The Middle Ground - Chapter 2/4

Emi ran up to the fallen boy and tried desperately to wake him up.

“Hey. Are you alright?” she asked kneeling down and shaking the boy lightly. His back was torn up and bloodied from his fall and it seemed his vey awareness of his surroundings had been knocked out of him. Emi began to panic.

“Come on now, Please don’t die…”

Suddenly Emi noticed something strange peaking between he cuts on his back. Tiny clusters of feathers began unfolding and taking shape into tiny wings. Emi’s eyes widened as she realized just exactly what the boy was. The tiny wings shook themselves off and spread out sending pure white feathers floating all around them. Emi reached her hand out and one floated down into her palm. When it touched her she could feel the pain from the tiny cuts she’d gotten before fading away. In awe she turned her attention back to the boy who was struggling up onto his knees. The deep wounds on his back were fading away and looked as though they had never been there. The boy looked at her curiously; his bright, blue eyes were shining in wonder starring right back into hers.

“You’re an angel… aren’t you?” Emi asked almost in a whisper.

The boy starred a moment then nodded silently. Suddenly the thickness in the air and the tense feeling Emi had felt before were gone. A tiny breeze ruffled the feathered appendages on the boys back and without warning they broke apart and were carried off in the wind. At the same time his white, silvery hair began shifting into a dark black color. Emi starred with her mouth wide open in amazement as he boys appearance changed before her eyes.

“Wow…you’re amazing…” Emi whispered as the boy struggled to his feet. “Hey! Should you be moving?” she asked standing with him. The boy didn’t respond but looked at Emi with a strange expression.

“Did I say something wrong…?” She asked. He boy shook his head and pointed up to the sky. “You have to go back up there?” She guessed hoping she understood his gestures right. He nodded in response.

“Bad things... will happen…” The boy spoke out in a strange accent Emi had never heard before. It seemed from the thickness of his accent that the boy didn’t know much English.

“How will you go back?”

The boy didn’t say anything but a sad expression took over his face.

“Do you not know how to go back?”

He shook his head again and bit his lip. The truth was the boy had no idea how he had fallen down from his home. It was a strange fluke that had never happened before. But now he was stuck with no idea how to get back. Emi walked closer and held the boys hand in both of hers.

“Don’t worry we’ll find you a way home.” She smiled optimistically trying to raise the boy’s spirits. The boy seemed surprised at her but smiled back shyly.

“Emi!” a voice called out from inside the woods.

“That’s my daddy!” Emi said excitedly as she saw her father, still in his pajamas; push through the unmarked path to get to them.

“Emi!” her father cried relieved as he knelt down to hug his little girl. “You know not to leave the house without mommy or daddy. What on earth are you doing out here?” He asked still frantic.

“But you didn’t wake up… and I couldn’t leave him” Emi said sadly.

“What are you talking-“ Her father suddenly caught sight of the young boy behind his daughter. “Who is that?”

“The boy who fell from heaven!” Emi stated proudly. “He’s an angel” she whispered playfully in to her father’s ear.

“Did you get lost out here?” Emi’s father asked the boy who shook his head.

“Do you live near here?” He shook his head again.

“Did you run away from home?”  Once again the boy shook his head downcast.

Emi’s father sighed wearily pushing back his bed head mess of hair back from his forehead.

“He doesn’t know how to get back home, Daddy. Can we help him?” Emi asked tugging on her father’s sleeve.

“We’ll we can’t just leave him… and it’s too late to really do anything else…” he muttered talking mostly to himself. After a moment he sighed again. “How would you like a sleepover?” he knelt down to the boy’s eye level. “You can stay over tonight and tomorrow we’ll take you home. Sound good?”

The boy nodded again and Emi grinned excitedly taking hold of the boys hand again as they followed Emi’s father back to the house. Emi’s mother was waiting in the yard her pale, white nightgown shifted lightly in the wind. Her arms were crossed over her chest to keep her shoulders warm. When she saw the group approaching she hurriedly ran up to greet them.

“Thank God.” She cried picking up tiny Emi in her arms and kissing her cheek lightly. “What on earth were you thinking running into the woods so late?”

“I was helping the Angel Boy” Emi replied looking back at the little boy who stood back from the group awkwardly.

“What on earth..?” Emi’s mother starred at the boy trying to place the face to one of the children in the neighborhood but was unable to. “I’ve never seen him before. Where did he come from?”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow..” Emi’s dad cut her off pushing his hair back again. It was a habit for when he was nervous or confused. It was too late to try and put the strange events together. “He’s going to stay here tonight and tomorrow I’ll take him down to the police station and see if anyone reported a missing child.” He explained as he led he group back into the house. He rustled through a packed closet in the hallway and pulled out a tiny sleeping bag with a cartoon image of a bunny on it.

“You can sleep in Emi’s room, here.” He handed the sleeping bag to the boy who nodded. Emi’s father was a bit unnerved by the boy’s refusal to talk but he decided to brush it off. It was just a little boy after all.

Emi excitedly showed the boy to her room and helped him set up a place to sleep on the floor next to her bed.

“Thank you..” The boy whispered in his strange accent that made Emi giggle.

“It’s okay. An angel in my very own house. It’s exciting!” Emi smiled sitting down on the floor next to the boy. “Hey, hey!” She caught his attention. “What’s your name? You know mine. So it’s only fair you tell me yours.”

The boy motioned to a tiny stone on the end of a chain he wore on his neck.

“That’s a silver hematite stone.” Emi thought out loud. “That’s your name? Hematite?”

The boy named Hematite smiled and nodded.

“That means we’re the same!” Emi said suddenly with a huge grin on her face. “Emi is short for Emerald. That’s a stone too!” She explained excitedly. Hematite laughed along with Emi quietly but when the laughter stopped his expression turned to sadness again as he turned to look out the little window Emi had climbed out before.

“Don’t worry.” Emi put her hands over Hematite’s. “My daddy is really smart. He’ll find a way to get you home.”

Hematite looked back to Emi and smiled more sincere this time.

“We should go to bed. Mommy and Daddy won’t be happy if we stay up all night” she giggled standing and crawling into her own bed at the same time Hematite slid into the tiny sleeping bag that was just the right size.

“Goodnight angel boy” Emi smiled and pulled the covers over herself. In a matter of minutes the two drifted off to sleep.

Back in the tiny woods the strange black tar had appeared again bubbling and spreading, shooting up into the air. From inside the boy with the horns and daggers appeared. He told himself out loud gritting his teeth tightly ‘This time I won’t lose…”

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Please make sure to read the next chapter:http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1880283-The-Middle-Ground---Chapter-34!