Winter and I entered the house quietly. I shut the door when the both of us were inside. Standing in the middle of the hall, I pondered whether or not to tell my mom about my loss of employment.
Since she's still mad, she's not going to take this well, either. If anything, she's probably going to blame me and we'll just get wrapped up in another fight. I really don't need that right now.
Winter, who was silent this entire time, suddenly piped up. "You're not going to talk to your mom?"
I shook my head. "It's better if we give each other space right now. Let's just head to my room."
With Winter trailing close behind me, I stealthily tiptoed up the stairs towards my bedroom, flicking the lights open. The room lit up instantly, spotting my vision.
"Finally home," I exhaled loudly and tossed myself on the mattress. Hugging my abundant amount of stuffed animals and pillows to my chest, I soaked in my moment of peace with both of my eyes closed.
"What's this?" I heard Winter ask me.
"Uh..." I opened one eye to look at him. His violet eyes were full of fascination. In his hand was my tube of lip gloss, uncapped. I leapt off my bed immediately.
"Don't touch that!" I dove for the tube. I was a second too late, and glittery gloss oozed out of it, falling onto my carpet.
"Gah!" I dropped to the ground and tried to scoop it off the wool, now dyed in peach pink. It was no use, and by the time I looked up, Winter had moved on to my shoe cabinet.
"Why do your shoes have strange spots on them?" he asked curiously, waving my pumps around while clutching the heel.
I plucked the shoe from his grasp. "They're called leopard prints," I answered, exasperated.
"Leopard?" he murmured after me.
The way he looked was both endearing and frustrating. I couldn't help but break into a smile. From outside the door, I could hear the creaking of the stairs as my mother headed up, presumably to her bedroom. I froze, holding my breath until her footfalls faded away.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, I shifted my attention back to Winter. "Could you not touch my-" Even before I could finish, he was holding a picture frame in his hands.
He peered at the photo for a while, thinking deeply about something. I stared at it myself, the corners of my mouth twitching slightly. There were three figures in there: a five-year-old me, clad in a frilly red dress and holding ice cream in my hand, my mother, laughing so much that I couldn't see her eyes, and my father, his arms put lovingly around us. Slowly, I reached out and touched the picture gently.
"He's my dad," I stated affectionately. "He passed away almost eleven years ago, but I miss him everyday."
The atmosphere began to descend into depression, and I shook my head to avoid the thick feeling from affecting me.
"Anyways, enough about that. I need to shower, so Winter, just stay here," I hurriedly grabbed my pajamas and my towel from my closet. "I'll decide what to do with you after I return."
I started to exit my room, but quickly backtracked. "Don't touch anything!"
"Okay," Winter answered with a smile and sat down on my desk chair. "I won't touch anything."
"Good," I nodded, finally relieved enough to leave.
Halfway through my shower, I leaned back on the shower glass and just let the lukewarm water fall like rain over my body.
How did I get into all this? An angel travels to Earth, giving me trouble but somehow, I can't blame him for it. I got into a fight with my mom, almost burned down the kitchen, was late to the bus twice, met an angel, got fired, got lip gloss stuck on my carpet...but I'm still happy that someone's here with me.
I smiled foolishly and shut off the water. I stepped out and dried off as rapidly as I could, throwing on my fluffy pajamas and heading back to my room. The house has fallen silent now that my mom was asleep.
"Winter?" I whispered as I twisted the doorknob.
Inside, I stood completely still as I laid my eyes on him. He was curled up in my bed, fast asleep. In the soft light, his body was emitting a pale translucent light, cocooning him in a mist. I stepped closer, my heart beating out of control.
What should I do?! I fretted in my mind. Should I wake him up? Poke him?
As I debated this in my head, I shuffled closer and closer until he was just an arm's length away. I threw my hand out, ready to wake him but suddenly stopped. My hand hovered directly above his arm. From the light, I felt a foreign warmth seeping into my skin, and I pulled back in surprise. His expression was serene, so much that I couldn't bear to ruin it for him. Beside him, there was just enough space for me to sleep. If I squeezed close enough to the wall, we wouldn't touch at all.
"Just don't think too much about it, Caroline," I mumbled to myself and switched off the lights before slipping into bed beside Winter.
Don't think about it. Don't look at him. Don't!
I slapped my sweaty palms over my eyes and pressed myself against the wall. Lying down, I could hear the rhythm of my heartbeat a million times clearer.
"This is weird," I squeaked. Having a presence next to me was both strange and new, and there was no way I could fall asleep like this.
He's an innocent, naïve angel. He won't do anything, but I'm so nervous. Why can't I stop thinking about his face?!
All of a sudden, I felt him shift a little closer to me, and I turned to his direction without thinking. Winter's face was a foot away from my own, illuminated by both his light and the strips of moonlight shining from outside.
I slammed a hand over my mouth and tried to move back, but my back was already against the wall. There was nowhere left to go.
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no no no no...
Out of options, I had to accept my situation. I stole a glimpse at Winter's face, and couldn't tear it off him. His eyelashes fluttered weakly like a pair of trapped wings, settling against his pale cheeks. His hair was spilled over my pillowcase, lips pursed. Watching him, a heavy drowsiness crept behind my eyelids, tugging it down.
He's so beautiful, I thought warmly. Yes, he is...
As sleep continued to pull me under, I could vaguely see a pair of wings blooming out of Winter's back. It stretched and reached out to me, folding me into an embrace. I was gliding in between the folds of consciousness, my vision too hazy for me to speak.
Then, at last, I was asleep.
YOU ARE READING
Into Your World
Short Story"Where are you from?" "It's a secret." Sometimes, you don't know what an impact someone will have on you until they walk into your world and change everything you know. One snowy day, I watched as he materialized in front of me. He was alluring, pur...
