by R. Twine
As a token of their accord, the Two Angels crossed their swords, and then each of them made his pledge by entering the case in a respective book: Michael’s Book of Lives and Satanail’s Book of Shadows. From that moment on the pact was considered a deal done.
Chapter 2
Alexander and Laura epitomized a perfect couple. They both came from wealthy and respectable families and were a perfect match. Their marriage was a tight-knit union; both considered themselves happy, despite the fact that they could not have children.
Alexander adored his tender and caring wife and Laura gratefully reciprocated. They felt completely at ease and comfortable in each other’s company: the years of common life taught them to understand each other at a glance. No words were needed.
Alexander was a history teacher. After finishing university and gaining his teaching qualifications, he left Paris and went down to the South of France to take up a position at a collège (2). Alexander liked working with children very much; he gave them all of his unspent paternal care.
In his early childhood Alexander dreamed of devoting his life to art and spent a lot of years attending art school. Throughout his life painting had been a kind of creative escape to which he devoted his leisure. Alexander was rather good at painting, but he was more successful in the restoration of old paintings and unceasingly honed his skills at an art workshop. That was where he met his future wife.
Laura was also born in Paris. Several years after her mother’s death, she moved to the South where her family had an estate in Cannes. She hoped that the sea breeze would somehow lessen the pain of her loss, and that the tender sunrays would bring her a new life.
Her father died earlier still, when she was five years old. The girl saw her mother suffer and tried, as best she could, to fill the void formed in Catrine’s heart after her husband’s death.
Laura’s mother was a very clever and educated woman. She managed to teach her daughter the notion of beauty and instilled in her a love of painting. So Laura started painting pictures.
On her mother’s fortieth birthday Laura, already thirteen by then, gave Catrine one of her pictures painted with oil on canvas. The picture was so perfect that it made an indelible impression on all the guests present at the birthday party. They stood dumbfounded, staring at the magnificent painting. The little angel on the canvas seemed to be alive, looking like he was about to stir at any moment and step out of the picture to give somebody a delicate bouquet of black roses. There was only one question on everybody’s mind: where did this little girl get the idea of depicting the weird little angel with lifelike eyes, and what was the meaning of the wonderful bouquet he held in his hand?
Catrine hung her daughter’s present above the bed in her bedroom. At that time nobody could even imagine that the little angel in the picture would play a significant role in people’s destinies.
Laura was an eager and capable student: she finished her schooling with excellent marks, and then started a course at the National Academy of Art, in Nice. So it happened that she settled down permanently in the South. There she taught in an art school, and went on painting pictures.
Love for painting quickly brought Alexander and Laura together. They became companions whose friendship was followed by ardent mutual passion, and that passion turned into serious love. Even when they happened to be apart for a while, there was an unceasing inner connection between them. Soon the young people realized that they couldn’t live without each other. After an ardent affair that lasted for two years they became married. They emanated a powerful wave of happiness which was somehow transmitted into the outside world.
Apparently, it wasn’t accidental that they met each other.
It was for a reason that Michael the Archangel singled this couple out and made up his mind to give them a long-awaited firstborn child. He saw them as potential model parents – loving and caring. This was meant to be an ideal case for the woman whom he waited for so long to appear. Laura and Alexander fit this role as no one else did: both were clever and beautiful, and their hearts were capable of true love.
The time of conception was the only thing that remained undefined. Laura had been unable to become pregnant for seventeen years, therefore everything had to be thoroughly prepared in order to prevent any problems at the moment when this event was to take place.
The Archangel had clear memories of the distant past, of their first unforgettable meeting when he had first felt a strange attraction for this unique woman. The fragrance emanated by her body drove him crazy, awakening unfamiliar emotions in his heart. She was lying naked before him and was so beautiful in her nakedness that it was not without some effort that he was able to leave the place. The alluring goddess didn’t even try to conceal her growing admiration for the beautiful Archangel. They stared at each other, unable to divert their eyes.
‘Who are you?’ she asked softly.
‘I’m Archistratigus Michael, the Heavenly Guardian from the World of the Eternal. I belong to the place where only pure human souls can reach.’ And upon that he quickly disappeared.
Michael shook his head, driving away the memories that engulfed him. The guilty feeling was hard to get rid of – many centuries had passed since he last was where her soul was dwelling. And now its Karmic mission opened before him the opportunity to get close to the woman who was so dear to him. He hoped that in the future, after her soul ended its earthly existence, he would be able to be near her, standing guard over her eternal rest. And now he was happy at the prospect of seeing her in human form again.
The time of conception was just around the corner. The Archangel made up his mind to be invisibly present during the act of love, thus allowing him to protect the future conception from unwanted energy seeping in day and night. In fact, hosts of dwellers from the invisible world were always present at love-making. They fed on the currents of human energy, partially absorbing the information passed during a pre-planned act of conception. The information drifted around in the world of the hereafter, often ending up in lower layers, thus causing constant problems in the future life of a human being. Few were the couples that knew about this unfavorable factor; and those who did asked the angels to act as their guardians, calling on them to be present at the time of conception. The angel descending from Heaven in response to such calls protected their charges from all sorts of potential trouble. But this time the baby-making stage was to be totally controlled by the Archangel himself. His presence was meant to burn the unwanted energy capable of disrupting the future self-implementation of the soul – which for now, still had a long way to go before starting its earthly life.
****
The traditional national painting exhibition was scheduled to take place in Paris. Laura had long been planning her fortnight’s trip to the city and was busy reverently preparing her paintings for the show. Sleepless nights had made her weary and impatient. How she wished that her works would be judged according to their merits – her future as a painter depended upon this.
One way or the other, in those days all conversations boiled down to the long-awaited voyage.
‘Alexander, when we go to Paris let’s drop in on your parents. I already called your mother.’ Laura said.
‘She’ll be very glad to see us. As you know, my mother loves you like her own daughter,’ he replied.
‘Are you envious, darling?’ Laura asked softly with a smile.
‘No, I’m not. Quite the contrary, I’m very glad – they will focus less on me then. You know my parents: no telephone calls coming from us for a couple of days – and my mother will start to lose sleep, fearing the worst…’
‘That’s right, we should visit them more often,’ Laura agreed.
But at the last moment it turned out that Alexander would not be able to accompany his wife: some problems cropped up at his office that needed to be dealt with immediately. This time Laura had to go on her own.
‘I wish I could go with you, honey,’ Alexander said with a note of
regret in his voice. ‘But don’t worry. Everything’s going to be all right. Your paintings are wonderful – all the connoisseurs agree.’
‘I’ll miss you,’ Laura whispered, giving her husband a tight hug.
An hour later she was already speeding on her way to Paris.
The National Exhibition of French Painters was a huge success. Laura’s paintings drew a lot of attention from visitors and were acclaimed by the mass media. She secured a lot of orders from private buyers who admired her art, and had the opportunity of signing an exclusive contract f or reproducing one of her paintings on greeting cards. Content with the outcome of the exhibition, she started preparing to go back home.
Alexander missed his wife very much and waited very impatiently for her return. He prepared an exquisite supper, uncorked a bottle of expensive white wine, and rearranged scarlet roses in a vase. Alexander knew how long Laura had been working towards her goal, and how diligent she had been. Therefore he understood very well how happy his wife had to be now that – at last – people had started to talk about her as a serious and gifted painter. He was proud of her.
There was a rumble of tires outside the window, and in a couple of seconds Laura came running into the house – happy and excited. Just as she stepped over the threshold, Laura threw herself into her husband’s arms. Her eyes were shining, and her slightly unkempt hair cascading over her shoulders made her look like a young girl. Her long well-shaped legs were in tight jeans that set off all her curves seductively, while the deep neckline of her cherry-colored blouse drew attention to her beautiful breasts. In short, Laura looked terrific. Alexander pressed an ardent kiss on her sensitive lips. Their hot bodies pressed against each other and became one. Not a minute passed before they were engaged in wild lovemaking.
The Archangel was watching them, clearly glad of what he had done: the emotions of the husband and wife ran high, and he marveled at the scene, while opening up the would-be mother’s womb for the awaited conception. At the same time he was keeping a wary eye on what was going on so that no outside creature could bother the lovers. And everything was going well; everything was going as it should have been. The bright red energy coming from Laura and Alexander was the proof. Michael stood nearby, waiting for the moment of conception, the crucial step that would bring him nearer to the birth of the girl.
‘There it is! They did it. Now I can calmly leave the place,’ he said with a content smile, and vanished in a haze.
Laura was lying on the sofa, tears running down her face. It had been several years since she last experienced such a tide of emotions, such an intense sexual thrill. It was like a magic dream. Laura didn’t know how to explain all this, so she put it down to their not being together for the whole week and to her success at the show. Presumably, these were the factors that caused the whirlwind of her flaming emotions.
Alexander bent over his wife, taking in the beauty of her face. It had been a long time since they last were so passionate. At the sight of tears on his darling’s face, he was barely able to suppress his own tears of joy.
Laura was the first to break the silence. ‘I missed you so very much. We should always be together, Alexander. You are my dearest darling in the whole world, I love you so much,’ she whispered to her husband, laughing through tears. She had a feeling that her tears were carrying off the stress accumulated over the last week, thus relieving her of the emotional burden she had to endure.
‘I love you very much, too,’ Alexander said, pressing her tenderly against his chest and caressing Laura’s slightly wavy hair. Finally, tiredness overwhelmed them and they fell asleep, leaving their supper untouched.
****
A month later Laura learned she was pregnant. Expecting a child brought them together even more. The parents painstakingly looked for a suitable name for their baby but refused to find out its gender in advance…
Chapter 3
Nine months flew quickly by. Laura prepared ahead of time everything necessary for her stay in a maternity clinic, making sure several times that she didn’t forget anything important.
She was sitting in a nursery turning over tiny baby’s clothes; she gazed at them adoringly, kissed them and pressed them against her chest, where her heart trembled, expecting a child.
‘Oh, how I love you!’ Laura whispered, caressing her round belly. She couldn’t believe that in several days there would be a baby in their house. ‘I love you so much! I’ll try to be the most caring mother in the whole world! Soon, very soon we shall be together…’
The afternoon sun flooded the room; its tender rays lulled Laura into sleep, and she dozed off in a comfortable armchair, still holding the tiny clothes in her hands. It was then that she had a strange dream.
‘Laura,’ she heard the voice of her late mother. ‘My dear daughter, you’ll deliver tonight. Put our family ring on your finger and don’t take it off, even if asked to. And take the painting with an angel away from your house for a while.’
Laura’s mother was staring at her with her big and beautiful green eyes, filled with love and tenderness. It was the first time in three years that they had met in a dream.
Catrine passed away when her daughter was only fifteen. Laura was left all on her own, and, until her coming of age, lived with her distant relatives who took charge of her. After finishing lycée(3) she entered the National Academy of Art, and settled down in Cannes in the house she inherited. She had some leftover money from her parents at her disposal, and the money was more than enough to cover all her expenses; besides, she let part of their old family house in Paris, which brought in a decent income.
Laura was grateful her destiny brought her to meet Alexander – the clever young man who helped her escape loneliness and the ghosts of the past. As the years passed by the pain in her heart lessened, but the longing for her dear mom still lingered on deep in her soul because she had never come to terms with the fact of her death.
Now that she had met Catrine in her sleep, Laura wanted to ask her mother once again why she left her alone so soon. She felt like bursting into tears and pouring out all her unexpressed feelings.
‘Mommy, I’m so glad to see you… I miss you so much, I want you to be near me…at this very moment which is so crucial to me. I’d like to share with you my joy and my fears. I need you so much!’
‘Laura, my darling daughter, you will not be alone,’ Catrine said mysteriously. ‘Put our family ring on, the one with the emerald. It can ease your pain…I didn’t forget you, my darling, but I can’t come down to you too often from where I’m staying now.’
Catrine looked at Laura tenderly, smiled guiltily and whispered with finality. ‘I love you, my dear daughter. Take care of yourself and your baby. And now I’m off.’
Laura darted after her, trying to catch up with her mother’s vanishing image.
‘Mommy, Mommy, wait a minute!’ she cried out into emptiness at the top of her voice, trying to catch up with Catrine. But somebody’s strong and invisible hand descended upon her shoulder and halted her.
Acute abdominal pain woke Laura up.
She realized that her labor pains were starting.
‘Alex, where are you?’ she called out to her husband.
Alexander ran into the room right away.
‘What’s wrong, Laura? Are you sick?’
‘I have terrible pain at the bottom of my belly; it’s getting worse and worse…take me to the hospital, will you?
‘Of course.’
In twenty minutes they were already in the hall of a maternity department.
‘Follow me into the delivery room,’ an obstetrician said.
The labor went on for more than ten hours. Laura was completely exhausted, and her body was shaking with sobs.
Laura closed her eyes and heard, and as already as if through a haze, people’s voices
‘Push! Bear down and push! The baby’s head is crowning; hold on a little more…The baby needs to be delivered more quickly…Push!
&nbs
p; ‘I can’t stand it anymore…’ Laura sank into a fog, and saw her mom and two creatures who looked like angels.
They were standing on both sides, watching her. The warm and shimmering light they emanated began easing her pain by making it progressively dull. Laura sensed them supporting her; she was not alone with her pain any more.
‘Give me some help…Do something…’ Laura said incoherently, and suddenly recollected her mother’s request and the family ring she never had time to put on.
The creature standing on Laura’s right put his hand onto her belly, and the moment he did it she felt the piercing pain subside.
Doctors put a mask on Laura’s face, and a loud voice brought her back to reality.
‘Push, my darling! Make it quick… even quicker…Try one more time, Laura!’ Alexander shouted. ‘Try one more time!’
The invisible hand on her belly invigorated Laura. She took a deep breath, gathered up all of her strength and began pushing the baby out.
Blood hammered in her temples, and the room was suddenly flooded with a bright light. Laura squinted and screamed, almost unaware of what was going on… аnd in several seconds there was another scream that filled the space. It was the scream of the baby.
‘Oh, my God,’ whispered Laura, barely able to move her lips. ‘At last…At very long last…’
Laura looked from under her half-closed eyelids at the baby the obstetrician had put on her chest.
‘It’s a girl, Laura! A girl! Now we have a girl,’ Alexander chanted joyfully. Laura put her arm around the baby girl, and kissed her on the head.