Cupid Collections

8. Nate - 1: The Academy

“Here, Elijah, is the first of many.”

Lailah, a stout motherly woman, handed over a newborn child to the elder man in question. Her snow white wings were raised slightly as if prepared for flight. They poked out from the light yellow robe that was customary for angels in her profession to wear. She was an Angel of Conception. She guarded the children from creation to birth and now they were passed on to an Angel of Innocence. They were the guardians of the young and the old. Elijah had on a lavender robe and his wings were also clearly visible, just as all angels’ were.

The man held the new squirming child in his hands. It was a male with a small tuft of black hair and light blue eyes. The child’s wings were just beginning to sprout from its back. Elijah nodded at the young boy and went to lay him down in one of the many cribs in the nursery.

Lailah returned with another child in her hands and then another and then another. She was receiving them from the Hatching Room as they came to be. Elijah would set them in their own designated cradles and move on as the next child was handed over to him.

After all the children had been moved into the nursery, Lailah left Elijah to his work. He called to an apprentice. It was one boy with his same name that was only learning the ropes of how to be an Angel of Innocence. He was only there to make a record of what the elder said. He approached each of the cradles and inspected each child. He was assigning them their names and ultimately, their fate.

He picked up a sleepy blonde haired baby and proclaimed, “Remliel: Angel of Awakening.”

He moved on to another crib and lifted up the red haired female within. “Ariel: Angel of Nature.”

He continued on down the line assigning names to each of the children. Some of the names and titles included Sachael (Angel of Water), Michael (Angel of Miracles), Iofiel (Angel of Beauty), Forcas (Angel of Invisibility), and even the names ‘Elijah’ and ‘Lailah’ were assigned to children in the room.

Elijah approached the crib where the first baby boy he was handed lay squirming about. He picked up the child to examine him. There was nothing unusual or spectacular about him. His wings, though small to fit his body, had grown out now. Suddenly the child’s stomach growled ever so softly. It brought a small smile onto Elijah’s face. And so it was decided…

“Nathaniel: Angel of Fire.”

The apprentice quickly wrote down the notes and the official names. He looked around at all the various cribs. He cautiously gazed up at his superior.

“What should we do now, Sir?”

“We do nothing with them now,” Elijah said setting the small child back into the crib. He was nothing but a number to him. That child was of no specific importance to Elijah.

“Now they rest and tomorrow they begin to learn,” Elijah added after a moment.

“I have never understood, Sir,” the apprentice began. “If we angels are all immortal, then why is there a need to raise more and from birth?”

Elijah nodded as he had to ask the same questions when he was younger. “It is true that we do not age unless we wish. Some angels choose too to show their wisdom or for their own preferences. I chose to for the latter reason. It is also true that we will not die. Though, once we have perfected our gifts, we move onto join the ranks worthy of an audience with God. We work with the angel children here to prepare for our work with mortals. This is how we perfect our gift.”

“What about the lost angels?”

Elijah’s expression darkened. “We do not speak of those angels. They have fallen by their sins and have been punished for it.”