Disclaimer: See Ch. 1 for details.
Eva walked through the woods, the trees settled so closely together that the moonlight hardly filtered through, and then only in small, sparse bursts. It was so dark you wouldn't have been able to see your hand in front of your face.
Of course, that was the point. It was very hard to stride in the open when you froze to stone at the slightest glance.
However, that wasn't what was on Eva's mind at the moment.
She'd lost Bicky.
Needless to say, this had her feeling quite distressed.
Not for Bicky. For anyone she happened to stumble onto. The Angel delighted in causing discord and chaos. And scaring the heebie-jeebies out of people.
"Did you hear that, Travis?" The poor man's voice shook.
"What?" the other man whispered.
"I thought I heard something."
"You're probably just imagining it, Bill."
"Right." Bill sounded unconvinced.
Bicky let out a breathy snicker.
The two boys froze. "Travis." Bill's voice went high.
"Who's there?" Travis demanded.
There was silence. The Bill swallowed.
Then there was a low chuckle.
"Who is it?" Travis swung his flashlight around, panic rising. "Is that you, Denise? This isn't funny!"
Quiet. "Denise?"
"Don't blink."
"What?"
"Don't. Blink."
The flashlight suddenly stopped on a stone angel. "Travis?" Bill swallowed, then whispered roughly, "I don't think that was there before."
The flashlight flickered. The Angel disappeared in darkness then reappeared, suddenly much closer than she had been before.
"Oh, God!" Bill's voice reached a new level of high. He clutched at his friend. "It's closer, Travis!"
The light flickered again. Travis held onto Bill. The Angel was closer, her hands reaching out to them.
"Don't blink, Bill." Travis tried to keep his voice steady.
The light wavered.
"Bicky!"
It went out.
The two young men stood in the dark.
"That's enough, Bicky. Stop scaring these poor boys," commanded a feminine voice.
"Aw, Eva. I was just getting to the good part," another female voice whined.
"Bicky, you are frightening these poor men to death," Eva said sternly.
"Not to death. Just . . . to unconsciousness."
There was silence.
"Alright, alright, jeez," Bicky grumbled. "I'm sorry.
"Not to me, Angel. To them."
"Sorry, Bill. Sorry, Travis. Won't happen again."
"Good. Now, I believe it's time to leave. We, and by 'we' I mean 'you', have overstayed our welcome."
"I swear, Eva, for an Angel, you are such a . . . an angel!"
"And for an Angel, Bicky, you are a veritable devil."
The arguing voices slowly faded. The flashlight came back on.
Bill and Travis stood there for a moment. And then they shakily continued on their way home.
From then on, they were inseparable and hardly ever went anywhere alone. The two stayed best friends their whole lives, hardly ever leaving the other's side.
And that was how a mischievous Weeping Angel united two soul mates. Years later after the incident, Bicky and Eva spotted the two men and were surprised to note how close they were.
Eva told her chidingly that it was no wonder, after what they'd gone through. Bicky cheerfully said, "Just call me Cupid."
Eva never did, though.