Glancing at the clock, she has two hours—what the hell could keep her busy until then. A nice relaxing bath should be just the ticket to get her in the mood for a girl's night. It's been a while since they've gone out. Usually, Netflix and wine are the kind of nights they have together. Sera has learned the hard way that going out with Amanda is an adventure in itself. Especially, when there's liquor and boys involved. For some reason, deep down, Sera has a feeling tonight is going to be a good night.
After digging through her drawers, she finds a bath set she received from a crazy Aunt one Christmas. Perfect. Ripping open the packaging, she treks her way into the bathroom. Her nimble hands draw a bath in the cast iron tub, turning the nozzle to the hottest temperature it will go before tossing in the lavender bath soap. The bubbles ripple out automatically, filling the small bathroom with the relaxing scent. Sera slips out of her clothes with not even an ounce of sweat
The summons comes mid-day. Little did Nathanael know; his life would be forever changed. It arrives as the setting sunlight glistens through the reflective amber stones of his home. A tiny trumpet flares to life outside the window before a young cherub swoops in on its little wings, dropping the scroll on the ivory desk before zipping back out through the open doorway. Unrolling the scroll, he reads: Report to the Throne Room.Directions, that’s all the Lord ever sends. The tone, as always, is immediate and commanding.He rises to his feet and heads through the arched entranceway toward the River of Life. His wings spread and slowly they begin their rhythm, bringing him into the air.Michael passes, his wings glistening in gold behind him. The Archangel avoids eye contact as he flies straight past. Nathanael’s fists clench in response, knowing it’s not Michael’s fault Nathanael was involuntary relocated into a position within the seven Ar
Finally, he succumbs to reality. This is his life now, whether he likes it or not. Time to get to work before he's even further demoted-if that were possible. However, if he's learned anything in this life-it's that anything is possible. With one last deep breath, his long, plush wings extend from his back with one swift movement. They sprout out past his arms in a glorious, pure white not visible on the secular plane. With one gust, they make him airborne and with a few more, his feet land on the roof. The shades in the room below him are drawn, but a dim light emanates from behind them. A sigh escapes his lips as he closes his eyes and swings down from the roof. He takes a step into the exterior wall. His body goes rigid, the blue siding of the house shimmers as he enters. The vortex pulls him completely through, the smell of wood lingers on his nose as he opens his eyes on the other side.Whoa. It's apparent he's not in Heaven any longer. This Sec confines herself to a sma
SeraphinaA few months later...Sera's heart thrums in her chest as she wanders along the busy street. Huge buildings sprout up all around her. They loom above, shadowing her in their massive wake. Her eyes dart across the numbers over the storefronts. Where is it? Her hand wraps around the vial dangling from her neck, and she continues to look around. People pass her without a second glance. She hears a few snickers or sighs as she ambles into their way.She turns to a lanky man in a suit, "Excuse me, can you-"The man passes by without even glancing up from the phone in his hand. Discouraged, she turns around and attempts to grab the attention of another. As Sera opens her mouth, the woman pushes past her as if she weren't even there. Will no one help her?She twists around, glancing at the passing faces until they turn into a blur, and the numbers on the stores make no sense. Everything swirls into a massive tornado of
The oval driveway feels longer than usual as she navigates her way up toward the office. The three-floored, glass medical building sits atop a freshly manicured lawn. The morning sun reflects on the windows and glares into Sera's eyes while she continues her journey up from the employee parking lot. Sometimes, she hates going to work. It seems like she can hardly get herself out of bed anymore. The only thing keeping her going today is the gossip she has for Amanda and her pseudo date with Jack. Once through the automatic double doors, she's hit with the sharp scent of antiseptic. Ducking her head and holding her breath, she heads straight for the elevators. Stepping inside the elevator, she presses the button for level three. Normally she can deal with a small space, but elevators are the one thing that makes her heart race. Just something about a rickety tin can held up by a pulley system that doesn't sit right with her. The metal doors close and the contraption clangs to the top.
A long day doesn't even begin to describe the kind of day Sera has had. She's happy to leave it all behind as anticipation begins to bubble up inside of her. Despite Amanda's unending knowledge of the dating scene, she decides against changing. If Jack would be donning his work clothes, so would she. Keeping the tan dress pants and white collared shirt, she did happen to stop home and apply some extra makeup before making her appearance. She parks her white sedan in the spot in front of Jack's Coffee Bean for the second time that day. Sera flips down the visor to double check that she resembles what Amanda calls 'sexy-casual' before running her fingers through her hair. With one last nod of courage to her reflection, she exits the car and heads toward the door.Approaching, she notices all the blinds are down and the lights are dimmer than usual. A weird feeling settles into the pit of her stomach when she reaches the door. The sign on the door reads: 'Closed', but the hours
Sera turns to Jack whose face appears genuinely shocked. Whatever is going on with him, I don't think he was expecting this. Sera's instincts start to kick in; she sneaks past his rigid body heading back into the store. This isn't right, she thinks shaking her head."Sera?" She turns around to respond when the fire alarm blares to life in a deafening roar. The sprinklers extend almost automatically before raining water on the two of them. Sera glances down, almost unbelieving as the water soaks through her shirt and pretty much everything else around. Their eyes meet again; Jack's eyes are as wide as his mouth. He's frozen in the same stance as when the sprinklers started. If Sera didn't know any better, she would say he looks just as stupefied as she must.Pure unrelenting laughter bursts from Sera. What are the odds? Jack's shoulders visibly relax at Sera's reaction before also cracking a smile. He then walks beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder blades this tim
NathanaelWind bristles through the trees as the moon casts a ghostly glow over the silent woods. The sounds of the Earth make their way to Nathanael while he's sitting on the edge of the windowsill with one knee bent. His skillful eyes survey the black trees surrounding the little farmhouse. The peaceful street causes him to relax, leaning slightly off his knee. His nose rises to meet the breeze. The air has changed. The cold has actually turned into a scent: crisp and earthy. The edges of the leaves have started to turn a shade of red. A grunt brings his attention back inside the room. Placing a leg on the ground, he examines the tree line one last time for good measure before climbing to his feet. If the Lord is testing him, he sure doesn't plan on failing. Sera begins to toss and turn on her bed. The covers tangle between her legs. This happens every once and a while. Sometimes he'll catch her mumbling something, but tonight she just rolls back o
The morning sun streams its way through the blinds, slowly creeping across the carpet until it remains on Sera's face like a spotlight. The light is a gentle reminder that it's time to wake up. Sera rolls over to face the wall and escape the sun, which is growing brighter and brighter by the minute. She finds herself unable to wake from this new dream. For months, the handsome stranger was just out of reach, and now she can feel him somewhere within the deepest parts of her. She refuses to let that go. Not soon after she rolls away from the impending morning does she begin to hear the raucous noise of the garbage truck hunkering its way down her dead-end street. Sera clamps her eyes shut. Tin garbage cans are thrown around and the truck screeches into her gravel drive before it turns around and putters away.She's allowed a few blissful moments of silence before her alarm clock clicks on, blaring the news: "It's a gorgeous, brisk December morning in Angelica, the temperature