I looked at my pale reflection in the cracked bathroom mirror. A pair of dull green eyes stared back at me. It didn't help that I had very little sleep since the night I last saw Jin. Or at least, I think it was Jin.
A bouquet of dead roses appeared in the corner of my eye. It was in the window. I stood up and bent my head down to take in its fragrance - my long jet-black hair spilled all around it. I reeled in its scent - the smell of decay. I reached to feel its rough dry petals, but it crumbled slightly before I had the chance to completely examine its texture against my skin.
I looked up into the window outside. It was bright out. I never liked the sunshine. There was nothing in the world that deserved to be shown in full light. Everything is ugly when seen completely.
To me the most beautiful days were the stormy ones. When the clouds would cover up the sky in dull grey and everyone was subject to judgment from the heavens. The clouds would rush up like the coming angels of apocalypse.
Angels with black wings would fly up and go away forever. I thought of Jin, of where he was now. It had been three days and there was still no sign of him. Nobody believed that he could have survived that fall, but the question of where the body was became unsolved. I knew better, of course. He didn't fall, he flew. But I was not about to tell that to the police, nor to anyone - especially the hospital committee. They all thought that I was unstable enough as it is. I don't even think some of them believe that I'm competent enough to be a doctor.
I stepped out of the bathroom and into the bed. As I hit the mattress, I fell immediately to sleep. The sound of the church bells ringing woke me up to a start. I looked out at the windows and could see the sun was already beginning to set. It hid behind the church spire near the horizon. It was the same church that Jin and I had been talking about.
I was never a religious person. My parents were strict Catholics but they never rubbed off of me no matter how many times I had to go to church. It wasn't that I didn't believe. Actually, I don't know if I did or did not; I just didn't care. But that last encounter with Jin made me question what I believed in. I mean, he sprouted wings right before my eyes. Or maybe that was all just some bizarre hallucination; maybe I was going crazy after all.
Whatever it was, I decided it would do me some good if I headed to the ringing of the bells. So I put on some clothes and a long black coat; I really didn't care if it wasn't that cold out, they were the only thing that I felt comfortable in.
It was one of the few times that my skin bathed in the glow of the sunset. I walked the few short blocks from my apartment building to the church. It was empty. There were no masses being held. I looked around for a bit - staring curiously at the pictures of saints, of the Virgin Mary, and of course, the crucifixes. Where Jesus stared back silently, his hands spread out from either side of him.
I really didn't know what I expected to find here. I was about to leave when I saw something moving from the corner of my eye. It was from the corridor near the back of the altar. It could have been nothing, but I decided to investigate it anyway. I followed the hallway through 'til I saw a glimpse of a hooded figure. As I got nearer, it walked faster. Then finally it ran, so I ran after it.
Our foot-steps echoed across the empty halls. As I chased after the figure, I wondered why I was going after it. I certainly couldn't think of any reason other than it ran from me, so there must have been a reason it did. We went down a flight of stairs. The surroundings had become increasingly dark. I chased it faster until I realized we came to a dead halt. Before us was another altar. The church had one below incase the top floor became too crowded.
It was dusty; I could tell that it hadn't been used very often. It was not as dark because there was a light coming from the windows on the top that were just above ground. The hooded figure slowly turned around. I could see his face being lighted just from under the sun; it was Jin.
I yelled in surprise "Jin, what are you doing here?"
He hadn't taken his hood off still, and he answered quietly and deliberately like he always did, "I wanted to see if I would burn or not."
I really couldn't think of a response. "So where'd you get the threads."
"…In a clothes-line somewhere. I really didn't want to steal from anyone, but I needed to."
"So why all this drama…? Why did you run away from me?"
"I didn't think you'd want to see me again after you saw what I really am."
"I really don't know what you are Jin, but I know you're not evil."
"How do you know?"
"Because evil is something you do, not what you are." I paused. "And so far, you haven't done anything wrong."
He smiled and pulled the hood off. "I stole these pants and this jacket."
I laughed a bit at that. "Why don't you come back to the clinic with me?"
He shouted immediately. "No! There would be too many questions."
I knew he was right. "Well, come with me to my apartment then. You'll be safe there."
He fell silent for a moment, thinking about it. "Alright then…"
A bouquet of dead roses appeared in the corner of my eye. It was in the window. I stood up and bent my head down to take in its fragrance - my long jet-black hair spilled all around it. I reeled in its scent - the smell of decay. I reached to feel its rough dry petals, but it crumbled slightly before I had the chance to completely examine its texture against my skin.
I looked up into the window outside. It was bright out. I never liked the sunshine. There was nothing in the world that deserved to be shown in full light. Everything is ugly when seen completely.
To me the most beautiful days were the stormy ones. When the clouds would cover up the sky in dull grey and everyone was subject to judgment from the heavens. The clouds would rush up like the coming angels of apocalypse.
Angels with black wings would fly up and go away forever. I thought of Jin, of where he was now. It had been three days and there was still no sign of him. Nobody believed that he could have survived that fall, but the question of where the body was became unsolved. I knew better, of course. He didn't fall, he flew. But I was not about to tell that to the police, nor to anyone - especially the hospital committee. They all thought that I was unstable enough as it is. I don't even think some of them believe that I'm competent enough to be a doctor.
I stepped out of the bathroom and into the bed. As I hit the mattress, I fell immediately to sleep. The sound of the church bells ringing woke me up to a start. I looked out at the windows and could see the sun was already beginning to set. It hid behind the church spire near the horizon. It was the same church that Jin and I had been talking about.
I was never a religious person. My parents were strict Catholics but they never rubbed off of me no matter how many times I had to go to church. It wasn't that I didn't believe. Actually, I don't know if I did or did not; I just didn't care. But that last encounter with Jin made me question what I believed in. I mean, he sprouted wings right before my eyes. Or maybe that was all just some bizarre hallucination; maybe I was going crazy after all.
Whatever it was, I decided it would do me some good if I headed to the ringing of the bells. So I put on some clothes and a long black coat; I really didn't care if it wasn't that cold out, they were the only thing that I felt comfortable in.
It was one of the few times that my skin bathed in the glow of the sunset. I walked the few short blocks from my apartment building to the church. It was empty. There were no masses being held. I looked around for a bit - staring curiously at the pictures of saints, of the Virgin Mary, and of course, the crucifixes. Where Jesus stared back silently, his hands spread out from either side of him.
I really didn't know what I expected to find here. I was about to leave when I saw something moving from the corner of my eye. It was from the corridor near the back of the altar. It could have been nothing, but I decided to investigate it anyway. I followed the hallway through 'til I saw a glimpse of a hooded figure. As I got nearer, it walked faster. Then finally it ran, so I ran after it.
Our foot-steps echoed across the empty halls. As I chased after the figure, I wondered why I was going after it. I certainly couldn't think of any reason other than it ran from me, so there must have been a reason it did. We went down a flight of stairs. The surroundings had become increasingly dark. I chased it faster until I realized we came to a dead halt. Before us was another altar. The church had one below incase the top floor became too crowded.
It was dusty; I could tell that it hadn't been used very often. It was not as dark because there was a light coming from the windows on the top that were just above ground. The hooded figure slowly turned around. I could see his face being lighted just from under the sun; it was Jin.
I yelled in surprise "Jin, what are you doing here?"
He hadn't taken his hood off still, and he answered quietly and deliberately like he always did, "I wanted to see if I would burn or not."
I really couldn't think of a response. "So where'd you get the threads."
"…In a clothes-line somewhere. I really didn't want to steal from anyone, but I needed to."
"So why all this drama…? Why did you run away from me?"
"I didn't think you'd want to see me again after you saw what I really am."
"I really don't know what you are Jin, but I know you're not evil."
"How do you know?"
"Because evil is something you do, not what you are." I paused. "And so far, you haven't done anything wrong."
He smiled and pulled the hood off. "I stole these pants and this jacket."
I laughed a bit at that. "Why don't you come back to the clinic with me?"
He shouted immediately. "No! There would be too many questions."
I knew he was right. "Well, come with me to my apartment then. You'll be safe there."
He fell silent for a moment, thinking about it. "Alright then…"