Ablackwing

"Don't you think you're acting too nice in front of this girl?" Lilith asked black. Black wasn't acting or so. She didn't know the real Black, I did.

"Her name is Eve."

"I know that."

"Uhm... Aka Angelheart." Black interrupted her. Lilith's eyes widened as soon as she heard that. I saw Lorex's eyes widen too. It was as if they had seen a ghost. Their eyes glared upon me in shock. I could only give them a half smile return.

"You mean her!?" Lilith exclaimed.

"Yeah."

What kind of code languages were they talking in? I didn't understand anything. Angelheart is supposed to be my nickname and only I was the one who could not understand it. Such irony.

"So what's with Angelheart?" I asked. I must have appeared too dumb to them.

"Angelheart is someone whom the One wing has been searching for... Many think that this Angelheart was the one who cut off his wing and he wants revenge... That's why even angels are scared of him." Lorex replied to my question. Black would have sought revenge already if that was true. Lorex was telling a lie or perhaps what he knew was wrong. A weird thought crossed my mind that I might be the lamb being fed before the slaughter.

Black looked at him with those fierce eyes. Lorex lowered his head, not daring to look at black and he retreated to what he thought was a safe place, behind Lilith.

"What they think is wrong." Black calmly replied.

"Yeah. Angelheart is the one he..."

"Lilith!" Black said in a loud voice, stopping Lilith in mid of her sentence. His bold expressions changed to vulnerable ones. His face turned a little reddish and his gaze became more intense. He didn't want me to hear what Lilith was about to say. I didn't like being left hanging in the middle. I had that much right to hear about myself.

Lilith smiled really wide, with her lips reaching her ears. Her smile was like someone who's planning a real evil prank. She looked at me.

"You're the one..."

"Shut up," Black shouted again.

"You're..."

"Shut..."

"The one..."

"Up..."

"He..."

It was hilarious the way Black was cutting her words, trying to prevent her from completing her sentence. It all seemed like she was a good friend of his. He didn't want her to tell me something. I had no idea why. My heart was throbbing because I would soon get to hear something interesting.

"Don't say a word more if you cherish your life." His tone was serious. I guessed he was bluffing because he had that unusual cold look on his face. I could easily read his bluff. But Lilith could too. He wasn't that good of a liar.

"Your lies don't scare me One wing." Though Lilith stopped at One Wing, I was sure she meant it as a devil, not as an angel. She had called him 'dangerous' before. It pissed me off. How can anyone call him with such awful things?

"His name is Black," I spoke up. Somewhere along the way, I started to accept his name. It might not be best but it wasn't half as bad as what they called him. A question popped up in my mind as I thought of his name. Is only one black wing is needed to make an angel a monster? Everyone calls him a monster because of his appearance but in reality, he seems more angelic than anyone else. If beings like him are monsters, then they all are worse than a monster.

"Black?" Lilith asked me, wondering if she heard right.

"Ablackwing," I said and Black nodded.

"Since when? You were nameless last time I met you." She asked, surprised again.

"A few days ago," he replied with a silly smile. "Someone blessed me." It was so embarrassing. He might feel proud of me but it was really embarrassing for me. I still had doubts that I couldn't choose a better one for him.

"Anyway, why are you here?" Black continued.

"Well, I was just wandering around when the rocks beneath my feet crumbled and I was thrown to Gaia. And things didn't appear good when I saw other angels falling too. I didn't know what to do. Then I saw you. You're so famous here too. Your location was near me and I thought you might be able to help. Then I ran into this guy while coming here and fortunately he was a good Seeker. And so, here we are."

"About a quarter of us have been exiled to Gaia," Black replied.

"Exiled?" Lilith asked, bewildered by his statement.

"It's the Judgement. You must have heard in legends, that order of Eden to banish the ones with an impure heart." I didn't understand much of what he said but I was sure Black's heart was pure as a child's. He couldn't be given that punishment.

"How is this even possible? Wasn't The Judgement was just a story? And whatever, I don't think I did something wrong." She stopped sipping the shake and looked at him with wide eyes.

"It's an aberration. Something wrong must have happened. The demons are taking advantage of our chaos to convert us and they're being too ruthless this time. The ones who deny are just killed." Black explained some stuff. Demons and killing angels, it was scary as hell.

"So what do we do?" Lilith asked in a somewhat worried manner but she maintained her calm expressions.

"I'll give you an address of Gaia core. Go there and they will help you with basic stuff." Black replied.

"Why can't we stay here? It seems to be a big house."

No way! I'd not accept these two people being in my house! But before I could reject Lilith's suggestion, Black spoke up.

"I can't guarantee your safety. You know how it is with me. Many are going to come in search of me."

"Isn't it dangerous for this girl to be with you?" Lilith said with a sly smile on her face.

"I can protect her myself. They can not even touch her."

"I know you just want to be alone with her."

"That's not what..."Lilith stopped him in mid-sentence again.

"No worry, Black... We'll leave tomorrow."

Black wanted to say something, to explain her more but he didn't. "Just one day," he said knowing it would be pointless. Lilith was too adamant on staying.

At that point, I wanted to know what was the relation between Lilith and Black. They seemed to know each other. Maybe they were good friends because Black wasn't that hostile to her. Black talked in that manner with me, much more sweetly though.

Jealousy? I wondered. But I didn't know why I would be jealous of her.

Black stood up and walked towards them. He lowered his head to their level. I thought he wanted to say something to Lilith privately but he reached to Lorex. Lorex had kept quiet the whole time they were talking. He was still frightened. How can he not? Someone beats you so bad for two minutes that you pass out. That is really scary. Lorex grabbed Lilith tightly, his face near her shoulders as he saw Black come close to him.

'I guess it was overkill.' Black whispered in his ears and I couldn't hear him well but I could make out his words through the movement of his lips. 'But you better not do such things if you don't want to live. I won't be merciful next time.'

Black then moved towards the glass door he broke when he threw Lorex out to the backyard. He placed his right hand in mid-air as if he was touching the invisible glass that was there. My eyes were open but I had no idea when the glass appeared there. At one moment there was nothing, at the next, I could make out the glass because of refraction.

"At times like this, I wish I was the angel of creation too. I wonder how it's like to be able to talk to the lifestream." Lilith said. She was as amazed as I was. Black's ability should be rare in his world too. Black heard what Lilith said. I saw his eyes dim a little bit. His faint smile disappeared. Something in her words had made Black upset.

Black made us dinner that night. It was lasagna. I was surprised he could cook Italian too. His cooking skill was simply divine. Even though this dish was different but its taste was on the same level as the omelette he made before. I wanted to keep eating it but before I knew I had finished the food. Making someone addicted so that normal food tastes tasteless, so devilish of him. He even made dessert for after dinner. I entertained the idea of marrying him someday and then force him to stay at home and cook for me.

Lilith suggested that girls sleep in one room and boys in another. But Lorex denied in an instant, he was too afraid of Black. Black was happy when Lorex denied. His wide smile showed that he was even doing a happy dance inside. He had some weird obsession with me and to be honest, I liked it.

And even though other rooms were available, Black stubbornly wanted to be in my room. He said that it was for my protection. I gave up in the end.

"Why were you so sad when Lilith said she wished to be the angel of creation?" I asked him as he laid on the other side of the bed, with his hands folded under his head. He turned towards me with wide eyes.

"How did you know that?"

"I just noticed. You're an open book."

"You haven't changed. You're still able to see everything." He spoke with a smile. A genuine one. A smile that can make others happy from inside.

"What do you mean?" I asked but he diverted this question of mine and answered the previous one. I realized that he meant by the time when we were kids.

"In my world, there are stories, tales and legends that long ago some angels were able to either talk or see the lifestream. The ones who could talk to lifestream possessed​ the ability to create anything and the ones who could see the lifestream developed all the abilities angels possess today. It was just a legend to other angels till they came to know me. I can talk to the lifestream... And I can see it too."

"That makes you like super ultra legendary. I mean if that's the case, angels like you weren't even present in the history."

"I'm just an anomaly in the world. I shouldn't even be present as such."

"You know, you're special. You're kind-hearted, gentle and it's hard to believe that you can be barbaric too. But you're you. And if you weren't present, I'd be sad to have never met you." I spoke truthfully. "So that was why you were sad at that time?"

"No, this isn't it. It's just that ever since I returned from Gehenna, I can't hear the lifestream. I can't talk to mother anymore."

"It's okay. Everything is going to be alright," I said and rubbed his face a little just like my mother used to c.a.r.e.s.s mine when I was sad.

It had been a while since it happened but that crybaby in him was back again. He was towards the window side of the bed looking towards me. In the background of his face, I could see the stars twinkling. Even though it was faint, the tears in his eyes were twinkling too. Those green beautiful emerald eyes drowning little by little in the lake of tears. I felt like crying too.

"Why are you crying now?"

How would I know that I just said the words he so longed to hear?