The End of a Friend

by Hercules-Sweetheart

When two friends fear for the worst for someone they had come to know on a personal level, one of the two travels to where the mysteriously missing friend lives. As the friend is aided after a nasty accident by a complete stranger, pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place with a tragic conclusion.

The wind whistled around the young angel. She closed her eyes, huddling slightly as she shivered. Her legs came together as her white skirt flapped in the autumn breeze. Her arms went across her torso, her hands grabbing her triceps as she tried to stay warm. She had to wonder where her landing had gone wrong— she recounted every single step she had followed to go after this young man who had suddenly disappeared from her contact. She remembered her soft flight down and silently joining the sharp gust of autumn wind as it rustled the branches and leaves; she was surprised to see how violently the wind whipped as hats and leaves fly in the wind. She was on her hands and knees, still peeking out as she looked for this young man. Although she did not know this person's name right off the top of her head, she was confident she would recognize him without a problem due to their interactions.

Busily looking about for this young man while on her hands and knees in the tree, she had not realized her wings had slowly disappeared, which meant she could no longer fly freely; she was moving her head this way and that, trying to figure out which of the young men walking the large campus was the one she was looking for. She felt slight despair and hopelessness as she could only see groups of young men and women talking and laughing while they made plans for the winter break that was only three weeks away. None of the young men she saw or heard matched the young man she was searching for; her mutual friend to that young man had expressed great uneasiness and immense concern as she went to look for their friend. It had been several weeks since they had heard from him; not even someone they knew lived within the same country could get into contact with him. So preoccupied from heartfelt concern, slowly growing despair, and the nagging possibility of never finding this young man had completely distracted the angel from realizing another sharp gust of wind had struck up, far more violently than the first one she had seen.

With its whistling increasing violently, and forcing the tree branches to move in a northeastern direction, the only time the angel realized disaster had struck was when the branches she was on creaked, then cracked, dropping her height by a few centimeters as her soft blue eyes shrank slightly before they broke noisily with plenty more crunching as she cried out while falling several feet to the earth below; she let out a pained yelp as she landed onto the hardened dirt with a "Clump!" on her right side before she lost balance and tumbled head over heels backwards as she rolled down the hill. She stopped tumbling when she felt her back hit something very hard and sturdy; she yelped quietly as she slammed against it and finally ceased in her endless tumbling. She trembled subtly in pain, unable to open her eyes as she tried to accept the pain as her nerves registered it without mercy to her. She was unaware the young man she sought after had witnessed the entire incident.

Out of wholehearted concern, he had rushed over to her while still on the phone; the only thing the young angel heard was a young man's voice saying, "Sweetheart, I'll have to call you back; someone needs my help." As she heard the sound of shoes making and breaking rapid mellifluous contact with concrete, which meant someone was coming to her aide; her eyes opened, revealing her shrunken pupils as she knew someone was coming at her. Knowing she had to act quickly, the young angel rolled away from the concrete base of the statue she had just slammed her back into; the instant she rolled her back onto the hardened, stiff sandy brown prickly autumn grass, she yelped in pain as she trembled furiously in agony. The fall from the tree before slamming onto hard ground and then the tumble into a concrete statue's supportive base had hurt the angel severely; she still had not realized she had lost her wings and become human again for her latest mission.

As she trembled in pain, the young man who had witnessed the entire incident ran over and began to administer what aide he could in the current circumstances. He gently took hold of the young angel by her shoulders as softly as possible; still in indescribable pain and having her eyes closed, the angel trembled and struggled against the young man in hopes of fending him off. After all, she had not been to this area of the earth at all before, and was scared that this young man would hurt her. Seeing her struggling against him, the young man tried to calm the frightened angel as best as he could; softly shushing her and saying that he was only there to help seemed to increase her panic as she flailed violently without warning. Her feet, now covered with knee-cut socks and a pair of white flats, kicked the young man directly in the chest as she fought against him without warning; the young man flew a few feet back and slammed far more heavily into the concrete statue base than the angel had when she tumbled downhill. A pained yelp made the angel realize she had fought off her opponent, and gave her the chance she needed to run for safety; as she tried to get up and flee, she lost balance and fell to her bottom, clenching her right leg in pain.

During her unplanned tumble to the earth, her right leg had taken the brunt of the blow from the drop from the tree; it was bruised severely, and would need a professional in the medical field to diagnose the problem, as well as medical treatment to help it heal properly. The young angel clutched her right leg as she fought back tears of pain while she trembled in excruciating pain; never before had she had such a poor landing onto the earth, nor had she ever endured such physical pain that caused her to lose balance and fall back to the earth. With such pain, the angel was unable to flee from her adversary to safety elsewhere where she could continue her search; a moan of someone regaining consciousness made the angel open her eyes and look at the statue as her pupils shrank.

The young man she had kicked away in misunderstanding of an attack instead of aide was moving his head this way and that as his eyes were closed; his left hand was behind his head, rubbing the back of his neck as his teeth could be seen gritted firmly together. He let out a groan or two of pain before opening his right eye and looking directly at her whilst still rubbing the back of his neck; the angel's soft blue eyes shrank as she knew he would come at her in possible retaliation of her struggling for safety and hiding. The young angel panicked again, struggling to stand up and run as the young man opened both his eyes and got up immediately instead of slowly standing; a pained yelp from him found the angel crying out in fear as she struggled to walk properly and flee the young man. She was frightened that she would endure far more physical pain than what she had already, and she now just wanted to find a place to hide while she tended to her own injuries. Looking back over her right shoulder, the angel saw the young man stumble as his left arm was across his torso and upper stomach; her pupils shrank as she realized her tactic of kicking him away in order to flee had severely wounded her perpetrator.

The instant she saw him open his eyes and look directly at her while he was struggling to catch her whilst in excruciating pain, the angel knew it was only a matter of time before she, possibly, received more pain than what she could deal with already. She cried out in agonizing pain while she ran; she could only hobble away as her right hand grabbed her right leg in pain. The pain shot mercilessly up her leg without ceasing or hesitation at all; she closed her eyes, yelping out as she hopped on her left foot to hopefully get away from the young man pursuing her. Seeing her in the excruciating pain, the young man knew he was going to regret what he was going to do next; taking a deep breath, he removed his left arm from across his torso and upper stomach as he began to charge after her in a full-fledged sprint. The pain shot mercilessly where he had sustained injury from her defense tactics, but the young man simply sucked it up as he continued to charge after her. Hearing the young man's shoes making and breaking rapidly mellifluous contact with the concrete pavement, the angel panicked, hopping as quickly as she could before she knew she would not be able to continue her fear-fueled flee; the pain in her right leg had grown to be too much for her to bear any longer. Incapacitated by pain, the young angel stumbled and fell forward onto much softer, prickly sandy brown autumn grass as she trembled and whimpered quietly in pain and fear.

The young man panted slightly as he had finally caught up to her; the pain he was enduring had increased in its intensity, but he forced it out of his mind as he could see someone else had the pain far worse. Gently kneeling down on his right knee, the young man spoke as he helped the young angel roll onto her back; she struggled feebly against him as the autumn winds whipped at the two mercilessly, making both feel very cold as it whistled loudly. As each whistling whip of the wind grew far harsher and faster, the angel reluctantly accepted the young man's help as he did his best to tend to her wounds; she watched him with fear-filled, and slightly curious, eyes as the young man worked without looking at her once. As he finished, she watched him stand up and extend his right hand, palm faced upwards, as she hesitantly placed her right hand into his; as she stood up, she found his left hand come onto her upper left arm and help her onto her feet. Despite the pain in her right leg, she could stand and limp slightly as she realized what he had done was to help her get onto her feet.

"Feeling better?" The angel quickly looked directly into this young man's eyes. They were a soft brown, filled with compassion and a gentle nature; it surprised her as she felt his clothing was that of a very wealthy person trying to blend in with the middle-class social status. "Hmm?" "Are, you feeling better?" The young man hesitated as he blushed a light shade of pink while rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand; an embarrassed smile was on his face as the angel was thoroughly confused with his current behaviour. Despite the fact she had kicked him away with enough effort for him to sustain injury, the young man had helped her with her wounds as best he could and did not seem to want vengeance for his injuries. "I-I'm okay." The angel whispered so faintly that the wind easily stole the words from her and tossed them away with such little effort that the young man knew he had to ask again; he did not want to seem like a nuisance, but the wind had easily remedied that problem with another violently strong gust.

To protect his eyes, the young man covered his face with his right arm as the wind whipped violently, tossing small branches, rocks, pebbles, and leaves about as the angel huddled to herself in the attempts of staying arm; she had curled herself up slightly, bringing her legs closer together as she tried to protect herself from this cold blast of air. The young man lowered his arm enough to squint and see the angel shivering in the cold as the wind only continued to whip and whistle endlessly. He then realized the clothing the angel was wearing was far better suited for the spring where he lived. The young angel sported a light baby blue sleeveless vest with gold buttons, a short sleeved white blouse and a matching thigh length skirt— these offered no protection against the merciless autumn winds where the young man lived.

The young man whom had approached her after she fell from the tree and tumbled down the embankment had an upset look on his face; he could see the wind was vicious and tormenting to the young woman as she shivered and whimpered slightly, trying to stay warm. He did feel slightly helpless to provide some form of protection against these fierce autumn winds; after all, she had more than enough pain to deal with in addition to these merciless winds torturing her. Then, an idea came into his head that put a smile onto his face. Without her noticing, the young man gently removed his messenger bag from his left shoulder and kept it hanging around his neck; he quickly worked to remove his comfortable green jacket and put it onto the angel as she continued to huddle amongst herself in order to warm up. The angel had not noticed the young man taking action, until she felt a comfortable jacket on her back and torso. Opening her eyes wide, she looked up and found the young man in his green polo shirt, light blue denim jeans, and matching green Converse shoes; a contented smile was on his face, and a black pencil thin moustache above his upper lip.

She looked left, then right, finding his matching green jacket on her person; she was surprised to find he was now exposed slightly to the elements as she was now mostly protected. She was indignant, and wanted to voice her unhappiness to the young man, who was busily readjusting the strap to his messenger bag; he only glanced to look at the young angel, who, understandably, was fussy, concerned, and thankful for his kind action. Before she was able to say anything to him, the wind whipped far more viciously than it had earlier; sizable rocks clattered while branches, pebbles, leaves, and rubbish tumbled by. The angel cowered, trembling as her hands suddenly held the jacket sides, and closed her eyes. These fierce autumn winds were just too much for her in this place, and she wished she could go back to the safety of her home and family in the clouds. The young man brought his right arm up, covering his eyes in the crook of his elbow as leaves rustled noisily, flying past him and the young angel. The jacket sleeves flapped noisily, following the direction of the wind as it whipped and whistled violenty.

Upon opening her eyes, the young angel watched the young man bring his arm down, opening his eyes as he smiled; the whip had died down for now, and she looked directly into his eyes. They behaved almost like the young man before her did— they gently took hold of her hand and led her to the young man's soul. His heart was full of compassion and sympathy, displaying his sacrificial self that would lay down his life for a complete and total stranger without second thought or hesitation at all. She noted this immediately as she could see him shivering slightly as the wind continued its whispering intensity; he kept the contented smile on his face as his right hand held the strap to his messenger bag.

There was a long period of an awkward silence as the angel tried to figure out what to say, or even do, with the current circumstances. She was stuck on earth until she received a call back home, and she did not know anyone there, save for this kind fellow who had helped her out from her unpleasant tumble, despite the fact she had retaliated in fear. She looked away, to her right, in uneasiness as she tried to figure out how to make conversation with this unsung hero before her. He too faced the predicament of making things less awkward and uneasy for the both of them; as he pondered how to do such a thing, he glanced at his wristwatch, which read an increasingly late time as the sun had begun setting. Uneasy as he was, he knew that he could not just leave this injured young woman alone without proper accommodations; feeling a small sense of regret coming in, he let his common courtesy and caring heart overrule his purely logical mindset at the moment. "Well, no point in standing out here in the cold. Why don't you come to my apartment? It's warmer there, and I'm fairly confident you're hungry."

The angel felt her cheeks flush a slight red, seeing him extend his right arm, his right hand's palm up in a gentlemanly manner, inviting her to a safer location; she had turned her head to look at him as he had spoken to her very calmly and formally. She stood there momentarily, unsure of what to say or do. She was scared, hurt, and alone with no-one she knew to keep her safe or offer her security in this uneasy set of circumstances. Seeing the sun slowly dipping lower and lower into the sky made the angel slightly more uneasy; it would be dark soon, and she had no genuine means of shelter or proper medical attention. Another sharp whistle of the wind got the angel to huddle in herself as she clung to the jacket; the young man covered his face again with his right arm as he struggled to keep his footing. As the wind only increased in its speed, ferocity, and unusual feel of arctic chill, the young man lowered his arm as he noticed something almost unnatural with the atmosphere; tree branches behind him were suddenly bending directly south, in the direction of himself and the angel. Dark grey ominous clouds followed this large force of unnatural winds, seemingly only a stone's throw distance behind when, in reality, it was several fathoms behind this radical shift in weather. His brown eyes shrank as he could hear a very faint, but dangerously increasing, thudding whoosh approaching the two of them with logic-defying speeds.

"Hang on!" The young angel looked to the young man with shrunken blue pupils, stating her uneasiness and fear as she saw him charge at her with his arms open; she yelped, crying out in surprise as she was suddenly wrapped up in an unexpectedly tight bear hug from the young man as he seemingly tackled her to the ground. The two landed with a "Thump!" onto the ground as she closed her eyes and cried out in pain while landing onto her back; she could feel the young man trembling as his groans of pain were barely heard over the suddenly violent whoosh of cold, arctic air as it blasted over the two of them. She cried out in both immense fright and horrendous surprise as the arctic blast cold front swept over both of them; unaware of this changing weather, and fed by fear and uncertainty, the angel wrapped her arms around the young man's back as she clung to him for dear life while the large blast of cold air continued. Covered with his jacket, and now his entire self, the angle kept her eyes closed, whimpering quietly as she shivered endlessly while the young man kept his left eye closed as his right struggled to stay open; he was not accustomed to such strong blasts of arctic winds lasting more than a few seconds, but this one lasted for what felt like an eternity.

At last, the massive arctic cold front ceased in its merciless attack as a soft puff of the wind hit the angel and young man; the angel hesitantly opened her left eye first before both her eyes popped open in surprise to find her arms around the young man as he slowly got himself onto his hands and knees to help her up. A very embarrassed smile came across his face as a nervous chuckle escaped him while he looked into her frightened, thoroughly embarrassed blue eyes; she blinked once and quickly looked away as a rich crimson red occupied the cheeks on her face as she felt her heart slamming in her chest. Butterflies tore through her stomach as she tried to figure out what to do; faint rustling of the grass had her look before her again as she watched the young man stand up once more. She blushed even more to see him extend his right arm and hand again to help her up as he had done before only a matter of moments earlier; she blushed fiercely as she sat up on her bottom, curling her left hand into a delicate fist as she bought it near the base of the collar of her neck. Delicately, she placed her right hand into his, surprised to have him help her up as he had done before the first time; his left hand gently took hold of her upper left arm and helped her up. His smile was still soft, compassionate, and somehow embarrassed; this put a spark of curiosity into the young angel's heart as a question formulated in her mind. Was this the young man she was looking for?

As she now stood to her full height, despite being covered by a comfortable jacket, the angel shivered from a mixture of fear, depression, desperation, and the cold autumn air now having a much more wintry feel to it; she was scared, alone, and in pain as she could barely stand on her right leg. The young man, knowing he could not leave her where she was, walked alongside her right side, gently taking hold of her right arm and putting it around the back of his neck as she watched him with wide and curious eyes; she blushed heavily as she realized that he was helping her. His left arm went around the back of her neck and took a secure hold of her by standing to his full height to keep her off her bad leg; a soft, embarrassed smile remained on his face as he gently helped her towards a parking lot. She watched him as he kept his wits about him, as though expecting someone to come charging at the two; she was surprised to find an apartment complex only fathoms away from where she had first touched down onto the earth. The young man smiled as she looked at him and then blushed heavily while he gave a comforting smile. "My apartment's on the second floor of the complex; only a few yards away now", he said as she blushed heavily and looked away; she felt very grateful that this complete stranger was willing to help her, especially since she had retaliated in complete fear. The two walked, and limped, to the apartment complex as the young man helped the young angel to a place of shelter for the time being; both had more than enough questions for the other, and each knew they had to be very careful when it came to asking the proper inquiry.

The angel knew she had to be very wary before she revealed her genuine purpose and mission to this stranger, whereas the stranger knew he had to keep his identity a complete secret; years of work would be wasted if he revealed who he really was to this young woman he had just aided. The two worked their way up the stairs as the young man took up most of the strain by scooping the angel off her feet and carrying her; she blushed heavily as she curled her hands into delicate fists that covered her mouth as she saw beads of sweat forming on the young man's forehead before trickling down the sides of his face while he carried her to his apartment. Once on the second floor, the young man leaned down to let the angel get onto her left foot as he put her right arm behind his back and his left arm behind hers for added support; he smiled softly as she blushed heavily and looked away in her bashful and embarrassed nature. The young man soon unlocked the front door to his apartment and helped the angel inside; a subtly small push from the tip of his right shoe had the door close fully as he helped her to his bed. She sat down atop it as he went to the front door and locked it; she grew slightly scared as she had to wonder if she would have to fight this man for her own safety.

A surprise awaited her as he offered her a beverage or even something to eat; she was taken aback by his hospitality as she did say she felt very cold. A soft, concerned smile came on his face as he said he would get her some warm cocoa to help battle off the cold arctic blast that had just conquered the southern lands; she was understandably surprised to hear that something so bitterly cold had come so far south, particularly from the young man before her. She watched him walk about his apartment as he collected a pair of latex gloves and a first aid kit as he walked over to the bed; the gloves remained with him as he went to the single bathroom and washed his hands thoroughly with warm water and soap before two snaps indicated the latex gloves had been put onto his hands. He came back out with a comforting smile and a small bucket of warm water; the angel felt anxious butterflies tearing through her stomach mercilessly in the hopes of fleeing as the young man said he would see the extent of the injury to her right leg. The angel blushed fiercely as she covered her reddening face with both her hands, curled into delicate fists, as the young man took the utmost care to tend to her wounds; although he held her right calf with his left hand and was seemingly studying it, the young man made sure to be extremely careful. He knew he was not a medical professional, and he dare not worsen her injury. Easily seeing a faint purplish-blue colour starting to form in her skin, the young man opened the first aid kit with his right hand and removed a large white heating patch; removing the adhesive, he gently raised her leg and applied a heat patch to her right calf before repeating the same process for her thigh.

The angle closed her eyes and blushed heavily in embarrassment as she felt her leg being lifted; although frightened that he may have tried to look up her skirt, she did not try to fight against him. The instant she heard the faint ruffling of his jeans, she opened her eyes in fear as she watched him stand up to his full height whilst removing the latex gloves; he tossed them into a trash can while he spoke to her. "I can't figure out what's wrong with your leg; I'll have to call my doctor and schedule an appointment so he can see you", he said as he began to make her a cup of warm cocoa; she watched, slightly intimidated about the mentioning of a medical professional needing to be consulted for her injury. "I applied two heat patches to numb the pain, so that should allow you to walk on your leg in about an hour or two", the young man said as the angel saw him sprinkle something atop the cocoa he was mixing up for her; a succulent scent of chocolate and cinnamon soon enveloped the young angel and helped ease some of her fear of being alone and injured. "But, for now, I'd like it if you'd stay off that leg for at least two hours", he said as he walked over to her with a mug in his right hand's grasp; steam softly billowed off of the liquid contents and dissipated into the air instantaneously. He kept a comforting smile on his face as he held the mug in both of his hands and extended his arms out to her; his brown eyes seemed to have her tear-filled and ever-so-shy blue eyes trapped as she subconsciously reached her arms out and placed her hands atop his, as though she was in a trance.

When she felt his skin, soft, firm, and warm, the angel blinked twice before she lowered her head slightly and looked away with her eyes; she blushed heavily as the young man gave a quiet, warm chuckle while he let the mug go into her hands. As she felt the warmth in her hands, the angel slowly retracted her arms and began to smell the luscious scent of the cinnamon and chocolate again; the aroma danced and swirled lovingly around her as she felt much better with a warm drink. Bringing the mug to her lips, the angel took a small sip to test the heat of the beverage; it did not burn due to its heat, but it was hot enough to send a warm and fuzzy feeling through her entire body as it emanated from her stomach. The cocoa was at the right temperature to be consumed without burning one's tongue, and it was also ideal for warming up on a cold autumn or winter day; the young angel felt far more comforted, and welcomed, to this young man's place of residence as he made her feel more than like a mere guest at his temporary home. She felt as though he was up to something, but then realized he was not; she was watching him as he paid attention momentarily to the local news on television. The meteorologist had just confirmed an arctic cold front blasting down into the area as the young man was seen murmuring something; the weather report gave off a warning for something that had never happened in this area— a blizzard and freeze warning had been issued for the next two days, and it was encouraged for one to keep plenty of things in stock until the weather lightened up enough for safe traveling to local stores to restock on essential supplies.

The angel was taken aback as she saw the young man pull a table over to the bed; she was thoroughly surprised to find it set with a plate, silverware, napkin, teacup and tea plate as the young man smiled warmly. "I wasn't expecting a guest, so I had it set for only one person; since you're more than welcome here, I figure you deserve the full setting", he smiled sheepishly as she noticed a light pink colour coming to the cheeks on his face; she also noticed another facial feature while he smiled sheepishly. Dimples. Dimples resided naturally in his cheeks happily, and made sure that they were seen without fail. She blushed as he walked away for a moment; a surprise to her was him returning with two plates of freshly made pasta, perfectly al dente for eating. Steam rose off of the food as it gently dissipated into the air; the young man set a plate down in front of her before he set the other down in front of him. He smiled, chuckling sheepishly as he told her it was linguini pasta with an asiago-parmesan Alfredo cheese sauce; she smiled, embarrassed that a complete and total stranger was welcoming her so warmly into his home and, seemingly, his life.

The two ate their meals in silence as the local news went on with its stories of education, investigations, traffic reports, and interesting stories in regards to state, national, and local happenings. She was surprised to see the young man had finished his meal already while she was barely halfway through; he chuckled as he told her to take her time. There was no need to rush, but she felt something was not right. She could sense uneasiness with the young man, and wanted to know why. As she finished the last strands of pasta, leaving her plate empty with the fork taking up new residence, she was surprised to find the young man taking her plate with his to the sink as he ran some water while quickly and thoroughly washed the plates and silverware; once finished, he offered her something for dessert, but found she did not reply as she looked away and blushed in a very reserved and embarrassed way. Soft chuckling found him drying off his hands and walking over with a medium-sized teapot and serving her more warm cocoa with the subtle hint of cinnamon in her mug; she looked away and blushed as he said, "You're welcome" in a kind and gentle manner before setting the teapot onto the table in case she wanted more. Seeing him sit down at the table and pull out a spiral notebook absolutely festooned with writing in black ink, the angel knew she had to act quickly; the young man had just pulled out a black ballpoint pen and had begun writing in the spiral.

"Who are you?" The young man's pen stopped its noisy scribbling to have him look back up and into the angel's blue eyes. He read so many emotions at once that he himself was surprised—fear, uncertainty, despair, depression, sorrow, and, the most surprising to the young man, the most minute little inkling of hope. Unsure of what she was so uncertain about, the young man clicked the top of his ballpoint pen and set it down next to the spiral he was working with. He never once broke eye contact with the young angel as he put down his pen and he was far more concerned about her than himself; he could see she was fighting to hold back tears in her eyes, and he was very worried for her. He understood the physical pain she was in but, just from reading her body language and posture, he could tell she was almost desperate to know who he really was. "Why are you about to cry?" The angel retreated slightly as her pupils shrank subtly; the tears now showed themselves in the corners of her eyes as she tried to hold them back. It was futile and in great vain as the young man became surprisingly concerned for the angel; it was evident in his very worried facial expression and his posture as he tried to make it look like he was not that concerned, but his subliminal speech had said otherwise.

"I-I-I'm, fine", the angel sniffled as she wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her left hand; the young man blinked once, completely undeterred from his knowledge. He could tell she was beyond the brink of tears, and he needed to know why if he was to help her. "Is it because of that scar on your left eye? The one that looks like an upside-down crucifix bent into the shape of a pickaxe with sharp handles on either end?" The angel gasped as she looked at the young man, whose concern was slowly getting the better of him; in a slight panic, the young angel felt her left eye with her left hand as the young man handed her a small mirror. She took it quickly just to see that the scar she had since she was so young was still there; relieved that it had not changed, she sighed as she set the mirror down onto the table and recovered. The young man grew far more concerned than he had previously; she had not answered his question, and he knew she needed a doctor to examine and diagnose the extent of her injuries from her fall in the tree to the earth and the downhill tumble into the concrete statue. With the worry about the unnamed guest, the young man had completely forgotten about his own injury; it was slowly progressing to a more critical state if left untreated, and he had completely bypassed it for this young woman.

"I-I'm, okay. Really", the angel said as she quickly wiped away the tears with the back of her left and right hands as she sniffled; the young man was unimpressed, and very much cynical, as he knew she was lying directly through her teeth. "Have you been looking for someone?" The angel looked up, directly at the young man as her blue pupils were shrunken; she was horrified to see him looking very much concerned, but there was something else about him that was worrying her. His skin tone, once a natural Hispanic's colour, was now slowly and subtly fading to a pale, ghostly white, and he had not noticed at all. His concern was solely on the young angel who was failing at suppressing tears as they left her eyes, slid hopelessly down her face, and then softly kissed goodbye before falling down to the table or the white skirt she wore. She could not help the tears falling out; the stress and anxiety had built up to a very painful level, far worse than the physical pain she was dealt upon her arrival onto the earth. The young man then said something she never expected him to say— she was taken by surprise as he said, "A penny for your thoughts?" while handing her a soft, light blue handkerchief to wipe her tears.

No longer able to contain the tears, the young angel took hold of the handkerchief and sobbed as she explained the entire situation. She and a mutual friend had befriended someone through online contact and they had become very close, almost as close as family. She did not recall the day that the one someone had stopped talking to her and her mutual friend, but they had started hearing from him less and less until, one day, they received emails they had sent him, specifically saying, "EMAIL NO LONGER ACTIVE." She buried her face into the handkerchief as she said she and her mutual friend had tried everything to get into contact with this one person, even asking someone who lived in the same country to try and get this one friend of theirs to just say that he was alive and well. It had turned up as a futile attempt, as the same results happened with the Skype account reading, "ACCOUNT CLOSED". The young man was horrified as his brown eyes shrank subtly while the angle sobbed uncontrollably; he got out of his seat and gently sat next to her on the bed. She sobbed uncontrollably into the handkerchief, burying her face into her hands which held the cloth; the young man looked down once, closing his eyes as he sighed heavily and very quietly. He then hugged the sobbing angel, who turned to face him and threw her arms around him; she clung tightly to him for security and comfort as the young man felt himself growing weaker and weaker physically, mentally, and emotionally. For him, he thought it was simply a lack of rest from an extremely hectic day, when in reality, he was suffering internal bleeding from the retaliating kick and another medical issue— his heart was failing him completely.

"Your name's Kimberly Faith Raven… Isn't it? But your friends call you 'Kimmy', don't they?" The young angel's eyes popped open, her pupils shrunken drastically as she heard the young man speak his inquiry; she broke the hug, almost mortified to see the young man's skin now growing a more ghostly pale white instead of staying its natural Hispanic colour. "And your friend, who sent you to look for me, his name would be T.M. 64, wouldn't it?" Kimberly Faith Raven's blue eyes shrank as she began to feel a mixture of dread, horror, great happiness and relief as she backed away from the young man; she was unsure of how to answer when the young man coughed suddenly, covering his mouth with the crook of his right arm. Kimberly's pupils shrank when she saw blood land onto his ghostly pale right forearm; the young man had not noticed, until he wiped it away with a moist paper towel. "Must've burned myself cooking; scab probably broke while hugging you", he said quietly as he coughed far more silently; Kimberly looked into the young man's once lively brown eyes. She was horrified to see that they had lost their once vivacious brown colour and were simply growing darker and darker; she curled her hands into delicate fists as she brought them close to herself, and then came upon a realization that finally broke the devastatingly weakened glass shield of reality.

The young man before her was the friend she and T.M. 64 had been looking for ever since they had lost contact. She was not just basing her theory on some small hunch from this young man's behaviour— she knew in her heart, mind, and soul that this was the young man they were looking for. "MATTHEW!" she cried out, throwing herself upon him as she cried in ecstatic delight that she had finally found him after so long; Matthew, upon being hugged, felt weaker than ever as his heart slowly began to stop beating. Kimberly cried in such happiness that she did not notice her friend slowly close his eyes for the last time in his life; the only time she realized something was wrong with her friend was when he suddenly became this dead weight in her arms. Opening her eyes and looking to her right, Kimberly thought she might have cut off circulation to her friend, but upon feeling his wrist for a pulse, there was nothing giving her any signs of life from him; she quickly grew panicked as she gently shook the young man and spoke to him in a frenzy of frightened words, hoping he would open his eyes and speak to her—even a cough, riddled with blood or not, was enough for her to know if he was all right.

"Matthew? Matthew? MATTHEW?!" Kimberly shook her unresponsive friend by his shoulders, only seeing him behave like a rag-doll in her hands and arms; her blue pupils shrank as they were instantly overwhelmed with tears upon her horrid realization when she put her right ear directly onto her friend's chest— his heart had stopped completely, and he was not breathing at all. Remembering how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Kimberly worked desperately as she put the butt of her right wrist atop her friend's chest, giving five powerful thrusts to yield no result— even mouth-to-mouth attempts of resuscitating her friend proved futile as Kimberly was soon overwhelmed with tears and the agonizingly horrible reality that her friend, whom she had longed to meet face to face and interact with, had passed away in her arms. Lightning flashed spitefully outside in bright shades of photography-flash blue as thunder rumbled quietly; a full-fledged blizzard had struck the area where the young man lived, and she was stuck in his apartment alone with him. Kimberly, heartbroken as she was devastated, could barely stifle any sobs as she held her friend's now lifeless body against hers while trying not to cry; her lower lip trembled as she sniffled heavily. Tears streamed from her eyes as she could feel how cold his body was— once so warm and comforting was now icily cold and unforgiving as Kimberly could no longer bear the pain. Holding the dead body in a tight hug, Kimberly sobbed uncontrollably as the blizzard raged mercilessly outside; the angel sobbed and sobbed as she held her friend's body close to her.

So many years of uneasiness and sorrow with the fears of her friend having sustained any sort of injury or life-threatening problem had just been wiped away by a far worse fate to befall her and her friend T.M. 64— the one person they had been looking for was now dead, his once warm body cold and lifeless as Kimberly Faith Raven held him close while sobbing uncontrollably. How could she go back to her friend and tell him what happened? How? These were only some of the questions in her mind and heart as Kimberly looked at her friend's face one last time; although her vision was blurred heavily by tears, Kimberly could see that, somehow, her friend was finally at peace through his death. Her lower lip trembled viciously, almost as if Kimberly knew that her retaliation had been the cause of his silent death; she would never have known, until her return to the heavens, that her friend had died because his heart stopped once and for all. Filled with such a horrendous guilt, Kimberly held the dead body closer to her as she cried; she never realized her wings had returned to her person as her two older sisters, May and Fiona, had come down to take her back to their home and to family for comfort.

As Kimberly felt a pair of hands slowly remove her from embracing the dead body, she opened her eyes to discover Fiona and May Raven helping their baby sister let go and to take her home; horrified, and understandably devastated as she was heartbroken, Kimberly began to fight both her sisters, yelling at them as she struggled for them to let go. "Kimmie! Kimmie, it's time to go home!" her blonde haired sister Fiona said as she tried to hold Kimberly's left arm; Kimberly simply fought and screamed as tears flew from her closed eyes. She did not want to leave her friend at all, regardless if he was dead; she felt it was her fault, and she deserved to pay the consequences. "LET ME GO!" Kimberly shrieked as she fought against Fiona, who looked to her older sister May for help; May then grabbed Kimberly's left arm as she said, "Little sister, enough of this. You have to come home." "I HAVE TO STAY HERE!" Kimberly shrieked as the blizzard's winds whipped violently and loudly enough to drown out the fighting of the three sisters. "I KILLED HIM!"

Fiona and May knew they could not keep Kimberly here any longer— if they did, they risked the loss of their sister to the earthly world. "Kimmy", Fiona said softly as she tried to get her baby sister to calm down while she struggled to hold her back. "You did not kill him; he—" "I KICKED HIM AWAY IN THE PARK! I HEARD HIM HIT THE STATUE WITH HIS BACK! I KILLED HIM!" Kimberly sobbed as she finally stopped resisting her sisters; she had wrenched her right arm free from Fiona's grasp as she fell against her eldest sister May's front and then sobbed uncontrollably. May held her baby sister close to her as she heard her sobbing— understandably, it broke both May and Fiona's hearts, and they knew they had to take their baby sister away from here, lest the circumstances grow worse than what they already were. "Let us go, sisters— it is time to go home", May said as she spread her angel wings; Fiona spread hers and helped May take away their sobbing baby sister back to the heavens, where they knew they would have to tell her friend, T.M. 64, the very unfortunate and heartbreaking news. As the trio left, blinded by the blizzard, they faintly heard the apartment door open as they could hear a woman screaming in agony to discover her boyfriend dead on his bed; closing their eyes and forcing away the tears, the two older Raven sisters flew their heartbroken and devastated baby sister home as the young man's girlfriend broke down in tears as other tenants called for an ambulance. The two eldest sisters closed their eyes and fought back tears as they could still hear the young man's girlfriend crying as two very heartbreaking and emotionally, as well as mentally and psychologically, devastating pictures were forever engraved in their hearts and minds— their baby sister Kimberly holding the dead body of her friend, and the young man's girlfriend crying atop her dead boyfriend's chest.