasn’t much to actually converse about. This was simultaneously an advantage and disadvantage.

  Most of their communication was through body language. She bit her lip, played with her hair, looked at him, and glanced away smiling. John offered undivided attention, making her believe she was the only girl in the world, smiling at her and staring deep into her round, chestnut eyes. They were both equally shocked that this was the turn that their friendship was taking. However, the awkward moments ended when John asked Camilla to dance.

  John pulled her close in the middle of the dance floor, and her sweet smell engulfed him. He took big breaths to soak in every scent of her. Camilla laid her head on his chest and hugged his broad shoulders. The melodic music played in the background and the soulful singer sang songs that pulled at heartstrings that needed no further tugging.

  Everything seemed to disappear from their periphery, and the only thing that now existed in their world was each other. They could faintly hear the performers in the distance as they seemed to be a million miles away. While they were lost in the void, John whispered, “I love you.” Camilla heard him plain as day, looked him in his big brown eyes, and their lips inevitably collided. From this moment forth, John and Camilla were totally and irrevocably in love, and she confessed her love when their lips parted.

  The night was far from over for either of them, but they left the Harlem Jazz Club, hands wrapped together from the door to the cab to John’s place. It was unclear what either of them wanted from the night, but it was obvious that if they continued along this road, the night had only one logical outcome.

  Camilla kissed John again and was losing herself in the man of her dreams. She was growing less and less concerned about the vow she made and promise ring she wore that signified her abstinence.

  John was a bit more conflicted. He found himself trying to fight an urge that was so natural in a situation that seemed so perfect. There was a battle waging
inside the man as he fought to control himself, but as he kept kissing her, slowing down was becoming less and less of an option.

  Andrea was instructed to meet Oscar at a new restaurant at the top of a skyscraper called Revolving Roma—a five star restaurant that revolved while guests ate, and the most expensive place in Missouri. When Andrea arrived, she was shocked to see that the restaurant was empty, save for Oscar who stood waiting at a table in the middle of the establishment. He looked at the beautiful woman who wore an elegant, formfitting, open back, black maxi dress with a plunging neckline. She spared no expense at Oscar’s request to look her absolute finest. She also had found beautiful pear-shaped diamonds to go with her dress. Her blond hair was in an updo that accentuated her neck and gorgeous face with limited blush. Oscar was floored when he saw Andrea coming to the table. He expected her to be prettier than usual, but he had not expected her to be drop-dead gorgeous. Seeing her this way aroused him, but not in the way he had expected to be later that night. A small part of him really took a liking to her and for a small moment, he forgot the plan.

  “Wow,” he said.

  “Oh stop . . . ,” Andrea said shyly.

  “No really . . . I don’t know if there are words to express how spectacular you look tonight.”

  “Thank you . . . You don’t look so bad yourself.”

  “Please, allow me,” Oscar said, pulling her chair out for her.

  “Thank you.”

  “You are most welcome,” he said with a grin.

  Andrea smiled back and then asked, “What is this place?”

  “It’s a brand-new restaurant called Revolving Roma. The food here is supposed to be fantastic.”

  “Then why is it empty?” Andrea laughed.

  “Good one,” he laughed. “I bought it out for the night.”

  “Oh my goodness, wow! I’ve heard of people doing that, but I never thought someone would do that for me. . . . You didn’t have to.”

  “Why not? You’re more than special enough.”

  “Oscar . . . I . . . ,” she stammered.

  “What is it, Andrea?”

  “No, never mind; it’s silly.”

  “Nonsense, speak your heart.”

  “Okay, look I appreciate the kind words, but those kinds of words will only lead to one logical ending.”

  “And what ending is that?”

  “Love, and I don’t want to scare you, and I don’t want to rush into anything because my ex-husband really broke me down in the worst way imaginable. But I haven’t heard anyone speak to me like this in years, and I love it, but those words are only going to make me fall for you so if you don’t mean them . . .”

  “Andrea, I’ve already told you that I’m no flatterer. And I don’t say things I don’t mean. I don’t date often and usually the women I do end up going out with are total bimbos. And I don’t believe in the cliché of ‘love at first sight,’ but with that said, there is something about you that is magnetic, and I find myself drawn to you in the most unusual way. In the short time that I’ve known you, I’ve actually come to care about you.”

  Andrea just smiled and let her guard down and opened herself up to the possibility of a new relationship. After all, she’d been single for over three years, hadn’t been intimate with a man in nearly two, and if this man really did care about her, it was worth giving him a chance to find happiness.

  Staring into Oscar’s eyes gave her a sense of security she hadn’t felt since she and Kenneth dated as teenagers. His eyes were warm and inviting—they hid any ulterior motives—and the only thing she saw in them was truth and the possibility of romance. She saw a love that would protect and not abuse, abide and not abandon, provide and not deprive—and far be it from Andrea to deny herself the love of a good man.

  “You make me feel very safe,” Andrea said. “Which is something I haven’t felt in years. Since before Kenny was alive.”

  “Tell me about him.”

  “Where do I start? In the beginning, he loved me and he took care of me. He came from a rough family, but he was kind to me. He was my first and we had spent one summer just making love anytime we could. But in a town where there isn’t much entertainment, what are two kids in love supposed to do? We both had so many big dreams, and they included each other. As you know, I wanted to act and model, but he wanted to be a professional football player, but things didn’t quite work out that way, and he became frustrated with life. Things began changing after that. He began caring more about drinking and partying than our relationship.

  “I’ll never forget the first night he hit me. It was for the stupidest thing too. My best friend Sally—you met her at the bar—well, she’s a lesbian and years ago Kenny wanted a threesome, but I didn’t want any part of it. Neither did Sally for that matter; we weren’t those kinds of friends and instead of understanding that, he accused me of cheating with her behind his back because we were so close. You see Sal and I hung out every chance we got. When I wasn’t with Kenny, I was with her. But when I denied him, he beat me for it. I’ll never forget that night. I sat up the whole night crying.

  “Sally stopped being my friend to protect me from his abuse, and we weren’t able to be best friends again until after Kenny died. She hated him for it. After that the abuse got even worse, and it even caused two miscarriages. This led to me distrusting men, even after Kenny died. I wasn’t interested in a relationship or romance, that is, until I met you. I don’t know what it is about you, but I feel like I can trust you and that’s what scares me.”

  “Wow, after that I understand your hesitance. I would be much the same way if I were ill-treated. With that said, I want you to trust me. I won’t hurt you.”

  “We’ll see . . .”

  After the conversation, the waitress approached to take their orders, and the rest of the night went smoothly. No more talk about Kenneth and abuse or past lives and mistakes. It switched to happy thoughts and dreams, favorite books, movies, and colors. Andrea was never happier in her life. Oscar enjoyed himself so much that he lost the parameters of the mission and found himself actually enjoying the date. He was conflicted because she was supposed to be a mark, an objective. Get in and get out, but he had lost sight of that and now was developing feelings for her.

  He had heard the stories of the fallen angels who fell in love with the daughters of men. He knew that it was possible for a spiritual being to grow romantically interested in a human, but he was shocked that it was happening to him. Oscar tried to fight the new feelings, but it was becoming harder the longer he looked into her eyes (or whenever she smiled), which seemed to disarm him. Even the smell of her body was beginning to make him desire her. Andrea was unaware of the intoxicating effect that she was having on him because she was experiencing the same feelings around Oscar.

  When dinner was over, they made their way to the hotel where they were staying, holding hands the entire way. Oscar’s heart pounded as they made their way to the elevator and up to their suite. Andrea led Oscar by the hand into the bedroom and looked into his eyes in the candlelit room that Oscar had had the hotel staff prepare.

  “Candles? Do you think you’re getting lucky tonight?” Andrea asked with a wide smile.

  “I . . . uh . . . ,” Oscar stuttered.

  “Shhh,” Andrea said with a finger over his mouth.

  She made her way to each candle, blowing them out one by one until the room was dark. The only light came from the full moon shinning into the dark suite. Andrea slid out of her tight seductive dress, sensually crawled into the bed, and waved her finger at Oscar; he approached her, and they consumed each other.

  Good John and Ahadiel got to know each other in the days they spent together. They exchanged stories and secrets of their pasts, and both were enthralled with the other’s stories. Ahadiel told stories about the creation of the angels, heavenly bodies, the creation of man, and even his own personal history. Good John spoke on the inner workings of the human spirit and body, and told gripping tales of le
gendary battles between him and bad John. The past three days that they had been stuck together were rather uneventful, but the peace that they enjoyed was coming to a close. Tonight was going to be a much different night.

  When John looked into the sky he began seeing red streaks heading south. When John noticed this phenomenon it wasn’t strange to him, but Ahadiel had no idea what was happening. Good John then rose and began to lead Ahadiel to the mountains in the distance. The mountain range was the border that separated good John’s territory from the neutral zone.

  “Where are we going?” Ahadiel asked.

  “We’re going to the neutral zone,” good John replied.

  “What’s over there?”

  “There is something that is happening on the outside. We have to find out what it is.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “Do you see those red streaks in the sky?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “So those red streaks are heading south. The red is blood, and it’s heading toward the southern part of the physical body.”

  “I’m afraid I still do not understand.”

  “Gee whiz, there is something that is arousing the physical body, and we have to investigate it before bad John gets there, if he isn’t there already.”

  “Ah, is this one of the times when you will confront the other you and try to keep him from taking control of the physical body?”

  “Yes, exactly. We need to get there and find out what is causing all the commotion, but we’d get there faster if you flew.”

  Ahadiel carried good John and flapped his majestic wings, flying high into the air. From this view good John was able to see past the mountain ranges and into a region of the body that was in control of John’s physical body. A bright white light shone in the sky about ten miles south of their current position. Good John explained to Ahadiel that the white light was from a golden temple at the top of a waterfall surrounded by an ever growing forest.