by R. Twine
‘She’s so lovely. I can’t take my eyes off her.’ Laura said to Alexander quietly.
‘Now that the pain is behind you, there’s only happiness ahead,’ the doctor smiled.
Laura felt a sense of relief as peace and calm spread over her exhausted body; the baby girl went silent, lying on her chest.
Two mysterious creatures were still standing beside her. They bent over the baby, peering over her lovingly and attentively. Laura saw big luminescent tears running down their faces and falling silently onto her baby.
The magic tears were falling onto the little girl, penetrating deep into her tiny body and giving her the qualities predetermined by the Angels.
‘I’ve brought about what they have been dreaming of for so many years. This couple caught my eye in no time. They really have great love and respect for each other. In one of the previous incarnations we had a really hard time trying to separate the unfortunate parents. Do you remember that?’
‘I should think so!’ Satanail replied. ‘I had to save the mother and her daughter from that tyrant.’
Michael the Archangel put a rose, invisible to the human eye, on the little girl’s chest.
‘I’m glad she has been born,’ Satanail said, smiling at the little girl. And then he disappeared.
The baby-girl stared at the Archangel with her tiny beady eyes. ‘‘She sees me,’’ he thought. ‘‘No doubt about it.’’
And in a moment he disappeared, too.
Chapter 4
Miriam was born at three o’clock in the morning. Fair curly hair framing her charming face, and a chubby body made her look like a little angel.
Alexander’s parents, their family friends and Laura’s colleagues came to the maternity hospital; they flooded the room with flowers and presents for little Miriam. Alexander's mother, Polette, had just become a grandmother for the first time and she couldn’t hold back tears gazing at the baby.
‘My goodness, she is so lovely! We’ve been expecting you for so long, our little darling! We’ve been waiting for such a long, long time,’ the new grandma said, slopping over the baby. ‘You are so cute that I don’t know what to say.’
‘Congratulations, my dear Laura… and these are for our little princess…’ Gregory, Alexander’s father, put two parcels down in the corner and took a seat, leaning his walking stick against the windowsill. Pain in his leg made it hard for him to stand upright. The injury he had suffered many years before still bothered him, and the long, drawn-out treatment they had tried proved ineffective.
‘Thank you, Polette,’ Laura said.
There was a faint knock on the door.
‘Good afternoon, how are you?’ the doctor asked, smiling as usual.
‘We are fine,’ Laura said, carefully changing the baby’s diaper. ‘There’s only one thing – she hardly cries at all. Do you think it’s OK? Sometimes I even have to listen to tell whether she’s breathing at all.’
‘It’s a mere piece of luck,’ the doctor replied. ‘The baby’s calm, she sleeps and eats well, and the main thing is that she’s not tiresome. This is what every new mother dreams of! Your tests results are normal; tomorrow you’re going to be discharged from the hospital, so get yourself ready.’ The doctor examined Miriam and weighed her, and then left the room saying goodbye.
‘Honey, I’ll take all the presents home, or there will be no room left for you in the car tomorrow,’ Alexander said, and started removing flowers from the ward.
And the ward became roomy again.
‘We’re home at last, my dear ones!’ Alexander swung the door open and let his family in. ‘There are three of us – at last!’
Holding Miriam in her arms, Laura took a seat on the sofa and looked around. ‘There's no better place than home!’
Laura recollected what her late mother had told her before she went to the maternity clinic. She opened the jewel-box and took out the family heirloom passed from generation to generation. There was the ring, with a big and exceptionally beautiful emerald in it. The ring was very expensive. The jewel emanated an inexplicable power and harbored a secret. It seemed to be talking to its owner, and changing its color in the process. It looked as if the emerald was merging into Laura, clearing her mind and thoughts. They became one.
‘Perhaps, I’ll never be able to wear this ring,’ Laura mused, examining this masterpiece of jewelry. ‘There seems to be some sort of a barrier between us, but I still can’t grasp what the barrier is. On the one hand it serves me as a guide to a parallel world, while on the other hand it scares me off. And this is the fear I can’t explain.’
‘Laura, the barrier is your late mother, because, unlike you, she never took the ring off – in your own words. The ring reminds you of the closest and dearest woman you lost so early in your life…’ Alexander took the ring off her finger, and scrutinized it for a long time. ‘Well, this is a rare jewel judging by its size and purity…I haven’t seen anything like it. It doesn’t have the slightest defect, and its unusually deep greenness is mesmerizing. The longer you look at it, the harder it becomes for you to take your eyes off it. It’s an amazing and perfectly made piece of jewelry.’
‘Alex, there’s a picture I painted many years ago. When my mother died I carried it down to the cellar and never brought it back since then. It was very long ago, but I still can’t force myself to look at it…I have a clear memory of the moment I started to paint it…The angel’s image stood before my eyes and it was very lifelike. It was as if somebody were moving my hand across the canvas. I still can’t forget the sensation.’
Laura didn’t feel like telling him about her dreams and about her late mother coming to her at night…Catrine’s visits were becoming more frequent now because she wanted to encourage her daughter and visit her granddaughter.
‘Honey,’ Alexander said in a barely audible voice while embracing his wife, ‘you can always rely upon me. I’ve always tried not to pry into your past, to not awaken your painful memories. I know you went through hard times. But if someday you feel like sharing something with me, please know that I will stand by you, and that I will always be ready to help you.’
Laura buried her face against Alexander’s chest, and so they stood, for quite a while, in each other’s arms.
‘I hate the thought of taking Miriam to a day nursery,’ Laura told her husband. ‘I can’t even imagine myself being without her for as little as an hour.’
‘You may stay at home, darling. I guess, it’ll be better this way for our baby, too.’
It took Laura several more months to recover her strength, and she took up painting again. There were a lot of creative ideas swarming in her head and, as before, Laura was keen on expressing her emotions through painting. Miriam was always by her mother’s side.
A year passed, and Miriam’s birthday came along. In the morning, before the guests came to visit them, Alexander was playing with his daughter while Laura was making the necessary preparations. She wanted her daughter’s first birthday to go well. Therefore she had planned every minute detail of it well in advance.
Miriam wore an embroidered beige dress; an exuberant bowknot on her back made her look like a little princess. Gorgeous fair curls cascading down to her shoulders, amazingly big bright green eyes with long lashes and lovely pouty lips – the little girl looked so beautiful that it was hard to take your eyes off of her.
It was to be a very joyous celebration; the living room had been decorated with garlands, a multitude of multicolored balloons hung from the strings attached under the ceiling. Hanging proudly on the wall were two pictures of the small birthday girl; they were tied with a soft paper band that had the following inscription on it: Happy Birthday, Miriam! On the opposite wall there was a poster with the most significant photos of the past year: birth, the first smile, crawling on all fours, the first steps.
On a well-laid table there were beautiful small vases with fresh flowers placed here and there, a lot of canapés, various refreshments, and personalized glasses meant to
be taken home by guests as souvenirs.
The first guests were quick to arrive, and hardly one hour had passed before the hall was full of people; children were laughing loudly, running after each other, while the grown-ups were having appetizers, looking at paintings and photographs, talking to each other, and praising the hostess for her perfect taste in decorating the house. After a little while they all sat down at the festive table.
‘Laura, you did a great job in decorating the hall. It really looks like something from a fairy tale,’ Gregory praised her. ‘I brought my camera with me to capture every moment of my granddaughter’s life, and now I just have to find the right place for the filming…’
Laura’s friend Carol said, gushing over the little girl, ‘Your baby looks more like a little angel!’
The birthday girl took genuine interest in what was going on because it was for the first time in her life that she had seen so many people in her home. The guests took turns taking her in their arms to play with her and to caress her, and Miriam looked inquisitively at the people around her – there were so many of them!
Then the time came for birthday greetings and presents. Laura cautiously brought in a large beautiful cake with a musical candle in its center, and as everybody was singing “Happy birthday” she put it in the middle of the table. Alexander took Miriam into his arms, brought her to the cake and said, ‘My darling daughter! Now it’s time to blow out your first candle!’
‘Ffffffff ,’ Miriam exhaled, and the grown-ups were much impressed because she managed to blow the candle out without their help.
‘There’s a good girl!’ everybody said admiringly.
Laura, deeply moved, made a speech.
‘Miriam! Our dear daughter! A year ago, on this very day, you came into this world and made us the happiest parents on Earth. You brought into our lives much joy, warmth and happiness, and your papa and I love you very much. Today, celebrating your birthday, we wish with all our hearts that you will grow up to be healthy, beautiful and happy. May your life always be wonderful and full of joy! I wish you a happy birthday, my darling daughter!’ And Laura tenderly kissed Miriam.
‘Happy birthday, my princess!’ her father said, pressing his daughter to his chest and kissing her.
The cake was consumed and so was the champagne. Tired, Miriam was quietly snuggling in the arms of Polette, her grandmother. The day was coming to its close.
Most of the guests went to their respective homes, and there were only the nearest and dearest remaining. Laura appeared in the hall holding an easel in her hands; there was a wrapped-up picture under her arm.
‘This is my first work of art,’ she said, carefully unwrapping the painting. ‘It’s been a long time since I have seen it.’
It was a medium-sized picture in an old wooden frame with partially-faded gilt. She put it on the easel, and stepped aside. Silence fell upon the room, everybody stared at the painting. For a passing moment Laura thought she had returned to that distant day – her dear mommy’s birthday.
Looking out from the picture was a small angel. His chubby pale pinkish body, his gray wings, spread and shimmering, stood out against dark clouds with rays of light barely struggling through them; it looked as if the angel was about to take off at any moment. The creature had hair down to its shoulders. Its penetrating eyes stared ahead; there was a frozen mysterious smile upon its lips. The angel had in his hands a beautiful bouquet of black roses whose buds seemed ready to fall out of the picture. This heavenly creature looked perfectly alive.
Laura broke the silence. ‘Who would have thought it? What a striking similarity between Miriam and the angel! Don’t you think so?’
Alexander’s jaw dropped in surprise.
‘They really do look very much alike!’ Gregory said. ‘You were probably looking into the future when you painted this angel, weren’t you?’
Carol came close to the picture.
‘It’s a perfectly beautiful piece. It’s hard to believe it was done at such a tender age! I like it tremendously. Here is a small angel with lifelike eyes giving you a bouquet of mysterious black roses. I’ve never seen anything like it. Very unusual and a very original! But what’s the meaning of this, Laura? What does this bouquet mean? And why does this lovely creature hold black roses in his hands?’ she asked smilingly. ‘By the way, their resemblance can be put down to the fact that almost all babies somewhat resemble these winged heavenly creatures.’
‘Unfortunately, I cannot give an exact answer to your question,’ Laura replied thoughtfully. ‘All roses, whatever their color, are very beautiful, but the black ones are distinctive in that they give off some inexplicable mysterious energy. Back in my childhood days it was only once that I saw them, and they really made an impression on me. There’s something unspeakable about their beauty. They remained so vivid in my memory that I cannot forget them to this day.’
‘This little angel looks very much like our little girl – there’s no doubt about it,’ Alexander said. ‘For sure, all little children bear some resemblance to angels, but in my daughter’s case such a resemblance looks strange to me…’
Miriam woke up and started to whimper. Involuntarily, all those present in the room set their sights on her. Alexander took his daughter into his arms, pressed her against his chest and came to the easel.
‘This must be one of your best paintings, Laura. Your angel touches everyone. His face is really mesmerizing. It seems so alive…It makes you feel as though he were here with us. The angel is lovely, but at the same time I cannot get rid of the thought that there’s some inexplicable fear in it. And what alarms me most is this weird bouquet… True, it’s perfectly painted. You succeeded in depicting all the beauty and mysteriousness of black roses…’Alexander paused, and then continued in a lower voice, ‘Laura, you’re a gifted painter who has a skilled and sensible hand. In spite of its seeming innocence, this angel seems to harbor some mystery and even malice…’ Alexander shivered somewhat but checked himself quickly and smiled, trying to diffuse the situation.
‘Thank you for your praise, Alex… The angel’s image came to my mind way back in my early childhood, and the idea to swap the saber for the bouquet cropped up the moment I saw those black roses. Then the angel came to me in a dream; he was giving the roses to somebody, and I realized exactly how I should depict him. It wasn’t clear to me who he was giving those roses to, but at least one thing was clear: I worked at this painting with the inspiration I had never experienced before because I was completely set on giving an exact depiction of the expression on the angel’s face and reproducing all the beauty this strange creature possessed.’
‘Laura, my dear, I’m familiar with almost all of your works,’ Lisa said jumping in, (she was Laura’s colleague) ‘but this is the first time that I have seen this little angel. I must admit that it’s quite charming! This is a unique and beautiful work and, unlike the others, I can’t see anything strange about this bouquet – quite on the contrary: the black roses impart charm and uniqueness to your picture! It emanates a powerful energy that seems to impersonate life and death: the angel symbolizes life, while black roses mean death. I’m sure the appearance of this image is not accidental; to my mind, it has been given to you from above.’
Alexander got impatient, ‘People can look at the same thing but feel differently about it.’ He made it clear to everybody that he was not happy with the subject.
Laura was quick to interfere to avoid a potential squabble, ‘Many thanks to all of you, because your opinion is very important to me. This is a picture from my childhood and it has touched each and every one of you, just as it did many years ago. As far as I can remember, my painting teacher suggested I should have sent this picture to the National Exhibition but I refused to do it because I wasn’t willing to deprive mommy of her beloved picture.’
‘Just look at that! Our little girl took a liking to this angel, too!’ Polette exclaimed.
Miriam was gazing fixedly at the mysterious
creature with a bouquet in its hand…
Chapter 5
The Prince of Darkness was sitting on a throne of black stone in a place surrounded by eternal darkness. He was looking thoughtfully into the distance – no secret on Earth could be hidden from him. Being almost omnipotent, Satanail didn’t like barriers standing in his way and always tried to have his own way as quickly as possible. He wasn’t satisfied with having power over all living beings; he had a greater ambition: to create a new civilization in order to show his Father how powerful he was. People per se became just a pastime for him to enliven his earthly existence, but for the chosen ones, the Black Angel had a special treatment in store: they were the main figurants on his way to the goal he had set for himself. He had a detailed and well thought-out plan…
‘I’m angry with humans because they keep accusing me of all the sins they commit.’ Satanail often talked to his pets – a snake and a black cat sitting at his feet. ‘Humans will never understand me. But after my plan succeeds everything will be different. In the past, I served the Creator, just like all other heavenly creatures; but now, after my expulsion I have an innumerable army under my command, the army that I created all on my own.’ Satanail got up, came to the altar and squinted at a big goblet standing there filled with a red liquid. ‘I’ll be clever in getting around all the rules to finally achieve what I’ve been waiting for so long. I need my victory over mankind to create a new civilization. And I’m not going to fall back now that my goal is just around the corner. Besides, humans are eagerly helping me. In fact, I’m not going to annihilate all of them – the most worthy of them will stay on. No one else but me knows exactly what is going on in this world.’ He lifted the heavy cup. ‘No one else but me has almost unlimited power over these unfortunate human creatures.’ His voice became loud and confident. ‘During the time I have spent here on Earth, I’ve mastered to perfection the skill that doesn’t exist in Heaven – that of temptation and seduction! I’ve learnt a lot since humans came to Earth. I taught them and they taught me. Nobody’s going to surpass me. I shall remain unparalleled forever!’ Satanail smiled cunningly and took a sip from the goblet. ‘Will-power and unshakable faith in my own mightiness enhance my determination. The experiments I’m conducting on people produce excellent results! I’ve achieved a lot recently. I am a real magician, capable of doing anything!’ He laughed, and so frightening was his laughter that the snake and the cat shrank in fear.