It's late at night. I am sitting by the ocean, gazing at the starry sky. I'm thinking about the future, about what awaits me.
I don't want to die, but I also don't want to live at the expense of Andy's suffering. Should I run away and just let him become a demon? He is my friend. He's been taking care of me for several years, he's given me a second life, he's given me everything I've ever wanted, and even though he sometimes likes to yell at me, it's because he cares.
After all, he is my Guardian Angel....
I can't imagine that one day I would disappear and cut myself off from my friends, I can't imagine that they could turn their backs on me.
So what, they will want my death so that Andy remains an angel?
Okay, that day I really should have died. I was given a chance by my Guardian Angel, even though he, at that moment, must have already known what would happen in the future, since the same situation happened to him. He, too, was a human being saved by Irene, she sacrificed herself for him and gave him her wings, thus becoming a demon.
I don't have a choice, but I'm terrified of death...
- Each of us wants to live, but not at the expense of others. Don't cheat your destiny, Jennie.
I look over my shoulder and look at Irene with surprised eyes as she sits down next to me.
- What do you have in mind?
- It's so that you don't take away Andy's wings. The moment he saved you, he planned his future. He wants to become a demon, because only then he won't feel guilty about the fact that he sent me back to hell, but he doesn't realize how much of a difference it will make in the future.
- Did everyone know about it beforehand except me?
The infernal girl merely smiles in response.
- I did it because I loved him with all my heart. I did not want to lose him. I didn't allow myself to think that Andy was going to become a mere soul and stay in heaven forever. The vision that I would never meet him again was painful to me. I would rather sacrifice myself than never see him again.
- So why are you blaming him for losing his wings when you decided to do it yourself?
Irene plays with her hand in the sand, looking at one point.
- I blame him for this, because after I became a demon for him, he completely broke off contact with me. We didn't meet until decades later, and after such a long time everything changed.... our feeling faded. His feeling.
This is the first time I see tears flowing out of her eyes. This mean girl is crying in my company.
Why do I feel sorry for her at this point?
I think about everything, even the fact that Andy has never been able to reciprocate Lisa's feelings, and what if he still loves Irene and thus is unable to open up to the feelings of others? Apparently, the heart of creatures are different. They can love even a few hundred years and nothing will change that. They are not like humans, who fall out of love rapidly.
I watch Irene's hands, with which she pulls the tears from her cheeks. She lifts them in the air, and it looks extremely magical.
It pushes them away and creates an image in front of us.
- I will show you my past. Maybe it will convince you what decision you should make.
I draw my knees to my chest and delve into Irene's memories, feeling as if I were watching a movie.
A beautiful — even more beautiful than she is now — young girl is running barefoot in the woods. She is carefree and joyful. Her long black hair is tied in a braid, and she is dressed in a white dress.
She looks like a real angel.
From a distance, the snorting, and stampede of running horses can be heard. Irene hides behind one of the trees and watches the wounded mortal. Andy is running as hard as he can, clutching his bleeding arm. His black fringe falls over his eyes, dressed in rags, and every now, and then he looks back, as if he'd rather make sure he's still safe.
The girl puts her hand to her left breast, feeling a strange palpitation of her heart. Elder angels have made her aware many times that if she feels this way it will mean that the person she is caring for is suffering.
Hearing that the horses are getting closer, she runs out from behind a tree and stands in front of Andy. He with suffering eyes looks at her face, begging for help.
- I will protect you. This task is mine," she speaks up, helping him down the mountain. They hide under a rock, believing that here they will be safe.
She looks at his suffering face with a caring eye.
- Does it hurt a lot? - he asks in a whisper.
The boy is only now shifting his gaze to her, charmed by her beauty despite the pain.
- Who are you? - speaks in a hoarse voice. - Why are you taking a risk to help me?
- Your Guardian Angel....
He looks shocked by her answer.
- A guardian angel? - Amusement can be heard in his voice, although it is coupled with suffering.
- Let me help you.
Wide-eyed, he watches her as she lifts her hands over his wound, and a golden glow comes out. As if by the touch of a magic wand, everything heals and the pain disappears.
- How did you do it?
- After all, I told you that I am your Guardian Angel. - She smiles charmingly at him. - But... - She puts her finger to her lips - Something's, that must remain our secret. Now you have a small part of me in you, so I will be with you for a very long time.
- You can't. I'm in danger, they want to kill me.
The girl puts her hand to his face and strokes his cheek.
- That is why I would like to stay with you. I came down to earth for a reason.
I blink my eyelids, feeling like I'm watching a good historical romance with fantasy in the background.
- I really find it difficult to believe that these are your memories. I look at Andy, and he seems like an entirely different person than he is now. Who would have thought that in the future he would become an angel — an alcoholic?
Irene looks at me with amused eyes.
- He was a great guy, but through my carelessness he was mortally wounded. The second time, it wasn't enough to just heal the wound. He was dying, so I had to give him a much larger amount of my power. The residue in me grew weaker and weaker with each passing year, so I let him take my wings and I fell. I sacrificed myself so I wouldn't lose him.
I am sad, sorrowful, because from the beginning I had her as a mean bitch with no feelings, while in fact there was a beautiful story hidden in her past.
- How did Andy die? Did the men on horseback there get him?
- Yes. I was in the meadow at the time, picking field flowers, when I heard his cry for help in my mind. He was asking me to save him. I felt the strange palpitations of my heart again, this time it was stronger. - Irene closed her eyelids. - I found him pierced by an arrow. Letting out his last breaths, in his mind he begged me for help, terrifyingly afraid of death.
My memories take me back to the past, when I, like him, begged heaven not to let me die, because I was afraid of death. It was then that Andy appeared on the road and offered me a second life.
- After all this time, were you two inseparable? - I ask, leaning with my cheek against her knee and looking at her obliquely.
- We fell in love with each other to death. And yes, we were inseparable. My morbid jealousy was a nuisance to all the girls who tried to get close to him.
I smile slightly.
- Is that why you dislike Lisa so much?
My question is a bit rude, but she opens up to me and I begin to be more collegial towards her.
- You are right. I guess I'm still morbidly jealous of him, which is why you didn't win my affection from the beginning either.
We both burst into laughter, for a moment forgetting all misunderstandings.
- The moment under the rock was truly romantic. It promised to be a great love between a man and his Guardian Angel. - My jokes amused her, although we had previously jumped down each other's throats.
- With a tragic ending," she adds.
We look over our shoulders when Garm's barking sounds. The redhead runs towards us with his tongue out, but my attention is caught by Thomas, who is heading in our direction with a slow step.
- You to have a chance for great love with a tragic ending. There is chemistry wafting from you all the way. - I shift my gaze to Irene, looking at her with surprise in my eyes.
- What's not. I hope this Cupid spell passes quickly. I want to vomit when my heart starts beating faster in his presence.
- This is how the best relationships begin. - The demon girl pats me on the shoulder as she gets up from the sand. She runs in the opposite direction, calling Garm to herself.
I grunt as Thomas sits down next to me.
- You looked like friends, but I hope you didn't take Irene's words to heart.
- What do you mean? - Our gazes just happen to meet, and this unfortunate spell works and my heart is pounding like crazy.
- She wants to protect Andy. I would like to protect you, so I'm warning you that war is coming.
I furrow my eyebrows as I watch his lips twist into a slight smile.
- But I also would like to protect Andy's wings. He is my friend.
- And I would like to protect you...
The real war of the creatures is indeed coming, and I am right in the middle of this battle.