MY GUARDIAN ANGEL (a KaiSoo novella)

CHAPTER 1 (Kai)

My phone slides down my lap and lands with a soft thud on my bed as I stand up and head to the bathroom. I know I shouldn't be surprised as a burst of chocolate mint fills my mouth the moment I push the bathroom door open, revealing a figure standing still in front of the toilet bowl.

But instinct kicks in, sending me flying backwards, slashing the air defensively with my towel. The figure stares at me incredulously for a second. Then he throws his head back and laughs out loud.

I roll my eyes as I straighten from my crouch, embarrassed. I clear my throat and glare meaningfully at the figure. He composes himself and tilts his head to the side, regarding me. He wears a plain shirt and jeans. His pale skin glows faintly, his blonde hair like a halo.

"Don't you know how to use the front door? Or even how to knock?" I ask icily, crossing my arms in front of me.

"When you're dead you won't bother using the front door, let alone knock," he snaps.

I snicker. "Now, now. No need to be hasty."

He scowls at me. I grin.

"If you'll excuse me," I continue. "I would like to take a shower first."

He sighs and drifts out of the bathroom. Cold air tickles my skin as he passes me.

"Make yourself at home. Go watch a movie if you please. But don't touch those." I point to my Iron Man collection. "Those are expensive."

He nods. I throw him a warning look before closing the bathroom door.

I turn on the shower, drowning all noises.

****

I am a Guide. Grandmother knew about it as Grandfather was a Guide too. She told me the stories about our kind.

Cleo was my grandfather's great grandfather. And I am a direct descendant of Cleo. He was born in 1609. He was a philosopher and a traveler. His studies led him to wonder about human's death. Why and how humans get old and die eventually. Cleo came across Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, accidentally. Anubis acknowledged Cleo's concern about the dead. He turned Cleo into a Guide and gave him a gift, immortality.

His job was to help the dead with their final wishes, their final requests, before stepping through the boundary. Those who needed help were drawn to him; the dead knew he's a Guide.

Cleo was frozen at age 28, immortal, yes, but he was not capable of stopping death brought by nature or coincidence, disease or accident. He was still human in some ways. And humans, after all, are bound to die.

Cleo died of an infectious disease, age 194. His gift, however, was passed down to his descendants. But his gift comes with a price. Death. Death of a family member.Accidental or not.

As if everybody wants his gift. As if my grandfather and I were given a choice.

Grandfather was the first one, born in 1848. His mother's death caused him to stop aging at 21, Cleo's gift fresh in his blood. Grandfather was a very compassionate man. It was natural for him as a Guide. But fate could be so cruel sometimes, as grandfather fell from a cliff, plummeting to his death, age 122. Grandmother was shaken. It took her a year to recover.

I am the second one, born in 1975. I stop aging at 19, twenty years ago, in 1994. And the price was too high. It almost killed me. My mom and dad's deaths. They were flying home from Germany when a turbulence sent the plane crashing down. And I just don't want to think about it.

Grandmother took care of me. As she knew grandfather's secret, she told me not be afraid as I am a Guide and no harm will come to me. I had asked her why and she'd answered, "You are protected, child. We all are." Grandmother passed away four years after my parents' death.