Hannah jolted up from the mat she was lying on and sat up, breathing quite heavily after waking up from her painful dream that involved her dead daughter. She looked to her side and what she saw made her question if she was still dreaming or was truly awake because it wasn’t something she expected at all.
There was a little boy in wolf’s fur clothing seated in the corner of the surprisingly warm room and right beside him was a full-grown white Siberian Snow Tiger but for some reason, the boy wasn’t scared of the large cat.
Hannah wasn’t sure what to do or if to do anything at all so she just stared at the boy and decided to try to speak to him. She moved slightly to one side and the tiger snarled softly, causing her to stop.
“It’s okay, Little Guy. I’m not going to hurt you,” Isabelle said softly to him, “Is anyone else here?” Hannah asked but the boy did not respond.
He suddenly got to his feet and ran out of the room. The tiger also got up and ran out with him. Hannah was even more confused now and knew that she was probably not safe here so she pulled the blanket off her body and as she tried to get up, her hair flowed forward and she saw that it wasn’t black as it was before; it was now white. This could only mean that her angelic powers were back and they were also active. She wanted to make sure so she made her palms glow and was certain that her powers were restored but, she still didn’t know how, and neither did she know where Garin was or if he was alright.
Hannah noticed that not only were her powers back but she was also feeling very refreshed. She checked the cut on her thigh and saw that it was completely healed and it made her wonder how. She was certain that whoever brought her here and saw to her wounds knew what she was and from the looks of it, they weren’t threatened by her presence or her mere existence.
She got to her feet and slowly made her way to the entry point of the room and moved aside the cloth that was spread across the doorway. When she got out, she looked back at where she had just come out from and could tell now that it was an igloo which was why it was so warm on the inside. She looked forward and saw many more igloos with people sitting around them and others also coming out from them and they all had their eyes on her. They didn’t look scared of her but they certainly were in awe and watched her move as intensely as they could.
Hannah walked around for a while, more concerned with finding her husband than she was about the people. However, she stopped moving when she saw the same boy from earlier staring at her with his tiger right beside him. He also had an older woman that was also wearing wolf pelts by his other side and they were walking over to Hannah. They reached her and the woman smiled at the angel and reached out to touch her face but stopped when Hannah spoke.
“Who are you and what have you done to my husband?” Hannah asked her.
The woman responded in a foreign language that Hannah didn’t understand but since she had her powers back, she could use them to understand what the woman was saying. It was another ability that Celestials possessed; the power to speak in several tongues.
“Who are you?” Hannah asked again and this time, the woman understood.
“I am Mai Ngodo, leader of the Isam Clan, and you don’t have to worry. You are safe here, Great Angel,” The old woman said.
“Where is my husband?” Hannah asked again. Garin was more important to her at that moment and she didn’t seem shocked that the old woman addressed her as “Great Angel”.
“Husband?” The woman asked like she was shocked, “Do you mean the demon?”
“Yes, the Demon! Where is he?”
“We weren’t sure what to do with him and were afraid so we trapped him in the ground and filled it up with water from the Salty Lake,” The woman said.
“What? What water? What lake?” Hannah asked in a panic.
“Salt weakens demons so we placed him…”
“Take me to him now,” Hannah cut off the woman.
“Follow me,” The Mai said and gestured at Hannah to come with her.
Others in the area followed behind them as they walked to where they had Garin trapped. When they reached the spot, Hannah gasped in horror when she saw Garin with chains all over his body, trapped in the ground with salt water in it as well.
He was shivering all over and his skin was so pale and weltered that he looked like a melting ghost. The dark markings from Manilo’s arrows had spread all over his entire body and were on his face as well. His skin was also sizzling because the salt in the water was burning him slowly like a slightly less corrosive acid.
“What have you done to him?” Hannah yelled and dashed over to him at super speed.
She broke the chains off his body and raised him out of the ground. As she did this, the people moaned in terror because they didn’t want the demon out of the only thing that was negating his powers. The white tiger growled defensively and Mai Ngodo held a small vial of salt in her hand.
Hannah was so scared for Garin’s life but was also very angry at the people for what they had done to him. She couldn’t blame them though. Demons weren’t treated with care and love by anyone in their entire existence, not even by themselves so it was expected but it still made her angry.
“Great Angel! You have to leave him in there unless he will damn all of our souls to hell,” Mai Ngodo warned.
“No, he won’t. He’s my husband and he needs help,” Hannah replied, “Bring me some dry towels. Now!”
Hannah carried him over to the same igloo that she was in a few minutes ago and placed him on the mat. Mai Ngodo came into the igloo, along with the boy and the tiger.
“You heard the angel! Bring some more towels,” The Mai said.
The people that were watching from outside sent some towels in and the Mai gave them to Hannah who spread them all over Garin to keep him warm. The angel looked over her shoulder and saw that there were too many people watching her and Garin like they were some sort of freak show and she didn’t like it.
“Tell them to go away,” Hannah told the Mai.
The Mai spoke to the others and they left but the boy and his pet tiger stayed back. With everyone gone, Hannah prepared to use her healing powers to try to help Garin. She didn’t know if angels could heal nephalem-inflicted wounds but that didn’t deter her from trying. She placed her hands over Garin’s body and her fingers glowed like stars. At first, nothing was happening but after a while, Garin’s breathing started to get calmer and the markings were starting to disappear from his body.
“Remarkable,” Mai Ngodo had never seen the power of an angel in real life and was astounded to be witnessing it after spending a hundred and two years on earth learning about them.
Hannah continued healing him until all of the markings cleared from his skin. His temperature became higher and his complexion wasn’t so pale anymore. He was healed now but he still needed to rest because of the damage that the salt had done to him.
“You’ll be fine, My Love. You’ll be alright,” Hannah said and kissed him on the lips.
This shocked Mai Ngodo a lot because she had just witnessed with her own eyes, an angel show care, affection and love for a demon. She didn’t understand why and was eager to understand.
“Kudo! Take Nali outside and leave me alone with our guest,” Mai Ngodo said to the little boy.
“Okay, grandma. Nali, come on, girl,” the boy said to his tiger and took the large cat out of the igloo.
“It is obvious that you and this demon have a special bond and it is a strong one,” The Mai said to Hannah.
“You have no idea,” Hannah replied.
“I am sorry for hurting him. I did not know that he was a friend of yours,”
“He’s more than a friend to me; he’s my entire reason for living,” Hannah said.
The Mai went silent, curious to ask more questions but respectful enough not to pry.
With Garin safe and resting, Hannah decided to get more information so she could know where exactly she and Garin were. “How were you able to heal me and restore my power?” Hannah asked the Mai out of curiosity.
“We washed your wounds with water from the sacred pool. Its purity cleansed the power that had held on to you and restored all that was hidden away within you,”
“This isn’t Jordan. The water that flows through that river is the only healing water that exists on Earth…unless it’s water from..,” Hannah thought to herself and considered the possibility that she was in the lost garden.
“That’s right, Great Angel,” the Mia affirmed Hannah’s suspicions, “It doesn’t look like it anymore but this is the Garden of Eden; the very same one that was made on the first day of creation all of those years ago.”
******
"Hello, babe?" Josh said on the phone.
"Oh hey, Josh. I take it you're calling to make sure that I haven't changed my mind," Isabelle teased.
"I'm just excited and I can't wait for us to live together. Gwen knows, right?" He asked.
"Yeah, she knows. She even helped pack up my stuff. After I leave the office, I'll head back to my place, get my things, and head over to your house," She said.
"I'll make sure to be there to help you move your things so call me when you get off."
"Head over from where? Aren't you at home?" Isabelle asked.
"No, I'm in the car right now," Josh said.
"Where are you going? Let me guess! Frank and Chris asked you to hang out," Isabelle asked.
"No, they don't even know we're back yet. I'm actually heading to my company. There are a few things I have to check up on and you know, it's important to show my face there every once in a while to keep everyone on their toes," Josh said as he turned the corner and could see Helena's Redness right ahead of him.
"Alright, Boss. I guess I'll see you later this evening. I love you," Isabelle said.
"I love you too, Iz," he said before hanging up.
Josh reached the company and pulled into the underground parking lot. He parked his car in his private parking spot, grabbed his bag and got out. He began to walk over to the elevator and when he reached it, he pressed the button and waited for the lift. As he was waiting, Josh began to hear something behind him and it sounded like someone's voice, whispering something that he couldn't quite make out. He turned around and looked behind him. There was no one around and the sound he was hearing was gone.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Josh figured that he probably was just imagining the voice because of stress so he dismissed it and walked into the elevator.
The doors opened on his office floor and he stepped out. It was a shock and a surprise for every one of his employees because as soon as they saw him, they all began scrambling, arranging their desks and trying to look busy. Josh was amused by this but he didn't say anything about it. He just walked through the office, receiving greetings and handing out some to the employees he knew well enough.
He reached his assistant's desk but Jennifer wasn't there. Josh looked around her station if he would see a bag or something to indicate that she was around but there was nothing.
"Hey!" Josh called out to the woman who was sitting opposite Jennifer's desk, "It's Karen, right?" He asked her.
"Yes, Sir," Karen answered with a smile.
"Where's Jennifer?" He asked.
"She's been sick for the past two days and hasn't shown up to work because of it," Karen said.
"Sick? What's wrong with her?" Josh asked, worried.
"I don't know, Sir. I was at her place yesterday to check up on her but she wasn't home and I've been calling her cell but she isn't answering," Karen replied.
"Okay, thank you," Josh said and went into his office.
He settled into his chair and thought about what Karen had just told him about Jennifer. He remembered that the last time they spoke on the phone, she said she would call when the grapes get delivered from the vineyards to the factory. That was early this morning and she wasn't around to supervise it which meant she must be really sick because since he hired her, Jennifer had never missed a single work day.
He decided to call her and check on her so he took his office phone and dialled her home number. The phone rang for a while but it eventually went to voicemail. Josh had a bad feeling about this and decided that he would go to her house to personally check up on her before heading to Isabelle's to help her move in with him.
"Karen," he said into his phone.
"Yes, Sir," she answered.
"I'm going to need the manifest for this weekend's sales to the clients abroad and also, bring me a copy of the designs that were sent back by the bottling company," he said.
"Coming right up, Sir," Karen replied.
*******
Mai Ngodo walked around the settlement with Hannah, showing her around and telling the angel about who they were and why they were living in what remained of the great garden.
"I'm not one of the first angels so the garden was discarded by the time I was created," Hannah told the Mai.
"Is that so?" She asked.
"Yes! I was one of the legion angels; created in times of war against Lucifer during his uprising against heaven and humanity so I never saw Eden. This...," Hannah emphasized the word as she looked around, "...wasn't at all what I pictured it would look like."
"The Isam Clan settled upon the garden about five hundred years ago when we first migrated here from the far east after our village was destroyed by an earthquake. I wasn't born at the time but I was told the story since I was a little girl. In our clan, a woman serves as the Mai; the leader and protector of the clan and my great-grandmother was Mai when our people first settled here.
"The Isam have always been very spiritual but after we came here and discovered the true sacredness of the grounds upon which we stood, we decided to settle here despite the harsh conditions," the Mai said.
"How have your people survived out here for five hundred years?" Hannah asked.
"We survive on the animals that we hunt. There are a lot of them out there, braving the snowstorms and freezing weather just like us. We hunt them down and they serve as our food. Unfortunately, all of the trees don't bear fruit anymore and have been frozen since we first settled here. Legend has it that the forbidden tree still bears fruit but no one knows where it is. We have never found it and my grandmother used to always say that it was better that way."
"What do your people drink?" Hannah asked.
"Well, as for water, we melt the snow and drink it," the Mai replied.
"Why not just take water from the water sources here?" Hannah wondered.
"There are only two water sources here that aren't frozen solid. One is the Salty Lake but the water isn't fit for drinking and the other is the Sacred Pool but that water is far too special for us to drink. It's what we used to heal your wounds when we first found you," Mai Ngodo said.
"I see," Hannah responded and they kept on walking.
They got to the middle of the settlement and Hannah spotted the little boy from earlier running around and playing with his tiger and she was curious; the Mai could tell.
"The tiger's name is Nali. We found her on a hunt three years ago but she was just a little pup so we kept her," the Mai said.
"Aren't you worried that she might one day hurt your grandson?" Hannah asked.
"No, I'm not. Nali is a loyal pet and she adores Kudo. She would never hurt him. She protects him and she protects us."
Just as Hannah was about to respond, a man could be seen running after them from the direction they were walking. He was screaming something and the Mai couldn't hear what he was saying but Hannah could.
"Garin's awake but something's wrong," Hannah said.
She released her wings and flew back to the igloo as fast as she could.
.
.
.
Jennifer was sitting in the middle of the living room of her small apartment and she was surrounded by so much mess that consisted of destroyed furniture, broken plates, discarded food and dirty clothes. Her hair was messed up and her eyes were red and swollen like she had been crying a lot recently.
Right between her legs was a revolving pistol and she was staring at it intently, contemplating the idea of picking it up and using it. There were bags under her eyes and she was muttering to herself and also whimpering like a hurt little puppy. Something was seriously wrong with her. She was having a mental breakdown and it caused an insane look to be etched on her face.
Jennifer slowly reached for the gun and wrapped her fingers around it. She picked up the pistol and opened up the cylinder. There were seven bullets in them but she removed six and left just one portion of the cylinder loaded. She spun the cylinder around without looking at it and snapped it shut.
Jennifer raised the gun to the side of her head and closed her eyes. Her hand was shaking rapidly and she took in a deep breath before pulling the trigger.
The gun clicked but a bullet wasn't fired so she pulled it again. She pulled the trigger a third time but nothing happened and as she was about to shoot again, the sound of her door being knocked pulled her out of whatever mental episode she was having.
"Jennifer, are you in there?" She heard someone ask from outside and immediately recognized that it was Josh's voice.