Replica [Fantasy Smackdown #2]

Replica

"The mind plays tricks on the body from time to time, but the heart don't ever lie."

- Johnta Austin, The Heart Never Lies

          I was in Hell, or I might as well have been. Instead, I was sent to a planet that was a duplicate version of Earth. In fact, when I stood on top of the glass skyscraper, I would stare up at the sky, and watch clouds slip past the real Earth. It was a beautiful sight, even as I cried, and ached to return.

     The planet I was on wasn’t even real, only a mirror image of what I could have had. When I failed my mission as one of the new lineage of Watchers, my punishment was undesirable. Casted away, banished from Earth and Heaven.

     The punishment was stripped me of my duty as Watcher. Worst of all, I had become a Fallen. No longer was I doused in white and gold. My wings weren’t beautiful, but dark as sin.

     I stretched my black wings, and then my arms. The sun had risen over the horizon. A ball of yellow-orange lit the sky. I ran my fingers through my pastel hair, and smiled. Thaddeus loved its soft pink tint. 

     “Thaddeus…” I whispered. Hope for a carbon copy of him to appear before my eyes blazed through my body.

     But he never showed. He was on Earth where all humans belonged. My heart raced at the thought of him. The passion that formed between us had been forbidden. I had fallen in love with a human – my mission.

     I told Thaddeus everything. He knew I was a Watcher, God’s holy angel. Despite of what I had said, he still loved me, regardless of how insane it all had sounded. 

     I knew I’d be punished after exposing my true identity. The new lineage of Watchers was women, because the first line betrayed their duties. Holy angels, all men, procreated with human women, and took them as wives. The end results were Nephilims.

     They weren’t human nor angel, but giants that roamed freely. Pure evil bled through their veins. The humans lived among them in fear and anguish.

     I jumped off the top of the skyscraper. My wings expanded six feet in width as they caught the wind. The crisp morning air forced its way between each feather. Chills rushed over my bare skin. I loved the feeling of weightlessness. It made me feel…free, again.

     The morning walk was my usual. I passed the café that I adored once, when it was real. Thaddeus said I was obsessed with caffeine, and I was, it was an addiction. The way it made me feel, it was human-like. Those feelings of giddiness, energy, and happiness plagued my body with every sip. 

     On the duplicate Earth, I had to pretend.

     I walked through the door, and bumped into a citizen. He didn’t even look, or express any distraught. To him, I didn’t exist. The short blonde girl at the counter worked fast, and poured coffee. Every action seemed predetermined. Every day, she poured that same cup of coffee to that same woman in the cardigan. Her lips moved, but not a sound escaped her mouth. She grinned, and then waved. 

     I always tried guessing what they said to each other. Often, I even made up their conversations. It would have gone something like this:

     “Good morning, Diana!” the blonde girl exclaimed. “Here’s your café mocha with skim milk. Just the way you like it.” She grinned.

     “You’re a darling, Jessie. Tell Michael I said hello!” The woman handed her exact change and left the café.

     It never changed, never missed a beat.