Chapter 6
I leaned back against the door to my room, just staring at the creature before me. So what he had said was true. He really was an angel. His wings were a beautiful pristine white, bright and unruffled. His long white robe hung on him at an elegant length, the sleeves big enough to hold at least three times the width of his arms. It looked like a church choir robe, flowing and graceful looking. But on the front of his robe was a small reddish-brown stain. As far as I could tell, that was the only imperfection he had. But it was an imperfection nonetheless, and it woke me from my trance like state. Trying not to look as astonished as I felt, I asked him quietly, "Why are you here Connery?" I wasn't expecting a real response from him. He hadn't said much while the confrontation had been going on. He had spoken only when he was spoken to. And other than that time I had provoked him, he had seemed to be rather mellow, like the kind that wasn't big on talking.
Connery looked at me, and asked me quietly if he could pull his wings back in now. And feeling as if I had ripped his pride from him, I blushed and said "Of course, sure…" and cursed my impulsive attitude. I always did things without thinking. I hadn't taken into account that maybe showing me his wings would damage his pride. As I felt familiar guilt waves roll over me, I cringed, and then met his eyes with my own.
He had retracted his wings, and he was moving closer to me. Connery looked my face over, a small smile creeping across his lips. But when I asked him again why he was here, the smile faded and he looked up at the ceiling, his eyes scanning it as if he would find the answer to my question embedded in the sheet rock. Biting his lip, he took a deep breath and met my gaze.
… … … … … "Why are you here", she asked me a second time. I pulled my gaze from the ceiling, and met her gaze, having failed to contact God. I had been hoping he would help me in explaining to her who and what she was to the world. But if he wasn't going to be of any help, it would be up to me to explain it all to her on my own, and I was beginning to wonder how I ought to begin to tell her the news.
I shook my head in frustration. I had no guidelines for how to deal with Hope. I was still inexperienced. I should have been able to avoid having her threaten me with a bat. I was, after all, a second year student. I should have had some control over the situation. But my inexperience was tripping me up over and over again, and I'd only been here a few hours. I still wasn't sure about whether or not the rule applied to her. Technically, it seemed that they would, but then again, wasn't she void from normal procedure because of who her true father was?
I looked down at her bare feet, and traced the outline of her body with my eyes, stopping when I reached her face. She was a child in so many ways still. If I told her of the task that lay before her, I would strip away any remains of her childhood. I wasn't ready to do that to her. I couldn't do that to her yet. Not until I had better understanding of what she was like and how she would take it.
I leaned back against the door to my room, just staring at the creature before me. So what he had said was true. He really was an angel. His wings were a beautiful pristine white, bright and unruffled. His long white robe hung on him at an elegant length, the sleeves big enough to hold at least three times the width of his arms. It looked like a church choir robe, flowing and graceful looking. But on the front of his robe was a small reddish-brown stain. As far as I could tell, that was the only imperfection he had. But it was an imperfection nonetheless, and it woke me from my trance like state. Trying not to look as astonished as I felt, I asked him quietly, "Why are you here Connery?" I wasn't expecting a real response from him. He hadn't said much while the confrontation had been going on. He had spoken only when he was spoken to. And other than that time I had provoked him, he had seemed to be rather mellow, like the kind that wasn't big on talking.
Connery looked at me, and asked me quietly if he could pull his wings back in now. And feeling as if I had ripped his pride from him, I blushed and said "Of course, sure…" and cursed my impulsive attitude. I always did things without thinking. I hadn't taken into account that maybe showing me his wings would damage his pride. As I felt familiar guilt waves roll over me, I cringed, and then met his eyes with my own.
He had retracted his wings, and he was moving closer to me. Connery looked my face over, a small smile creeping across his lips. But when I asked him again why he was here, the smile faded and he looked up at the ceiling, his eyes scanning it as if he would find the answer to my question embedded in the sheet rock. Biting his lip, he took a deep breath and met my gaze.
… … … … … "Why are you here", she asked me a second time. I pulled my gaze from the ceiling, and met her gaze, having failed to contact God. I had been hoping he would help me in explaining to her who and what she was to the world. But if he wasn't going to be of any help, it would be up to me to explain it all to her on my own, and I was beginning to wonder how I ought to begin to tell her the news.
I shook my head in frustration. I had no guidelines for how to deal with Hope. I was still inexperienced. I should have been able to avoid having her threaten me with a bat. I was, after all, a second year student. I should have had some control over the situation. But my inexperience was tripping me up over and over again, and I'd only been here a few hours. I still wasn't sure about whether or not the rule applied to her. Technically, it seemed that they would, but then again, wasn't she void from normal procedure because of who her true father was?
I looked down at her bare feet, and traced the outline of her body with my eyes, stopping when I reached her face. She was a child in so many ways still. If I told her of the task that lay before her, I would strip away any remains of her childhood. I wasn't ready to do that to her. I couldn't do that to her yet. Not until I had better understanding of what she was like and how she would take it.