Fallen Angel - a short story

Fallen Angel

In the clouds, high above the earth, there lived two beautiful angels. The oldest was named Daniel. His hair was gold and his eyes were a beautiful ocean in the middle of a sunny day. Daniel's wings were as white as the cloud that he lived on. The younger was named Sebastian. He was slightly taller than Daniel and his wings were dark grey. On his head was a mess of dark curls and his eyes held an icy universe. One day, the two angels flew down to the earth that they had watched over for centuries.
Sebastian descended to the dirt as gracefully as a dove. Daniel swooped down and landed as if he were a chicken that had been trying to fly. Sebastian smiled at Daniel's clumsiness he held out his hand for Daniel to take. Daniel accepted Sebastian's offer and took his hand as they walked on their precious earth.
Being the only two angels left in the heavens, Sebastian and Daniel began to feel lonely on their small, isolated cloud. But they had each other and began to feel closer and closer as the decades passed by.
As they roamed the earth, they were delighted by the sound of children laughing, adults chatting, the scuff of footsteps on the earth, the sound of birds, and even the busy streets of the cities.
Seeing that Sebastian and Daniel had visited the earth before and they visit every decade or so, the humans of had become aware of the myths of the fallen angels. Some adults had walked up to them and greeted them kindly and respectfully. A few children asked if they could touch the couple's wings. A couple teenagers stared as the angels walked by, remembering the stories they were told as children. But there was one woman that stood out to Daniel the most.
Holly was thirty-one years old. She had never met the angels before, she had only heard the stories. When she saw the couple walking hand-in-hand, she immediately trotted up to them and held out a hand for them to shake.
Sebastian and Daniel had never been offered a human hand. Daniel's eyes met with Holly's. He hesitantly let go of Sebastian's hand and shook Holly's hand.
"My name is Holly," she said.
"My name is Daniel," the white-winged angel replied. "It's lovely to meet a human as kind as you."
Holly smiled shyly, "Thank you."
"I am Sebastian," the other angel nodded. "It's very nice to meet you, dearest Holly."
Holly grinned widely. "I've heard so many stories about the fallen angels. I was so excited when I heard you had fallen to earth again."
Sebastian smiled proudly as Daniel continued to gaze into Holly's forest-green eyes. Sebastian noticed this and felt jealousy begin to boil in the pit of his stomach, but he contained it.
"Why don't you talk with Daniel," Sebastian suggested. "I'm sure he would love to get to know a human better."
"I would love to," Holly began. "Only if it's alright with you."
"Of course," Sebastian replied. He didn't worry about Daniel getting to know a human. Daniel knew better than to become attached to humans. That's why they had each other.
"Are you sure, Sebastian?" Daniel confirmed.
Sebastian nodded. "I will go meet some of the other humans," he said.
Daniel smiled and kissed Sebastian's hand before walking away to chat with his new human friend.
Sebastian watched as they walked away. He was terrified. What if Daniel were to fall in love with this human? Didn't he know she would die within a few decades? But if she died, would Daniel ever love again? Of course he would... Would he still love Sebastian? Of course...
After playing with a few of the young children, Sebastian decided it was time to rest. He had planned to fly off with Daniel back to their cloud by sunset, but seeing that Daniel was nowhere to be found, Sebastian found a large oak tree to rest in. He flapped his dark wings, causing leaves to scatter around the grass. Sebastian settled on a thick branch, wrapped his soft wings around himself, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

When Sebastian woke, Daniel was snuggled up under his wings. It was the middle of the night. Daniel yawned and woke up as well. He crawled to the top branch and stretched out his wings as far as he could. Sebastian hopped to the ground and did the same.
"Are you ready to go home?" Sebastian asked.
"Yes," Daniel replied. "We will return after a decade passes."
Sebastian smiled as he took flight, passing Daniel in the tree. Soon enough, Daniel flapped his wings and followed Sebastian all the way to the heavens.
When they had reached their little cloud, the angels wrapped their wings around each other and fell back asleep.
Daniel was the first to wake up. The sun was just about to rise in the east. He crawled out from under Sebastian's wings and sat on the edge of the cloud with his feet dangling in the air. As he watched the stars fade and the sky turn orange, he thought of Holly. He thought about how kind and interesting she was. They talked for hours. Daniel was so intrigued by Holly. He wondered so many things about her. He had so many questions. Daniel glanced back at Sebastian who was still sound asleep. Then he jumped from the cloud.
     Daniel knew it was risky. But he could make up some lie to Sebastian, right? Surely Sebastian would understand. Daniel glided in the air and searched for Holly.
     There she was, asleep on the bench where he had left her. He fluttered down and landed as quietly as he could, careful not to wake her. He sat beside her, lifting his wings so they did not disturb her.
     As Holly's eyes flickered open, Daniel's smile made the sun shine brighter. Holly was so surprised to see the angel again.
     "Daniel," Holly smiled.
     Daniel sat up as if he were a bird on the branch of a tree. "Hello, Holly."
     "What are you doing back?" Holly questioned.
     "I have so many questions," Daniel replied, invading Holly's personal space. "You're so interesting and pretty and kind. And I want to talk to you about so many things."
     Holly giggled, "Aw, you're so sweet. I would love to keep talking to you."
     So they talked. They talked all day. When night fell, Daniel did not fly back home. And Sebastian grew worried and suspicious. He feared Daniel had gone to see the human again.
Sebastian had not seen Daniel for a whole year. He was lonely. Depression was crawling on his back, slowly making its way to his neck. It was a heavy burden. But Daniel was as happy as could be. He never thought twice about Sebastian. Daniel didn't realize he was hurting him. He was falling in love with a human. This process went on for a whole decade...

"Holly," Daniel said one night as he held Holly in his arms. "We've been together since I flew to earth a whole decade ago. I love you."
Holly kissed his nose, "You've told me that a hundred times today."
"But I really do, Holly," he said. "But I have to see someone today. Sebastian is coming back to earth."
"I thought you told him you were staying on earth," Holly replied.
Daniel sighed. "I lied," he said. "I flew away without telling him. He's probably worried sick."
"Oh, Daniel," Holly worried. "Go to him. I know how close you were. He has like a brother to you."
Daniel was hit with a wave of guilt. "No," he said. "He wasn't a brother. He was... more."
Holly felt guilty now. "I stole you from him."
"No, of course not," Daniel said. "He will understand."
But Sebastian didn't show up on earth. Not anywhere. Daniel decided he would go back to the clouds to see Sebastian.
Sebastian sat on the his cloud. It was no longer as white as Daniel's wings. Instead, the cloud turned the color of Sebastian's own dark wings. Daniel's bare feet touched the cloud he used to love so much.
"Sebastian?" Daniel whispered.
Sebastian was sitting on the edge of the cloud with his wings folded like a vulture's. He lifted his head at the sound of another voice.
"I'm okay," Daniel said.
"I know," Sebastian replied. "I've been watching."
"I'm sorry," Daniel said.
Sebastian did not reply. He stood up and faced Daniel. As Sebastian approached his old friend, his hand shook as he placed it on Daniel's cheek. Sebastian leaned in to kiss Daniel, but Daniel pulled away reluctantly.
"I told you I'm sorry," Daniel avoided eye contact.
Sebastian stared into Daniel's eyes. "I understand," he said. "But you know that she won't last."
Daniel still did not look into Sebastian's cold eyes.
"I'll wait for you," Sebastian nodded. "She'll age. Daniel, I want you to know that I do not fear death. I fear life without you."
Daniel was embarrassed. He was too embarrassed to speak. He simply flew away. Of course he was upset, but he loved Holly. He couldn't let her see how hurt he was.
Another decade went by. And another. And another. Holly was seventy-one years old now. Her age showed through the wrinkles in her skin, the veins in her hands, the grey in her hair. But Daniel looked the same as he did the day he met Holly. Holly was growing ill. Very very ill. She was holding onto life by a thread. Daniel sat by her bedside. His wings dropped to the floor.
"You'll be okay," he squeezed her hand.
"I'm not like you, Daniel," Holly coughed. "I'm a human. Daniel, I want you to listen to me. I know you love me. And I love you. You've learned a lot about humans. I want you to fly back to Sebastian. Leave me."
Daniel shook his head. "I'm not going to leave you."
"Daniel," she said weakly. "I don't want you to see me die."
"You won't die as long as I'm sitting here," Daniel replied. Holly was not convinced. She was sick and dying.
A few hours later, Holly's hand slipped out of Daniel's. She was dead.
Daniel was devastated. He was too upset to find Sebastian. He lost someone he loved dearly.

Daniel looked at the clouds above him. He glanced at the large kitchen knife that rested on the table in front of him. His hand slowly made its way to the knife on the table. His fingers wrapped about the handle. He held the knife up, the sun reflecting on its blade. Daniel's hand shook as he pressed the sharp blade against his chest. Angels didn't age. They could live forever. But they could still be killed.
"I'm sorry," Daniel drew his final breath and stabbed his own heart.
At the same moment, a part of Sebastian faded. Sebastian knew something had happened. He immediately flew off to find his love. He searched as the rain began pouring down. The rain pattered on his wings as he frantically looked for Daniel. Sebastian knew exactly where he would be. He felt it. Finally, Sebastian found a house. The door was left open. As the thunder rumbled in the distance, Sebastian hesitantly entered the house. Lying on the floor with a shiny blade in his hand was Sebastian's love. There was a hole in his chest. He had cut out his own heart. His chest was stained with blood. Even his pure, white wings were dotted with drops of his blood. Sebastian fell to his knees in despair.
"Why, Daniel?" Sebastian sobbed. "You should have listened to me!"
Sebastian took Daniel in his arms. He carried him down to the river at the bottom of a canyon called The Jaws of Hades. He rested Daniel in the river and watched the blood wash away. Then he thought. The Jaws of Hades was 6 miles deep. That could kill him if he were to fall. Sebastian took the knife that Daniel had stabbed himself with and flew to the top of the canyon. Sebastian looked at the knife in his hands. He reached back and began to cut off his own wings. He cried out because of the pain. Once his wings were on the ground, he pushed them over the canyon's edge. He stared down at Daniel's body.
     "I do not fear death," Sebastian cried. "I fear life without you, my love." And without thinking twice, Sebastian took one last breath, then let his body fall...