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Sariel’s heart kept beating fast and hard in her chest, and she had trouble keeping her wings steady despite the very gentle winds that evening. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of cool air on her cheeks, but her thundering heartbeats made it impossible to find her calm. Sighing, she opened her eyes once again, just in time for her to reach her destination.
With a soft thud, she landed behind the broad-shouldered figure, barely visible in the dim light. Her sibling had a preference for, in Sariel’s eyes, gloomy places. They spent most of their time standing on hills in the dark it seemed, looking out in silence over cities, towns, villages.
“Sariel”, their soft voice floated through the night, and as always, Sara instantly felt calm run through her veins. Finally, her heart had found its normal rhythm once again.
“What’s up, Cass”, she replied, knowing full well why she had been called here. Michael had been very clear about it, and all of Sariel’s objections had fallen on deaf ears. Despite the calming presence of Cassiel, her heartbeat started picking up speed once again.
I can’t do this.
“Sara”, Cassiel said, turning around to smile softly at her, their sandy brown skin glowing weakly in the moonlight. “I know you can.”
“How?” Sara couldn’t stop herself from replying. “I’ve never done this before. Can’t I… I don’t know, announce something instead? I saw there was an apparition on the schedule for -”
Cassiel lifted an eyebrow, smile never faltering, and Sara felt her shoulders sag, gaze falling to the ground.
“Fine”, she mumbled, scrunching up her face as she started fiddling with the tip of her left wing. “But just this once. You know I prefer the… alive ones.”
Letting go of her wing, she finally raised her eyes to look at her sibling.
“You ready?”, they said, and with a sigh, Sariel took a step towards them, looking out over the city underneath.
“Tell me what to do”, she said.
---
Sariel had never been in a hospital before, and she immediately realised why most humans didn’t seem to like them very much. The air was cold, and everything felt impersonal and quiet in a sort of eerie way. The only sound in the room she had landed in was the irregular beeping of a screen, showing lines and numbers that Sara did not understand, coupled with the occasional muffled sob from the man sitting in a chair, his face buried in one hand as the other held on to the woman lying in the bed.
The woman looked oddly at peace despite the tubes that seemed to almost envelop her, her face smooth and without a trace of worry.
Taking a deep breath, Sariel steeled herself for the task at hand. She had to get this right.
Slowly, she spread out her left wing, covering the woman with it as gently as she could.Then, ever so softly, she spoke her name.
Come home .
There was a moment in which the air around Sara shifted, and then she felt something settling in her chest, right next to her heart. It was almost like a weight, and although it was an entirely new sensation, it wasn't an uncomfortable one. For a second, she had to adjust her breathing, then, as she spread her wings once more to take off, the sounds in the room changed. Suddenly, the screen started emitting a new set of beeps, and the man’s head shot up, free hand desperately reaching for the woman in the bed.
Sara felt her heart drop at the panic in his eyes, but she knew it was too late.
“I’m sorry”, she whispered, and in that moment, she made a decision.
I’m so going to get in trouble for this , she thought, but then it was already done.
As she flapped her wings, she made sure to drop a single feather onto the woman’s bed, to be discovered by her husband once the moment was right. A token, a sign to let him know where she was headed.
Handing out signs. To humans.
Gabriel would put her on scribe duty for the rest of this millennium. As if Sara didn’t think Celestial Staff Meetings were boring enough already.
As she left the hospital room behind her, she tried to concentrate on the soul she was currently carrying. She owed the woman her full attention, after all, this was the end of her earthly life. Sara put a hand on her chest as she flew, trying to infuse the soul with calm and warmth as she felt it starting to flutter with unease and fear.
We’re going home , she thought, not entirely sure whether or not the woman could hear her. But she guessed it wouldn’t hurt either way to try and talk to her.
You did good on earth. You are so loved. It’s time to go home now. You’re safe.
Sara repeated this mantra, keeping her wing beats steady, until she reached their destination: the living room of a small, cozy house. She looked around as she landed, smiling at the family pictures on the wall, the little figurines on the dresser, and the hand-knitted blanket lying neatly folded on the sofa.
Closing her eyes, the angel concentrated on the soul she was carrying, trying to release it into the room just as Cassiel had told her. Yet the weight in her chest did not budge, and instead, it started fluttering nervously once again.
“Alright, alright”, she mumbled, lifting her hands to her chest as she frowned. “Just give me a second, I’m really new at this.”
Taking a deep breath, she slowly let the air flow out through her mouth, and finally felt the weight leave her chest.
When she opened her eyes again, the woman from the hospital - now clad in jeans and a comfy looking red sweater - was standing in the middle of the room, looking left and right in utter confusion.
“How did I get here?”, she finally asked, and then, as her eyes met Sara’s, “and who are you?”
“Hi”, Sara said, “I’m Sariel, I’m the one who brought you here.”
The woman kept staring at her, and after a while, Sara realised that she was probably expecting a more detailed answer to her questions.
“Oh”, she exclaimed, then smiled apologetically. “Right, sorry, I’ve never done this bit before. I’m an angel! You died.”
The moment she saw the woman’s eyes grow wide, she knew she had done something wrong.
“I -”, the human stuttered. “I am… dead?”
Taking a quick step towards her, Sara reached out for the woman’s arm. For once, she wished she was more like Cassiel, less bubbly and more of a calming presence.
“Yes, but it’s all okay! You’re in heaven. This”, she said, gesturing around the room, “is your own little slice of it - the place where you felt happiest on earth. Your house, your home.”
She finished her sentence with a broad smile, hoping this bit of information would soften the blow.
It didn’t.
“Where’s my husband?” the woman said, still sounding confused and, Sara noticed nervously, even slightly panicked. “Is he here, too?”
“Ah”, Sara breathed, feeling guilty once again as she remembered the feather she had left behind for the man. “Unfortunately, not yet.”
When the woman slowly sank down on the sofa, a look of dismay painted all over her features, Sara wrecked her brain about what to say or do next. Cassiel had made all of this sound a lot easier than it was. But then again, maybe it did all come naturally to them.
“Should I make us a cuppa?” she finally suggested. Tea was something humans usually had when they were being emotional about things, she remembered. The woman gave an absent-minded nod, and Sara felt a little bit relieved that she was apparently finally doing something right.
Thankfully, Sara had watched humans brew a cup of tea often enough, and she found the kitchen next door had everything she needed - because of course it did.
As she returned a few minutes later and put a steaming mug of tea down on the small coffee table in front of the woman, she decided to sit next to her on the sofa. They drank their tea in silence for a while, Sara thinking it best to let the woman process what had just happened.
“There was a voice”, the woman suddenly spoke, her eyes still fixed on the table in front of her, and her voice almost too quiet for Sara to hear. “Between the hospital and here. It was very dark, but there was a voice. Was that you?”
“Yes”, Sara smiled, proud that her words had been heard. “I tried to calm you down a little bit, you know, let you know you’re not alone.”
For the first time since meeting her, Sara saw the woman smile. It was a lovely smile - kind and warm. “Thank you”, she finally said.
“You’re welcome”, Sara replied. “You know, once you’ve adjusted to everything here, you can go and visit all your loved ones. I bet there’s a bunch of people very excited to see you again.”
Surprise, then hope, anticipation, and finally even a little bit of excitement crossed over the woman’s face, and Sara leaned over to put her hand over the human’s.
“It’ll be alright”, she said softly, and for the first time, she felt like the woman might actually believe her.
They sat together like that, the angel unsure of how much time was passing, but she knew the woman just needed her presence right now. After a while, they started talking, and the human told her about her husband on earth, how they had met, how they had chosen this house together, and in turn, Sara told her about the work of an angel, about heaven and what the human could expect her time there to be like. Ever so slowly, she could feel a sense of calm emanating from the woman next to her, and Sariel felt relieved as she saw how the slow process of acceptance began to take its course.
Once their tea was finished, Sara stood up from the sofa, shaking her wings a little bit to get the stiffness out of them.
“I’m sorry, but I have to get going”, she said, smiling apologetically as the woman stood up as well. “I’m usually a guardian angel, and just got a brand new charge, a police woman. My brother apparently couldn’t handle her.” Sara shook her head, unable to keep a chortle from escaping her mouth.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to handle it all just fine”, the woman replied, smiling that warm smile of hers once again. “One last question, though, if I may.”
“Of course”, Sara replied.
“My husband. Will he go somewhere else, once his time -” the woman stopped herself as tears suddenly appeared in the corner of her eyes.
“Oh don’t you worry”, Sariel said, letting her hands come to rest on the woman’s arms in a comforting gesture. “He’ll come right here. After all, with you was where he was happiest on earth.”
She watched as the woman’s eyes widened, and then, taking Sara completely by surprise, she leaned forward to envelop the angel in a hug. Sariel was so dumbfounded by the gesture that at first, she just stood there, arms hanging down at her sides, until she finally lifted them to return the hug, relaxing into the contact. When the woman finally let go, it almost felt like a loss.
“Right then”, Sara said, spreading out her wings as she grinned at the woman, trying not to think about how she would somehow miss her, even though she had only known her for such a brief time. But after all, she would always be the first soul that Sara had carried over the threshold.
“You take care, love”, the woman said.
“You do, too”, Sara replied, and with a flap of her wings, she lifted herself off the ground. “Enjoy your peace, Grace O’Brien.”
And with that, Sariel was on her way to earth once again, quietly humming to herself as her wings caught the winds of Sheffield under them once more. Letting her eyes roam over the city underneath her, Sariel’s gaze fell upon a skyscraper, its windows reflecting the morning sun, sending an almost blinding light out towards her.
Smiling, she flew towards it. She couldn’t wait to meet her new charge.