I first heard of this story through a chain email that my mammy passed on to me. I loved it so much that I tampered with it and this was the result - I don't know who wrote the orriginal story and, if you do read this, don't take me to court! XD

The Story of The Two Angels


The golden globe of the sun was setting low over the towering peeks of the vast mountains, silhouetting the large hulking masses of rocks starkly against the amber sky, like huge, crouching predators scanning the land bellow hungrily, ready to pounce on any unsuspecting victim bellow in the valley. The first settlers in these parts of the land had cleverly carved steep stone steps into the cliff face on the northern side of the mountains, which were now wearing away and crumbling slightly with age. But it was one of the only safe ways by which to reach the settlements in the valley far bellow from the mountains, though travellers avoided the stairs if they could help it.

Suddenly a figure rounded the corner of the uneven, dirt pathway from behind a great rock, his steps decisive, as though this person knew the route this path led to the northern cliff face and steps very well. The newcomer was a man, with broad shoulders and very little neck. His grey hair was cut short across his head, not hiding the large wrinkles and thought lines that wriggled playfully across the person's very weathered face. He wore boots of russet doeskin, rough leggings, and a loose tunic. A dark green travelling cloak was wrapped closely about his body, bulging at the back where the man's rucksack rested.

It was not, however, the man's clothes or appearance that first caught a person's attention: it was the newcomer's eyes. The person's eyes were a shocking green colour that seemed very deep. He had an intelligent gaze, and his eyes seemed to keep locked away many great secrets not known by any human. These eyes did not seem like human eyes, for they were too intense and mysterious, seeming to reveal that this man was older than he was first assumed to be. But then he wasn't human at all. Not really, this was just a guise.

The newcomer was an angel.

High above the narrow opening between two cliffs, standing a little way back from the edge, the angel stood, his eyes fixed onto the valley bellow him. To his eyes, the small hamlet was not just a dark black-brown patch in the middle of a vast green landscape, raised next to a small blue line that wound its way from one end of the valley to the other. A great river, the water supply to the hamlet. To the angel's eyes, he could see all the houses individually, hear the conversations and thoughts of the people within, and even sense the dreams of the sleeping.

The angel turned away from the valley, a small smile spreading across his weathered face. He scanned the road he'd just come from, and immediately picked up on the sounds of complacent mutterings following in his footsteps. The angel's smile widened, the lines on his face growing deeper, making him look merry and full of joyous life.

"Come, come, Marcel!" the angel called brightly. "Stop dawdling back there. Keep up!"

"Yes, yes; I'm here, I'm here," came the muttered reply, then a younger angel rounded the corner of the mountain, shoulders hunched and head drooping. The younger angel stopped before the older angel, threw back his head so his long black hair was out of his eyes, and then scowled sourly at his companion. "Happy now?"

"Oh, tremendously!" the older angel replied, clapping his hands together. "Dear me, Marcel, you look terrible!"

The angel, Marcel, shook his head. "Is that very surprising? We've been walking for two days non-stop, and we haven't even stopped for a break. We need sleep! We'll never get through this journey if we don't sleep, even if we are angelic beings!"

"Well then, Marcel, you'll be glad to hear I've spotted a mansion where we might rest for the night," the older angel beamed, nodding. "There. See? We're nearing the end of our journey!"

"A mansion?" Marcel looked uneasy at the idea of sleeping in a mansion. "Where is this mansion?" asked Marcel. Like his fellow angel, his eyes were not human: dark as an abyss, but equally as deep and mysterious. "Will we reach it before the night falls? I don't know about you, but I'm sure that I can feel a storm-brewing overhead, and we don't want to be caught out in that. Do we? I mean, we've been walking for too long and our energy is draining, and that mountainous path sure did lead us a merry dance."

The older angel kept on smiling. "The mansion is down in the valley."

"What?" cried Marcel, alarmed. "But…but how on earth are we supposed to get down there from here?"

"Oh ye of little faith," the older angel sighed. "We'll do as normal humans get there: we'll use the stairs."

Marcel opened his mouth to protest, and then shut it again. "All right," he sighed. "If this is a lesson, then I suppose I shall have to go through all trails." He pulled his own travelling cloak closer about his shoulders. "Let's get going then."

The older angel smiled, clapping his hands. "Brilliant! Wonderful! But Marcel?" His look suddenly became serious, stern, making the younger angel freeze in his tracks. "Just believe me when I tell you that things aren't always as they seem."


Please R&R!! XD