Death Becomes You

Azrael glided through the empty halls. He hated the solitude of this place, but he promised he would not leave his friend alone, not in a place like this. The walls were blinding behind the mildewed crown molding around the edges. Chemical smells overwhelmed him, but they weren’t chemical like bleach and other cleaners. This smell was more like gasoline and vomit.

After Lane slapped him and told him he ruined her life, Azrael needed something. The knowledge of what he needed eluded him, but he could feel it in his bones. An ache started in the pit of his stomach and rose until it almost clogged his throat. He never felt anything like the sensation before, and he desperately wanted answers of his own.

“I take souls every day,” Azrael whispered to himself. “Why does this girl’s wants and concerns affect me?” His pace faltered as he passed his friend’s door for the second time. Azrael dug his hands into the pockets of his coat before forcing his mind to focus on the door numbers. 318…319…320…321.

“I was wondering,” a man sitting in a black and silver wheel chair spoke with a shaking voice, “when you was gonna stop marching around out there.”

Azrael smiled as he took the chair next to his friend. The man’s caramel skin was darker with splotches of black on his arms and neck. He had a good life, but now old age was catching up with him. Azrael watched his glazed over powder blue eyes carefully, but they never moved from the wall they where they locked themselves, though they could not see it.

“Hello Isiah. It’s good to see you.” Azrael brushed his hand against the man’s shoulder sending a visible shiver through his spine.

“Is it my time yet?” Isiah ran a twitching hand through his short white hair before he turned his eyes in the direction of Azrael’s deep voice. He imagined the angel to be about the color he was before he lost his vision, a soft caramel, with dimples and bright eyes. The man was almost correct; his friend didn’t sport dimples this visit.

“No, my friend, I just need some advice from someone I thought wise. Someone like you, who has been through everything humanly possible.” Azrael watched as the man before him folded his hands over his lap trying to steady them while a smile crossed his worn features. His head bobbed up and down as if saying ‘Lord, yes!’

“You’ve been right there beside me. When Lizzy couldn’t take it anymore and left me, you remember? She had that car accident a few weeks later; killed her and the kids. Little Tommy and Frank too.” Isiah turned away from his friend. “All I had was Isabel to take care of me. My sister couldn’t wait to ship me off when she found out.”

“I was there when you lost your eyes too.” Azrael nodded even though the blind man couldn’t see him. “Remember, I carried Franklyn out while telling you to run and help James.”

“Best men ever served.” Isiah wiped a tear from his cheek. “Named both my boys after them. Frank, my oldest, and Tommy got James’ middle name. That boy always hated being called James!” He shook his head with the memory and a smile.

“That’s right,” Azrael touched his shoulder again. The shiver wasn’t visible this time.

“What’s she like, partner?” Isiah croaked. He took a long gulp of water.

Azrael froze in place. How did this man know he was thinking about a girl? Isiah had never been that perceptive before, although they’ve had many conversations over the years. He was the one man that Az vowed never to let be alone since he had no one left.

“There’s always a woman involved, Son, when a man needs advice from an old fool like me.” He rubbed his shoulder where Azrael’s hand rested in attempt to warm the chill from it, but never complained about the cold.

“I took a woman in front of her, her brother’s girl, her mother, and her brother.” Azrael lowered his head; shame filled him for some inexplicable reason. “She saved her brother. He lasted a year or two. I lost count, but he got so deep into his own mind. Trying to find me when I couldn’t get to him. The boy took his own life.”

Isiah patted the chair where Azrael’s leg would’ve been if he could see it. “You care about her, don’t you?”

Azrael did not want to voice his thoughts or his opinions about the situation. He only wanted to present the facts. “I don’t want her to be in pain.”

His friend smiled and nodded. “There’s something about this girl that’s got ahold of you, Boy. It’s about time someone affected you.” Isiah laughed. “She’ll be in touch. I promise, she won’t stay away.”

That’s the answer that Azrael feared. The answer that scared him the most. “What if I need her to stay away?”