DEATH'S HEART

Chapter 18 (Radish Fiction Version)

My palm rested on the boulder that landmarked the boundary of a void of red, and the light of what may be. This was where he used to stand, where his wings would spread out before leaping into the air, illuminating my realm with magnificent beams. I climbed on top of this rock, and sat on the spot where he would perch on while watching souls enter the Paths. My hand caressed the cold surface of the rock, knowing that once upon the very distant past, this rock felt the warmth of his presence. I found myself smiling. This rock must have enjoyed his company, finally feeling that it had a noble purpose in my realm–to be the pedestal of a Holy. While I? I found his presence intruding for I was meant to be alone while my consciousness wandered across the globe.

"Is it not an irony to say that you are alone, when you are in the constant company of the dying?" he would challenge me with my own statement. He was a nuisance.

"I do not need your companionship then," I quipped. Though, with his face turned away from me, I could feel him smiling.

"Yes, you do," he said. He turned around with eyes tightly shut. His face bore the most mischievous grin I had ever seen on an angel. "No being has been created to be alone."

The taunting grin on his face irked me. "I am not alone, remember? I am in the constant company of the dying."

I watched his head drop, not in defeat, but to hide the playful smile that beamed wider. "You do need me," he said with conviction. "You may not know for what purpose–"

"Then what is the purpose of you being my companion?" I cut him off, getting very impatient with the useless conversation. "If you are just here to help the souls move on, I do not see any reason why you have to be here. You can dive into the Paths whenever you please. I have granted your request to give these humans time before I take them. You can console them then. You do not need to be with me."

He fell silent. His smile faded.

I waited for him to say something, but nothing came out of his lips. "Tell the Creator to relieve you of your task. Say that being in my presence is unbearable and futile."

When I thought that our little squabble was over, his smile crept back onto his soft lips. "I can bear your presence. I have been sent to be your companion, and you have been chosen to be mine. Our purpose compliment each other. You are an inevitable force. You pull them away from the physical world...And I am the Angel of Surrender. I will help them realise that all things material are temporary. I will help them move on." If he could only open his eyes, he would be staring down at me ever so sternly. "You may not understand it, but no matter how insufferable you may be, you are bound to be with me and I with you."

Many stars were born, and many have died. Planets danced around their suns, and they witnessed them rise and set for millions of years. While the universe continued to evolve, Zacharael and I shared the space that my world had to offer. We both walked the earth. I embraced an eternity of souls, and he counseled their hearts to surrender. Though it seemed like our collaboration was perfect in the grand scheme of life and death, I continued to resist him. I cocooned myself in the thousand dreams and thousand voices that came to me simultaneously that I may shut him out. Yet my eyes would catch the spectacle his wings would bring, thus making it difficult to ignore him.

I stared at the dust that rested around me. There was a time when I was the only one who could make each particle dance into gentle whirlwinds with every step I took. Not even the souls who left the Paths, nor the other angels who descended to reclaim the chosen few, could create a cloud. Without me, the red soil remained heavily rested upon the cracks of this earth. When he came into my world, not only did the scarlet dirt swirl into life with every flap of his wings, but the skies brightened in a burst of light that kept me looking up in awe.