Stacked Deck - Chapter 3: The Deciding Factor
I found Kari in the lunch room. She was sitting alone, which in itself was unusual. Normally she was surrounded by people I didn't know, and I wasn't sure I really cared to.
"Kari..."
She looked up. There was a flash of worry in her eyes, but it disappeared quickly. "Takeru. You're ok?"
"I think so. I have some questions, though."
"Like..."
"What are you?"
She was shocked. She hadn't been expecting that question. "Takeru..."
"Call me TK. Please."
She smiled at that. It was almost as if she knew why I preferred the shortened version of my name. "TK, then. Before I answer your question, let me ask a few of my own."
I almost couldn't take it. I was on edge enough as it was, and I didn't really need an inquisition. What on earth could she possibly want to know about me?
"TK, have ever had the feeling where you weren't sure if you were awake or still dreaming? Be specific. Every once in a while, every other month, day, hour..."
I thought about it. No that she mentioned it, I had. "At first it was once in a while. Now it's all the time. What does that mean, Kari?"
"Do you believe in Angels, TK?"
"Angels? You mean a spiritual being endowed with immortality; a heavenly guardian, ministering spirit, or messenger?"
"That is the way Christians think, TK. And they're wrong. So are the Islamic, Jews, Catholics, Romans, and Greek... All the major religions are wrong about Angels."
"Then what are they?"
"They are people, TK. Each Angel is separated into two people. A Child, and an Angel. And the angels aren't unlimited, either. There are seven attributes that the Angels follow: Courage, Love, Knowledge, Purity, Sincerity, Friendship, and Hope . For each Angel, there is a corresponding Child. Understand so far, TK?"
"Yeah, I think so. But why are you telling me this?"
"Normally the Angels and Children are separate, never knowing the power they hold until they meet. For the first time in a millennia all the Angel of Hope is also the Child of Hope."
"And you are telling me this, why?"
"You, TK, are the Angel and Child of Hope. The fate of the world, and the remaining Angels, rests in your hands."
