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Jacob worked a nine-to-five job.
It wasn't too fancy, but he got to wear a tie and had a desk near the floor-to-ceiling window. The window faced north, which was perfect. No blinding lights no matter what time of day it was, and Jacob would swear the view from his desk was the best in the city. Skyscrapers were common in the business district of the city, but Jacob’s desk was on the 17th floor, which was high enough that very few buildings blocked the view of the urban architecture that bordered the coast.
Taking a sip of his coffee, Jacob stopped typing the report he was working on to admire the view. He often found beauty in things that were the way they should be. Straight, rigid corners, squares upon squares, the tiny ant-like people living their everyday lives way down on the street. Up in the sky, Jacob was god-like, far above the tiny people and their mundanity. He was alone there and—
“Come with me, Jacob.”
Jacob turned around. Edna, his secretary, had an annoying habit of entering his office without knocking.
“What did you say, Edna?” he started to ask, but Edna wasn’t there.
Then, Jacob heard the song. It startled him. Jacob wasn’t big on music; he found it too chaotic. Yes, even his ringtone was set to a simple, tuneless buzzing. Maybe an idiot intern changed it.
“Jacob Nelson speaking,” Jacob said into the telephone transmitter, but heard no reply. No one was on the line. Jacob put the handset down in its place, and the song continued.
“Up here, silly,” someone said again with a giggle. As a rule, Jacob disliked being called silly , and general giggling annoyed him—but all that was forgiven when he recognized the owner of the voice.
It was an angel, Jacob was convinced. What else could it be? The most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. Her beauty was simple, and simple was what Jacob adored. But she was also flawless—flawless unlike any woman he had ever seen. Unlike any woman Jacob had seen, the girl before him was adorned with a set of two feathered wings. She floated in front of Jacob’s window, singing her hauntingly beautiful melody.
Love wasn’t something Jacob occupied his thoughts with. It was irrational, impractical, primal, and nonsensical. Besides, he didn’t believe in love. Love belongs to fools , Jacob used to say. But now, Jacob was sure of it—he was in love. He felt love flowing in every vein in his body. He felt it in the flutters in his chest. He felt it to his core.
“Come with me, Jacob,” the girl in the window repeated.
Jacob stumbled up from his chair, so willing to comply. The girl floated east, and Jacob had to run out of his office to catch up.
“Afternoon, Mr. Nelson,” Edna chirped, sweeping aside her bangs as she looked up. “Do you need anything? Another coffee?”
Jacob shooed her off with a dismissive wave of his hand. He followed his angel, who was floating up and away, her song fading just a bit. Jacob never wanted to stop hearing her song.
The elevators were just across the room. Jacob pressed the up button repeatedly and watched the numbers ticking above.
“Mr. Nelson? Is something wrong?” Edna pressed. Jacob paid her no mind. She was nothing compared to the girl in the window.
6… 7…
There was no time. The angel was floating away.
The stairs
, Jacob decided. He skipped three steps at a time, running maniacally. Each flight of stairs had a small window through which Jacob could catch glimpses of the girl’s feet as she flew upward.
By the time he reached floor 19, Jacob was huffing. He never took the stairs, never ran or rode a bike—Jacob never had the time for any of it. Now he regretted it. Still, he pushed through to floor 20, the top floor.
Jacob stopped in the middle of the staircase to press his face to the glass window. The girl waved at him, flashing her perfect smile. Jacob’s stomach flipped. Then the angel continued upward, still singing her song while gesturing for Jacob to follow.
“It’s the farthest I can go!” Jacob protested.
The girl raised her beautiful brow.
Jacob finished his way up the staircase, where a massive door stood.
“Roof: Do not enter” was written on the door. Jacob pushed it. Miraculously, it wasn’t locked. Maybe it was the angel’s doing—she was just that magical. Strange… Jacob never believed in the idiotic notion of magic.
The sun was bright on the roof, and the wind was strong. There, the winged girl waited for Jacob, singing her song just beyond the ledge.
“I want to be with you,” Jacob called to her over the roar of the wind.
“Hold me, Jacob,” the girl pleaded. “Hug me. Kiss me.”
Jacob stepped to the edge of the roof, so high up in the sky. He waited for the girl to close the gap, but she remained in her place.
“I can’t come any closer,” Jacob said, holding out his arms for her.
The girl frowned. She became incredibly sad. Jacob ached—he didn’t want to ever see his angel sad again.
“Don’t you want to kiss me?” asked the girl in her singsong voice. She took great offense at Jacob’s inability to go further.
“No!” Jacob called. “I do! More than anything!”
A smile crept back to her face.
“Then come with me, my love. Jump into my arms.”
Jacob looked over the edge. The tiny ant-people were still bothered by their lowly errands. They didn’t know that, merely twenty stories above them, divine Jacob was about to unite with his angelic love. Jacob would’ve scoffed at them, but he didn’t really care enough.
“But I’ll die,” Jacob protested.
The girl’s grin widened.
“But you’ll finally be with me. I’ll have you, forever. Don’t you want that?”
He did. He ached for that and only that. His love was like a fire burning inside him. Jacob couldn’t put it out even if he tried. Luckily, he didn’t. Jacob took in a breath, closed his eyes, spread his arms wide, and with a mad smile…
He jumped.