Ablackwing

I stood in the balcony as my body trembled in excitement and fear. The excitement of watching a surreal sight and fear of the unknown. I observed that person lying in my backyard from there in silence. My mind was blank. It looked like time had stopped in those moments.

Some feathers reached right near me while floating in the air. I couldn't stop my hand from reaching towards those falling feathers and grasping one of them. That feather was so soft. Velvet will be considered rough if it was compared to it. It was as black as night but it had this metallic l.u.s.tre like it was polished. Comparing them with feathers of any bird would be their dishonour. 

I placed that feather on the railing and looked down again. After that person fell, the feathers of his wing fell after him. There were many of them, falling swiftly and softly on the grass. The wind carried some of them in my balcony. I was going to have one hell of a time while cleaning. 

That guy was lying on his ground, motionless, as I looked at him. His wing was resting on the left side of his body. No human would survive that fall but he was after all... special.

The excitement I was feeling gradually lessened and fear took over. That person wasn't like other angels because of his single black wing. It frightened me when I thought that person might a devil. The winds blew through the trees and the sound of fluttering leaves made me realize I was doing nothing. 

Whatever he was, an angel or a devil, he wasn't a human for sure. I should at least check if that person was alive before thinking of other things. 

Positive. Be positive.

He's not the bad guy.

I tried to console myself with those positive thoughts. That person didn't give me any bad vibes. There was no use in thinking the other way. 

After affirming my thoughts, I ran. I ran through my room, down the stairs, across the hallway, towards the backyard. I ran the way I would if a calamity was to fall on me. Something had fallen for sure but I wasn't sure if it was a calamity or not. 

As soon as I opened the door to the backyard, I saw him lying on his stomach. His face was facing the other direction. His long coat was covering him like a black shroud covering a dead body. I realized that he was wearing a white scarf. It was surprising that I couldn't see the scarf before. It was in total contrast to all the black clothes he was wearing. I guessed it must be due to his silver hair hiding it. 

He was neither making any noise or showing any moment. I feared that silence. I was still frightened but I took small steps. They say that we have to keep moving on no matter how frightful things might be. It doesn't matter how small those steps might be. All it matters is you keep moving on. While thinking of absolute nonsense, I walked towards him. I reached him quicker than I originally thought I would. I guess my steps weren't that small after all. 

I sat down near him, on my knees. I was finally going to touch the wing of an angel. Angel, I said it again. I didn't even know what he was but my subconscious mind had already accepted that person as an angel. 

My hand was trembling as I touched his wing. It felt like touching a cotton ball. No! It was more like touching clouds. At that moment, all I wanted was to keep rubbing my hands on his wing. The wing looked like it was a mine of the deadly black diamond. I just c.a.r.e.s.sed his wing. 

Just then, his wing started moving. It shook at first as if it was waking up from sleep. I pulled back my hand and quickly backed off a few steps. Next moment, the wing started to disappear from the point it was connected to his back. It crumbled within itself and started disappearing inside the body of that angel. I wondered how the wider part of the wing would go inside him but that part just shrank to fit itself.

It was a cat that looks big but is flexible enough to pass through any small place. Those freaky cats came to my mind and I cursed myself for using the example of a cat. That wing was not like a cat! It was like a sword and his body was the sheath. 

I had imagined a wound when I saw the wing go inside him. At least a scar. But his skin was unblemished, without any mark. I wondered how it happened. The wing was contracting and squeezing itself inside him. There had to be a mark of some kind. Anyway, that was only a small mystery compared to his whole self.

I went near him again and pulled on his arm so that he would turn. I was amazed when I looked at his face. From that close, he looked so innocent. His face was painted in serenity. It was glowing with brightness. It looked analogous to a carefree child's face. That angel didn't look like someone who had fallen from the sky.

The only thing devilish about him was his handsomeness that was coupled with innocence. His skin was pale. He emitted this charm that I can't speak of. Those few strands of his long hair scattered on his face only made him look more appealing. I pushed his hair behind his ears and traced the curves of his face with my eyes. He was such a handsome angel. His beauty was transcendent. And those blood red lips. They were just heavenly.

Suddenly, a voice inside me told me that I had seen this angel before. But I was sure that if I had seen that pretty face anywhere, I'd surely not forget it for the rest of my life. I just couldn't remember where I had seen him. I tried hard to remember but it was all go nothing. It was just like a memory that you can't remember no matter how hard you try.

He shook a little. His mouth opened. I thought I had touched his wound while rolling him over and he was feeling pain.

"Now..." he said in a faint voice. I brought my ears close to his mouth so that I can hear clearly. Those could be his last words after all. My heart almost jumped out of my c.h.e.s.t when I thought about that...

I remembered that kind of feeling. It was the same fear when I saw my little sis lying in the hospital trying to fight with death and I couldn't do anything at all. I was on the verge of crying when I thought that this angel will still die even after he put so much effort to fly with his one wing.

"Yeah?" I replied so that he could know I was listening.

"Now... I'm finally... gonna be... alright... angel heart..." He said with his eyes closed and stopped moving. My heart was too weak to watch another person die in front of me. Why does it f.u.c.k.i.n.g happen to me all the time? Was I cursed to bring everyone death?

My hand moved towards his c.h.e.s.t. His long coat was open from the upper portion. I placed my hand over his heart. His heart was still beating. Those tears stopped midway and I sighed in relief that he had just passed out.

I pondered over his words. What was this 'angel heart'? Did I hear it right? Was it some secret code word? Why would they need a code word? Or perhaps it was something else? What was he trying to say to me? Like the other mysteries weren't enough already, he added one more.

I decided to take him inside first. It was cold out there. His coat was thin and he wasn't wearing anything inside. If he didn't die of fall, he would probably die of cold out in the open. But I wasn't sure how I'd be aw to take him inside. He was around six feet tall and appeared healthy. I wasn't confident that I could move him easily.

But I still tried. I put his arm around my neck to get a grip and tried to pull him on his feet. Unexpectedly, he was light. He appeared to be at least two hundred pounds from outside but I felt he was half that weight. Still, I had trouble maintaining my balance while carrying him alone.

I kind of half dragged him to the room that once belonged to my parents. It has been empty for a while. I was glad that I cleaned it up a while ago. Otherwise, the room would have been a mess. I laid him on the bed and sat near him. I deserved rest for my hard work.

But then my little caring heart screamed to me and said that it wasn't the time for rest. I had to look at him for injuries. He looked fine from outside but he still had fallen from the height of clouds or perhaps somewhere even above the clouds.

I hoped he would forgive me for what I was about to do.

"I'm sorry for doing this, but you must know I've to do this for you," I apologized in advance even though I knew he wasn't listening. I unbuttoned his coat slowly and pushed the cloth aside to inspect for injuries.

My eyes widened and I gasped when I looked at his b.a.r.e body. Not because he was hurt. He had just a few scratches. Everything else was normal. In fact, everything was just too good. I looked at his body without blinking. It appeared as if his body was sculpted out of a rock to absolute perfection. Without knowing, I had started to feel those carved bumps with my finger. I gazed upon him as if there was no tomorrow.

I took off his coat in a hurry and after making sure he had no injury in his back too, I covered him with a blanket. I certainly didn't want to appear impolite.

I folded his long coat and put it beside the pillow. I then sat on the couch near the bed and gazed upon that creature from the sky. He looked so beautiful as he faintly smiled while sleeping, like the sleeping beauty who was waiting for her Prince Charming to wake her up. That smile made me smile.

Perhaps he was in a peaceful slumber he so d.e.s.i.r.ed.