Guardian

Part One: Van

I wasn't quite sure how to act or what to think as I stood at the informant's desk. He didn't seem like he cared about what had happened at all. I knew my charge would be here soon. Being a Guardian Angel, I should've been able to stop the car from hitting her. I knew it hadn't been her time to go. 

"Are you alright?" The man asked. "You seem a bit jumpy."

"You would be too. It's not like I was planning on being here when I woke up this morning." A couple of feathers fell into the void. I pulled my wings closer to my back, trying to hide what I was and how miserably I had failed. 

Soon, a form of light materialized into a young girl. From what I knew about her, she was around the age of 15, a smart girl, but a bit closed off to others. Eryn Hunt. She was pretty, with her wavy, ash brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. I couldn't see her eyes, because she wasn't facing me. I couldn't hear what the attendant was saying to her, but I could tell that he was surprised by whatever her response was. 

The deal was that she would get to choose my punishment for failing to protect her from the car. Whatever she chose could go. If she wanted me to die, I would die even though angels are normally immortal. If she wanted me to be turned into an alley cat in the human realm, it would happen. 

Suddenly, they both turned to look at me. I saw the light coming from all around me, and Eryn dissipated from my view. 

For a few moments, I couldn't see anything. When I opened my eyes, I a bit more than surprised. I was in the human realm, on Earth. There were people walking all around me, bumping into me like I was some random person in their way. 

"Hey kid, you look lost." A lady with a baby said. I thought she was talking to someone else, being the fact that angels aren't able to be seen by regular humans. Then she repeated the question.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked. 

"Ya. Are you new around here? You look a bit disoriented." She smiled. "What's your name?" 

I frowned. "Um, I'm Van." pronounced like Vaughn, people usually spelled it wrong. I turned my attention back to the lady. 

"Well Van, where are you trying to get to? I might be able to help. I've lived in Central my whole life. My name's Mary." She smiled again, and gave the baby a bottle. 

"Um, I don't really know. One second I was somewhere else, the next second I was here." I looked around, trying to get my bearings.  I saw a car sitting in the middle of the road, and an ambulance pulling away. This was the corner where Eryn had been hit by the car. I could see that the accident had already been cleaned up. 

"Well, I'll take you to my office, and we can figure out how I might be able to help you." Mary suggested. "Van, are you alright? You just got really pale."

"Uh, yeah. I'm alright, I think. Thank you." She turned and started walking towards a street full of tall buildings. While we walked, I put together everything that had happened. I had been in the realm between the heavens and Earth, Eryn had chosen my fate, and now I was here, able to be viewed by other humans. No, oh no she didn't. I thought. This was unheard of. She made us switch roles. This can't be happening right now. 

"This is the place." Mary said, smiling. We walked through the doors of the tallest building and rode an elevator to one of the highest floors. She led me to a small room with a desk and some other chairs. There was also a corner filled with toys meant for small children. "Van, sweetie, you can have a seat anywhere. I want you to tell me about yourself and everything you remember before you were on that street corner. "

I nodded. I started explaining everything.