Mary had never given dying a lot of thought, but she didn't want it to end like this. An archangel blade stabbed into her heart, gazing in the eyes of her true father Michael. Being called a bastard kid, an abomination. The pain, the bright light. The reaper bending down to her, a friendly old man with a warm smile.
"It's your time, dear. You have to go. Don't be scared, I'll lead you the way." He took her hand and pulled her up. Mary looked at Michael for the last time and seeing the smug, dirty smile on his face was the breaking point. She shifted her glance to the reaper and followed him, chin up and too stubborn to show how frightened she truly was.
"Gabriel." Michael nodded when his younger brother came in. He didn't try to hide the girl's body, because the burned marks of her wings would still be there, impossible to wipe out. Gabriel looked at Michael, next at Mary's corpse, pinned down to the ground with the shimmery blade.
"What did you do?" He said in disbelief, torn between anger and grief. His brother shook his head. "She did not deserve to live. She's no good to anyone, a blemish on both the human and the angel race." Gabriel couldn't hold back his anger anymore and shoved the other archangel against the wall, one arm crossed on his chest. "Yeah? Who created her? Who brought her to live? It's not her fault that you're an egocentric dick. She's worth ten of you!" He hissed.
Heaven wasn't what Mary expected from it. The rumor about the virgins was hard to believe, but surely there must have been a staircase or a choir? Instead of that all, the old man had led her to a place which resembled Central Park perfectly, from the pigeons to the benches full of graffiti. In the distance she saw a woman. She came closer soon, and Mary gasped. "Mom?" She said, her voice breaking. The woman smiled and reached out for her daughter, nodding. Mary fell into her arms, tears flowing from her eyes. "Honey, I'm sorry to meet you here already.." Gwendolyn muttered, stroking Mary's hair and holding her close.
Of course Michael knew about the silly fling his young brother had with the half angel. He refused to call her family, it was a stupid mistake. He didn't expect Gabriel to get this upset, though, and it hurt him to see his little brother in this state. "Gabriel, this is what is best for all of us. For her as well." He said calmly. The younger archangel bit his lip, wanting to revenge on his brother but he just couldn't. Not again. He shook his head in frustration and let Michael go, bending down over Mary and attempting to resurrect her. "It won't help." He heard his brother say and he knew it was true. An archangel's blade's wounds were impossible to heal, let alone to resurrect one who had been killed by it.
"I don't want to be dead yet." Mary cried, snuggling in her mother's arms. "I missed you so much, mom…" Gwendolyn was also crying, holding her daughter and stroking her back. "Mary, dear.. I didn't want to see you this soon. But we will have to make the best-". Her words were interrupted by a loud fluttering of wings, followed by the brightest light which blinded both Mary and Gwendolyn. When the shine became a little less intense, Mary carefully opened her eyes to stare at something she'd never seen before.
Gabriel hated going to heaven, it didn't feel like home anymore. But he touched down there after all, hoping to find any sign of his girlfriend. He hoped she wouldn't run away from his true form, but inside he knew she'd stay, curious as always. He found her sitting on a bench with her mother, and when she opened his eyes to look at who interrupted their moment, he felt a warm glow spreading through his body.
"Gabe?" Mary said in disbelief, staring at the archangel. His true form was impressive; there were no other words for it. He was huge, larger than anything she'd seen before. The golden wings reached endlessly, hovering in the air. His four faces were all pointed at her: a monkey, a deer, a lynx and a coyote. "What is that?" Gwendolyn asked carefully, looking at Mary, then at the angel and back to her daughter. Mary's face lit up and she had a warm smile on her face. "That, mom, is my boyfriend."