It had seemed like an ordinary day to everyone else, but Neviah knew that something was different. Something had been different, she had observed, for over a month now. When Dr. Collins visited to bring her daily dose of medication, she finally asked, "Where's Dr. Sweets?" She knew that the he was often busy working and didn't exactly have a regular schedule when it came to their meetings, but this had been the longest time by several weeks that they had gone without seeing each other.
His eyes immediately broke their contact with hers. "I'm sorry, Neviah, but Dr. Sweets was killed three weeks ago."
She froze up, unsure of how to respond. She knew that, being the earthly incarnation of Uriel, she had to stay strong, but this had come as a complete surprise to her.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Dr. Collins offered, holding her hand. "I understand that a loss like this can be very-"
"I'm…I'm fine," she blurted out, letting go of him. "Just…leave me alone for a while."
He nodded understandingly with an unspoken, "If you need anything, just ask."
Alone in her room, she felt the tears streaming down her face and her mind was flooded with thoughts and questions that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't completely reason with or answer. He was sent to me for a reason. I was his guardian angel; it was my job to protect him, and I failed. Where did I go wrong? How could God take him away from me like this? She grabbed her paintbrushes and her canvas and prepared herself to express her emotions in the best way she knew how.