An angel?

In slight disbelief, I gave myself up to skepticism, still thinking that there was still a chance that all of this was just a bad joke. However, I could not entirely deny the man’s claim, knowing that even I had firstly assumed of him as a deity of some sort.

As such, I held my lips closed, unsure that I could even still believe in my own knowledge anymore. And as I kept quiet, my eyes gauged at the man, grading the validity of his statement through any kind of information that I could gather. Yet apart from his attitude, his appearance could only confirm himself further. Clueless, I hesitated to reply, opting to burden the conversation on my current counterpart.

But adding to my already immense disbelief, the angel had not moved an inch. With both of his eyes closed, his fingers were still tucked between his strands of hair. And as I assumed that the man was waiting for me to reply, I decided to give him one.

“I-”

Yet as the first syllable traveled from my tongue, the man interrupted me. His eyes suddenly largened, now intensely staring towards me. He then took a deep breath, puffing his chest up to appear even more confident than ever before. And still, with no change to his expression, he shouted.

“An angel with the face that rivals the gods!”

"..." 

What was that dramatic pause for? Does he think that it was cool? Or was he setting up the timing for comedic effect? I guess all of this was a bad joke after all.

I found myself cursing at heart. However, I was unable to express any anger vocally. On the contrary, I was a tad amazed at the man who had zero shame. And due to that twisted sense of admiration, again, I was left speechless.

“Ah, I don’t think you heard what I’ve just said.”

Seeing that I was, Angel interpreted that I did not manage to hear him the first time. But seeing as how this room was only filled by both of us, I could not understand how he came to that conclusion. And again, he brushed his hair with poise, indicating that he was ready to embarrass himself once more.

“An angel with the face that rivals th-”

“Cute. Angel... or whatever the hell you are. How about you answer my first question instead?”

But as I find it as redundant as it was revolting, I stopped him right on his tracks. And rather than painting this pristine room with the color of my vomit, I chose to bring the topic elsewhere.

“You could at least try to act cuter.”

What was God thinking when he made this angel?

After letting off another short sigh which was oozing of disappointment, he finally decided to give an answer.

“Alright. For where, I’m not really sure about how to answer that. Hm...”

But shortly after, he paused again, pondering on the correct choice of words to describe the place.

“Let’s just say that you’re in my territory at this moment in time.”

After giving a vague answer, I did not send him any reply, choosing only to not fix away my gaze from him. As he understood the signal, he continued his monologue.

“Well, as for who... It will be quite troublesome to tell you my name...”

The man before me then looked up towards a nonexistent ceiling to perhaps prepare himself to give me yet another unsatisfactory response.

Why is it so bad to let me know of his name anyway? Is it prohibited under some angel article?

Without revealing the meaning behind his worry, the angel clasped both of his palms against each other as his head lowered to its original position, gesturing that he had found a solution through body.

“From now on, you shall call me Angel!”

Albeit, it was not the most innovative.

But as I have established at least some information, I chose not to complain and went on.

“Understood. Next question.”

“What prize do I get for answering this time?”

“Next. Question.”

“Do all female humans act like you nowadays?”

In the midst of trying to gather useful ones, I obtained a rather unusable one instead. That is, Angel will not miss a chance to be cheeky.

“When we’ve just met, you repeatedly called me a “case”. What does that mean exactly?”

But once I had thrown my next question, Angel showed that he was capable of something else.

“Ah.”

Yet again, he tilted his head upwards. And once he had put it down, he flipped our roles, now asking a question with a flat yet rich tone, suddenly filled with solemnity.

“Why do you think you are here right now?”

Taken aback by his change of attitude, I paused and gathered myself for a moment. But without the need for too much time, I already knew the answer to Angel’s question ever since I have arrived at this place. And in my opinion, there would be no one oblivious enough to not have understood immediately.

“I have died.”

Ever so bluntly, without beating around any bush, I answered with precision. And after hearing my response, Angel’s eyes widened, lifting his eyebrows just slightly.

“Oh... no hesitation. Admirable.”

With his manner unchanging, Angel spoke his mind with no attempt to be funny. But even though his comment was that of a compliment, I found myself chuckling at heart.

“Was that something to be praised?”

Angel closed his eyes and exhaled, apparent to be recollecting his memory.

“In most cases, others would’ve cried to the point of being hysterical. Death is not usually something that can be easily accepted.”

Again, his explanation had no trace of comedy. But to it, I could only chuckle louder.

“I see. Heh, that’s only logical.”

“What do you mean?”

Angel looked somewhat stunned as he asked for an explanation.

“All the people before me, those “cases” of yours... Perhaps they had something to cry for.”

Indeed, I found this to be funny. The fact that Angel was surprised and somewhat baffled by my acceptance, showed my insignificance.

“Friends... Blood... Love... whatever it is.”

Because in comparison to Angel’s previous cases, I had nothing to cherish. That was why, to me, it could only make sense that I accepted things effortlessly.

Indeed, it was too funny. Evident, I was grinning ever so widely.

“I don’t...”

But beneath that widening grin, a quavering voice was hidden, just prisoned behind the bars of my clenching teeth. And in quick pursuit, my chest tightened as my lungs screamed, replacing what I could not. As my eyes began to scorch, my breathing heaved.

However, it is alright.

As usual, they will “leave”, right?

“What should I cry for?”

Huh?

“What do I have?! Mother... Mo... She’s never home. I had to face everythi... Alone. School was no different. I never did anything to them. B-but I never wanted to be... There's no one stupid enough to want to!”

What... am I saying?

“But... I can’t blame her. She must be tired as well... Th-that's why I had to be strong. But... still... I-...”

Why are they not leaving? Why are they throwing themselves straight towards this angel? Someone who I had just met; someone I could not call as a friend nor family.

“I only did what I believed in.”

Tears began to fall freely. Yet somehow, I felt calmer. Even if it was painful, everything was a tad lighter.

“And now, I have died. There’s nothing to regret. There’s nothing I could change...”

But still, I thought of this as something pointless. Because no matter how much I would damage my throat, and no matter how genuine my cries were, things will not change. That is why I never chose to.

And at that very moment, Angel’s expression suddenly brightened.

“Finally. Huh, Gwen?”

For the first time since our encounter, Angel finally smiled. It was stiff, awkward, and can only be depicted as artificial. But somehow, it erased my uncertainty.

Angel then stepped forward, closing off our distance, and while his feet stepped, he spoke,

“My boss is really weird.”

His steps continued and led him beside me, and once he was aligned parallel with my shoulders, his legs stopped, now only his mouth running.

“In my opinion, I'm not well suited for this kind of job.”

He then unexpectedly snapped his fingers. And within this empty room, the snap was deafening, attracting my attention as if it forced my head to turn to its direction. To my surprise, in front of Angel, a mirror was floating directly in front of his face.

“Ugh, smiles make me look awkward.”

He muttered to himself while he rotated his head to get a view of his profile. Still fixated on his reflection, he then carried on.

“I mean, look at me. Ever since your arrival, I’ve been trying so hard to joke around and make you comfortable. But my face just couldn’t express it right. Isn’t it better for other angels to replace me for this job?”

I don’t think he understands the term “comfortable” and “hospitality”.

“Yet, even so, you could finally say all those things.”

But... it’s as if he understands much more.

“God really does have mysterious plans.”

Angel then snapped his finger once more. And as the mirror vanished entirely, so did Angel from my side, only his voice was identifiable.

Again, my eyes followed the source of the noise, only to find Angel who had already moved a distance in front of me. And in a series of the incomprehensible, I wished I could snap my fingers for a mirror just to see just how dumbfounded I might look.

“And for you, he has made yet another one. That is why I am here.”

But as I could not, I could only question his statement.

“Wh-what do y-”

Yet that too was immediately cut by Angel with a swift upward movement of his right arm. Right in front of me, Angel spread his fingers apart.

“5 days.”