Eden's Angel

People often picture heaven as a world beyond the clouds; cities built above the earth with golden pathways and crystal structures, and beauty beyond compare, as if their minds couldn’t possibly fathom the image of a paradise. A place where there are no worries and no tears, and hundreds of angels fly about and protect and watch over them; it is the perfect place where your soul will spend all eternity.

Well, those people are only half right.

It’s not a city above the clouds; actually, I’m not sure it’s a city at all. There is no one heaven, but thousands of heavens. Each soul that enters through the gates is lead to an area just for them, whatever it is, a forest or a mountain, a beach or a snowy field, whatever is their idea of a paradise, is where they preside for all eternity. Angels don’t fly about and guard the souls; there is nothing to protect them from. Honestly angels and the deceased rarely interact with each other. You see, heaven has two sides; the east for the deceased and their millions of heavens, and the west for the City of Angels. And with such a heavenly name, it must be beautiful right? Well, I suppose it is. But the real masterpiece is earth, or at least that’s what I’m told. I’m not sure.

Humans wonder what heaven is like; angels wonder what earth is like.

I’ve never been to earth. My father, Gabriel, is an archangel right under the Creator himself, and while he has been below the clouds countless times, he wants me to know nothing of the endless sin that exists down there. And I guess I can understand that, for a young angel to stay clean and pure without the risk of walking into temptation.

My father once walked the earth for months at a time. He would disguise himself as an average human and walk with them on the streets. He met a woman, a good woman from what I’m told. She was beautiful; long blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes. My father developed a soft spot for her, and spent much time with her in her bed. More months passed and her stomach grew.

My mother never knew she had relations with an angel.

I can remember being in her womb though. I suppose that’s one of the perks of being an angel. I remember her heartbeat; it was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. I remember being born, and hearing her scream. And scream, and scream. Since my father had never told her that he was an angel, he never mentioned that giving birth to one is fatal.

She and I only ever met eyes once, and the memory of her looking at me is drilled into my mind. She was beautiful, but the face she wore as she looked at me, her newborn daughter, was sullen, and I could see the pain she was in. They then took me away, and I never saw her again.

My father says she in heaven, on the deceased side. I’ve asked so many times to visit her, to meet her, but my father and all the other angels advise against it. They say it’s best for her to never know that she gave birth something like me.

My father brought me back to heaven with him after my birth. I was a nephilim; a half angel, half human crossbreed. The other angels told him to kill me, that I was an abomination and a crime against God. According to old scriptures and scrolls, it’s a sin in itself for me to exist; angels and humans are not permitted to procreate. My father did penance for his wrongdoings on earth, for my birth, but I was permitted under God’s decision to live here in heaven. He himself used to tell me I was special, that there was no one else like me in all creation. But it was hard to feel special when all the other angels, including my father, looked down on me as a sin. I didn’t feel special, I just felt painfully different.

Through all my years in heaven I had seen angel after angel visit earth and then return with these hypnotizing stories of humans and their lives. And each one I listened to only made me want to see it all for myself even more. They would speak of green pastures and the feeling of grass under your feet, the huge skyscrapers that nearly touched the clouds, and of their interactions with humans, with real humans. And I wanted to experience it for myself so badly. But because of my sinful existence, my father wanted to keep me hidden away up beyond the clouds for all eternity, and the other angels agreed that was best.

All but one angel agreed.

There is a place in heaven called the Mirror of Iniquity where angels can communicate with their brethren who have fallen from grace. I would pass by sometimes and hear my name being called. My father had warned me of the mirror, to never go near it and to under no circumstances speak with those fallen. But someone was calling my name, in a way that only I could hear them. It began to have a constant rhythm behind it, always calling my name at the same time every day. I would tell my father that one of the fallen is calling for me, but he would tell me that I was just hearing things. But I knew I wasn’t. And I grew weary of the calling, of the curiosity of what one of the fallen would want with an abomination like me. And so I waited for a day when my father went to earth, and I went to the Mirror of Iniquity.

I looked beyond my reflection to see who was relentlessly trying to speak with me. The shape of an angel was there, but blurred and hazy. I glanced around to make sure no angels were in the immediate vicinity, and I stepped closer to the mirror. The image of a beautiful angel came into view, and I felt nervous. I had never spoken with one of the fallen, but I knew who this was. I had heard my father and the others talk about him enough. He had scars and singes across his otherwise flawless face. His wings were huge, so much bigger than most, but they were smoking with embers lodged beneath each feather. His eyes were tinted red, and they had the glow of flames behind them. He was horrific and beautiful all at once. A snakelike smile curled onto his lips.

“Ariella, I was wondering when you were finally going to answer. It’s not polite to ignore others. Even a nephilim like you should know that. Didn’t daddy teach you manners?”

“Lucifer,” I breathed heavily. I tried to execute hatred in my voice. “What do you want with me?” He sighed apathetically.

“I want nothing more than to help you, my dear.” He kept the same crooked smile on his face as he spoke, and it disgusted me but was depressingly mesmerizing at the same time.

“No. I know how you work, Lucifer. Anything you do that helps me will only benefit yourself in the long run. They don’t call you the devil for nothing.” He looked away for a moment, and pursed his lips together.

“Well, humans call me the devil. But you wouldn’t know much about that now would you?” I scowled at him. It angered me for an unknown reason that the devil knew more about mankind than I did. He scrunched his face into an apologetic look. “Oh come on now Ariella. I’m actually not here to mock you like the other angels have. Honestly, I’m a big fan of your existence. I think angels and humans should be able to bone each other without all these rules.”

“Stop talking,” I tried to say with as much force and authority as my small body could muster. He chuckled at me slightly.

“Sweetheart, I’m hearing the words but I’m not feeling the emotions. You might want to work on your acting skills. I mean you have a lot of free time up there, all eternity.” I knew I should have just walked away from the mirror and never went back to it, but something about the way he spoke, the words he chose, they intrigued me.

“I shouldn’t be talking to you.”

“Well, you’re right there. You shouldn’t be. But you are. So obviously you're interested in something I'm saying. Look, I’m on your side Ariella. It’s not right of them to keep you up here locked away like you chose what you are. I can help you.” I furrowed my brows. I should have walked away, I should have stopped listening. But beyond what ever help he could ever throw at me, why would the devil what to help me anyway?

“Why?” I asked suspiciously.

“My dear, I am your family, am I not? Your father is still my brother, is he not? You are my niece. And what kind of uncle would I be if I didn’t try to help the cutest nephilim sort out her little problems?” I know I knew better than to trust him; he was Lucifer, the devil, the most feared creature in all of creation. And yet I couldn’t stop myself from considering having him help me. I was tired of hiding behind the clouds, tired of being an abomination. I turned from the mirror slightly; partly to check for angels, and partly because I didn’t want him to see my consideration.

“What could you do?” I asked without turning towards him. I heard a chuckle escape his lips, and while I knew it came from Satan’s mouth, it sounded as sweet as a lullaby.

“Dear, what would you like me to do? I can tell you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about earth. Ask me anything. Actually wait no, don’t do that. I’m sure you don’t just want to hear stories. Why hear about it when you could just see it for yourself?” I turned my head towards him so quickly my hair hit me in the face.

“You could bring me to earth?” There was excitement in my voice, and I hated it. I was negotiating with the devil, something humans should never do let alone angels. Or nephilims. Or whatever I am.

“Ariella, you seem to forget that I am an angel after all. I posses the same powers as your father, if not more. Sending you to the big blue marble is child’s play.” He shrugged at me. I walked closer to the mirror, drawn by my curiosity.

“But, Lucifer—”

“Please dear, call me uncle.” I eyed him. I didn’t want to. By blood or whatever angels—nephilims— have, he was my family. By anything else, he was just another being. But I didn’t feel like arguing.

“Uncle,” the word tasted wrong coming out, “how could you possibly help me? I’m up here, and you're—”

“In hell?”

“I was going to say down there.”

“Same thing. That doesn’t matter. Hasn’t your father taught you anything?” He sighed apathetically and I looked away. Truth was, my father didn’t tell me much of anything. He didn’t tell me about earth or humans, or even his powers. He hardly talked about the Creator himself to me. I guess he just saw me as a constant reminder of his sins. And nobody likes having their regrets linger around, much less want to talk to them. “Angels,” Lucifer said, drawing my attention back to him, “don’t have to be near you in order to use our power. I could easily zap you right to earth this very second by the snap of my fingers.” He held up his fingers and put them in position ready to snap, but never did.

I then stopped, and I took a moment to realize what I was doing. I was considering letting the devil take me to earth. I was disobeying my father in a million ways just by what was running through my head. My face began to drop.

“I, I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn't. My father would be terribly angry with me.” He put his hand down and looked at me a moment, trying to process what I was thinking. Possibly wondering how my mind changed so quickly. I was a celestial being, wasn’t it programmed into my hard drive to obey all orders?

“Your father? You mean the angel who hardly looks at you, let alone speaks to you? Where is he right now?” My voice was low when I answered.

“Earth.”

“Let me ask you something, why do you want to go to earth so badly? What do you think it’s like down there?” I didn’t have an answer; I had never been asked that before. I had never been asked anything about earth. Actually, I hardly get asked anything. Most angels don’t associate with my existence. I shrugged lightly.

“I honestly don’t know. All I know is that there are wide open fields of green, and so many different creatures down there. Including humans.” His brows rose, interested.

“You have an interest in humans, little one?” I nodded almost too quickly.

“My mother was a human.” Lucifer made a face like he had just remembered I was half human, a condescending surprise.

“Ah yes, yes she was, wasn’t she?” He paused a moment, and looked as if he was reminiscing a wonderful memory, a small smile came across his lips. “Ah, your mother. She was beautiful. Gorgeous. Absolutely stunning. Your father couldn’t have hand crafted a finer specimen.” His words were tantalizing and consuming. I wanted to know so much about my mother, even the little things. And none of the other angels would talk about my mother, not even my father.

“You knew her?” He pouted his lower lip slightly, and shook his head slowly.

“No. Well not as well as your father did.” He paused and chuckled at his own joke. “When the word of their intimacy got out, it spread like wildfire. Angels everywhere had their radar on your mother, including myself.” He stared at me a moment, a kind of stare that someone only looks at you with when their trying to see something they couldn’t before. Finally, a smile pursed his lips. “You look just like her, you know.”

“Really?” I mirrored his smile before I knew my face had moved.

“And you belong down there where she lived. You should at least see what it was like for her.”

I must be going crazy if I agree with the devil.

“Will you take me there?” Lucifer had an expectant look on his face, like I was missing the one magic word. And then I realized I was. “Uncle?” A particularly snake-like smile curved through his lips.

“Ah, there is is. Of course little one. Just close your eyes. And when you open them, all your dreams will come true.”

I closed my eyes. The last thing I heard in heaven was a snap.