Perspectives
II
MarshAngel
Chapter
3
Serena groaned and covered
her head with a pillow as the muffled sound of someone singing came through
the slightly open bathroom door, if you could actually call it singing.
What it really sounded like was a dying wild beast uttering its last painful
grunts as it left the world. She attempted to cover her head once again,
but the voice wheedled itself beneath her pillow. She groaned and tossed
the pillow aside in frustration.
She sat up in bed with
a disgruntled look on her face. With the messy halo of blonde fuzz all
around her and her wings expanded to full length. She looked like a messy
disgruntled angel. She prepared to kill the beast, but not before giving
it due warning.
"Darien, Michael Chiba"
she yelled. It's Nine-o-clock on a Saturday morning. If you don't shut
up right this minute. You are going to be dead meat." The room was suddenly
silent, as all that could be heard was the sound of the shower. She smiled
enjoying the silence and went back to bed. She hadn't been in the mood
for a hunt anyway.
Despite the fact that
Serena enjoyed sleeping in on a Saturday she found herself feeling guilty
for having silenced the beast; she hadn't been really sleeping anyway.
She often, lay awake for an hour or two before finally dragging herself
out of bed a little before midday. She had a rule about sleeping past midday.
It wasn't oversleeping unless she allowed herself to remain in bed past
twelve.
For so many years she
would always tell herself on a Friday night that she would get up bright
and early the next morning when her body told her to. She never managed
to fulfill that promise however. As soon as the call to awaken and face
the day came with the brilliant sunshine she would have a pro vs. con argument
with herself as to the benefits of actually getting out of bed. Needless
to say she always lost and managed to pull an extra hour of sleep before
her restless body forced her to wake and lie there for the next hour or
two contemplating any thought that happened to cross her mind.
Incidentally, this morning
her thoughts were on the beast that had managed to avoid a quick and painful
slaying by the heroic angel. In just a few weeks after their reunion, their
relationship had gone full speed ahead. Things were quite different than
they had been in the past between them. She no longer relied on Darien
for every source happiness in her life. Over the years she had proven to
herself and others that she was a beautiful, strong, successful and independent
woman.
Their love, rather than
their dependence on each other had become the focus of their relationship.
As a result Darien did not take her or what they had together for granted,
(he had learned his lesson in that area and would not risk a repeat of
the same mistake) nor did Serena accept his every word and belief as law.
They argued and had romantic moments like most other couples and had learned
to put up with each other's quirks. She hated his coffee addiction, and
he sometimes got annoyed when she unconsciously unfurled the wings on her
back while she slept. Although she had gained control of her transformation
over the years, intense dreams often brought on the transformation that
was becoming more natural to her than her human form.
She rolled over in bed
and with an appreciative eye, studied the large engagement ring on her
finger. It had a large diamond in the center of a platinum setting studded
with rubies. It was absolutely beautiful and it represented what she had
wanted for so long.
Everyone was so happy
for her. Michael and Irene were trying to convince her to have a double
wedding. She liked the idea although she and Darien had yet to set a date.
Zach and Amy seemed to be getting along extremely well, and if things went
as Serena expected there would be another engagement on the way.
Serena smiled as she
thought of a time when Amy had been staring into Zach's green eyes so intently
she had actually tripped and fell into his arms, performing an act that
used to be Serena's trademark when she was younger. She was happy to see
at least one of her friends were happy. She wondered how Mina was doing
in LA.
After gaining a small
part in a bad movie, Mina's career had actually improved, surprising everyone.
Who knew she was actually capable of good acting? Mike and Jay had actually
been in LA recently and had been invited on the set of her new movie. They
were amazed to see she was really quite good. If the movie did well in
theatres she could actually be on her way to a successful career as an
actress.
Thinking of Mina, as
she turned onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, enjoying the smell
of breakfast wafting through the open door, made her wonder about the other
girls. What were they doing? Mina and Amy had told her Raye was in Washington
and Lita in Paris. It seemed they'd all left Tokyo for careers elsewhere.
The scent of good food
eventually became too overwhelming for her and she rolled out of bed, pulling
on her silk robe as she walked out the door and made her way towards the
kitchen. Standing over the stove flipping pancakes, stood a beautiful male
specimen, lacking a shirt. Even after having gotten taller and generally
filling out due to adulthood, he was still much bigger than she was. It
seemed he'd grown more muscled during their time apart and she admired
his handsome figure. She walked up to him and put her arms around his bare
waist. "Hmm, I can't decide just what I want for breakfast. You or the
pancakes?"
"I'm insulted that I'm
in competition with food."
"No competition. I want
pancakes." She grinned at him playfully and he smiled and shook his head,
skillfully tossing a pancake in the air and catching it in the pan.
Amy sighed and tried
to pay attention to the chart before her. She was making rounds and she
was not only exhausted but also anxious. Ever since meeting Zach, it seemed
as though the focus of her world had changed. There were now so many days
when she found herself staring out the large glass windows of the hospital
out over busy San Francisco, wishing she could escape to spend the rest
of the day with him.
She no longer spent
all her days poring over medical volumes. Her texts were no longer her
only comfort and she came to realize that although her studies were important
and it was important to be the best she could, there were things in life
she often missed out on. She looked back on her life and now saw so many
opportunities she had wasted in the library or at home studying when she
could have enjoyed a sunset and so many of the little things that made
life beautiful. Her natural intelligence could have made up for one or
two days of missed studying, and now that she could see that she found
herself allowing room for growth and mistakes instead of constantly seeking
the unattainable perfection that had once been her only goal.
Amy returned the chart
to its file drawer and walked over to the windows directly across from
the receptionist's desk where she had been standing. Looking out, she could
see the some of the smaller high-rise buildings fading off into the trees
and hills in the distance. The hospital was on the outer edge of the business
center and a park was just a few blocks down the street. If she could finish
the last of her work, she would meet Zach there for a late picnic after
which they would go wherever their hearts led them.
She found it so easy
to talk to him. His features seemed gentle to her and his soft green eyes
invited her to tell him everything she had in her heart and sometimes she
did. Their conversations often led them from discussions of advances in
genetic studies, life in Tokyo, to their hopes and dreams for the future.
Amy glanced at her watch.
She had been on duty since five in the afternoon yesterday; it was now
two in the afternoon and she couldn't wait to be out of the hospital which
by the moment grew more stifling. She sighed again and turned away from
the window. If she didn't stop daydreaming and start getting some work,
she'd never leave.
She smiled at the thought
of daydreaming. Serena would be amused to find the ever so studious and
always attentive Amy daydreaming on the job, a habit that Serena had always
been known for. Lately Amy sometimes even had daydreams of marrying Zach
and the perfect wedding she'd have. Had she known daydreaming could be
this fun, she would have tried this in her high school chemistry class
in which she had never really needed to pay much attention but had done
so out of a sense of habit and duty.
Oh how happy she was
these days and yet things were not yet perfect. She had a loving boyfriend,
a good job in which she was excelling, and wonderful friends. It had been
a relief and a surge of happiness when she had received Serena's forgiveness.
It had seemed a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders and for
the first time since she had left Tokyo she felt content to move on with
her life and pursue the happiness she had been denying herself.
It was amazingly easy
to take for granted the effect a friend has on one's life. Serena's disappearance
had changed her life returning it to its former lackluster oppressiveness.
She withdrew into her shell and back into the world of textbooks and perfection
where she secretly hoped her knowledge would distance her from the people
she had never felt apart of, and whom she feared would reject her because
of her intelligence.
When Serena once again
became a part of her life she remembered what the petite blonde had done
for her so long ago. Instead of being intimidated by Amy's intelligence
and rejecting her like so many others had, Serena had drawn closer to her
showing her the fun things in life outside of textbooks. Amy had tried
to return the favor by attempting to help Serena in her studies. Serena
hadn't wanted that at the time however and looking back now Amy realized
that Serena needed to make her choices for herself and not be pushed into
making her decisions.
Maybe her decision to
begin to do better in school would have come too late had they not had
the fight they did, but it was never hers or the other scouts decision
to decide when and what Serena should have been doing with her life. Watching
her friend now, she saw the strength and independence in her that had always
been there for others to see had they watched closely enough. Had they
waited with patience they could have watched Serena grow into the woman
she was now.
As she got to know the
new Serena she recognized significant changes in her personality. She was
so strong and independent. She also had an aura of power that sometimes
made Amy nervous. There were moments when she seemed almost god-like and
Amy resisted the urge to bow before her. She sensed that Serena knew things
of which she could only imagine. Amy turned and went down the hall to finish
her duties. There'd be more time for introspection and daydreaming later.
Questions? Comments?
Email me at watsonma@hotmail.com
