Jariel woke up on the cold floor, still tired and shivering. The blanket that Isaac had given him had been too short and didn’t cover up his feet, so he had ended up having to sleep with his shoes on. He grumbled to himself as he slowly sat up and found that his back was aching. He hated sleeping on a concrete floor. He hated that he had to sleep in the cold. He hated that he had to even be in this reached world. He didn’t have much of a choice though, and would just have to patiently wait and plan until he could get the revenge he so desperately wanted.
The day was uneventful and boring. At least, in Jariel’s eyes it was. He couldn’t see how picking through garbage could be considered “fun” but somehow Isaac could. He hummed melodies that Jariel could never name, and just guessed that he was making up random ones as he went along. Isaac seemed to be a bit of an optimist, never letting the fact that he had no home get him down. He picked through garbage like it was a sport in the Olympics. Jariel, on the other hand, did not. He silently complained to himself when he had no choice but to dump in a dumpster and start rummaging through it, his own trash bag in hand to collect cans, bottles, and anything else that may be worth of any value. Isaac told him that he would have to buy his own meals from now on; he wasn’t going to help him. Out here, it was every man for himself. Jariel realized that Isaac was just being kind. That or he felt sorry for him and therefore decided to help teach him how to survive. Either way, Jariel was grateful. However, he still thought that the majority of the humans out there were scum. He wasn’t about to change his mind that quickly.
The day passed by, and Jariel was exhausted by the end of it. He had only filled about half of his bag with cans and bottles, whereas Isaac had a bag and a half. They cashed in their findings, leaving Jariel with a whopping two dollars and fifty cents. Isaac had about six dollars and seventy five cents. Jariel realized that he was going to have to put aside the fact that he didn’t like getting dirty if he was going to survive at all.
“Isaac, how do you do it?” Jariel asked when they were back at the warehouse, warming themselves up by a fire.
“Do what?” Isaac questioned, looking over at him.
“Make everything look so easy.” He replied, smiling. “You collect cans like there’s no tomorrow, for one. For another, you never complain about your situation.”
“Boy, let me tell you something.” Isaac said, making Jariel feel a little annoyed when he called him ‘boy’ but he overlooked that. “I have been homeless for about fifteen years, give or take a few. When I first became homeless, I was horrible at it, just like you are.” He laughed when he saw Jariel’s annoyed face. “But a man by the name of John took me under his wing, although he didn’t have to, and helped me. He taught me everything I know, as I will teach you. He helped me, so I feel it is only right that I help someone else.”
“What ever happened to John?” he asked, rubbing his hands together to keep warm.
“He died. Caught a bad case of the flue a couple of years ago.” He said, not looking at Jariel. Jariel wondered if that was going to happen to him. If he was going to die here. He quickly brushed the thought away though. He was determined to live so he could expose Elise for who she really was. Nothing was going to stop him from doing so.
“How did you end up homeless?” Jariel asked, not sure whether or not he was going to answer.
“Times were tough. I had just lost my wife to cancer; my son hated me and blamed me for the financial trouble. In time, I couldn’t afford to pay the mortgage on my home anymore. No one else would take me in; my family didn’t really get along all that well, so I had no other choice.” Isaac said with a sad look upon his face. Jariel just nodded. Of course, what else was he expecting? Humans were evil and cruel. Isaac’s story just confirmed it. He couldn’t believe that Isaac’s own family wouldn’t even help him, but who was he kidding? Humans were like that. They couldn’t even trust their own family if it came to it. People could be so ignorant. They thought that everything was going to be okay, when in reality it wasn’t. Jariel let out a heavy, frustrated, sigh. He wanted out of this horrible realm. He wanted to be back home. He wanted things to go back to being the way they use to be. It was Elise’s fault that he was stuck in this hell hole. It was all his fault that he was hanging around homeless people, instead of other angels. It was her fault that he was no longer the favorite. He hoped she was proud. He wanted to wipe the smirk that was probably on her face off. He loathed her. He despised her. He wished, more than anything, that she would suffer the way he is suffering right now. He knew that it wasn’t going to happen very soon, but he could wish, couldn’t he?
Jariel walked away from the fire and back to his corner, unraveling his blanket. He wasn’t looking forward to sleeping on the cold floor, but he really didn’t have any other choice. He was stuck here, whether he liked it or not. He knew that he had to get use to it, and soon, but he didn’t know if he would be able to. Heaven had been such an amazing, comfortable place to be. The transaction from there to here was hard on him. He honestly didn’t know if he was going to make it. He could be as determined as he wanted to be, but in the end, he could still fail. He hoped he didn’t, he even prayed that he wouldn’t, but it would be up to fate to decide in the end.
* * * * *
Dawn woke up to the smell of burning toast and eggs coming from the kitchen. She guessed that Annette was home, finally. Dawn smiled when she entered the kitchen and saw that familiar face. Annette was hustling around the kitchen in her batman pajamas, humming the Harry Potter theme song. Dawn quietly snuck up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, startling her.
“Gah!” Annette yelled, spinning around to face Dawn, who was smiling and trying her hardest not to laugh. “Don’t do that!” she put a hand on her chest, trying to calm down.
“I’m sorry!” Dawn said, failing at trying not to laugh. “I just couldn’t help myself. It’s too easy to scare you.”
“Well don’t do it again,” Annette ordered, trying to be annoyed at Dawn, but failing. She smiled and shook her head. “Well, c’mon. Breakfast is ready.”
Dawn and Annette quickly ate breakfast and decided what they were going to do on this warm Saturday. They ended up spending the morning doing some much needed cleaning. The apartment, despite the fact that neither one of them spent much time here. They were either at work or occupied by other things. However, the apartment looked like a tornado had run right through it. The kitchen was the worst room in the entire complex, with dirty dishes in the sink, the garbage overflowing, and an empty pizza box or two on the counter. Annette and Dawn played rock, paper, scissors to decide who was going to clean it, and Annette won. Dawn sighed, but went to work. She scrubbed the dishes, swept the floor and emptied out the trash while Annette vacuumed the living room, causing Michelangelo to hiss in protest. Cleaning took them most of the day, but at the end of it they treated themselves with ice cream and a trip to the mall.
“Well, that was a day I would not like to repeat for a while.” Dawn said, eating her vanilla ice cream. “Maybe we should keep the apartment clean from now on.”
“Yeah, like we have any time for that between work and friends.” Annette joked, scooping a piece of her mint ice cream and taking a bite. Dawn nodded, thinking that she may just have to cut back spending time with her friends to have some relaxing time at home and to make sure the house stayed in order, and so she could paint.
The trip to the mall made Dawn smile, especially since she was in need of some new jeans. Annette went crazy and bought a whole outfit, or two, while Dawn left with only a pair of skinny jeans. They came home to see Michelangelo sleeping on top of the counter, his tail swaying to they good dreams Dawn hoped he was having. Annette silently laughed and went to her room to put away her purchases. Dawn set hers down on the table, deciding to put them away later, when she wasn’t so tired. She settled on to the couch and decided to watch the news. Annette retired to her room, where Dawn guessed she was texting, or Instant Messaging, Derek. Dawn stretched out on the couch and opened her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and began to read. She loved getting lost in a good book. It gave her a chance to escape the real world, and the stress and problems that came with it. She yawned and ran her hand through Michelangelo’s fur, falling asleep and hoping that she would dream about Mr. Darcy tonight.
CZYTASZ
Change of Heart (NaNoWriMo 2011)
Losowe**In The Editing Process!!** Jariel, a once favored angel in Heaven, has been thrown out. Not by his own accord, however. He was tricked, made a fool of, by an angel named Elise, bent on being the center of attention no matter what. Jariel is now s...
