The Forgotten Angel ✔️

Chapter 2: Flame of Love

Images flashed across Luke's mind. They came and went like a montage.

He saw a boat sailing between two large jagged cliffs settling into a sandy cove.

He was holding a young guy's hand, being led across an open field of endless grass. The young guy was a bit chubby, had mopish hair, and pale skin. He carried a medical sack slung over his shoulder with the international symbol of the red cross stitched onto the olive bag. His name was Michael, and Luke understood Michael to be his chaperone.

Luke was looking over his shoulder and saw two cliffs covered in moss and greenery. Trees jutted from the sides of cliffs at angles that seemed physically impossible to stay upright, yet the roots of the trees clung to the cliffs and made it look easy.

He stood before a gate guarded by two stone statues of human-like beings with massive wings. Both held swords towards the ground in front of them. He peeked in front of Michael's body and saw two other men. One of them had slanted eyes and straight hair tied in a ponytail. He looked like he was in his late twenties. The other man had blond hair and blue eyes and had a bending river birthmark across the left side of his neck. They both appeared a bit older than the guy whose hand he was holding.

The four of them approached a tree decorated with purple fruit. Michael picked a fruit from the tree and handed it to Luke, "Eat it. You'll feel strange, but the feeling will pass." Luke ate the fruit with Michael's help, and he saw a refracted ray of light shooting away from his eyes, and suddenly he was blinded. He collapsed to the ground.

When he could see again, all was in a blur. He saw ponytail man on the ground clutching his abdomen and reaching to his pocket. Ponytail handed Michael a vial with a dark brown content, "Drink, and then run."

Luke felt like he was on horseback as Michael carried him like a baby clutched to his chest. Luke's eyes came into and out of focus. Looking over Michael's shoulder, he finally noticed Ponytail with stab wounds being consumed by fire. Standing beside Ponytail was a winged human, holding a flaming sword.

Luke heard Michael shout to a another person, "You killed him!"

River birthmark responded back, hoarding two pieces of the purple fruit, "And you'll be next Michael if you stand in my way like he did."

Now, Luke was on the ground, the world was cloudy. He heard a voice call out to him. The voice was that of his chaperone, Michael, "I'll come back for you Luke."

A flame hovered over his face, and Luke felt warmth spread throughout his body.

***

Luke awoke to a dry throat and the sound of his own breathing. Where am I, and why do I sound like Darth Vader?

When his blurry eyes cleared up he noticed that he was in a hospital room. He reached for the oxygen mask over his face and yanked it off. He took a deep breath and filled his lungs with the cold hospital air.

His first breath was loud enough to gather the attention of the man sitting on a couch besides him, "Luke! Honey, Luke's awake." The man got up and hugged Luke. Luke stared into his dad's blue eyes. His face lacked any flaws, no pimples, no zits, no blackheads, no moles. His hair had a luster to it that was derived from gel—even though his straight hair never needed it. He smelled of Irish Springs and his breath had a hint of mint to it. His creamy skin splattered against Luke's body like white paint dripping on a brown carpet.

"We were worried sick about you. Your father and I came straight over when we got the call from your school about what happened."

His father appeared behind his dad and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Heard our son was a hero, doing the fireman's job. Where's your medal of honor?" His father was different from his dad. His father was Vietnamese. His hair was cut short and lacked the luster that his dad had. His father looked like he could bench press cows, while his dad might be able to barely lift a watermelon into a shopping cart.