Chapter 12: A New Beginning

It was at that very moment, when Cardinal Caterina's words truly sank into my brain, that it became official. I was now a permanent A.X. agent. All of the thoughts that I'd had previously during the day, began to wash away from my mind. My life still held onto some purpose within itself. My soul, which I assumed had been damned to be trapped within the darkness, still desperately grasped on tightly to the light. Silently, I thought to myself. "Not everything is as it seems, I guess." Quietly, I began to chuckle.

Abel, who continued to stand protectively next to me, looked upon my renewed faith with fondness. Just from his expression alone I could tell that he knew that, from that moment onward, I was going to be all right. And I had to agree with him.

As the others, who were still gathered in the Cardinal's office, chatted contently amongst themselves, I leaned my head back and rested it against the wall behind me. The pain from the wound on my right hand had, by this time, almost completely vanished. "Father...I'd like to thank you. Even though I had already accepted my fate...you chose to not give up on me. You even went so far as to go well out of your way to prove to me that I still had something to live for. I feel as though there's something that I should do so that I can finally repay you for all of your kindness..."

Ever so gently, I felt him poke my side with the tip of one of his fingers, and as I giggled he whispered. "Hearing the sound of your laughter again is honestly all the repayment that I could ever possibly ask for."

Laughing again, I replied, my voice hushed. "If that's the case, then I'll try to laugh as much as I can." I looked at the floor, softening my gaze. "But before I can do that, I would like to tell you that I'm sorry. These past few days...I've caused you to worry so much."

Once again, just as he had done so many other times before, Abel pulled me in close by his side. "Not everything is your fault, Jonah. What happened with Noelle, and the events that occurred earlier today...those are things that were out of your control." While he spoke, his calm tone of voice quickly swept away the remaining doubts that lingered and plagued my mind. "Remember, learning that you're actually a Methuselah is going to change your life forever. You'll have to rely on others, since you will become limited to the things that you can do during the day time."

I nod my head. "It only makes sense after all."

My words confused him. "What do you mean? What makes sense?"

As I tilt my head back to look up at Abel, I whispered. "That my actions should be limited to the darkness. This journey of mine, it all began during the night, remember?" Sighing, I revisited the night that seemed to have happened a full lifetime ago. "I was asleep in my bed, then I heard it. The sound of you and Father Tres busting down the front door. At the time, I had been afraid. And I wish now that I had known that I shouldn't have been so scared." With a tiny laugh, I continued to speak. "I considered the possibility of trying to run." Gently resting my head against his side, I confessed. "I'm glad that I didn't."

A few yards from where Abel and I stood, Elma and Terina talked with one another, and it appeared to me that the younger of the two girls, had grown a few inches taller since the first time I had met them.

While they spoke, I couldn't catch the words that were exchanged between them, but seeing the way that they were dressed and looking down at my own clothes, I asked. "Father, what happened to my uniform? Why didn't I see it back in my room?"

He thought for a while, then sighing, he finally told me about what had happened. "It was completely saturated in your blood. And we realized that we wouldn't be able to salvage any of the material in order to make a new dress, so..." He took a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, his composure changing when he carried on speaking. "Well it doesn't matter. Cardinal Sforza has already placed a request to have a uniform custom made for you." Touching his finger to his lips for a moment, he thought. "If I'm not mistaken, and let's be honest...most of the time I am...but that's something you should have to take care of tomorrow morning."

I started to nod my head but abruptly stopped and groaned. Remembering the state that I had left my room in, and with my forehead resting in the palm of my hand, muttered. "Tomorrow...right." I sighed. "Father, I need to go and clean my room up. I guess I'll just see you later." As I started to walk away, I sadly whispered to myself. "And to think...there's just so much glass."

From behind me, I heard Abel say. "Jonah, hold on. I'll go with you, but before we go anywhere, don't you think that you ought to speak with her Eminence?"

Turning around slowly, I saw that he was already in the midst of taking a step to follow after me. His winter blue eyes looking at me. "You do realize that I'm only going to clean up the mess that I made, right?"

Walking the short distance, he came and stood in front of me. "Oh, I understood what you meant. I only thought that things would maybe go by just a tiny bit faster if I were to accompany you." He smiled innocently at me, and chuckled quietly. "So you don't mind if I decide to tag along, do you?"

The unusually kind priest, who was standing before me, never ceased to amaze my mind. And unable to think of the right words to say, I resorted to simply nodding my head once.

Enthused by my most simple gesture, Abel beamed. "Excellent! But as I mentioned a moment ago, there's just one small thing that's left for us to attend to before we can leave." I watched as he turned away from me and headed in the direction of the Cardinal. "Miss Caterina?"

Instantly she looked up at the sound of Abel's voice and responded to his words. "Yes? What is it that you need, Father Nightroad?" As she spoke, I could sense a certain level of affection hidden deep within her voice.

And either he was choosing to ignore the Cardinal's tone, or he simply hadn't noticed it, but motioning towards me, he began to explain the reason for our premature departure. Yet I couldn't catch his exact words.

Turning her attention to me, Cardinal Sforza looked somewhat concerned. "Sister Jonah?"

At the mention of my name, I stood up straight. My concentration becoming fully restored. "Uh, yes ma'am?"

Caterina wasted no time before she asked her question. "Father Nightroad has just told me that before he could find you...that you'd managed to hurt your hand. Is this correct?"

I blushed in embarrassment and holding up my bandaged right hand, I whispered. "Just a...just a bit, your Eminence. But please don't worry. I was just on my way to go and clean up the mess that I made. So I apologize." With my words, I curtsied, suddenly feeling awkward in the clothes that I wore.

Her rose colored lips turned up into a smile, just before she issued me with a word of caution. "Just remember from now on to be more careful in the future. You may be more hardy than some of the others here, but please understand that does not mean that it makes you completely indestructible. Please bear that in mind."

Nodding, I responded. "Of course. Now if you will excuse me, ma'am." I turned and began walking over to the door that led out into the hallway. Behind me, I listened to the sound of Abel walking and glancing over to my right, I watched as he worked at matching his pace up with mine. I had to resist the urge to shake my head and laugh. Seeing my reaction to his carefree antics, I heard him chuckle softly, continuing to try and think of ways to break through my calm serenity. Yet all that he managed to get out of me was a single shake of my head.

Outside in the hallway, Abel sighed as he shut the door behind him. Then as he turned to look at me, he teased. "You know that it's okay if you smile and have fun in front of her, right? Just because she's our boss, that doesn't mean that she can't understand the importance of having a good time every now and then." He watched as I looked back at him with my now foreign eyes. With his hand on my shoulder, he said. "I know that you're afraid to mess up, but that isn't something that you need to worry about right now. So, Jonah...just relax."

Listening to his words, I slowly exhaled the breath that I had been holding onto within my lungs. "Relax." As I smirked a bit, I laughed quietly. "I'll be able to relax once things are back to being normal." We started to walk to my room, and I amended my previous statement, but only just loud enough for him to hear. "Although, I understand that normal won't be the same now as it used to be. I'll eventually figure it out though."

Ducking his head down low, as he continued to walk next to me, he attempted to look me in the eyes, replying to me. "I'm sure that you will. But remember, that if you find yourself becoming disheartened that you can count of m-"

Smiling at him, I said the words before he could. "I know that I can count on you, Father Nightroad. Trust me. I fully realize that now."

Nodding his head, we continued on our way towards the mess that awaited me.

When the door was in sight, I remembered what I had seen earlier during the day, along with the promise that I had made to Abel. "Father Nightroad?" I stopped walking and when he saw this, Abel stopped walking as well. "Do you remember how I promised to tell you if I ever managed to recall anything that happened before I..." Unable to bring myself to say the word, I shrugged and settled for simply continuing on. "Well...you know. But after I left the morgue, right when I got here." I pointed at the floor beneath my feet. "I remembered something. It wasn't a lot...but I honestly do think that it was a memory."

With his full attention on me, Abel became more serious and gently pushed me for more information. "Go on?"

Closing my eyes, I forced myself to relive the memory once again. "Noelle...she was waiting outside of my room for me. She said that I had been the person that she'd been looking for." I exited the memory and opening my eyes back up, I looked at Abel as we stood in the current moment. "For now, that's all that I've been able to retain."

Becoming less somber, he reminded me. "That's okay, Jonah. It'll come back to you eventually. Just give it a little more time." He rested his hand on my back and guided me over to the door. Once there, he opened it for me.

The moment that I laid my eyes on the miniature act of God that was my room, I groaned. "Why did I have to make so much of a mess of things?"

Abel laughed. "Well I can only imagine that it's because you were angry. Now come on." He ushered me in through the doorway. "This mess isn't going to clean itself up."

As I stood staring at all of the shards of broken glass, with Abel by my side, I placed my hands on my hips and asked the most important question of my life. "Right. So Father...where might I find a broom and a dustpan?"

At my inquiry, he left the room and walked over to a shut door that was across from mine. Watching as he twisted the door's handle and pulled it open, I could see that the room was a small supply closet. He reached inside, and reemerging, he had in his hands the very tools that I was needing. "Voila." Coming back into the room, he bowed as he offered the two objects for me to take.

I laughed as I watched what he was doing, and retrieving the tools, I said. "Merci beaucoup."

Seeming to be impressed, Abel asked. "So you can speak French?"

Lightly blushing, I shook my head. "I admit that I was raised in the Kingdom of Franc, but no. Not really. Both of my parents were English, so that was the language that I ended up learning as I grew. I only ever managed to pick up a few things here and there, but it was never much." I knelt down on the floor and began to sweep up the glass shards with the broom and into the dustpan. My movements were slow yet precise so that I wouldn't miss any of the debris.

While I went about my chores, Abel sat down on my bed. Then with his eyes on me, he ventured to keep the conversation going. "You've only ever mentioned your parents a few times. I'm interested in knowing what they're like."

The topic didn't really surprise me, since I had always assumed that it would have eventually come up. So with a small sigh, I began to tell Abel what he wanted to hear. "They're great. Amanda, who is my mom, loves music along with the arts. She'd always try and teach me how to sing and dance. She would always do this whenever she had the spare time. It didn't matter to her what the music's genre was, as long as she felt that the melody was worthwhile, she'd have me learn it. As for dancing, she was content with what I did as long as my movements matched the tempo of the song." My gaze remained on the task at hand, and I felt myself blush once more. "I can't really say that I ever got to be that good at these things, but I remember singing and dancing with my mom all the time as a kid."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the smile that was on Abel's face. "I would have really loved to have been able to see that. Perhaps, one day you could possibly sing for me?" His interest in my former hobbies peaked when he had an idea. "Could you sing for me once you've finished in here?" I finally looked up, my face burning hot with embarrassment. Then Abel playfully shut one of his eyes and went onto say. "I've actually got a piece of ancient technology that plays music. I found it while out on an assignment a few years ago and the Professor got it working for me." He fell silent and thinking for a second, whispered. "It's called a radio. And before the Armageddon, back before this ongoing battle between the Terran and the Methuselah ever began, people would use it to listen to music as a form of entertaining themselves. Every now and then, I can get it to pick up a radio signal...but Jonah? If I can get it to work tonight, would you please sing for me?"

I didn't know how to respond to his request. It had been years since I had last done any vocal practice with my mom, let alone actually attempt to sing anything for real. But looking at the sheer amount of hopefulness in his eyes, I relented before I could even try and protest. "Fine. But just know that I have a few rules. Rule one. Don't make fun of me if I mess up, okay? It's been a long time, and I'm afraid that I might be more than just a little rusty. Then rule two. Don't expect a lot. I'll be doing good if I can coax myself to sing a line or two." Getting back to work, I whispered. "I suffer from a terrible amount of stage fright. It's the reason that my mom stopped teaching me new songs..."

As he beamed at me with enthusiasm, Abel reassured me that my fears were more than uncalled for. "Do you honestly think that I could have it in my heart to make fun of you? But I understand. I sometimes feel so fearful when it comes to delivering my expense reports to Cardinal Caterina..." I heard him make an exaggerated shiver and I giggled. When he had recovered, he probed me for more information. "Okay so we've discussed your mom. Now how about your dad? What was he like?"

Sweeping a small mound of broken mirror fragments into the dustpan, I said. "My dad's name is David, and for as long as I can remember, he's always been the type of man who enjoyed the simple pleasures in life. He was always the happiest when he had a new book to read held in his hands, or while he was cooking a meal for the three of us. He always preferred staying home, whereas mom wanted to travel." I sighed and noticed that I had almost completed cleaning up the glass in the room. "Father, I'm almost done. Can you show me where there's a trash can? I need to get all of these shattered memories once and for all."

Getting to his feet, he nod his head. "Of course I will. There are a few along the way from your room to mine."

I felt my arms start to tremble. "Yo-your room? Why would we need to go there?"

Laughing, he nod his head again. "Don't be nervous, Jonah." He playfully waggled his finger at me. "But yes. We'll need to stop by my room. If you're going to attempt singing for me, then I'll need to go and get the radio that I mentioned earlier. After that, I thought we could go out to the courtyard and sit, since by then, the sun should be down far enough that it won't hurt you. Does that sound okay?"

Breathing out a sigh of relief, I smiled. "If that's the case, then it sounds like a great idea, Father Nightroad." As I spoke, I finished sweeping up the last remnants of glass pieces. "There! And finished. Or at least it'll have to do for right now." Standing back up, with my borrowed dustpan in hand, I grabbed the room by the handle. I smiled at Abel, who walked over and opened the door for me. Out in the hall, I returned the broom to the supply closet.

Behind me, Father Abel waited patiently for me next to my door. When I was ready, he led the way. As we passed by a few windows, I ventured to look out, my eyes were instantly greeted by the view of the twilight sky up above. Continuing down the corridor, I eventually found a trash can, which I promptly emptied the contents of the dustpan into. Then when the thought occurred to me, I unwound the cloth from around my hand. Seeing the small pink scars that ran all along my knuckles, I sighed.

Standing next to me, Abel took my hand in his and gently manipulated it so that he could look at it better under the remaining rays of light. "It's not that bad. Give it time. You'll see that your scars will fade." He released my hand and walked over to a door a few feet away. "Jonah, you can go ahead and give the dustpan to me for now. I'll set it in my room and we'll return it later."

As I handed the dustpan over to him, he took it and began to open the door to his room. With the door opened, he vanished inside and for a moment, all that I could hear were the sounds of Abel muttering to himself and his rummaging around. It was obvious that he was searching for something. A couple of minutes had gone by and the rummaging had ceased. Seconds later Abel reappeared looking triumphant, and with a small black box held within his hands. As I looked over at the object that he now held onto, I asked. "Is that it?"

He gave it a light pat and said. "Indeed it is. Now let's go. To get the courtyard, just go through the door that you can see across the hall."

Going to the exact spot that Abel had pointed out, I found the door that would lead us into the courtyard, and I opened it without any hesitation. With the door opened wide, I was bathed in the last sliver of sunlight. Looking upon the beauty of the small garden for the second time in my life, I saw that it was absolutely the same as it had been the last time I had seen it. Just as breath taking as I remembered it being. As I ran over to the Chrysanthemums, I gently began to touch the flower's delicate white petals with the tip of my finger, Abel set about trying to get the radio to work.

It was several minutes before I heard the radio crackling within the silence of the evening as it approached. Then finally after adjusting the radio's dial a few times, music began to play. The sound echoing off of the stone walls that surrounded us. "There we go! So what do we do now?"

I went over and stood next to him, feeling my nerves already starting to get the better of me. "Well it helps if I know the song that's playing. And this song..." I nod my head in the direction of the radio. "I'm not familiar with it."

Seeing that he understood, he said. "So we'll wait then."

"Yeah...we wait." I watched as Abel sat down on the smooth stone bench and patting the empty spot that was beside him, he chuckled. With a light blush spreading across my nose, I sad down. Thankful for the darkening sky since it was able to conceal both my nerves and my blushing.

One by one, songs that I were unfamiliar with played on the radio, and I watched as Abel would occasionally tap his feet along with the rhythm of the beat. Then as one song ended and a new one began, I tilted my head just a fraction of an inch to the side, trying to hear the melody a bit better. Noticing my movements, Abel asked, his voice hopeful. "Do you know this one?" He listened to the music as an electric guitar began to be played. "It honestly doesn't sound like something that I could ever imagine you listening to."

I waited until I could hear the words, and with the lyrics coming back to me, I hummed along with the tune for a while. As time passed slowly, I transitioned to simply singing along underneath of my breath. Then when all that remained of the song were the final two lines, I extended my hand out in front of my body, as though I were offering it to someone. And making sure that my voice would be loud enough for Abel to hear, I began to sing. "Perhaps you could be some company? On this road everending."

While my words reverberated off of the walls and reached our ears, Abel simply smiled. As the song that I had sung with ended, an upbeat song began to play in its place on the radio. Then getting to his feet, he took hold of my hand before I could retract it back down to my side. He pulled me up and making sure that he had a firm but gentle grip on me, he slowly began to twirl me around.

I couldn't help but to giggle as I spun, and when I became aware as to what was happening again, Abel was holding my hand in his and he had his other at my waist. So following suit, I Placed my free hand on his shoulder. And looking up at his face which was now becoming illuminated in the growing light of the twin moons, I saw just how happy he looked.

So as the song continued to play, we continued to spin around one another and laugh. The sound of it all was filled with so much exuberance, and it made me feel sure that if a random passerby were to spot us, they might have mistaken both Abel and myself as being lovers.

Yet that didn't hinder us.

This was something that we both so desperately needed.

As the song's beat started to wind down, and feeling as though we knew the words well enough, Abel and I began to sing along together with the music. "Just another LA Devotee!"

When the song ended, and another song, one with a much slower pace, began. The look in Abel's eyes was one of remembrance. Then as we began to sway, never once moving our feet, Abel whispered. His voice close to my ears as he gently rest his cheek against the top of my head. "Lilith used to sing this to me when I was younger. It was one of the few things that would comfort me when I was upset." I heard him exhale slowly then he quietly whispered along with the song. "I'm struggling to exist with you and without you."

As I listened to Abel's voice, I began to feel my heart within my chest begin to pound and nuzzling into the soft fabric that covered his chest, I whispered loud enough for him to hear over the music. "Father Nightroad...?"

I felt the gentle rumble of his response vibrate against my forehead as I touched it to his chest. "Yes, Jonah?"

Smiling to myself, I answered. "Thank you for tonight, Father."

He chuckled softly before saying. "You're welcome. After all, every now and then we all need to take a moment to stop and experience a new beginning in life."