War In Heaven

by Jasmine Bowen

  “A-MEN!” Gabriel yelped and they laughed, reaching into hug each other again.

  “Excuse me?”

  They turned at the foreign voice behind them, a man in a business suit holding out a pristine white card.

  “My name is Stanley Dowager, I just saw your performance, I thought it was spectacular.”

  “Thank you,” Jinn said, taking the card, and glancing at it as the man kept talking.

  “I represent Moonlight Music. Do you have a label putting out your songs?”

  “Oh my…” Isda put her hands over her mouth, gasping. She knew exactly what this man was proposing.

  “No, we don’t. This was sort of a …fluke, performance, really. Normally, we just play in churches and the like,” Jinn replied, trying not show his excitement.

  “Well, I think you have something special here, and we’d certainly be interested in discussing it. Perhaps you can give me a call on Monday to discuss things further.”

  “Yes, we certainly will,” Jinn shook his hand, pocketing the card. “Thank you.”

  “Very nice to meet you. I look forward to hearing from you,” the man headed off, seeing that he recognized someone else backstage. Jinn turned to the others, standing behind him, their mouths hanging open. “I think we have something else to be thankful for.”

  “We’re going to get a record deal!” Ramiel cried.

  “We’re going to discuss a record deal,” Jinn reminded them. “For now. Now, we should meet our family in the back, before your poor Grandma, Isda, has to listen to a rock concert from the front row.”

  “She’d probably be ok with it,” Isda grinned. “But let’s go.”

  Gabriel took her hand as they walked out, nodding to the crew who gave them a nod of approval as they left. They had never even seen Tourniquet live, and they probably wouldn’t now, despite opening for them. But it was good enough to share the stage with them, an hour apart.

  Their families were all smiles and cheers as they came out the stage door, giving them hugs and in Isda’s case, flowers.

  “Did you like it, Grandma?” Isda asked, bending to the old lady sitting on the seat on her walker. Her Grandma nodded.

  “You looked beautiful, my dear. You sounded like an angel, the entire audience shut up when you sang.”

  “Hopefully because they weren’t horrified,” Isda smiled, giving her Grandma a hug. “But it’s about how the band sounds together. We’re a unit.”

  “That’s right,” Gabriel came over, giving her Grandma a kiss on the cheek. They had met each other’s families many times before, and he was a favorite of her Grandma. “Without Isda, we would all far apart. We certainly wouldn’t know where to show up at the right time to play.”

  “I hope they paid you well, dear,” Grandma said, giving Gabriel a little grin. “You’ve got to provide for this girl one day, and she’s got expensive tastes.”

  Both of the teenagers flushed, trying to ignore the comment. Of course, in two years of dating, even this young, it had crossed their mind. People got married young in their community, and it wasn’t unheard of to start thinking about it now. And although they were utterly in love with each other, marriage seemed like such a big step, something that adults would do, and they certainly didn’t feel like adults.

  “Time to go!” Gabriel’s mom called, waving her hand at him. Relieved, he kissed Isda on the cheek and then gave the boys a hug, promising he’d see them at practice on Monday, and making Jinn promise to call Stanley Dowager before then.

  “Nine am Monday morning,” Jinn agreed and the crowd eventually parted, piling into various cars, until only Jinn was left alone in the parking lot, having driven his van with their gear there.

  He cast his gaze up to the dark night sky.

  “Dear Lord, please guide us on this path we are about to take. I have a feeling the higher we rise, the more we will need you. Please help Ramiel to keep his temper in check, please help Gabriel and Isda to continue to see their love as a reflection of yours, and help me to keep this train on track. Dear Lord, help me most of all.”

  He took a moment, with his eyes closed, breathing quietly. A sense of peace flooded over him, and his muscles relaxed, a warm feeling filling his chest. He opened his eyes, a smile filling his features as he felt God’s silent reassurance.

  “Thank you Lord,” he whispered, pulling his keys out of his pocket and heading towards the van. The night was chilly and he zipped his coat up as he opened the door. His own long-time girlfriend was probably waiting for a call at home in the dorms, sick with the flu and unable to attend. As he put it on speed dial and started the engine, he knew just what he would say to her. But first, he was going to tell her just how much he loved her.

  * * * *

  It all happened so fast, and before he knew it, they were standing in a huge production studio, where they had spent the last month laying down tracks for what would be their first album, 6 months after their fateful concert.

  Now that the kids had graduated and were getting ready for college, seeing each other was a bit difficult outside of work. Especially now that it was summer, getting Ramiel to the recording studio before noon was becoming as much of a battle as finishing the album. Jinn was also working two jobs in order to make ends meet while recording, which they were not being paid very much for yet. The three of them were going on to study music, having their whole lives ahead of them, which made him slightly jealous. But today there was no time for jealousy, as they were being done up for the album cover.

  “I don’t want to wear makeup!” came Ramiel’s protest from the makeup room as the other three stood in the green screened studio, looking like better versions of their usual selves. They felt awkward, unsure about how to carry themselves. They were wearing clothes the studio put them in, and even Gabriel and Jinn had correcting makeup on their faces. Isda was wearing a long skirt and a tank top, her hair curled around her face and her eyes heavily made up. She had put on a bit of weight in the three years since she joined the band, transforming from average to curvy, although she always knew how to dress to suit it. At 17, almost 18, Isda was the youngest member of the band. Jinn didn’t think he had ever seen her wear makeup before, and it was evident she was uncomfortable by the way she kept blinking her lashes and reaching to rub them ever so slightly.

  “Ramiel, it’s just to make you look less ugly!” Gabriel called, a smirk on his face, and Ramiel called back a swear word that made Jinn bark at him.

  “Hey guys, enough!”

  “I’m excited,” Isda said, sipping on a mug of hot tea. Gabriel coughed, and took a sip of his own tea. Evidently, they had the same cold, which made Jinn raise an eyebrow about how much time they were spending alone together. It seemed every time he called one of them to discuss something, the other was around. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, and he trusted both of them to be decent. It was a common thing in the community for the dates of teenagers to be chaperoned, or at least in highly public places. Still, a little time apart wasn’t a bad thing, especially when he phoned Gabriel at midnight and heard Isda giggling in the background. “I’ve never had my photo taken professionally.”

  “When we are on stage, there’s photographers,” Gabriel reminded her and she shrugged.

  “But this is super different.”

  “All right, War in Heaven, let’s rock and roll,” the photographer snapped his fingers as Ramiel came out of makeup, not looking happy. Their clothes were dark, with chains and leather wrists bands, a look that was different from their normal jeans and tee-shirts. The record label had liked the image of them being warriors, and so there were prop swords, long and shiny and a gleaming golden shield and breast plate, leaning on various places on the set, which was done with fake crumbling rocks.

  “Like Michael held,” Ramiel picked up the sword. “Angel awesome.”

  “You need to be holding your bass, so give the sword to Gabriel,” the photographer said and Gabriel grinned, giving it a few swings. They leaned
the shield at Jinn’s feet, and positioned them in a stance that made no sense, but probably looked great on camera.

  “Now, every time you hear the camera click, move just a little. Just slightly, so every photo is different. We’re going to take hundreds, and send you guys into wardrobe a few times, so don’t get discouraged.”

  “Can we play some music?” Jinn asked, not liking hearing the hum of electricity. If he was going to play this part, he needed some music.

  “Sure. What station?”

  “CHRI,” Jinn said, naming the Christian music station that always brought him peace whenever he drove to gigs. The photographer shrugged.

  “I guess. Suit yourself.”

  The music filled the studio, and the five some settled down as the camera flashes began to go off.

  It seemed endless once they started. They sent them into wardrobe half a hundred times, so it felt, and Isda was surprised to see the sun setting when she looked out the window near the end.

  “All this just for one photo?” she asked, surprised. The photographer nodded, going through the images on his camera.

  “Sure. We’ve got to make everybody look perfect. I think we’ve got something though guys, we’re done.”

  “Really?” Ramiel’s face lit up. “Thank God, because I was about to die of boredom.”

  “I’m sure you weren’t going to die, Ramiel,” Jinn rolled his eyes.

  “Actually, could we just take a few more?” Gabriel, who had been silent most of the session, piped up. Everyone turned to him, confused.

  “Whaaa? Why?”

  “Just a few more,” he said, slipping his hand into his pocket. “I just uh…there’s something I want to do.”

  “Sure. What is it?” The photographer raised the camera and Gabriel turned to Isda, holding her hand and sinking down to one knee. Everyone gasped, the boys frozen to the spot and Isda’s eyes wide as her hands started to tremble. Gabriel looked up into her eyes, his own wide.

  “Isda, since the moment I first heard you sing, I knew we were meant to be together. You are the most beautiful person I have ever met, both inside and out, and without you, us…and I wouldn’t be here at all. This band would fall apart without you, and I would fall apart without you, that’s for sure. You’re my everything, you have the voice of an angel, and when I see you, I really do forget how to breathe,” he paused, coughing, as if to illustrate his point, and pulled his other hand out of his pocket, a black ring box in it.

  Slowly, he opened it to reveal a tiny diamond on a very slim gold band, the best he had been able to afford. With trembling hands, he held it up to her. “Isda, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

  Isda had tears streaming down her cheeks and she couldn’t get words out. She nodded, her lips shaping the word ‘yes’, and Gabriel’s face broke into a smile.

  “Then you’ve made me the happiest man on earth!” he cried, slipping the ring onto her finger, and jumping us to kiss her. The photographer upped the number of photos he took, while Jinn and Ramiel stared in shock.

  “Did that just happen?” Ramiel asked, and Jinn nodded.

  “Man. Well, the kid’s got more guts than I have.”

  “You going to marry your girlfriend, too? You guys suck,” Ramiel said. Jinn knocked him on the shoulder.

  “And that attitude is probably why you’re single. Come on, let’s congratulate them!”

  “Gabriel!” Ramiel screamed, a sarcastic smile on his face “Congratulations on getting a ball and chain, no offense Isda!”

  But the mood was too joyous to be ruined by Ramiel`s attitude, or the horrible cold symptoms Gabriel was feeling. She said yes! His mind was spinning with the reality that the love of his life would become his wife. The ring on her finger caught the light as he spun her around, laughing.

  There were many who would say they were too young to get married, even a few in the close knit religious community that said so. Rumors also flew when they booked the church for the first possible date, only 3 weeks down the line. Isda assured what felt like the whole world that she wasn`t pregnant, or planning to elope . She was simply a person of action, and she didn`t want a lot of fan fare or a big ceremony.

  A dress was found off the rack, and they invited everyone they wanted, knowing that their large church could accommodate their guests. She knew that her wedding day was the most important day of her life, and that`s why she didn`t want it about celebration or money. She and Gabriel wanted to be married as soon as possible, they could barely wait to start their lives together, especially with the album now in its final form and the photographs chosen. Once their album hit the stores, it was a realistic possibly that they would defer school to go on tour, opening for bigger bands, and beginning their careers.

  She had it all worked out in her head, deferring school. While they couldn’t take music online, she was doing a double major in entertainment law, something that always interested her, with a minor in arts management, ambitious for a college freshman. But she figured if she was going to continue her role in the band, she might as well be as prepared as possible for it.

  And that was how she ended up in the kindergarten room of her father`s church, in a long sleeved high neck wedding dress, the ink of her marriage license form barely dry.

  Isda had always been a headstrong and stubborn person, and her parents were reliving their own love story when they heard she wanted to marry Gabriel. They had been married as teenagers as well, and it worked out for them, with three children and a happy marriage. So, despite a nagging feeling in their gut, they had signed the 17-year old’s marriage license, and were now about to walk her down the aisle.

  “Darling, are you sure you don’t want to wear some makeup?” her mother asked, glancing at the bare face of her daughter. Isda shook her head.

  “I don’t think today’s a good day to start. When we did that photo shoot, I felt like my skin was going to fall off.”

  “Well, you look beautiful anyways,” her mother gave her dress a final tug. “Gabriel’s a good boy, I wish you only happiness with him.”

  “He’s an angel,” Isda said, with a small smile. “And soon the whole world is going to find out. Got to tie him down before that happens.”

  “Isda,” her mother said, half shocked and half amused.

  “Isda,” her father popped his head in the room. “Time to go, my beautiful daughter.”

  “All right,” she took a deep breath. She had optioned for a different type of ceremony procession, with her parents walking her down the aisle half way and her grandparents meeting her to walk the rest of the way, partly out of necessity so that her father could get to the front to perform the ceremony. “Gabriel is here, right?”

  “Yes, darling, he’s here. He and the rest,” he kissed her on top the forehead. “Ready to go?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she took his arm and stood outside the doors that she had stood a hundred times in her youth. She had always thought that she would be standing here for her wedding, but she never thought it would be so soon.

  The opening strands of music started, the bridal procession, and she took a deep breath. She and Gabriel had joked that they wanted to perform a duet instead of their wedding vows, but instead, they had gone with the traditional vows.

  “Marriage is a covenant,” Isda had said. “And these are the words you must speak to enter the covenant.”

  She didn’t mention that she was so nervous she probably wouldn’t be able to memorize anything besides ‘I do’.

  Finally, the music faded out and the new tune, the traditional bridal march started. Isda took both her parents arms, nodding, and the church doors opened.

  It was packed with familiar faces, people she saw yesterday and people she hadn’t seen in years, all beaming upon her as she slowly walked down the aisle.

  When her father slipped out and her grandparents took over, she squeezed her Grandpa’s hand tightly.

  “Grandpa, what if I fall?”

 
“Stay down there while I get the camera,” he replied merrily, and it made her smile as she dared to look up for the first time.

  There was Gabriel standing at the front under a wedding arch their friends had made, open mouthed in awe as he looked at her. She looked like an angel, glowing as she walked towards him and nothing, not even wild horses, could tear his eyes away from her.

  “Hi,” she mouthed when she reached him, taking his hands.

  “Hi,” he mouthed back, squeezing.

  "Dearly Beloved; We are gathered here, in the presence of God and of this company, that Gabriel and Isda may be united in holy matrimony. We are here to celebrate and share in the glorious act that God is about to perform—the act by which He converts their love for one another into the holy and sacred estate of marriage. This relationship is an honorable and sacred one, established by our Creator for the welfare and happiness of mankind, and approved by the Apostle Paul as honorable among all men. It is designed to unite two sympathies and hopes into one; and it rests upon the mutual confidence and devotion of husband and wife. May it be in extreme thoughtfulness and reverence, and in dependence upon divine guidance, that you enter now into this holy relationship.”

  Her father looked upon both of them, and they nodded, hands clasped to each other as if their lives depended on it.

  So young, they looked, looking up on him as he looked back down to his book. So young, and so full of love, and he prayed that this marriage would work.

  "Lucas Gabriel, do you take Isda to be your wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love her, to honor and cherish her, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to her in all things a good and faithful husband as long as you both shall live?”

  “I do,” Gabriel nodded, the words sounding clear as a bell.