Chapter II: Love At Long Last

FD: A couple of new characters, not much, and a big secret to tell, so, peace out!


"So, Tala, what happened to you last night?" Bryan asked him as the two of them walked down the street toward the park. Tala wondered the very same question. What did happen last night? The memory was so faded, so distant, he could barely picture it in his mind. He knew he was in the park, and he knew someone got hurt, but everything else was a total mystery.

"Don't turn away…I pray you've heard the words I've spoken….Dare to believe…for one last time….Then I'll let the darkness cover me…deny everything….Slowly walk away…to breathe again….On my own…."

That voice…so soft and gentle, like the caressing of the wind. It was beautiful. Tala felt the longing stare of a pair of cold, ice-like eyes staring at him. He turned, thinking someone was there. But no one.

"Everything okay, Tala?" Bryan asked.

"Yeah, I'm cool," Tala said. But not everything was all right. Tala knew someone was watching him. And he wanted to know who.


Alara hid behind the trees that Tala walked by, her eyes keen on him. Luckily, she did not have to go back because Tala did not recognize her that fast. But it was harder now, seeing as how he knew she was there. She hid pretty well for an angel-goddess. In fact, you would not believe where she was. Inside the tree, using her angel powers. That way she could watch Tala, and he would not see her. But somehow, he knew she was there. Like as if he could feel her eyes. Her cold, calming gray eyes.

She pulled back into the shadows of the trees and stepped back, the grass feeling so weird under her bare feet. Two days since she had come back, and she was still not familiar with how it felt. The air was so different from heaven. There was real wind that came out of nowhere. Her thoughts came and stayed instead of leaving as soon as they came. She had to breathe. The grass felt so much different, so…cool and yet prickly under her feet. The touch of tree bark felt so warm and rough. Yet, no matter what, every animal stayed near her, accepting her, loving her. They knew what she really was. They knew everything.

Alara smiled. Though she was back, she was still not completely happy. She wanted Tala to know everything. She wanted her brother….Her brother! He didn't care. He never did. It was like forcing him to accept her. It would never happen. Not even if Alara promised him ultimate power, her brother would never accept her.

Stalking and following were two completely different things in heaven. Stalking would be following someone out of pure obsession and couldn't get enough thoughts about them, while following was of pure concern and protection. What Alara was doing was kind of in between. She had a strange feeling in her bowels that Tala was in danger. But she also couldn't get enough of him since she found out he liked her. Either way, she still couldn't allow him to see her. She had too much riding on it. And to let it all fail just by the eye contact of one person. It would all end just by something as simple as that. But she still couldn't take any precautions. Tala knew her back then when her hair was so much shorter than it was now. He would recognize her eyes, but they had changed a different shade from being up in heaven. And he knew her for wearing pink and white outfits, so she had to start wearing black.

Aside from that, she had to make sure her brother doesn't spot her while being around Tala. Then it would give her away. But any other time he could see her.

"Scared of making up with your brother?" came a voice. Alara turned around to see Gabriel smiling at her. His dirty blonde hair sparkled in the sun along with his eyes that held the color of the clear sky.

"Don't frighten me like that," Alara said calmly, like as if she knew he would be there, and she was happy he was. But it was also because that same smile was on his face.

"So, is your brother really as mean as you say he is?" Gabriel asked.

"You have no idea," Alara spoke. Sometimes her memories even brought tears. She rather not talk about her brother.

"So, what was that little short story you made to him when you were young?" Gabriel asked.

Yes, that little short story. It was more of a prediction. It was a few weeks before she died when she made it. She had thought about how far Tala and her had come, and how she prayed they would stay together.

"Thinking of you, wherever you are….We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend. Now I will step forward to realize this wish….And who knows. Starting a new journey may not be so hard, or maybe it has already begun….There are many worlds, but they all share the same sky. One sky, one destiny…."

Tala immediately fell in love with it, and he told Alara that she was amazing at those type of poems. Normally she would blush whenever someone told her that. It was like being kissed for the first time.

That poem was actually based from a dream Alara had. A dream that she

Darkness filled the streets of the world…. Heartless beings with crimson eyes…. Fire that burned like the sun…. A man that stood in the center…eyes blue as ice…hair as silver as clouds…ears like a foxes…. Over his head flew a diamond…. There was no sky, no clouds… only emptiness that filled the earth….

"Everything okay?" came a voice. Alara turned around to see three girls looking at her instead of Gabriel, who had mysteriously disappeared. One looked thirteen, her long black hair separated by two white ribbons, her wild, exotic blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Another looked twenty-two with long white hair, dark skin, and serious black eyes. The other one was a woman who looked sweet and naïve with gentle light blue hair and gorgeous brown eyes.

"Ah, yes, the three fates. What can I do you for?" Alara asked.

"Hey! You know better than to call us that!" the woman with the white hair scolded.

"Sorry, Sami, couldn't help it," Alara laughed. Then she looked at the little girl. "How have you been, Anna?"

"Okay, Bella's been a little too innocent these days," she said.

"I have to be Anna. I am an Angel," the woman with the blue hair said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, Alara, when do we meet this guy, Tala?" Anna asked.

"Tala? You wanna meet him?" Alara asked.

"Yeah. After all, he is your friend. Gabriel mentioned him a couple of times," Sami spoke.

Gabriel. "Note to self, when get back to H, strangle Gabe," Alara quoted. The four girls laughed, then Sami smiled malevolently.

"Gabe's got you strung up like a fish on a line. Everything good?" she asked.

"Yeah, no sweat. Though, sometimes… ." Alara let her sentence trail, giving them a hint. They nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Anna spoke up, looking over the bushes to stare at the people passing by.

"They look like they're having fun," she moaned. Alara smiled. Anna, Bella, and Sami were full flown angels. They could never be given another life, like her. Not only that, but each one of them had been dead for over a hundred years. They longed to live the life they once had. Alara wished they could only enjoy the life that she was given.


The sky was soon covered by an inky blackness. The trees reached high over the roofs of the houses and apartments. The full white moon shined brightly before the glittering stars. Tala could only look up at them. His mind was full of confusing thoughts. It was like a piece of his mind had been covered by a black hole, hiding the memories within them.

You guess you could say he had been naïve. Begging someone he didn't even like onto his team. Going absolutely crazy in the World Tournament. Forgetting everything about his past. He had been so stupid! No wonder. Could he control fate? Destiny, even? No.

"…There are many worlds, but they all share the same sky….One sky, one destiny…."

Tala looked up, feeling that familiar cold stare on him. He looked up into the trees, and then it was gone. Completely. Like it never was there.

"Tala, look at the moon! Isn't it beautiful?"

Yeah, it is, Tala thought. Where had that come from? His head? Or somewhere else? After taking one last look up at the sky, he turned away and walked down the street. What was going on? Was he imagining things? Or was there really someone following him where ever he went?


FD: Alright, so, if you're so dumb not to realize the truth of who her brother is, his identity will be revealed. But until then, keep reading, my people. Peace.