Trials of Love

14. Fall for Grace

Miheal buried his head in his arms as he knelt before Archangel Gabriel, he had no possible explanation to give, there was no answer to give either. He had failed, all he had to do was to protect her and he had failed. His ragged feathers and broken wings were testimony to his failure and his disheveled appearance screamed his abject despair, but it did not gain any sympathy from Gabriel, rather it only increased his ire and frustration.

"You have been given gentle reminders and stern warnings, and all for a naught. Guardian angels are there to guard their human wards, not to beseech God to change the path of their destiny."

Miheal sighed, "I just want to know how do I do my duty while watching her die? Is wanting to be able to comfort her in her direst need also not my duty? Should I not be allowed to offer her solace as part of my role, more so, when the Heavens have turned deaf to her prayers?"

Gabriel's feathers rustled in golden fury and Miheal pulled in his ragged wings a little closer. All of the angels, guardian or otherwise, were quite familiar with Gabriel's frustration when the rules were not followed, even in those cases where following the rules would hamper their duties. He had disobeyed the rules one too many times and even though Miheal was sure that each time it was only to protect his ward,  he knew that almost all the angels would take a contrary stand.

"...it was the same with your first charge, she would feel happy and calm, your testimony to that state, and you would oblige her by announcing you presence—"

"I never made myself visible to either of them, it was only"—

"—by dropping your feathers. You were assigned to the sorting duty for a couple of centuries and you still have not learnt? Maybe another couple of centuries might teach you."

Miheal protested, sorting duty involved reading and segregation of the prayers of humans into various categories and it was an onerous duty. Some of the letters were so poignant and distressing that he spent hours in tears though most were so selfish and demanding that it left him fuming. The prayer sorting duty had almost made him lose hope in humans and humanity and he was glad to be reassigned to his guardian duties. 

"Please Gabriel, anything but the sorting duty"—

"How many times have you been told that giving any indication of your presence to your ward is forbidden? I have lost count of it but you do not seem to learn. Why do you not understand"—

"He might, if you give him a chance to think."

Both Gabriel and Miheal gasped at that voice, it was rare for the Almighty himself to make an appearance and Miheal was now convinced that he was going receive to the worst punishment ever meted out in the angel history. However, despite his circumstance, he allowed himself a brief smile when he beheld Gabriel dropping down to his knees. 

"So Miheal, why have you been ruffling Gabriel's feathers?

Miheal did not raise his head but felt a tiny hope when he heard God's question, it could be his only chance and the only hope for Grace, "She is dying and I cannot do anything to help her. It pains me, I am her guardian angel who cannot do anything but watch her die. She...she believes in you and in angels, so once in a while I let a feather drop by. I know it is against the rules, I know it is against everything I have been told, but when she holds a feather, there is a smile on her face and she forgets about her pain. It is only for an instant but then"—

He stopped, dropping feathers was not only a crime, it was also a painful act, each feather that was dropped by intention caused the angel untold agony, and no feathers grew in place of the plucked one. 

"Do you love her?"

Gabriel was more shocked than Miheal and reached out to grasp his wrist as though to warn him to think before he answered, everyone knew what happened if a guardian angel fell in love with their ward. It was unacceptable and banishment from Heaven was imminent. The angel would be stripped off their wings and sent to Earth as a mortal, with no memory of either their angelic days or the ward they had fallen in love with. 

However, Miheal could not lie and would not either; slumping even further on his knees, he mumbled, "I do love her but I am not asking for a chance to be with her or anything like that. I am also not..."