Chapter Four: Angel Evangeline
It was summer. A boy lay in a green meadow, an explosion of flowers surrounding him, a book lying limp in his hands, and his eyes scanning down the page as butterflies fluttered lazily around his head like satellites. Yellow pollen drifted through the thick summer air, bees occasionally buzzing through it and attacking the center of a flower. The sun shone bright off the pale skin of the boy's chest and bounced off his auburn hair; the only sound was the twittering birds, the ruffling grass, and the turn of the page.
The young man had been spending the past few days of the summer vacation in his meadow reading. He would lay there shirtless in the sun for hours, reading and napping on the soft grass as his skin baked little by little. He had not seen or heard anything of another human being after a week full of long summer days in his meadow.
He woke up with his face pressed firmly in the grass, long imprints left in the skin of his pale cheeks, which were flushed red by warm rays of the sun, eyes too laden down with heavy sleep to open more than halfway. Through his drowsy haze, he could see someone standing at the edge of the meadow, staring at him. Stars filled his eyes as he sat up too quickly, and the blood slowly made its way back up to his head.
The person at the end of the meadow was a young girl, clutching a basket and looking as shocked as he was so see someone else there. Her white dress and her long shining hair gave her the distinct appearance of an angel. The bare skin on her shoulders and arms was not pale and pasty like the boy's, but rather a rich tan color; a bronze that the sun bounced off of, making her seem to glow.
After a long moment of staring at each other, the girl moved forward across the meadow, stepping high in the tall grass near the edges so that she didn't scratch her legs, white dress blowing in the breeze along with long, dark hair.
It seemed forever and at the same no time at all before she had reached the young man. She stood, staring down at him from over her basket as he looked up at her, eyes still hung with sleep. Curious green eyes watched him as she seemed to look for the words to say, finally seeming to have decided and simply stating:
"Hello."
A voice to make the heavens shatter. The young man was shaken, but quickly composed himself as best as he could.
"E-erm, hello.." he winced at his sudden incoherence.
"I'm Evie…" she had a dazzling smile that spread across her entire face, wrinkling her eyes and her nose in just the right places as she plopped on the ground next to the young man.
"Jonathan… I, I'm Jonathan."
"Jonathan?"
"Yes.."
"Evie is short for Evangeline.."
"That means angel.." Jonathan smiled, warming up now that he was no longer as dazzled by the sudden presence of such a girl.
"Yes, it does." The girl smiled, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Are you?"
Pale green eyes widened in confusion, "am I what?"
"An angel.."
A tinkling, beautiful laugh that made his insides warm, "no. I'm just a girl."
"No, you're too beautiful. You must be an angel.." Jonathan smiled lazily, laying back on his elbows and as he closed his eyes and smiled into the sun. He could not see Evie sitting next to him, blushing and smiling slightly.
After a few minutes of blissful silence, Evie spoke. "What are you doing here?" she asked bluntly.
"I've been coming here every day for at least a week. What have you been doing here?"
Another sparkling laugh, "I've come here almost every day, every summer since I was a little girl, I've just had no time this week! How funny…" she laughed to herself as though it was quite amusing, "well, I suppose it would be no trouble at all to share. It is a big meadow, and I am only one person."
Jonathan smiled, and for whatever reason Evie got the distinct impression that this was a rare occurrence. He nodded, "okay, Angel Evie.."
That morning, Dr. Jonathan Crane woke with a smile.