Hey guys! I've been thinking this one up for a while and I'm very excited. I've been trying to work my way up to actually writing a real novel one day and I hope this will be another big step. Let's enjoy the journey together!
Without Wings to Take Me Home
What if I'm an angel without wings to take me home?
Chapter One: The Fall
Snow never falls in Heaven. Humans, the Halfway Children, sometimes spend so much of their lives dreaming of and wishing for Heaven that they forget to look out their windows, step outside and be dazzled by simple, Earthly things. Like snow, for instance. Or sunshine. The sun's rays don't reach Heaven; Heaven is lit by the white light of the thousands of angels, or Higher Ones, that populate its wide streets. As beautiful as angelic light is, after years and years of it you begin to pine for something more…substantial. Angelic light doesn't warm you through and through the way sunlight does. The only angels who actually emit a decent amount of light are the ones who are full-fledged, that is, they've earned their wings. It's a common human misconception that all angels have wings; wingless angels don't look very good in paintings or on the front of greeting cards, after all. Wings aren't grown during some sort of angel puberty, nor are they genetic. They're earned, like a license or a diploma.
Earning one's wings is a big deal in Heaven, for with it comes respect, a bright holy light, and the freedom to move between the dimensions as one is allowed (including Hell, which, contrary to popular belief, is a favored vacation spot for weary Angels. Demons, the Lower Ones, can be annoying at times, but are generally tolerable). Without wings, one has no way of producing enough light for one's surroundings and thus must seek out the company of fully-fledged angels. This is supposed to encourage novices to hurry and fulfill their wing requirements, but to the less sociable angels it is an enormous hassle. Arthur Kirkland was one such awkward angel; he was too aloof to be recommended by others for the Wing Program, too stubborn to protest being ignored, and too introverted to hang around any other angels besides the ones who lived in his section of the Advanced Cadets Quarters (a fancy way to say "older angels who still have yet to earn their wings). Because of this, he seemed to spend most of his life in his own dim light, or that of his few mates.
Arthur was respectable enough for human standards, but very much a failure by angelic standards. Everyone who lived in his hall was considered to be the chaff of Heaven; they were angels who were clearly going nowhere and were content with just that. The Seraphim on the High Board were always annoyed with him for some reason or another, it seemed, and he simply didn't care enough to try to change their opinions. It was bad etiquette for angels without specific missions to dig holes in the dimensions and peek down at Earth, for it was seen as longing and no true angel would ever want anything other than their true place in Heaven, right? Arthur, however, couldn't resist opening small portals and watching the daily to-and-fro of the humans down on their terrestrial habitat. Humans were so colorful…they wore bright purples, blues, and reds, which were reserved for only the high angels in Heaven. Sometimes young humans even colored their hair in vibrant shades, even if only for a little while. They ran from place to place in the sunshine, showcasing an amazing spectrum of emotions from overwhelming glee to deep sorrow and from destructive anger to a softer kindness than even the best of angels. They had drama in their lives. They formed friendships and clubs, they created art, they made glorious music, and most fell in love at some point in their lives. Romantic love had evolved in angels as well as in humans, but it was different. Angels didn't reproduce in the same way humans did and had vastly longer lives, so there was much less passion and haste. As there was not supposed to be any true misery or hurt in Heaven, angels' emotional vocabularies were much smaller and confined mostly to positive emotions.
Arthur didn't feel like he had much to be positive about, so for the most part he felt himself to be quite emotionless. It was a drab state of being and he was less than thrilled with his own existence. The less he was interested in his own life, the more he became interested in those of the humans down below and the more time he spent digging holes in the dimensions to watch the funny creatures. Sometimes his friend Shelly would come and sit with him, though she wasn't interested in the humans the way he was.
Shelly was an Advanced Cadet as well, stunted in ambition because of her preoccupation with the few animals (called Helpers) in Heaven. She had no time or desire to complete the Wing Program because she would rather spend her days chasing down the green, winged rabbits common in the Southern Quarter, or feeding the colorful unicorns in the forested homeland of the Cherubs, or trying to learn the language of the furry piglets which the angels used to dig wayward stars out of the dimensions. These Helpers were usually cared for by the Fallen, angels who had broken laws or done something worthy of losing their angelhood. Respectable angels, even lowly Cadets, were expected to focus on higher tasks. As in Arthur's case, the High Board had no use for Shelly's antics and ignored her as much as possible.
She was a pretty thing, with smooth nut-brown skin and dark hair that she kept tied in two tails with red ribbon. Her eyes were wide and the color of chocolate (one of the only imports from earth that the High Board allowed because they were as addicted to it as everyone else). Had Arthur not been preoccupied with his own misery, he would have been very attracted to her, but as the case happened to be, he thought of her as a decent companion and a worthy confidante. On this day, she watched him use his hands to plunge into a seam in the dimension, scooping out handfuls of the stuff until the light from earth burst through. It was snowing on earth and she joined her friend in staring at it through the small hole. "Whoah, Arthur, look! When they breathe, their breath comes out in clouds!" She held her small hand over the opening. "Feel how cold that is! How do the earth animals survive?"
"The humans are wearing layers of clothing," Arthur mused in reply. "I wonder if that keeps them warm enough. I wish I could touch the snow, you know? Just…just to see what it felt like. It looks soft, don't you think?"
Shelly looked closer. "I don't know. It looks kind of shiny, like it might be hard. Maybe it would hurt. You know, the Go-Betweens use Flashes to get to earth when they're in a hurry. Maybe I could ask them if they've ever felt snow before." Flashes were quick-footed quadrupeds made of a heatless flame, prized for their speed and relative comfort between the dimensions. They couldn't be ridden, but they could be harnessed with bindings made of a special alloy and used to pull things like wagons or chariots.
"I guess. Look, they're building a snowman over there! I've read about those! If only I could get a closer look…" He leaned in closer to the hole, straining to see further.
Shelly yelped a bit, pulling him back. "Be careful, Arthur! You know that the dimensions get weak around holes! You might fall in!"
Arthur laughed. "Don't be a ninny, I'm not going to fall in. You worry too much. See, they're using food to decorate the snowman's face. What are those? Are those M&Ms?"
"Looks like it. Mmm." Shelly put her hands on her stomach and sighed. "Now I want some chocolate. Let's go down to the Post and see if they have any left!"
"You go on ahead," Arthur murmured distractedly. "I'll catch up with you." He took off his halo, which was obstructing his view with light pollution, and laid it beside the hole.
"No, come on, come with me. You spend too much time watching the Halfway Children, anyway. Let's have some fun."
Arthur knew how to make her go away. "And you spend too much time with the Helpers. We each have our quibbles, don't we?" Just as he had predicted, the girl huffed at him for a moment, then flounced away. What he had said was right and she couldn't deny it. He watched her go, then turned his attention back to the hole he had dug. Two of the snowman-builders had left, leaving one young girl who looked rather lonely. She had big brown eyes and one braid down her back. Arthur shifted his sitting position to get a better look at where the other kids had gone. He had just gotten settled again when he looked again at the girl and realized that she was looking back at him, something that wasn't supposed to be possible. Had he made his dimension hole that big? Could she see him? Her mouth was agape and she made eye contact with him. He leaned forward and smiled tentatively. She screamed and ran into the house that was behind the snowman. He, trying to make calming gestures, leaned forward even more, lost his balance, and fell into the hole. Frantically, he scrabbled on the edges of the hole for a handhold, but found none and plunged down out of Heaven.
When Shelly returned some half an hour later, she found a deserted dimension hole with claw marks on the side, and an abandoned halo beside it. Immediately she knew what had happened, dropped her chocolate, and ran as fast as her wingless body would take her to the homes of the High Board members.
oOoOo
The trip between Heaven and Earth was not a pleasant one, for you had to cross through the dimensions of the two locations as well as a transparent buffer zone in between. Go-Betweens, or those angels who were chosen to go back and forth between Earth and Heaven, got used to it gradually and learned tricks to control the inter-dimensional discomfort. Arthur, of course, had no such training, so when he awoke face-down in the snow on Earth, he immediately threw up from the nausea that overwhelmed him. After he had relieved himself of the contents of his stomach, he became aware of just how cold this stuff called "snow" really was. "Gahh!" He cried, pulling himself to his feet and trying to wipe it off his skin as fast as possible. Heaven did not have seasons like Earth; it stayed a constant warmth all year round, so angels were used to going about clad in only a thin toga-like outfit. Lower angels also rarely used shoes and consequently, Arthur's feet were bare and burned from the bite of the ice.
He cast about for someplace to stand that wasn't covered in cold white, but couldn't find one and so jogged a little ways until he reached a gate. He had apparently fallen in some sort of park, for he burst out of the gate and found himself on a street of shops, not unlike in some parts of Heaven. He looked around for a moment, then dashed into a shop. It was a bakery and the air smelled wonderfully of cake. A young woman with short blonde hair decorated with a wide red ribbon stood behind the counter and stared at him, surprised. "May I help you?" She asked, frosting dripping from a piper in her hands.
"Er," Arthur replied, shivering and shifting his weight from one icy foot to another. "Where am I, if you please?"
The girl was clearly nonplussed. "You're in Britannia. Are you lost?"
"You could say that." Arthur rubbed his hands together to get feeling back and finally looked around himself. The bakery was cheerfully decorated with bright colors and a fireplace blazed at the back, next to an advertisement for waffles. Noticing the flames, the freezing angel ran to them and held his hands up for warmth.
"I'm Emma," The girl offered, returning to her work of swirling frosting onto the tops of orange cupcakes. "What in the world are you doing outside dressed like that? Halloween was a long time ago."
Arthur looked down at himself and frowned. "It's a long story." What am I going to do now?
"Holy smokes!" Emma had leaned over the counter and was ogling the other's bare feet. "You don't have any shoes!" Arthur blushed, embarrassed, and her face softened in response. "Sorry…I didn't mean to sound like that…I…listen, are you, um, you know, homeless?"
No, Arthur was not homeless. A smart aleck reply rose to his lips but he suppressed it. Sighing, he looked out the glass doors and up at the sky, which was empty except for the constant frozen precipitation. Did anyone in Heaven even know he was missing? Shelly would find out soon, surely. Hopefully someone would come for him once they found where he'd fallen…but for now…"I guess so," he replied anxiously.
Immediately Emma was at his side, pushing a cupcake into his hand and a blanket over his shoulders. "You poor thing! It's so cold out there! Stay here by the fire for a while. Can I get you something hot to drink? Tea?" Arthur had no idea was tea was, but he nodded anyway and Emma scampered off. Presently she returned with a steaming cup of liquid, which she put into the hand that wasn't holding the cupcake. Arthur looked from the sweet to the cup, unsure of what to do. "Well, drink it," she said, laughing. "It will warm you up."
The tea was light brown and milky with a slight sweet smell. He took a sip and opened his eyes wide as warmth spread through his entire body. Eagerly, he took another drink and burned his tongue. "This is bloody fantastic!"
Emma laughed again. "Don't hurt yourself! Have you never had tea before?"
"No."
"You're a weird bird, er…" She looked at him awkwardly.
"Oh, Arthur. Arthur Kirkland." He drained his cup and took a deep breath, finally feeling warm for the first time since the fall. "Thank you for the tea." The sky outside was darkening; night would fall soon. The snow had stopped, but Arthur knew that the temperature would lower even further with the loss of sunlight. Why hadn't Heaven sent someone to fetch him yet? Surely Shelly had realized what had happened by now. He sat on the fireplace hearth, nibbling the cupcake and watching customers enter and leave the store until Emma finally closed the door behind the last customer.
She wiped down the counters of the kitchen, then sat down beside Arthur near the fire. "I can't let you sleep here because I don't own this property. I just run the day to day workings. I also can't send you out info the cold like this either." She pondered for a moment in silence. "Let me make a few calls."
Arthur watched her go, feeling hopeless and panicky. As soon as she'd disappeared into the back of the store, a bright flash of light illuminated the air in front of him. He stood, thinking the High Board had finally sent someone to take him home, but was surprised to see an envelope flutter to the ground instead. The cream-colored envelope was clearly labeled with his name in light blue ink. Confused, he picked it up and slipped a finger under the seal on the back. Contained inside were two items: a letter and a plastic card. The letter read:
Advanced Cadet Kirkland,
It has come to the High Board's attention that you have overstepped the interdimensional boundary and fallen to Earth. Unfortunately, there are no scheduled visits near your location for the next fourteen years and the Council has decided that we are not in a position to spare resources to deviate from our current plans. You are therefore extended two options: complete a fast-tracked Wing Program on Earth as a study-abroad Cadet Scholar, or choose Earth as a permanent residence. Keep in mind, however, that the Earth's atmosphere is extremely inhospitable to Angelkind and your time would be limited to six months before you were reabsorbed into the Dimension.
We await your decision. Please put it into writing and send it back in the same envelope.
Also note that we have included a credit card in your package. It is linked to the Heavenly Fund Account and is intended to allow you to assume a modest living while you are on Earth.
The letter was signed by all twelve of the Head Seraphim as well as the seven lower Captains of the Go-Betweens. Arthur stared at it, suddenly sick at his stomach. Heaven had rejected him. They weren't sending someone to carry him home. They had given him the choice between earning his wings as fast as possible or slowly dying from atmosphere poisoning. The reality washed over him in waves. Heaven was willing to let him die and be reabsorbed by the dimension. He was worth less than the trouble it would take to organize a rescue squad. They'd sent him a link to enough money to keep himself comfortable until he either graduated or succumbed. He was abandoned. He was alone.
Of course he would not allow himself to die with so little to do. He would try to earn his wings and get back to Heaven by himself before he was overcome with illness. He would not be disposed of so easily. A cold that had nothing to do with his scanty clothing overtook his heart. He'd always known that Heaven thought he was useless, but not to this extent. Anger leapt into being inside his chest. His life was deemed disposable. No one cared whether he lived or died. He was alone.
Bubbling with emotion, he scrawled "Wing Program" on the back of the letter and stuck it back into the envelope, which immediately disappeared. He wondered when Heaven would respond, but decided that the didn't really care. Utterly morose, he pocketed the credit card and sat, motionless, until Emma finally returned. "So. I've called my friends. No one had any space to spare except one, but he wants to know if you can pay a small sum for rent. Can you do that? If not, I can cover you for a little while."
Remembering the plastic card in his pocket, Arthur nodded. "I think I have enough for a few months. When can I move in?"
"Tonight, I guess," Emma said cheerfully, delighted with the success. "He said he had just gotten out of the gym and was going to head over here now to meet you. He's a nice enough guy, a little overenthusiastic sometimes, I guess. The gym's not too far from here; he should be here soon." She went into the back room again and came back with a lavender coat. "This is my old coat from last year. I never wear it anymore, so you can have it until you can get a better one."
He took it gratefully, slipping his arms into it and zipping the front. "Thank you. Really. I appreciate your help."
"No problem," she replied. "Now I've done my good deed for the month!" She put on her own coat and pulled on rain boots. "Alfred said he'd bring some extra sneakers for you."
"Alfred?"
"Yeah, that's the-"
At that moment, the door swung open and a tall blonde man entered the shop, clad in a t-shirt, jacket and sweatpants with an athletic stripe. He looked about twenty or so, with shining blue eyes behind rectangular wire glasses. His cheeks were flushed from the cold and the exercise from which he'd just come. "Yo, Emma! I'm so hungry! Can I have some cake?"
Emma rolled her eyes, but grinned. "Where's my money for the last cake you ate?"
"What, I can't pay with my good looks? Look at these biceps—I've been working on them for weeks!" He flexed an arm teasingly.
"I guess that's worth a small slice," Emma said, giggling.
Alfred punched the air. "Yes!" He then turned his attention to the figure near the fire, who shrank away in wariness. "Hey! You must be Artie! I'm Alfred F. Jones, nice to meet you!"
Arthur shook the outstretched hand reluctantly. "It's Arthur, actually, but hello."
"So I hear you're looking for a place to crash," Alfred continued, as if he hadn't heard the correction. Arthur didn't fully understand what he meant and so just nodded. "Great! I share a two-bedroom apartment with my brother Matt and my friend Kiku. Each bedroom is large enough for two beds, so we have an extra space open. There's a bathroom, a kitchen, and a kickass TV for gaming. We can negotiate the rent, but it shouldn't be too steep. What do you think?"
It sounded acceptable, but… "Who will I be rooming with?"
"Me, dude! We're gonna have a blast!"
Arthur had been afraid of that. "Oh." What other option did he have? Surely it couldn't be so bad. "I suppose I accept."
"Sweet!" Alfred grinned. "Let's go home, then. I can introduce you to the other guys. Here's an extra pair of sneakers for you, by the way."
Arthur looked around for his luggage, then realized that he had none and so pulled his coat tighter and moved towards the door, slipping on the shoes as he went. They were far too large for him, but he just laced them tighter, remembering how he'd learned to tie the laces on the ceremonial sandals he'd worn at his coming-of-age ceremony in Heaven. Emma bustled out of the back, carrying a bakery box and a traveling mug. The box she handed to Alfred and the mug to Arthur. "Here's your cake, you glutton," she said, smiling at the tall blonde man. "And here's some more tea for you, Arthur, since you liked it so much. Best of luck!"
The boys accepted the gifts gratefully, though Alfred groaned. "Not another tea-lover. Geez, you and Kiku will get along great." Arthur grimaced back and the two stepped out of the warmth of the shop and into the lamp-lit street.
oOoOo
Please review! It will warm my soul. And remember it takes a chapter or so to set everything up before a story can really get going! If any points need clarifying, let me know.
