Tears of an Angel [ETHEREAL VALENTINE CONTEST]

Tears of an Angel

Thanks to darknessem for making the awesome cover of this story! And thanks to everyone who decides to read this as well!

Word count: 1059

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Millions of stars twinkled in the sky above, stretching out as far as the eye could see, twinkling down towards the world below in the colors of white and silver and red and blue. There was no light coming from buildings or cars which disturbed the view either. Colorful birds shot through the sky and a little fox shot through the bushes.

A shooting star shot through the sky, burning bright and illuminating the entire night sky in a flash of a dazzling white light. The animals in the area looked up and ran or flew away from the sudden explosion light. Only, it wasn't a shooting star.

It was an angel.

Zadkiel fell towards the Earth below like a dangerous lightning strike, the wind harshly howled past him, making his eyes water and masking his terrified screams. He came closer to the world at an alarming speed and he could already make out the browns and greens of the lands expanding below him.

The light from which he came disappeared behind his falling and crumbling form. Everything he had known, disappeared behind him, and he was like a small fish that someone had released in the wide-open ocean. Scared of the unknown before him and hoping, praying, that he would be taken back to the place he viewed and had known his entire life as 'safe', but he knew he wouldn't be taken back and his heart clenched painfully in realization. 

The angel tried to spread his wings in the hope of stopping his unavoidable fall, to fly himself to safety, but it was all in vain. His wings were broken, and they hurt too much for him to fly away and bring him elsewhere.

After falling for a really long time – but what couldn't have been more than a few minutes – he crashed to the ground with a loud smack. The force of his fall was strong enough to rip trees out of the ground and to create a large, gaping, smoking crater on the place where he landed. The roots of the trees pointed at him almost accusingly as the trees laid on their side, ripped out of the ground. Bloodied, brown and golden feathers fell all around his shaking form as he laid there in shock, trying to wrap his head around what had happened to him.

For thousands of years, from before the creation of mankind, Zadkiel had been an Angel of the Lord. An Archangel of Heaven. The Patron Angel of Freedom and Mercy. When humanity was created, and all angels were asked to bow down before them, Zadkiel had done so, but it wasn't as much as out of love towards them as it was out of his love towards The Creator, his father.

The angel has never held humanity in such high regards, that is until he met him. The only mortal who managed to capture his attention. Zadkiel fell for the man. And he fell hard.

"ZADKIEL!" A voice cried out, bringing him out of his train of thoughts, and he could make out the sound of thundering steps as somebody ran his way.

The angel looked up, a strand of dark hair fell in front of his brilliant green eyes, and he focused his blurry gaze on a young, dark-skinned man who was hurrying his way, even from his teary eyes he could clearly tell that the man was worried.

The man came to a stop in front of him and his eyes drastically widened when he saw the state the angel was in. "Zad, I am so sorry," the man spoke in his clear voice as he fell on his knees next to the fallen angel, placing a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner.

The angel shook, a few tears escaping his eyes, and he spoke. "They have kicked me out..."

"That's their loss," the man replied with a weak smile, trying to cheer the angel up somewhat.

"What am I supposed to do now, Aiden?" The angel spoke, hiding his face from the man. His broken wings shook, and he tried to wrap them somewhat around himself as if they were a shield protecting him from the harsh world he was thrown into. "I cannot return home anymore. I can never go back"

The man, Aiden, looked down at the angel and his expression softened. He took Zadkiel's arms and gently pulled the angel up to his knees. "You weren't even happy at that place. You told me yourself. Now you can be free," he said, using his thumb to gently wipe away the angel's tears.

Zadkiel looked up at Aiden with teary eyes and the man opened his arms wide. "Just come here," Aiden said, and the angel didn't waste a second to come closer and to hug the mortal tight.

The angel shook again as he openly cried. Aiden rubbed his back in a comforting manner. "It will all be okay. I am here for you and I am not going anywhere," he whispered in the angel's ear to soothe him.

Zadkiel laughed but there was no humor in his voice. "My wings are broken," he said. As if to prove his statement, he spread his wings wide, ignoring the pain. Once his wings were a deep brown with brilliant shades and highlights of a radiant gold, and they were the angel's greatest pride, but now they were broken and raffled, nothing but a shell of their former glory. "I can't even fly anymore."

Gently, Aiden reached out to the angel's wings and he placed his hand on the soft feathers, the contrast between his black skin and the feathers wasn't that much really. He had always found the angel's wings to be beautiful, and their raffled state didn't change that to him. "Your feathers will grow back and you will be able to fly again," he whispered, gently stroking the wings, "but if it makes you feel better, I can be your wings until then."

The angel stayed quiet. After a while, he smiled. "And I thought you said you didn't like chick-flicks and cheesy romance," he said in amusement.

Aiden huffed. "Oh, shut up. I am just trying to make you feel better here. Don't go rubbing it all in my face, you feathered halo. And I only do it for you, so don't get over yourself too much."

The End