Now the Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

We watched as the brightness swirled and mixed with the darkness. Then like a cell splitting in two, it divided in a flash of celestial energy, creating day and night. Thus passed the first day.

And God said, "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so.

We watched as the water lifted away from the space, becoming a spherical shape as it swirled beneath an expanse- the "sky". Thus passed the second day.

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.

We watched as huge structures- mountains and hills, all young and barren- rose out from the retreating waters, marking the land and the sea. And Father saw that it was good. Thus passed the third day.

In the proceeding days and nights, we witnessed the creation of life as they teemed in this new world. Giant reptiles roamed the land, while huge fish kept dominion over the waters. Plant life, too numerous to count, flourished under the newborn Sun, while night unveiled a sky filled with stars. During my time stationed on Earth, I would often look up into the inky blackness, my eyes lost in those multitudes of tiny flickering lights.

And God blessed it all, seeing that it was good.

Of course, at first we didn't understand any of this- angels were simply programmed to think in a way that denied change. To us, I included, such a drastic change took a long time to accept and become accustomed to. We're kind of like a wind-up toy – we can only do one fixed thing, following the set of rules that we were made knowing. Though, since Father loved His new creation, we were to as well. So we did, albeit hesitantly at first.

We were sent down to this Second Heaven in our spiritual forms, observing the life there without interacting with it in any way. Some of us, the braver ones such as Anael, went first, awed at the strange beasts and creatures that roamed freely. Their activities were deeply perplexing to me, such as when all of the sudden they dropped dead, or when they slept or ate or defecated. Especially, I didn't understand why the males of many species enjoyed mating with the females. They even fought each other for the right to do so. Often, just to clear my head of the chaos, I would go wandering through the quieter places on Earth. My favorite destinations were the tops of mountains, where you could see in every direction for miles, with a thick cloud cover swirling past below and the moon and stars above so bright that I almost could touch them. Though, I have gone to the moon once or twice, and it basically is a lump of rock in space, and it felt as such.

On one of my wanderings, countless cycles of the Sun and Moon later, I found myself standing at the shore of an unnamed ocean. Just…waiting. For what, I didn't know, but something had drawn me there. So I stood, the tide singing to me, eerie and strange, while some large flying creatures screeched over the wind above me. A storm was churning far out over the water, and I could make out the occasional flash of lightning through the curtain of rain. As the thunder boomed in the distance, sounding like the voice of one of the Archangels, there was a strange flopping noise, different from the rhythmic sound of the waves. I look down to see this little gray fish, so insignificant and small, struggling as it heaved itself out of the water. I could see that it was exhausted, its mouth opening and closing as it gulped for air, fins sloshing back and forth in an effort to move itself. As I stood there, observing it, there was the sound of wings beside me.

"Don't step on that fish, brother," I turn to see who it is. It's Gabriel, eyes fixed on the creature. He is smiling; he always was, as if life was one big joke and only he knew the answer to it. Quickly, I bow my head in acknowledgment,

"Archangel Gabriel, I-"

"Oh, cut the formalities. It's Castiel, isn't it?" His eyes turn to me, and I feel the weight of knowledge and power, so much older and stronger than mine, fall on me. If I had it, you could say that my breath was knocked out of me. I only nod, which was enough for him, because he turns back to studying the little fish. By now, it had fully submerged itself, fins flailing in a rather pathetic motion as it moved in place. Gabriel must have known what I was thinking, saying,

"Don't think so lowly of it. We have big plans for this fish, Cas, big plans." We don't speak after that, watching as it arduously drags itself across the wet sand and finally disappearing into the tall, springy plants that border the shoreline. By now, the storm has arrived, the sea roaring as mountainous waves crash along the cliffs to our right, lightning flashing above us in bursts of blinding light. I turn to Gabriel, to ask what he meant when he said "big plans", but he was already gone. I cast one last look at where the land-fish went before leaving as well.

I would soon find the answer to my question.