Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A sin

"The child they left behind is pitiful. Where will she be picked up now that she has no parents?"

"I heard her aunts and uncles, her mother's sister, will take care of her."

"Ah, it's better to be that way so that their daughter is still in good welfare."

Millicent just stared blankly at the two old women who were talking. They were all sitting now in front of the two coffins. The coffins contain her father and mother. She had no other reaction because all of her emotions had been consumed since she was a child. She was born into the world feeling that she was unwanted. To be honest, her father and mother do not care about her. They always leave to enjoy themselves. They go on vacations every day while Millicent is left at home to take care of herself. They don't even leave food for her. So, when she became aware of the world, she learned to stand on her own feet without depending on her parents.

Millicent just thought 'Should I be happy now that they are gone?'. She felt nothing else when she heard the news that her parents had an accident. It was a car accident where they are really prone to this kind of incident. Every day, her parents leave the house and come home drunk. She was only twelve years old when all this happened to her. She must feel so sad... because her parents are gone…. but why is she relieved?

"Millicent..."

Millicent looked at her aunt and uncle sitting next to her. Their eyes were swollen from crying but Millicent also knew that they were fake. They just wanted to act like this for the sake of many people who attended the funeral.

Millicent knew that what happened was in favor of her aunt and uncle on her mother's side. She also heard that they have been arguing for a long time about the land that was bequeathed to her mother and aunt by her late grandmother. Her late grandmother wanted to divide the land but her mother's sister only wanted to own it.

"We know how painful it is for you to lose your parents. Don't worry and we will adopt you since we still don't have children right now," said Aunt Miranda as she continued to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

Millicent just ignored it. "Let's bury them right away tomorrow," she said and her aunt and uncle were surprised.

As she expected, they only said one thing. "Alright, if that's what you want."

The funeral process of her parents went so fast. Many attended the gathering, some of whom Millicent didn't even know. None of her father's relatives attended because her father's relationship with his relatives was not on good terms. While on her mother's side, only her sister and her husband attended. She just gets tired every time she sees people around her pretending to sympathize with the death of her parents.

As their daughter, Millicent placed one rose each on top of her parents' coffins until the coffins were buried by funeral service workers. People started leaving until only Millicent and her aunt were left.

"You don't have to adopt me. I can take care of myself and live alone. You don't have to act, aunt and uncle. Please consider me as a stranger from now on."

A horrified reaction appeared on her aunt's face and she didn't seem to like what she said but Millicent already knew what to say so that her aunt won't speak.

"Take the land you desire and get away from my life. My parents are gone now but I'm smart enough to continue my life relying only on myself. I don't want to see you again." That's all she said and left that cemetery.

It just seemed like a typical day. She still didn't feel pain or anything. She went home and just turned on the television.

She sighed. "When will I be happy? My parents didn't even manage to change and pay attention to me before they died. I don't know if it's karma or if those above are just favoring me. The people who don't appreciate me are gone now."

She didn’t become an orphan. She did not accept what her aunt said that she would be sheltered because she knew that her life there would also be miserable. Her life would be better if she was alone. But how will she be happy from now on?

She studies in a public school. Her parents enrolled her there and she learned to go to school and go home alone. She still remembered that when she was just a child at the kindergarten level, the guards took her home and her parents even told her that she was a nuisance to the people around her. She has no right to cry or complain. She said she should be more thankful because she uses her parents' money to live. 

"Why did I live? I wish I haven’t. I just looked more and more at my life as a crime. Why is this the destined life that God gave me?" Millicent just said absentmindedly and laughed involuntarily.

She thinks it's really tiring to live. There is no use if she just takes her own life. She now owns the assets of her parents. No one else will claim and attempt to take them. Her responsibilities increased even more because she is now the one paying the bills or maybe debts that will come out. Instead of being happy, she even felt worst.

"I just want to die."

Millicent left the house and started walking. It's very common nowadays that people to take children like her and sell their organs but she doesn't care anymore. She also thought that if her parents had taken her on the trip, she would have been involved in the accident. She just wished her life is over and there will be no more problems. Why didn't it just happen that way? She asked the heavens why she is still forced to survive in this world.

"Child! Look out!"

Millicent heard a loud scream along with the loud horn of a car. She looked at it and was almost blinded by the light coming from the car's headlights. Her body stiffened and she couldn't move her legs to leave.

"Move out because my brakes are not in control!" the car driver yelled at Millicent but she didn't seem to hear it.

If the driver crashes his car into the sidewalk, many people will die. But in the direction of Millicent who is just in the middle of the road, only she will die.

"Kill me now to end my suffering in this world," Millicent whispered and closed her eyes.

While closing her eyes, she felt a wind passing her body and it was as if time suddenly stopped. Only a few seconds later, she opened her eyes immediately. She groped her body to see if there was a painful part or a blood stain... she immediately looked at the car which was now on fire. It crashed into a post and she saw many people trying to help the driver inside the car.

"I'm still alive," she said and then there was loud thunder and lightning, and suddenly it rained heavily.

She immediately ran back to her house as if nothing had happened and locked herself there. She looked at her hands. "I shouldn't have lived. Why did you give me a chance to live, Lord?"

On the other hand, the angels and officers in heaven are in trouble. They were all shocked by what Linus did. Angel Linus was just sitting on one side while listening to what the other angels were saying to him.

"Why did you do that?" Angel Jacob asked him, his best friend.

"Do you know what can happen now that the book of life is messed up? It will reach Lord Rasmus and he will surely impose a corresponding punishment on you." said angel officer Tanya who was obviously nervous about what Linus did.

Linus looked at them and his face showed sadness, but no remorse for what he did. "I just feel sorry for the child who has no will to live anymore. I want her life to be longer and for her to know her true purpose in the world. Wasn't what I did good?"

Angel Jacob just sighed. "Linus, we've been watching over humans for a long time until the time of their fated death comes. You only just did this now! It's a big sin! The book of life has been messed up!"

"Sorry... but the book of life can still be fixed, right?" Linus asked and the other angels just looked at him in disbelief. They were all disappointed by what he did.

It is a sin to mess up what is written in the book of life. When a person is destined to die, it should not be prevented. People just reincarnate again and again and again in this cycle so nothing should be stopped from whatever is destined to happen. Each angel has a task assigned to them and these are the people that they will watch over until their destined death. Linus took great pity on the girl he began to watch over. He has only been watching over that child for one week because Jacob just handed her over to him. All angels memorize every face of the humans they watch over... but not their names. Every human name is written in the book of life and only Lord Rasmus had the right to know them all.

Angel Jacob walked back and forth. "So what now? What are we going to do? I'm sure Lord Rasmus already knew about this----"

"Yes, I know."

The angels looked at the newcomer.

The angels immediately knelt down and bowed. "Lord Rasmus, please forgive us!"

"Leave Linus and me alone."

Linus already knew what Lord Rasmus is saying. He will be punished. 

Immediately, the angels around them disappeared and they were the only ones left in the garden. Linus was still lowering his head as he knelt in front of Lord Rasmus.

"I know your hearts are soft towards people so these kinds of events are inevitable. It has happened before." Lord Rasmus' opening words made Linus look up.

"Are you going to forgive me? I did the right thing to save that child, didn't I? She only deserves to live long because she has a purpose and she had never experienced happiness in her entire life. Her parents did not appreciate her and she didn't make any friends! She wanted to die but I saved her so that she would know that it is important to have life---"

"But she was destined to die because that's what was written in the book of life. Destiny wanted to end her suffering and have a peaceful life here in heaven after her death but it didn't happen. In return, someone must replace her life and it can be a sacrificial thing for someone who didn’t deserve it." Lord Rasmus interrupted what he was saying and showed an event from the world of humans. Inside a home, a child about Millicent's age fell down the stairs. That is the simple reason for his early death and the grief of his parents was seen.

Linus closed his eyes because of what he saw. He really couldn't bear to see someone die from his mission in the world.

"The book of life has restarted. Some people who are suffering now will have their suffering prolonged while evil humans will remain evil because they will not immediately receive the punishment that should have been reserved for them." Lord Rasmus looked at Linus. "Now, do you regret that you didn't do your duty properly? Many humans are affected today because of what you did."

Linus was speechless.

Lord Rasmus closed his eyes. "As a Lord who must give equal consideration to humans and angels, I will give you the punishment."

Linus's eyes widened when he suddenly felt something painful in his body. That caused exhaustion and his surroundings went dark till he lost consciousness.