“See you up there,” she said like an excited child. She closed her eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and then sprinted away from us. She ran swiftly and nimbly through the trees, her feet barely touching the ground and gathered speed until she was almost a blur. Then she became suddenly airborne. There was a breathtaking artistry in it—Ivy made it look as easy as a swan taking flight. Her wings, slender but powerful, sliced through the loose T-shirt she wore and reared Heavenward like living entities. The wings that looked as solid as stone when stationary shone like satin in full flight.
I broke into a run and felt my own wings begin to pulse and then tear through their cage of cloth. Once released, their beating grew faster, and I too was lifted into the air to join Ivy. We flew in synchronization for a while, gliding slowly upward, then dipping suddenly, and finally coming to land on the soles of our feet on the branches of a nearby tree. From there we looked down at Gabriel with radiant faces. Ivy bent and let herself topple from the tree. The span of her wings broke her fall, and she swooped upward again with a gasp of pleasure.
“What are you waiting for?” she called down to Gabriel before she disappeared into a cloud.
Gabriel, who never did anything in a hurry, methodically peeled off layers and tossed aside his boots. He pulled his T-shirt over his head, and we watched his wings unfurl until the genteel music teacher had disappeared and he looked like the majestic celestial warrior he was created to be. This was the angel who, eons ago, had singlehandedly reduced a city to ash and stone. His entire figure shone like burnished brass. Even in flight his style was different from ours, lacking in urgency, more structured and meditative.
Above the treetops I was enveloped by mist and cloud. Droplets of water gathered on my back, and I felt their crisp bite. My wings beat furiously and lifted me higher. I abandoned thought and soared, letting my body twist and turn, looping around the trees. I felt the release of energy that had been pent up for so long. I saw Gabriel stop midair once to ascertain that I hadn’t lost control. Ivy I only spotted every now and then as an amber glow through the mist.
For the most part interaction was kept to a minimum. This was our own personal time to feel whole again and embrace the kind of freedom that could only ever truly be felt in the
Kingdom of Heaven. Our oneness was beyond the power of language to convey. Our humanity dropped away as we experienced our true selves.
We flew like this for what must have been several hours, until Gabriel emitted a low melodic hum, like the note of an oboe, which we knew was the signal to come down.
As we climbed into the Jeep, I thought there was no chance of my going to sleep once we got home. I was too jubilant, and it would be hours before I came down from my high. But I was wrong. The car trip back along the winding road was so rhythmic that I fell asleep curled on the backseat like a kitten long before Byron came into view.
Calm Before the Storm
My relationship with Xavier seemed to deepen after the dinner with my family. We felt we had been given permission to express our emotions without fear of reprisal. We began to think and move in sync with each other, like one entity occupying different bodies. Although we made a conscious effort not to disconnect from everyone around us, at times it just couldn’t be helped.
We even tried allocating specific times to spend with other people, but when we did, the minutes seemed to drag and our behavior felt so contrived that we inevitably gravitated back together within the hour.
During lunch Xavier and I had taken to sitting together at our own private table at the back of the cafeteria. People drifted over from time to time to share a joke or ask “Woodsy” about details of a swim meet, but rarely did anyone attempt to join us nor were references made to our relationship. Instead people orbited around us, keeping a respectful distance. If they sensed there were secret issues between us, they at least had the manners not to pry.
“Let’s get out of here,” Xavier said, packing up his books.
“Not until you’ve finished your essay.”
“I’m done.”
“You’ve written three lines.”
“Three carefully considered lines,” Xavier objected. “Quality over quantity, remember?”
“I’m just making sure you stay focused. I don’t want to be responsible for distracting you from your goals.”
“Bit late for that,” Xavier joked. “You’re a huge distraction and a very bad influence.”
“How dare you!” I teased. “It’s impossible for me to be a bad influence on anyone.”
“Really? And why is that?”
“Because I’m goodness personified—I’m so clean I squeak!”
Xavier’s brows furrowed as he pondered this admission. “Hmmm,” he said after a moment. “We’re going to have to do something about that.”
“Any excuse to get out of homework!”
“Maybe it’s more that I have the rest of my life for achieving my goals. Who knows how long I’ve got with you.”
I felt the lightheartedness seep from the conversation as soon as those words were spoken.
We usually skirted around this topic—it mostly led to confusion as things do when they’re outside our sphere of control.
“Let’s not think about that.”
“How can I not think about it? Doesn’t it keep you awake at night?”
The conversation was going down a road I didn’t like.
“Of course I think about it,” I said. “But I don’t see the point in spoiling our time together now.”
“I just feel like we should be doing something,” he said angrily. I knew the anger wasn’t directed at me. The fact that there was no one to blame made things even harder. “We should at least be trying.”
“There’s nothing we can do,” I said quietly. “I don’t think you realize what you’re dealing with here. You can’t just mess around with the forces of the universe!”
“What ever happened to free will? Or was that just a myth?”
“Aren’t you forgetting something? I’m not like you so those rules don’t apply to me.”
“Maybe they should.”
“Maybe . . . but what are we going to do about it, start a petition?”
“That’s not funny, Beth. Do you want to go home?” Xavier asked, his eyes locked with mine.
I knew he wasn’t referring to Byron.
“I can’t believe you even have to ask me that question.”
“Then why doesn’t this bother you as much as it bothers me?”
“If I thought there was any way I could stay here, do you think I would hesitate?” I cried.
“Do you think I’d willingly walk away from the most important thing in my life?”
Xavier turned to look at me, his turquoise eyes dark, his mouth narrowed into a hard line.
“They, whoever they are, shouldn’t have control over our lives,” he said. “I’m not about to lose you. I’ve been through that before, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Xavier . . . ,” I began, but he silenced me by putting a finger lightly over my lips.
“Just answer me one question. If we were to fight this, what are our options?”
“I don’t know!”