The next morning, Gabriel woke up and found the television was turned off and the curtains were slightly opened, but there was no sign of Mica anywhere in the room. He sat up in bed and looked around the room before looking down at himself, realizing that he was naked underneath the blanket. He remembered passing out after he had gotten out of the shower and figured it was Mica who covered him up last night to give him some dignity.
Throwing the blanket off, Gabriel got out of bed and went into the bathroom to retrieve his clothes from off the counter and put them on. He put on his black trousers first, then threw on his white shirt and looked at himself in the mirror while he buttoned it up. He buttoned it only halfway and stared at the bandages wrapped around his chest. When he woke up, Gabriel felt an uncomfortable pain in his chest, but chose to ignore it. He knew he should probably take one of the pills the doctor had given him, but Gabriel felt he didn't need his "monkey medicine", as he called it. He decided to ignore it and hoped that the pain would go away on its own.
Walking back out to the main room, Gabriel sat down at the foot of the bed and bent over for his shoes, slipping on one pair and then the other. Hearing the door open, he looked to his left and saw it was Mica who entered.
"Where were you?" Gabriel asked her.
"I went out to get us some coffee", Mica answered, holding up a paper cup of coffee in each hand.
"Oh. Thanks."
Gabriel stood up and approached Mica, who handed him one of the coffees, then set hers down on the table to open the box of donuts she had bought yesterday. Gabriel sipped his coffee and set his cup down on the table, moaning in discomfort and rubbing a hand over his chest as he held onto a chair with his free hand and slowly eased himself down into it.
Mica looked at him and asked, "You don't like it?"
Gabriel shook his head. "No, it's not that", he said. "My chest hurts."
Mica look to her right and saw the unopened bottle of pills the doctor had prescribed to him. She picked up the orange pill bottle and opened it, pouring out a single white capsule pill into her hand and offering it to Gabriel.
"Here, take this. It'll help", said Mica.
"No, thanks", Gabriel declined.
"You need to take it."
"It's monkey medicine. I don't want it."
"I don't care if you don't want it. You need to take it so it'll help you feel better. Please take it, Gabriel."
Gabriel glared up at Mica with cold blue eyes, but upon seeing the gentle look reflected in her golden brown orbs, he eventually gave in. He allowed her to feed him his pain medication and help him swallow it down with a drink of water from one of the water bottles. He admitted it was much easier than trying to swallow the pill without any liquid, something he knew that humans didn't think was very much fun at all. He hated having to agree with them, but Gabriel had no choice. This was all part of why he had been turned mortal in the first place, to learn how to be human and accept things as they were. He had only been a human for a couple of days and still refused to change his mind, but Gabriel knew it was only going to get worse for him if he didn't start getting used to it.
"Good", said Mica. "Now, you should eat. The doctor said you need to take the medication with food."
Taking out a donut from the box, Mica placed it in front of Gabriel, who started eating it while Mica sat down opposite from him and sipped her coffee, helping herself to two donuts, feeling famished.
For a while, the two angels were quiet. The medication helped Gabriel take his mind off of the pain, even if it took a while to sink into his system, but he still felt uncomfortable being what he was. He didn't understand how Mica could stand to be in the same room as him, especially after everything he had done, but she promised Gabriel she would take care of him and help him through his difficult time. It wasn't normal for angels to take care of humans this way, but nevertheless, he still appreciated her help. Despite being disgust with himself for being stuck in a mortal body, Gabriel was happy to know that Mica was still there for him.
Mica was the first to speak and said, "It's a beautiful day outside. I was thinking we could go take a walk later. That sounds like fun, doesn't it?"
Gabriel shrugged. "What good is that gonna do?"
"I just thought you might like to take in the sights", Mica explained. "If we're going to be here for a while, we might as well enjoy our time on Earth while we have it."
Gabriel leaned across the table and asked, "Our brothers and sisters are upstairs killing each other, and you want us to take a stroll through the park like nothing's happening?"
"Gabriel-"
"Did you forget the fact that our world is falling apart?"
"What else am I supposed to do? Let you mope the whole time you're here and not do anything? It's not like I can just ask Our Father to help us put a stop to this war. He's busy enough."
"He's gonna call me, Mica", said Gabriel. "One day, the phone is gonna ring and the Boss is gonna be begging for me to come back."
"Not if you don't learn how to love the humans as you once did", said Mica. "God doesn't like what you started, but it's the way it is. If you didn't want to be turned mortal, you shouldn't have done what you did."
"You think I enjoy living like a monkey?" Gabriel asked her. "I didn't mean to piss Him off, Mica. I just wanted to prove a point."
"And what point is that, Gabriel?" Mica asked him.
For a moment, Gabriel was silent, trying to search for the right words. Finally, he answered, "That angels are the superior beings. That the Boss should love us more than He loves the monkeys."
Mica took another sip of her coffee, then set her cup aside and stood up. She dipped a hand into her pocket and took out the room key, telling him, "Well, I'm going for a walk. You can come with me or you can stay here."
Gabriel sat back in his chair and sighed in annoyance. "All right, if you're gonna throw a tantrum over it", he said.
"I'm not the one with the problem, Gabriel. It's you who has the attitude, not me. I may not like some of the things humans say or do, but no matter what their sins, I still have to love them, because it's what we do."
With that in mind, Mica turned around and went to the door, opening it and walking out. Gabriel finished the last of his coffee and stood up and went to grab his black overcoat from the closet before heading out the door.
California wasn't the prettiest place she had ever seen, but nevertheless, Mica sought out to enjoy life in the bustling city, filled with all different kinds of people. Street performers could be found on almost every corner, some of them playing a lively tune or singing their hearts out and praising the Lord Almighty, rejoicing in his name. The traffic was slow that morning, but neither Mica nor Gabriel seemed to notice. While Mica admired most of the humans they encountered or came across, Gabriel could only feel nothing but contempt for these people. Whether they were good people or bad people, he despised all of them.
While they were walking, Mica saw a homeless man sitting on a corner, playing the violin for money. The tune he played sounded beautiful and haunting, but also very sad. Gabriel ignored the man and kept on walking, but Mica stopped to admire the street artist's talent and noticed there was a tin can next to him that had some money in it. A few coins and a couple of one dollar bills. Dipping a hand into her pocket, Mica pulled out a ten and slipped it into the homeless man's can. The violin music stopped playing as the homeless man looked down into his can, then looked up at the kind-hearted young woman who gave him a big tip.
"You play very beautifully, sir", Mica admired. "God bless you."
The homeless man looked baffled by her act of generosity and kept his eyes on Mica as she walked away from him. "God bless you, too, young lady", he found himself saying.
Mica caught up with Gabriel, who looked back at the homeless man, then looked at his little sister and asked her, "What were you doing back there?"
"I was admiring that man's music", Mica answered him. "He was playing for money, so I thought I would give him a little."
"How much is a little?"
"Ten dollars."
"Mica, that guy's a bum", Gabriel reprimanded. "He's looking for a handout, just like the rest of the homeless freaks around here."
"Maybe so, but you didn't stop to listen and appreciate his music", said Mica.
When they came to the park, Mica sat down on a bench and looked up at Gabriel, patting the empty spot next to her for him to sit down. Gabriel complied and sat down beside her, leaning back and resting his arm on the back of the bench, looking around at anything besides the "monkeys" that were visiting the park. He decided to focus his attention elsewhere and landed his eyes on some trees. Gabriel always liked trees. One of God's greatest creations, he thought. His eyes shifted down on the ground at a group of pigeons, and when a man walked by the birds and disturbed them, Gabriel watched as the flock took wing and flew upward into the sky.
Meanwhile, Mica was watching an old couple sitting across from them with a smile on her face. She didn't know what they were saying, but she knew they loved each other and had been together for over forty years.
Mica looked away and glanced to her left, seeing Elliott, the little boy from yesterday, playing with his puppy, Daisy. The boy held up a rubber ball and threw it for his dog, telling her to go fetch it. The little ginger pup took off like a rocket and went to retrieve the toy with her teeth, bringing it back to her young master and dropping it at his feet.
"Good girl, Daisy", Elliott said to his dog, taking the ball from her mouth and rubbing her head in approval.
Mica rose up and walked away, prompting Gabriel to turn his head and look in her direction.
"Mica?" Gabriel asked, standing up and following her.
"You want it, Daisy?" Elliott asked his puppy, who barked in response, panting excitedly. With that, the little boy raised the ball above his head and ordered her, "Go fetch it, Daisy! Go get it!"
Once the ball was thrown, Daisy ran after it as fast as she could and went to retrieve it. Once she found it, she picked it up with her teeth and went right over to Mica instead of Elliott, dropping the ball at the angel's feet.
"Daisy, no!" Elliott exclaimed.
Mica crouched down and picked up Daisy, holding the ginger puppy in her arms and taking the ball out of her mouth.
"What are you doing?" Gabriel asked her.
"It's all right, Gabriel", Mica assured him. "She's a friend."
Elliott came over and looked up at them, recognizing the young-looking woman in the long white coat. "Hello", he said with a smile. "Hey, you're the lady who found my puppy."
"Hello, Elliott", said Mica. "It's nice to see you again."
Elliott's hazel eyes looked to Gabriel, examining the tall, dark-haired man dressed all in black. The boy looked at Mica and asked her curiously, "Is he a vampire?"
Gabriel looked offended, but Mica simply laughed and told him, "No, silly."
"Is he your boyfriend?" Elliott asked innocently.
"No!" Answered Gabriel and Mica in unison.
"Elliott, this is my brother, Gabriel", Mica explained. "Gabriel, this is Elliott. He's the little boy I told you about yesterday. And this is his puppy, Daisy."
"Cute dog", Gabriel commented, rubbing the pup's head.
"Elliott!" Called the boy's mother. The brown-haired woman came over and asked him, "What are you doing, sweetheart?"
"Talking to the nice lady", Elliott answered her.
"My name is Mica", the angel girl said.
"It's nice to see you again, Mica", said Elliott's mother.
"Hi, Lydia", said Gabriel.
Elliott's mother looked shocked upon hearing her name being spoken by a stranger and asked Gabriel, "How did you know my name?"
Gabriel shrugged. "You look like a Lydia."
"Uh, Gabriel's very good at guessing people's names", Mica explained.
"He's Mica's brother", Elliott added in.
"I see", said Lydia, eying Gabriel suspiciously. "And what were you doing with my son's dog?"
"Playing with her, as you can see", said Gabriel, matter-or-factly.
Mica handed Daisy over to Elliott's mother, who didn't know what to make of the young woman or her brother, who came off as creepy in her eyes.
"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Mica", said Lydia.
"You, too, Lydia", said Mica.
"Come on, Elliott", his mother told him, taking her son's hand and leading him away.
"Bye", said Elliott, waving to the two angels.
Mica waved back and said, "Bye, Elliott", she said, then thought to herself, "I hope I see you again someday."
"Nice kid", Gabriel commented.
Mica nodded. "Yes, I know."
"Probably won't amount to much, though."
Mica looked to Gabriel and asked him, "What do you say that?"
"Don't get me wrong, I think the kid's got a good head on his shoulders, but his mother gave him an embarrassing name. I wouldn't be surprised if the kids at school call him 'idiot' instead of Elliott."
"There's nothing wrong with his name", said Mica, sounding defensive. "Elliott is a perfectly lovely name and I admire him for his kind, loving heart."
Gabriel looked at Mica, sensing that she was infatuated with the boy.
"What, you in love this kid?"
"I love all children, Gabriel. But there's something special about this boy, I know it."
"There's nothing special about him. You're just saying that because you think he's special. There's nothing special about any of these monkeys. They're all the same. When he grows up, he'll be just like the rest of them."
"You're only saying that because you're jealous", said Mica.
"Me? You think I'm jealous of a little kid?" Gabriel asked her.
"Yes. I can see it in your eyes, Gabriel. Look into mine and tell me you don't deny it."
Gabriel stared into Mica's eyes, a gleaming light burning deeply in the reflection of her golden brown orbs like a freshly-lit fire.
"You really think he's special?" Gabriel asked her.
"All children are special in my eyes, just as they are special in the eyes of our Father", Mica answered. "I know this boy is no Messiah, but there's something about him that I admire. Though he is young, I know he will do great things in the future."
"What you need to ask yourself is whether or not this boy will even have a future", said Gabriel. "You didn't happen to mention anything about what's going on upstairs, did you?"
"No, of course not", said Mica.
"Well, that's good. After all, these monkeys may not even have a future if the war doesn't end soon. But we won't know until it ends, will we?"
Mica looked away from Gabriel and over at Elliott, who was sitting in the grass, playing with Daisy and rubbing her her. The angel girl was lost in a daydream, thinking about what kind of person this boy would become.
Gabriel's hand on her arm freed Mica from her thoughts, causing her to turn her head away from the child and look at her older brother again. "Let's go home", he said.
Mica allowed Gabriel to take hold of her hand and started walking away with him, looking back over her shoulder once more at Elliott, as she watched the little boy hug his beloved puppy and heard him laugh when she licked his face in affection. With that image implanted into her mind, Mica turned her head away and looked forward, hoping that someday she would see Elliott again.