Guardian Angel

by Trebus, David

  Michael nodded feeling sheepish. “Ok, sorry. I just go into a different mode with this kind of thing. I’ll try to keep it normal.”

  “Don’t try, silly, just do it. Now go have your shower,” Jasmine pushed Michael towards the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

  ***

  Once she heard the shower start up, Jasmine knelt on the living room floor and shut her eyes. The thought that she hadn’t been summoned troubled her. She had definitely transgressed, and under normal circumstances she would at least be called to account for what she had done.

  She released her wings, letting them spread out in a glow of golden light. She connected herself to the Symphony and listened to the music. The same slightly discordant note played in the background, but nothing seemed amiss. No messages or songs came asking for her to return on high.

  Jasmine listened for a good twenty minutes, probing and even adding a short song of her own in the hope of a response. All she got in return was the standard everything is normal, continue as you are reply. Eventually, sensing Michael would be done soon, she folded her wings back inwards and stood shaking her head in confusion.

  She didn’t want to risk a trip on high and leave Michael unattended, with everything that had been happening. If the Heavens had chosen not to take action, then there was nothing wrong at least for now. Any consequences could be dealt with later. She uttered a silent prayer on high, then sat down on the sofa to wait for Michael to finish his shower.

  He emerged from the bathroom with his hair dripping and a towel wrapped around his waist. Jasmine couldn’t help but blush at the sight. This was confusing, as she had seen a lot more of Michael’s body and had experienced no reaction or emotion. Things had changed, though. Rather than just seeing him as a human to be protected, she now saw Michael as a partner, a lover to be cherished. Unaccustomed feelings again pushed past Jasmine’s emotional barriers, and she looked down at her feet, her face bright red.

  Michael stammered “Oh shit.” He seemed to realise the state he had come out in. He retreated out of Jasmine's sight, and returned a few minutes later in jeans and a t-shirt looking a little embarrassed.

  “Sorry Jasmine, force of habit, you know. Let me cook us up some dinner to make up for it.”

  She raised her eyes slowly, trying to purge the image of her half-naked charge from her mind. An unfamiliar lust had crept over her when she had seen him, both exciting and deeply troubling. Love and emotion were treacherous things, it seemed Jasmine thought. She could see how it could easily lead from innocent intentions into sin.

  “That would be great. Do you need any help?”

  “Uh, no, it’s ok. You just relax.” Michael replied quickly, before going into the kitchen.

  They didn’t talk while Michael prepared the meal, Jasmine in her own thoughts. He made a simple pasta dish with tomato sauce, ham and cheese, and quickly set the table.

  The silence continued as the pair ate, Jasmine savouring the tastes and textures of the meal. She caught herself making “mmm” noises on a couple of occasions and smiled when Michael noticed. She had not indulged much in human food, not needing it for sustenance. But she was capable of eating and enjoyed the tastes regardless.

  “Thank you, that was lovely!” Jasmine leaned back in her chair and patted her belly playfully.

  “Ahh it was nothing. I didn’t realise how hungry I was until I started eating.” Michael cleared up the plates and bunged them in the dishwasher, leaving the rest of the mess. Jasmine assumed he couldn't be bothered and would do it later.

  “Well, thank you anyway, I still enjoyed it. I don’t eat human food much and it was a nice change.”

  “You're welcome, then. I had forgotten you don’t eat; I did it on instinct. I always try to cook for girlfr…… friends!” Michael trailed off. Why he couldn’t say the dreaded G word?

  Jasmine blushed again, feeling like a schoolkid. She decided enough was enough and suppressed her emotions again. She couldn’t afford to get giddy and awkward during every conversation. She was a Guardian, and despite how she felt, her first duty was to protect her charge.

  “Michael, you know things are only going to get more dangerous from now on. Everything that has been happening will only get worse. You need to be careful from now on, even tomorrow.” Jasmine spoke in a harsher tone than she meant. It was frustrating, being unable to control her feelings.

  The sudden change caught Michael off guard. Jasmine seemed to turn from a normal girl to a cold Guardian at the touch of a button. Then again, she was a girl, in the end; after all, changing moods and minds was a “lady's prerogative”. The hot and cold treatment put him on edge, as he could not work out how to behave around her. Were they growing closer? Or still in the limbo of an undecided path.

  “I understand.” Michael replied. He looked annoyed but Jasmine ignored it.

  “That’s good, then.” Jasmine felt charge's mood change, but tried to maintain her formal manner. Her previous behaviour the blushing, the stammering was so inappropriate. She had admitted her feelings to Michael and meant it, but her job came first. Getting all lovey-dovey was as bad as being distant; both were distractions that could get her charge hurt.

  The contradictions and the warring thoughts and feelings inside Jasmine threatened to emerge in laughter. Here she was in love with her charge, wanting nothing more than to embrace him; the biggest taboo, one she had already broken many times. And now she was rejecting those very feelings to retain her focus, and because she was…afraid of them.

  The conversation stalled after that. Michael finished and went to catch up on his emails. Jasmine, meanwhile, decided to go and sit on the tree outside Michael’s home. She had spent a lot of time there since he moved in, watching Michael, watching the world and staring at the heavens.

  Michael waited up, sitting on the computer, watching T.V. and even cleaning. By midnight, he looked and turned off the computer. Jasmine saw him look out of the window a few times hoping to catch her eye, but she ignored him.

  Michael got straight into bed without bothering to change his clothing. He missed the feeling of the previous night, with Jasmine lying next to him. He shut his eyes slowly, sleep came quickly, and before he knew it, Michael was dreaming again, as Jasmine sat in the cool night air watching the heavens.

  Chapter 7: Beginning of the End

  Friday morning came with a dark, cloud-filled sky. Small spots of light rain pattered against Michael’s bedroom window, running down in slim transparent lines. The tree where Jasmine sat the previous night was now empty, rustling in the wind. Jasmine had come in a few hours after Michael went to bed.

  She'd waited on purpose until he was asleep, giving her time to think. No matter how hard she tried though, she could not make up her mind what to do. The rational side of her mind warred with her newly awakened emotions. She loved Michael, she couldn’t deny it, but she was also his Guardian and, more importantly, an Angel. She had to be above such things.

  Jasmine’s thoughts had turned to the Grigori and their interactions with humans. They had taken lovers, grown close to humanity, but in the end it led to disaster. From what Jasmine had read, though, it created a lot of good for both the mortal realm and the Heavens. The results of the Grigori’s close relationship with humanity could have ended very differently.

  Eventually, Jasmine just gave up. She was unable to decide what to do, and sitting outside wouldn’t do her any good. There were even more reasons now, than before to stay close to Michael, but she also needed to retain her focus. Her love for hm could be a big benefit but, in a bad situation, could also get him seriously hurt.

  Jasmine crawled in through the window and sat by Michael’s side, singing softly to him as he slept, trying to calm herself as much as her charge. Looking at him sleeping serenely made her feel warm inside, until he farted in his sleep and she had to poke him hard as punishment.

  As false dawn came, Jasmine left Michael and went into the living room, where she sat down on the s
ofa and watched the sun rise. While the lazy glow of dawn came, casting a red haze, a bank of ominous dark clouds rolled in from the west. Jasmine watched the weather change with a growing sense of unease and concern.

  Weather changed suddenly in England often, but the deep dark of these clouds seemed unnatural. They were an omen, a sign of bad things to come. Jasmine shut her eyes and muttered a silent prayer. Friday was going to be a dark day.

  ***

  Michael awoke with a start to the sound of rain splattering against his window. Faint light filtered through the thin curtains as he blinked sleep from his eyes. Looking over at the clock out of habit, he saw that it was already past midday. He had slept through the entire morning.

  What had he been dreaming about? All he could remember was the sound of singing and images of the previous day's events. Everything since his accident seemed to be happening at an amazingly fast pace. One moment he had been a normal guy going to work, the next he was in a world of supernatural beings and biblical events. Thinking about it so soon after waking up made him dizzy.

  After a few moments, Michael pushed the covers off and stood up. He stretched his muscles and yawned deeply, glancing out of the window at the dark sky, and the tree where Jasmine had sat; but she was no longer there.

  Staggering into the bathroom and cleaning himself up before getting dressed, he made his way into the living room to be met by the sight of Jasmine lying asleep on the sofa. She lay curled up with her wings behind her head like a cushion. Michael had thought that Guardians didn’t sleep, but before him lay evidence to the contrary.

  He couldn’t help but stare for a few moments at the cute image.

  “If only I had a camera.” Thought all the picture would show was an empty sofa

  Michael made his way quietly into the kitchen, trying not to awaken the sleeping angel. He poured himself some juice, grabbed a slice of bread and sat down opposite the sofa on a small chair, watching Jasmine sleeping. He ate his breakfast, unable to take his eyes off her.

  In sleep, she looked even more beautiful than awake. All of the worry and discipline had fallen away from her face, leaving her looking younger and carefree. She was serene and comfortable, her eyes shut and her mouth slightly open as she breathed softly. Her wings rustled slightly as she slept.

  After an hour or so, Jasmine sat bolt upright with a yelp. She startled Michael who had after a while moved over to his computer. “Are you ok?” Michael asked.

  Jasmine stared at him for a moment, a confused look on her face. She stretched her wings cautiously checking them, before leaning back and relaxing.

  “I think so. Was I…sleeping?”

  “Uhh, yeah, you were. It's something most people do when they get tired."

  “I am not a person, Michael, I am an angel. We don’t need to take naps.” Jasmine used a voice that might have been reserved for ignorant children.

  “Oh, well, perhaps you're just going native, too much time spent on Earth. That or you're ill. Do Angels get unwell?”

  “Maybe. I mean, it does happen occasionally that we need to go dormant under a lot of pressure, or after expending a lot of energy. I suppose it could have been that. It feels bizarre, though. It has never happened to me before.” Jasmine looked thoughtfully out of the window.

  “Did you dream?” Michael asked.

  Jasmine hesitated for long moments while Michael sat awkwardly. Was she hiding something? Did she have a nightmare? Jasmine shuddered and whispered something under her breath, before finally replying.

  “No, we don’t dream, even when dormant. The closest we come is during meditations on High. We get visions from the Almighty, or prophesies conveyed through imagery.”

  “Oh, that must suck a bit," Michael replied. Jasmine's expression seemed so severe, he felt he had to do something to lighten to the mood.

  "I like dreaming; even the bad ones can sometimes be interesting. But I suppose being an angel has other advantages, the flying for one."

  “I don’t think it’s something I would enjoy,” said Jasmine.

  Michael nodded, feeling awkward. He stood up and went to the kitchen to make himself a proper breakfast, now Jasmine was awake. As he busied himself breaking eggs, preparing cutlery and frying bacon, Jasmine remained sitting on the edge of the sofa, staring out of the window with a grim look on her face.

  Michael again found himself confused and unsure what to do. They had grown so close so quickly, and he could tell something was wrong. However, Jasmine had pulled away from him, either from fear or concern. Trying to work it through in his mind, threatened to bring on a headache . The best thing for now was to just try and act normally, hoping things would sort themselves out in time.

  “Do you want some?” Michael asked before thinking.

  Jasmine cocked her head to one side quizzically before replying. “Uhh, yeah, why not? No meat, though.” She stood up.

  “For a moment, I thought you were going to pull a face and say Angels don’t eat.”

  “We don’t need to, but we can eat when we want. Right now, I feel like I could use the energy.” Jasmine glided over and took a seat at the table.

  ***

  A thought struck Jasmine. The symphony sounded quieter than usual. Angels didn’t need to eat or sleep, they gained all their energy from on High, through the Eternal Symphony. But, ever since she had heard that discordant note, the Symphony had seemed distant and less potent than before. She remembered the other Guardians she had seen at the site of Michael’s accident. They had seemed worn and tired, until she and Michael had banished their fatigue, at least temporarily.

  From the look on Michael’s face, he was thinking along similar lines, but had decided, like her, not to voice those thoughts out loud. Instead, he served Jasmine a simple breakfast of toast, mushrooms, tomatoes and hash browns. All the making of an unhealthy English breakfast, minus the meat. That part Michael reserved for himself: eggs, bacon and sausage.

  They ate in silence, both lost in their respective thoughts. Jasmine nibbled tentatively at her meal but, before she knew it, was taking large bites. The food tasted good, better than the ambrosia-covered fruit she had eaten on High, better even than Metatron’s famous spiced bread. The food banished her tiredness, and slowly Jasmine felt a little more energized. She cleaned her plate before Michael had even half finished.

  Michael looked up and grinned, making Jasmine blush in embarrassment. She hid it by taking a long swig from her orange juice before settling down to watch her charge eat. Pangs of emotion welled up again, threatening to overwhelm her judgment. Gratitude and love seeped into her being unbidden; all she felt like doing was embracing her charge. Jasmine shoved the feelings down, suppressing them with all her will and training. Now was not the time to be acting like a love-struck teenager. Something big was happening, and keeping Michael safe had to come first.

  She reached a decision. Jasmine did not want to leave Michael’s side, but she needed guidance desperately. When Michael left to see Claire, she would go on high and seek some answers. She would find the Metatron and request an audience with the Almighty.

  The thought struck her as impertinent. As a rule, no angel simply barged in and asked to talk to God; they spoke to him through the Metatron or, in rare cases, were summoned by the Almighty. Jasmine had to know what to do, though, as well as why no action had been taken against her.

  Jasmine had broken countless rules in the last few days, and yet there had been no summons, no warnings, nothing but the usual song of the symphony. Again she wondered about that discordant note kept playing again and again, disrupting the perfect balance of the heavenly choir. She had to find out the reason for that.

  Jasmine found it difficult Michael alone even for a moment, but things couldn’t continue as they were. She rationalized by remembering that she could return to Earth at a moment's notice be by her charge's side. In any case, Jazen would be there to protect him when Michael arrived at Claire’s. She couldn't escape the fact though, that th
e decision was partly selfish. Jasmine needed to know what to do; she could not stand being unsure of the path in front of her.

  Michael finished his meal, while Jasmine pondered and stared at him. He had always been a slow eater; rushing his food tended to lead to stomach aches. She could see that it made him feel uncomfortable, but was too engrossed in her thoughts to care.

  After a while, Michael got up to do the dishes. He picked up the plates and cutlery, rinsed them off and placed them in the dishwasher. Jasmine’s musings were finally broken by the clang and clatter of pots and pans and she looked up.

  “Michael… when you go to visit Claire, I am going to return on High.” Jasmine's tone was a little guilty.

  “Oh, ok.” Michael replied, looking disappointed. “Didn’t you want to check on Jazen while we were there? It’s a shame you're not coming.”

  “I’m sure he’s doing fine. He is impulsive and very attached to Claire, but he seemed to take my warning seriously.” Jasmine replied feeling a bit hypocritical.

  “Ok, how come you're returning? Has something happened? I've noticed you’ve been looking and acting a bit…distracted since last night.”

  Returning to the table, he sat down and reached out his hand in a gesture of comfort, but Jasmine stood up and walked over to the window. Michael withdrew his hand quickly, looking a little awkward. Jasmine stood with her back to him watching the rain, a pained look on her face. It was because of their recently intimacy. She had told Michael angels suppressed their feelings and weren’t supposed to grow close to their charges.

  After a pause, Jasmine answered Michael’s question. “I need to get some answers about what's happened and get some information. I also need to check that I’m….following the right path.”

  Michael sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. “Well you gotta do what you gotta do.”