Fallen (32 page)

As I surveyed the list, I knew I was delaying. What came next
was the part
of my delivery
I could never quite get used to. I held
my breath and drifted my finger over
the name of his last time on earth
, whispering to myself,
“Eran Ta
lor…”

A moment later, the stone wall I’d been holding dissolved from my grip
,
but I didn’t fall. Instead, I was
being
carried – swiftly – as if a gust of warm wind had picked me up. Below me
cities, forest,
and
oceans passed
. Other people’s heavens…
T
here
was no sound, just silence.
The
wind slow
ed
,
and I
bega
n to fall
toward
a
distant territory.

This time
, I was standing
on the edge
of a clearing, encircled
by
boulders
.
Instantly
,
I wondered if I’d made a mistake
or something went wrong
. Most people’s heavens were
typically constructed using
simple reminders of their favorite things on earth
,
like
spending
a peaceful day at the beach or
vacationing in
tranquil Tuscan villas.
I’ve even visited
one designed around an amusement park
with
hot dogs
appearing
out of
thin air by snapping your fingers and soda
pouring
from straws suspended throu
ghout the park
. B
ut
this heaven
was
definitely
not typical.

All around me
,
bright, white lights
flashed
back and forth through the clearing,
mimicking
giant bolts of lightning.
Some of them collided, resonating fantastic booms, but it seemed that most were evading each other.

I noticed with a slight amount of apprehension
,
the boulders
surrounding me
were too close together
.
A
piece of paper
couldn’t be wedged
between them
.

It didn’t take long to realize that despite the storm of lights
swirling
around me, I was going to need to climb out.
I turned,
gripping
the jagged part of the rock
,
a
nd hauled myself up. I was half
way to the top when I found myself being pulled back
into
the middle of the clearing. I landed nearly twenty feet away from where I’d been, hitting a hard dirt patch that would have broken bones if it had been on earth. One of the bright, white lights was
hovering
over me
,
and I realized I was in trouble. I grabbed a reed
,
conveniently
lying at my side
,
bringing
it up to
defend
myself
just as the light came down on
me. The entire
instance
–
from the boulder to being attacked
–
took less than a second
. Whatever these things were, they moved fast.

That’s when I heard a deep, rumbling laugh a few feet to my right.
I had
closed my eyes without knowing it
,
and
suddenly, they
snapped open.
Staring up
toward
the sky,
I found Eran standing over me, where the light had been
just a second ago
.

His
blue-
green eyes were wide
and intense, focusing on me.

Something in the back of my mind registered that the light had been Eran
. With
all that action
,
I would have thought he’d be heaving for breath
, but he
wasn’t. In fact, his mouth was pinched – again
, showing
disapproval.

I
avoided his stare and
sat up
,
quickly
noticing
I was
surrounded
by men, each wearing clothes
from
a different era and holding a staff.
Eran was wearing
clothes I was more familiar with…
a flannel shirt,
dark
jeans, hiking boots, and a baseball cap.
The staff he held was made of brass with a purple jewel at the top
and looked out of place next to his informal
attire.
I
’d never seen him so casual
,
yet despite the impracticality of it,
he still
managed to look
like a model from a
sporting goods
catalogue.

“She has talent, Eran,” said an Asian man with a braided white beard
,
hanging to his
knees
.
A staff
lay
at his feet until he reached out his hand
. A
s if he were beckoning it, the
staff
levitated and moved
effortlessly
into
the man’s waiting palm.
“You may think abou
t spa
r
ring with her from now on,” he added, chuckling.

The
men
laughed and turned
, as if they knew their warring session was over
. Gracefully, they lifted
off the ground,
floating
up over the trees
.

Eran
offered me a hand as I picked myself up
,
but
I ignored it.

Once on my feet, he inspected me. “Are you hurt?”

I rolled my eyes. “I wish you’d stop asking that.”

“And I wish you’d stop placing yourself in danger so I wouldn’t need to ask.”

He
lightly snickered
and
delicately pulled
a piece of straw from my hair
, h
is
hand
coming
so close to me
that
I
quivered
with
excitement.

“Don’t worry.
No one will
throw you to the ground again,” he
commented
.

“
Is that what happened
?” I asked, brushing myself off.
“It was so fast…”

This time he allowed himself
a
hurried laugh
at my expense
.
“
Ivan mistook you for me. I stepped in to stop him from pummeling you
.”

“Oh,” I said
, feeling ridiculous
. “Thank you.”

He blinked in surprise, taking a step back with mock sarcasm.
“What was that? Did you actually thank me?”

“I don’t mind thank
ing
you when it’s
due
.
”

“
Well, l
ike I’ve said, you’re hard to please.”

I grinned back
, showing no
hint of repentance.

“So,” he said, leaning back against the side of a boulder. “You found me.”

“I did,” I said, taking a place beside him.

“I’m not surprised.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“You’re a smart girl. I knew you’d figure it out,” he said,
casually
scuffing his heel in the dirt.

I thought at first that he was trying to avoid my eyes when delivering his compliment
,
but then he glanced up and gave me a wide
grin
.

“
Well, I’m still a little confused. I mean…
I saw you on earth.
How can you be here when…when yo
u’re supposed to be on earth?” I shrugged,
impulsively.

“I would have thought you’d have figured that out by now
too
,” he replied, folding
his arms
across his chest,
amused
.

“Nope…” I replied, plainly.

“Now why would you think I could appear in both places?” he asked, teasing.

I let my gaze drop, thinking through the possibilities. “You’re supernatural. That much is obvious. But…ghosts don’t talk on earth, do they?”

He laughed lightly. “No, not often.”

“So…you’re not a ghost?” I asked, and to prove my point
, I added
, “Because you do talk to me.”

“Correct.”

“
Then…are you a messenger too?”

He burst out laughing, cocking his head back so he could release it
with
full
force.
When he finished entertaining himself at my expense, he still didn’t answer me.