Crossroads Read online

  “You see, our kind is governed by a Royal Council. The Royal Council consists of God’s first angels—Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Raguel, Uriel, Zerachiel, Remiel and many others who were created before us. They make decisions based on what they agree to be in our best interest. When they found out about the children born into human society, all angels were immediately banned from having any physical or emotional contact with humans. However, permission was granted for a select few to stay behind and continue their duties. The agreement was that they could not procreate, and in return, they would be allowed to live and die as humans.”

  Angels lived among us, I thought to myself. It was hard to imagine, but I could have spoken to one. The thought of actually being that close to an angel was unbelievable. I broke out of my thoughts when Phillip spoke.

  “I know this is difficult to take in, but do you understand?” he asked.

  “What you are telling me is that there is a chain of command with angels?”

  “Yes, first the Royal Council, then the Twelve, followed by Earth angels. These angels have no wings. They blend with the humans quite well, perhaps too well. Lastly, the forbidden children.”

  “What happened to these children?” I asked, afraid of what his answer might be.

  “They were sent here, this place called the Crossroads, and you are standing in Halo City. Humans use the term, nephilim for these children, but we call them alkins. “Alkin” are the alpha—the first of its kind, half angel, half human. They are the first generation to be born into human society.”

  Michael and Davin came to my mind. I remembered Michael saying that we were at Crossroads, between life and death. Davin referred to himself as an angel with no wings. Alkins didn’t have wings. Thoughts flooded my mind. Everything was coming at me hard and fast. Out of impulse, I turned to look at Michael and Davin. I felt ashamed that I was the reason a secret so profound had been revealed. A secret that had been concealed for who knows how long. And I, a mere human, was responsible for its exposure. I wanted to tell them how sorry I was, how ashamed I felt, but they didn’t even look up at me. Their heads remained low, almost as if they were embarrassed about who they were. I quickly turned back so they wouldn’t notice me.

  “Are you an alkin?” I asked Philip.

  “No. I am one of the Twelve.” There was a note of arrogance to his tone. “When the alkins were found, a few of the Twelve Angels were reassigned to Halo City with them. It became our responsibility to guide and mentor the alkins to be more like angels rather than humans. That was the day the Twelve Angels were divided. Margaret, Agnes, and I were chosen to become their mentors. The rest stayed behind to continue their assignments. Like humans, angels were not created perfectly. There is one particular angel who has rebelled and has taken many alkins with him. We call them the fallen. We don’t know where they are.”

  He suddenly and gracefully stood up and spread his wings. It was a vision of elegance and poise, majestic and holy; a miraculous moment that I knew I would never forget. I was overwhelmed by the beauty and reality of what was happening. Part of me wanted to touch him, to be sure that this was real. Was I truly witnessing an angel? Was I really having this conversation? I was completely unaware of the fact that my eyes were wide and my bottom lip might as well have been on the floor, until Philip cleared his throat.

  Embarrassed by my actions, I quickly diverted attention by asking another question, “What do the fallen look like?” I was relieved to finally get to this question, seeing as they would be the ones coming after me.

  “You ask many questions. You already know too much,” he said softly. I thought that was the end of our conversation, but he continued to speak. “Humans would imagine them to look like monsters, but in fact, they look like us.”

  I was in shock. I had expected him to tell me otherwise. “Then how can you tell the difference between a fallen and an angel?” I asked with a worried expression.

  “By appearances, you can’t tell us apart.”

  A part of me was glad that they didn’t look like hideous creatures, but knowing the possibility they might be after me sent a painful chill through every bone in my body. Now that I had that information, I wanted to know more about the alkins.

  “How many alkins exist here?” I asked, eagerly thinking that I’d finally get the answer that Michael wouldn’t reveal. Then I worried that maybe he wouldn’t tell me since he thought I knew too much.

  “There are thousands of alkins who reside here. I would like you to meet the officers who already know you are here. The other alkins are not aware of your presence, and I would like to keep it that way.”

  Wow! Thousands, I repeated Phillip’s words in my head. My whole body seemed to explode with excitement and I could barely contain myself.

  “I would like to introduce you to…” motioning his hands, they entered one by one. “Vivian, Caleb, Ruth, Paul. And you’ve already met Michael and Davin.” Each was flawless. Their beauty was breathtaking, a vision of royalty at its finest, and they all possessed a soothing glow in their eyes. I had pictured them in white gowns, but they were wearing jeans and T-shirts just like Michael and Davin. They were dressed just like human beings. It was true…you couldn’t tell the difference between humans and the alkins.

  Nobody said a word. There was an uncomfortable silence. I became their subject, and they stared at me with confused and curious eyes.

  Phillip broke the silence, “You have to excuse their demeanor. It has been quite some time since they’ve seen a human. We are going to have to monitor you from here on. It is important that we keep an eye on you, just in case the fallen find out about your involvement with us. They are not so friendly. You are an easy target since they can sense your presence now. Once you have entered our world, your aura will stand out from the rest of the humans on Earth. There is a possibility they may think you are an alkin.”

  Fallen may think I’m an alkin echoed inside my head. I couldn’t believe what he was saying. What kind of mess did I get myself into? I thought I was only dreaming, and it was turning out to be a nightmare.

  “Do you think it would be safer for her to stay here?” Davin asked hopefully.

  “She can’t stay here. She is not an alkin,” Caleb replied.

  “However, it would give us the opportunity to be educated about her world,” Vivian said, enthusiastically. “Her world has advanced so much since we came here.”

  Michael shot her a disapproving look. I could tell that he didn’t like her response at all. I knew the reason. He didn’t want me around.

  Phillip interrupted, “I don’t think that would be a good idea. You don’t need Claudia in order to learn about her world. You can research on your own.”

  “True. But hearing it from Claudia would be much faster. And why wouldn’t it be a good idea?” Vivian spoke out. “Divine Commandments can be altered to fit the situation.”

  “She is not one of us. Need I remind you of the obvious again? She is human, not an alkin,” Caleb said with slight irritation, and then paused to think. “What if the fallen come here?”

  Phillip was about to answer Caleb’s question when Agnes and Margaret entered the room, and everyone became silent. It was the first time I was able to see Margaret’s face. She was stunning, just like the goddess I remembered. This time, she wore her hair straight down, as smooth as silk. She looked at me, nodding her head to acknowledge my presence. She began to speak, her hypnotic voice exactly the way I remembered from before.

  “The fallen can only enter our world if they take an alkin who has the soul of the Holy Spirit. Only Royal Council angels have the soul of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah was one of the Royal Council. He fell in love with a human many lifetimes ago. His descendants are now with the Royal Council. I doubt any of them are left on Earth. If there is a possibility that the one still exists, the chances are very slim to none. We do not make mistakes. So you need not worry. Hypothetically, if one does exist, then it is out of our hands. And if the fallen f
inds the one, there will be war.”

  “Let the danger come!” Davin shouted passionately, raising his fist in the air, as if already victorious.

  I was startled by his sudden outburst. A multitude of arguments began. They were speaking in Latin, and I could not understand. Realizing instantly that this was all because of me, I began to feel horror in my body. I was plagued by thoughts of this mysterious, beautiful, unknown existence, possibly on the verge of destruction, all because I couldn’t, or rather didn’t want to, go back. I was desperate to make this right.

  “Can you please stop? I’ll leave! Just please don’t fight. I’m so sorry.” My voice became softer as I saw them glaring down on me. Maybe it was not my place to have an opinion. I was sure my sudden outburst didn’t help matters. All I wanted to do was hide. Nobody wanted me here, and I had nowhere to go.

  Vivian interrupted, “Why not ask the human?”

  Ask me what? I didn’t even know what they were arguing about.

  “She has a name,” Michael said.

  I was surprised to hear him respond in that way. It was as if I mattered to him, like he was defending me. Could he care a little? Could it be possible that he wasn’t mad at me anymore? But then I thought What does it matter, and why do I care so much about what he thinks of me anyway?

  Phillip looked at me tenderly and said, “I’m sorry, but it’s time for you to leave. We will be keeping an eye on you as promised, to make sure you stay safe. However, this is an unprecedented incident. I can only hope that my judgments are correct. Michael, I think it would be best that you be appointed as her guardian angel.”

  “What!” Michael and Davin exclaimed simultaneously.

  “Why?” shouted Davin. “He doesn’t even like her.”

  In the midst of Davin’s opposition, I tried to wrap my head around his words—he doesn’t even like her. I was disappointed at this thought, and admittedly, a bit sad too. Why did he think so little of me? I felt cursed, like being human was dirty and not worthy of this angelic being. How could someone who disliked me be the right guardian angel to protect me? I guess maybe I did care what he thought.

  “Like has nothing to do with this, Davin,” replied Philip. “Michael is trained to be a guardian angel. And you are one of our gatekeepers. I need you here for now.”

  “I see your point,” Davin replied, looking disappointed.

  Michael glanced at me and then turned to Phillip. “I don’t think I’m ready to be a guardian angel.”

  “Nothing can prepare you for what you are about to do. One can never be ready enough,” Phillip countered. “I believe you will be fine. Just listen to your heart and stick to the Divine angel rules.”

  “You don’t understand. I…,” Michael said as he was about to protest again.

  Phillip interrupted him. “Nothing you say will change my mind. I’ve appointed you as Claudia’s guardian angel, and that is final.”

  Michael just stood there, looking down, impassive. From his body language, I could tell he wasn’t happy with Phillip’s decision. Great! I might as well be dead. The way he felt about me, he probably wouldn’t lift a finger to save me. I was just about to tell Phillip that I didn’t need a guardian angel and that I could take care of myself when Michael looked up. I waited to see what he would do.

  Michael looked at Davin and then looked at me blankly. How I wished I could read his thoughts. He must be cursing inside, wondering how he could get out of being my guardian angel. He started walking toward me.

  “Michael, wait.” A soft-spoken, gentle voice came from a distance.

  It took me a second to even see where this voice was coming from. As she appeared, she jumped up eagerly and wrapped her whole body around Michael, like a child hugging her daddy. Michael held her tightly but tenderly and pulled her face away to give her a kiss on the cheek. I was taken aback by the sight of a child and by seeing a different side of him, affectionate and caring. Part of my anger toward him subsided, but not completely. My heart softened to see their interaction. I estimated that she was about seven years old. She had long blonde curls, reminding me of Goldilocks. It wasn’t hard to stare back when she gazed at me with those irresistible baby blue eyes. Where did she come from? Was she the only child here?

  “No need to worry, Alexa Rose, I’ll be back soon. I need to take Claudia home, then I’ll be right back,” Michael said sweetly, a tone he had never used to speak to me.

  “Promise?” she pouted.

  “I promise,” he said as he placed her down slowly. Before he stood up, he whispered something into her ear, making her giggle.

  “Okay. I will,” she responded cheerfully.

  As she walked away, she acknowledged my presence with a cute little smile.

  After Alexa Rose left, Agnes turned to me and said, “It’s time to send you back. Meanwhile, try to stay calm.”

  As she said those words, I felt my body slowly droop. I heard a faint voice from a distance, “Davin, send them back safely. Michael, be on your guard!”

  Chapter 6

  My alarm clock buzzed with excitement, and without looking at it, I slammed it to snooze. Had I dreamt last night? I couldn’t remember. I strained my thoughts as if I could squeeze it out of my head, but it was no use. I guess I didn’t dream at all. No wonder I felt refreshed. What I knew was that it had been about five days since I last dreamt about Michael and the alkins, but it seemed so long ago.

  It was Saturday, and today would be my first day of work on my first job. It was at Fashion Wear, which was located in a small shopping plaza adjacent to a pizza store and an ice cream store. I applied there as a cashier because of Patty. She thought it would be fun to work together.

  I can still remember our conversation when she tried to convince me to work there. “This would be a great opportunity to see each other more often. You can work on weekends. You also get 20 percent off your entire purchase. What more could we ask for?”

  I quickly agreed and got hired the same day I applied. She must have put in a few good words for me; I always earned excellent grades, but I didn’t have any employment references since I had never worked before. I better stop thinking in bed, I thought to myself as I looked at the clock.

  “Oh, shoot!” I said out loud. “Not again!” It was close to noon. Had I pushed the snooze button that many times? I couldn’t remember if I had or if I had accidently set the wrong time. Regardless, I couldn’t believe Mom let me sleep in this late; but then again, it was Saturday. I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t let her know what time I was starting my new job. I had no time to waste. Quickly I got ready, kissed my mom, and ran out the door, hoping she wouldn’t say anything about me sleeping in this late.

  “You should at least take something to go!” my mom yelled through the front door.

  I didn’t want to upset her, and my stomach was rumbling like crazy from hunger. I ran back in and grabbed a banana, a granola bar, and a bottle of water, then ran back out the door. I didn’t realize she was following me outside so I practically slammed the door in her face.

  “Mom!” I yelled, reaching for the door, nearly having a heart attack. “Your steps are too quiet. Please don’t follow behind me like that.”

  “Sorry, but you need to slow down.”

  I paused for a second to show her I was slowing down and hopped on my bike.

  “Have a good first day, Claudia. Please be careful, especially since you’re working late. Make sure you call me when you get there and from time to time.”

  “Mom!” I retorted as I kicked the stand from my bike.

  “Okay! At least text me then.” She was standing in front of me with her hands on the handlebar so I couldn’t leave.

  “I gotta go. I’m gonna be late on my first day,” I said anxiously.

  “Ride carefully, watch out for cars, and don’t forget to call Gamma. She called this morning, but I didn’t want to wake you,” she said quickly and backed away. “Remember, be good to those who are alive, because what good
is it when they are dead?”

  “I know, I know,” I muttered, hearing that phrase from her for the hundredth time. “Bye, Mom.” I smiled and pedaled my way to work on the red bike I had received last Christmas. Although I enjoyed riding, I was hoping to get a used car, or perhaps a new car, for my birthday. I didn’t think I had ever pedaled so quickly in my life because I could feel my heart pounding in and out of my chest. I watched out for cars, just as I had promised. When I came to the first red light, I got off my bike and pushed the “walk” button. Impatiently, I pushed the button several more times, hoping that it would make the light change faster. I didn’t know how these things worked, but I thought maybe it would sense my urgency.

  Walking to school was much easier since it was a shorter distance, but it was just an excuse so that I wouldn’t have to ride my bike to school. I just couldn’t do it. Riding my bike to and from work was one concession I had to make to my mom. She’d rather have me ride the bike instead of walking home in the dark, since she usually worked the night shift. I knew it would put her mind at ease, so I didn’t put up a fight. Patty lived nearby and we had planned to ride home together.

  As I approached the building, a sense of excitement ran through me. On several occasions, I had visited Patty at her workplace, but it was always for a short time. Now that it was also my place of employment, I found a different kind of interest in the store. Patty saw me through the tall glass window and pointed her finger, directing me to park my bike next to hers. Her bike was black with yellow fluorescent lights in front and back. You could see that thing shine a mile away, but then again that was the whole purpose. It had an on-and-off button that controlled the brightness. I locked my bike next to hers, called Gamma and exchanged a few words, texted Mom quickly to let her know I had gotten to work safely, and ran in.

  “Sorry I’m late,” I said still breathing heavily.

  “You’re here.” She smiled. “No worries. Mrs. Lee had to leave, so I’m training you.” She spoke while walking toward me to give me a big hug.