Fields of Elysium- pt 1

Fields of Elysium: Part 1 Visiting Hours

         In case you missed it... "Fields of Elysium- Prologue"  [E]

         Kail looked at Melanie for a long time. She didn’t seem the least bit phased by him staring at her. He remembered telling her to shut up in such a rude way and now he wanted to apologize for his rudeness. She tilted her head to the side and pouted her lips; she already knew what he was thinking.

         Kail died about three hours ago. Not long after, Melanie introduced herself to him as his guardian angel. Now the two of them walked along the streets. Kail had so many questions and Melanie had so many answers. With her ability to read his mind, the conversation was mostly one way. Kail found out that Melanie can assume human form but mostly prefers to be invisible to humans. It was so weird to hear her refer to them as humans. On the surface, Melanie was every bit a human woman. She didn’t really fit into any description of an angel. She had short curly bluish-green hair, a broad smile, and a curvaceous body that was mesmerizing.

         “Thanks,” she said. Kail knew she knew what he was thinking, that’s why he tried his best to stop thinking about her and to concentrate on the situation. It was little help knowing that Melanie was his one and only companion right now. Kail refocused and began to ask her the important questions.

         “I’m really bad when it comes to dealing with women. I don’t know what to say and when I do say something it usually comes out the wrong way,” he hesitated. “You look so much like a woman that it's very distracting for me.”

         “It’s okay.” She kept in step with him while they walked. Now she seemed to be floating along with him, her feet remaining perfectly still. “I’ve wanted to talk with you for such a long time. I guess I didn’t really consider how all of this would affect you.” She paused, put an index finger to her cheek and contemplated, “It’s not really fair for you, I know everything about you, but you don’t know anything about me.”

         Kail acknowledged this and asked her, “How old are you?”

         Her jaw dropped, her eyes began to water and Melanie turned away from him. “How could you ask a girl her age like that?”

         “Wait…. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings! I was just… just forget I asked, okay?”

         “I’m just kidding,” she turned around and her cheeks were rosy and her eyes gleamed impishly.” Her eyebrows furrowed and she began counting on her fingers, beginning with one hand and then using the next. “Hmm, if I had to make a guess, I think I’m close to 720 years old, give or take a few years. I've watched lots and lots of television and girls always get offended by being asked their age, I wonder why?”

         “Wow” Kail scratched his head and stared at her in amazement. “You really don’t look like it. If I had to guess I would say you were closer to 18 or 20 years old, the most.”

         “We don’t age like you do, silly” she patted him on the shoulder. “Well, we can talk more but first I need to take you somewhere. Give me your hand.” She held out her hand and smiled at him.

         Kail placed his hands on top of hers; the moment he did so he found his whole body being raised up from the ground. "Just relax," she whispered. Kail tried to do it and he found himself becoming more stressed instead. He had always been afraid of heights and now the two of them were well above the city. The lights and noise beneath them seemed like a whole different world. Kail realized how beautiful his city was. He had never seen it at this perspective before. He looked at Melanie, who still held his hand firmly. He couldn’t believe this girl was his guardian angel, and as he was about to speak she spoke first.

         “You shouldn’t look at me like that. If you’re not careful you’ll fall in love with me.” For the first time this evening Melanie gave him a serious expression. Kail waited, hoping that she was joking with him like before, but her expression didn’t change. They floated above the city and he feared what would happen if she let go of his hand. As much as he was concerned about his safety, Kail felt like a child again. His heart sank and he didn’t know what to say to this girl he had just met. “….I’ve had others I was assigned to work with. They made that mistake, and it never turned out well. We… we aren’t allowed to develop a personal relationship with humans. It interferes with our work. I’ve heard stories of others who have broken that rule, it never turned out well.” She looked away from him. Kail didn’t want to ask but his curiosity got the better of him.

         “What happened to the ‘others’?”

         “Angels who break the rule are banished from the Orchard. The Orchard is where we go to rest. We are hatched and we are taught our duties by our mother, then we are sent here. Every once in awhile we return to the Orchard in order to rest and replenish our energy.” The smile returned to her face as she spoke. It was a distant memory but one that brought happiness to Melanie. She continued, “All of us need the Orchard to survive. I don’t know what happens to those who are banished from the Orchard.”

         “I’m sorry… it must be hard doing your job. I mean you observe and protect humans but you aren’t allowed to have feelings for them.” Kail felt such sadness for her, he never knew that Angels existed much less that they had such a complicated situation to deal with.

         “Its okay, we live forever and we have unique powers. It would be wrong if we didn’t do something to help out.” She gave him a broad smile as her eyes squinted. Kail felt a pang of guilt as his feelings for her deepened. He had to remind himself to ignore how cute she was and ask her for a favor.

         “Melanie, I want to visit my mother.”

         “Of course, I will take you to her. Just hold on tight.” Kail didn’t know what to expect. Before he could even ask her what was going to happen, they both appeared in Kail's living room.

         “Holy crap! How did you do that?”

         “It’s one of my abilities. You will get used to it,” she said calmly.

         Kail walked past her and into the kitchen. He found his mom sitting there hunched silently. He sat opposite her and looked at her face. He had never seen his mom like this before. Her breathing was almost inaudible, once in awhile he could hear her suppress a sniffle. She stared at the kitchen table and remained motionless. Kail leaned closer to his mom. He saw the stream of tears running down her face. They sat before one another for five minutes then ten minutes. Kail tried to start a conversation but his mother couldn't hear him. He clenched his fists and slammed the dinner table but the table remained motionless and the silence was deafening. Kail sat there and concentrated on how he could communicate with her. He smiled as he remembered a distant memory. He emulated the time he fell off his bike and how he scraped his knee, and how she had told him not to cry. She told him that big boys don't cry. Now Kail was trying hard to convince that same brave woman that big girls don't cry either. He fell mute when he noticed his mom holding his watch in her right hand. This was the gift that she had given him for his birthday. He placed his hands on top of hers.

         “I'm okay, mom,” he quietly told her, “I am not in pain. Please don't worry about me.” Melanie stood by the hallway. She wanted to enter the kitchen but something made her hesitate. She knew that Kail was very close to his mother and today, he was abruptly taken away from her. “Mom, please don't cry anymore. If there's a way for me to come back, I will find it! Don't give up on me. I will make you proud of me.”

         As if hearing him, she shook her head from side to side. "My only boy...," she whispered to herself. Her eyes were wild and bloodshot, her mascara was running but she didn't bother to wipe it clean. She looked around the room and finally realizing that she was all alone, she slumped her body against the table. She rested her hand on her forearms and fell asleep. Kail hoped that he was able to comfort her in some way. He sat there across the table from her in silence. He stayed that way for another couple of minutes. Melanie approached him fearfully. “Are you okay?” He nodded. Then he looked up at Melanie.

         “Can you lift her up?” he asked.

         “What do you mean?”

         “I mean... can you put her in bed for me?”

         “If I do that, then I risk waking her up. I can't do that Kail, my duties don't allow me to....”

         “Forget I asked.” Kail got up and brushed past Melanie while heading into the living room. Melanie turned around and followed him. He ran through the front door way and into the streets. She proceeded through and saw him running away.

         “Wait.... wait for me!” she cried, but Kail never turned around. She was getting frustrated until he stopped two blocks later. He dropped to his hands and knees and he began sobbing. Melanie caught up to him and stood beside his crumbled from. “I'm sorry you had to go through this. Most of the time... the ones who suffer most are the ones you leave behind. You have to trust that your mother is going to be alright. She raised you all by herself, she is a strong woman and she will survive.”

         “You don't know anything about my mom, so why don't you just shut up!”

         Melanie was taken aback, but she didn't relent, “I do know. I know about your mom and about you. Please don't treat me like this Kail. Don't push me away. Let me be here for you.” She bent down as she said this. She place one hand on his shoulder and peered into his face.

         He sat up against the tree. His cheeks were wet and puffy and his eyes were red. Melanie didn't know what to do, so she sat down next to him. She sat there silently, waiting for him to say something. The two of them sat there listening to the breathing that the other person made. Kail didn't know how to apologize and Melanie waiting for him to apologize. It was a silent battle of wills. 

         to be continued..."Fields of Elysium- pt 2"  [18+]