A/N: yeehaaa!!! Here's the next chapter!!! Enjoy!xD
Wings of Glass
Chapter Seven
Oliver was amazed. It was as if the sky was crying. He had never seen the sky cry before. Its tears were soft and pleasant, contrary to the mood it must be feeling.
But the angel must have been the sky's unwanted witness and to hide its deed, sorrow turned to angel that scorned the boy with all its might.
The greenette was shocked. How could something that can be so gentle could become so vicious even with the absence of fault? He became deeply distressed and hence was hit by the powerful blows of the rain.
--
"He's burning…"
"This ain't good…"
Lavender eyes opened wearily. "En-ri-que?"
"Oliver!" the green-haired angel saw Enrique's smile and his heart warmed to the hug the blonde gave.
"Are you feeling fine?" Robert asked, entering Oliver's range of vision.
He tried to shake his head, but found the action stiff and painful. "N-no…f-feel v-very c-col-d…"
His Italian doctor sighed heavily. "You went out in the rain…"
Obviously THAT didn't ring a bell. "W-what's…s…r-rain?"
"Rain is water coming out of the sky…like tears." Robert filled in.
Then the greenette's understood. His eyes widened in acknowledgement. But before he could say anything, a violent sneeze fought its way out of his throat.
"And presto, Oli has a cold…" Enrique smiled and held up a tissue to the boy's delicate nose. "Blow…"
Oddly enough, the patient knew how to do THAT. "W-what's wr-wrong…w-with m-me?" he asked, his tone quite nasal.
"You're sick." The blonde told him. "The rain makes you sick because you were out in it for a long time. Sick is when you feel—"
"—awful…" Oliver finished as he sat up and rested his head on Enrique's arms.
The sick angel's breath felt hot on the young doctor's palm.
"I…c-can't br-breath-the…" came a muffled complaint.
Sky blue eyes looked worried and he gently caressed the green fluff of hair.
"You'd better take care of him, Giancarlo." Robert said quietly. "I'll tell the boss about your case. I guess he'll allow you to take some time off."
His best friend looked grim but thankful. "You're right." He gazed sadly at Oliver. "He might have pneumonia…"
The purple-haired man shook his head as if doing that would erase the possibility. "You two had better go home."
--
"Drink this Oli, you'll feel better." said Enrique, supporting the back of the greenette's head while holding a cup of juice to his lips.
"Now you REALLY have to stay put and rest." The doctor continued, watching him consume the liquid.
"Sh-shall you go…?" Oliver asked quietly and broke into a smile when the blonde shook his head.
"Jurgen's giving me a week off to take care of you." He answered.
"Jur-gen?"
"Robert. Robert Jurgen."
"Oh. Th-that's g-good to…h-hear."
"Shush." Enrique busied himself with wiping the feverish angel's sweaty brow with a lukewarm towel. "Rest now."
The green-haired boy settled comfortably amongst the fluffed up pillows of his bed. The young doctor could not bring himself to leave his patient's bedside.
Oliver became silent and thoughtful. Enrique sighed and cast a glance at the quaint altar by the side table.
"D-do y-you believ-ve…in-n God, En-ri-que?"
The Italian looked at the boy questioningly. "I…" Blue eyes surveyed with resentment, the sick angel on the bed and remembered his prayer uttered in vain. "My faith has…weakened."
"D-do you b-believe in-n…an-angels, then-n?"
"No."
"H-how w-would…you ex-p-pect Him…t-to perf-form…m-miracles and…g-give p-people h-hope…with-out…a-angels?"
Enrique frowned as a tide of bad experiences washed over his memory. "He's an almighty God isn't he? He's capable of anything!...merciless…"
Lavender eyes softened in pity. "I'm…I'm g-guessing m-many…p-patients…h-have died…i-in y-you hand-s?"
The young doctor hung his head. "Our team did all we could. It's like their bodies won't let themselves heal. What are angels for?"
"Th-they're th-there t-to rem-mind p-people th-that th-they ha-have a G-god won't let p-people…die…i-f He kn-knew th-their loved o-ones w-wouldn't b-be…able t-to move on-n."
Enrique sniffed. "I once diagnosed a child of cancer. He was three hours away from becoming completely cured when he died ten minutes before. Another patient of mine died of leukemia. He wasn't responding to treatment. Till know I don't know why and how we failed. My other patient…he died of pneumonia…" the doctor unable to continue at the successive coughs the patient had
"C-comp-pared…t-to all th-the l-lives y-you s-saved…wh-what s-sig-nif-ficance i-is th-the n-number…of l-lives y-you l-lost?"
"Only the number of family members made sad by the loss of their loved ones."
"A-are y-you…det-termin-ned to d-deprive…th-them of l-learning…a-an imp-portant l-lesson-n in-n lif-fe?"
"Some people don't learn."
"B-but a-all…of th-them kn-know h-how…t-to hope…"
Enrique climbed into Oliver's arms for comfort.
'It's distressing to be a doctor, really. You aren't allowed to be emotionally attached to all those you treat…even if you see people dying every single day…"
"I-if y-you f-feel…s-so ho-hopl-less a-about…n-not being ab-able t-to sav-ve th-them f-from…d-dying…y-you c-can o-offer a p-prayer…"
The angel had never seen blue eyes so dull and depressed. 'What would that do? Lessen years in purgatory?"
"I-t…w-would a-add to th-the n-numb-ber…o-of people w-who c-care ab-about th-that p-person. U-up th-there, every…p-prayer c-counts."
The blonde said nothing.
"I-t's w-worth…a try…"
I won't guarantee myself it would make me feel better."
The green-haired boy sat up and shifted the poor Italian.
"Why are you doing this, Oliver?"
Large, expressive lavender eyes foxed their gaze on the man's face. "Y-you…ar-aren't h-happy…"
Unknown to anyone, the delicate angel did another examination of the blonde's heart. Besides overflowing love without an outlet, he saw empty desolate spaces where he sensed faith was once present.
The doctor nodded and broke down completely before the two boys folded their hands to pray.
Enrique knew what he had to do. He lot go all patients who failed under him with a thanks for the lesson they taught and, turning his attention to the sick angel beside him, he pleaded to the Heavens for a swift recovery and a blessing so that the elements would no longer harm the delicate creature.
TBC
A/N: seriously…if there was any typo…please alert me. I was quite distracted because I was watching…(ahem ahem) Last Tangle in Paris while typing…review! Enjoy!xD and ciAo…