EARTH ANGEL

CHAPTER EIGHT : THE MEMORY THAT WASN’T HERS

Elena woke with a scream trapped in her throat.

For several seconds, she didn't know where she was.

The ceiling above her was familiar.

Her curtains were closed.

Morning light slipped beneath them.

Her room was quiet.

Normal.

But her heart was beating so violently that she pressed a hand against her chest.

She had been dreaming.

At least, she thought she had.

She sat up slowly.

The memory was already disappearing.

A door.

Black water.

A voice.

And a face she couldn't remember.

Elena squeezed her eyes shut.

Nothing.

She opened them again.

The golden key was lying on her bedside table.

She stared at it.

She had left it on the floor.

She was certain of that.

She reached for it.

The moment her fingers touched the metal, a sharp pain shot through her palm.

Elena dropped it.

A thin red line appeared across her skin.

She watched it.

The cut closed.

Not slowly.

Not gradually.

It simply disappeared.

Elena's breathing stopped.

She turned her hand over.

Perfectly healed.

"No."

She backed away from the table.

This was becoming impossible to ignore.

The dreams.

The symbols.

The healing.

The man.

The woman.

The angel.

Her father.

Aurelia.

And now the key.

She picked up her phone and checked the time.

7:14 A.M.

She stared at the screen.

For some reason, the number bothered her.

She couldn't explain why.

Then a notification appeared.

A message from Maya.

Are you alive?

Elena almost laughed.

She typed:

Unfortunately.

The reply came immediately.

Good. Because we're meeting today. And you're telling me everything.

Elena looked at the golden key.

Then typed:

Okay.

---

By noon, Elena and Maya were sitting in a quiet café several streets away from Blackthorn's city center.

Maya had insisted on choosing the location.

"It has cameras," she explained.

Elena raised an eyebrow.

"You've been watching too many crime shows."

"After what you've told me? I'm not taking chances."

Elena looked around.

The café was almost empty.

Three elderly women sat near the entrance.

A man worked on a laptop in the corner.

A young couple whispered over coffee.

Everything was ordinary.

That was comforting.

For approximately thirty seconds.

Then Elena noticed the man in the corner.

He was watching her.

Not staring.

Watching.

There was a difference.

His laptop was open, but he hadn't touched it in several minutes.

Elena lowered her voice.

"Don't look."

Maya immediately looked.

"At who?"

"The man in the corner."

Maya glanced again.

"He's looking at you."

"I know."

"Do you know him?"

"No."

The man suddenly stood.

Elena's body tensed.

He picked up his coffee.

Walked toward them.

Then continued past.

He didn't stop.

Maya watched him leave.

"Okay."

She turned back.

"That was suspicious."

"Everything is suspicious now."

"Fair."

Maya leaned forward.

"Tell me what happened after I left yesterday."

Elena hesitated.

"An angel appeared."

Maya blinked.

"An actual angel?"

"I think so."

"You think so?"

"He called himself Seraphiel."

Maya stared at her.

"That's not a very human name."

"I noticed."

"What did he look like?"

"Human."

"That's disappointing."

Elena laughed despite herself.

"He had golden eyes."

Maya's smile disappeared.

"And?"

"He knew about the dreams."

"Okay."

"He knew about my parents."

"Okay."

"He knew about the woman."

Maya leaned closer.

"What did he say?"

"That the woman isn't real."

Maya frowned.

"Not real?"

"Not who she appears to be."

"Then who is she?"

"I don't know."

Elena looked down.

"But I think she's pretending to be someone."

"Someone you know?"

"Maybe."

"Who?"

Elena swallowed.

"The woman in the photograph."

Maya went silent.

"The six-winged woman?"

"Yes."

Maya slowly leaned back.

"That's terrifying."

"I know."

"Did Seraphiel say who the real woman is?"

"No."

"Did he tell you who you are?"

Elena shook her head.

"No."

Maya frowned.

"Then what did he tell you?"

"That I don't have to be afraid."

"Of what?"

"I don't know."

Maya sighed.

"You really have the worst supernatural information source."

Elena smiled.

Then her expression changed.

"I think something else happened."

"What?"

"She told me something."

"Who?"

"The woman."

Maya waited.

"She said I was something they fear."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"And you believed her?"

"No."

"Good."

"I didn't believe her because..."

Elena paused.

"Because she didn't feel right."

Maya nodded.

"Your instincts?"

"Maybe."

Elena looked at her wrist.

"The angel told me to trust what feels wrong."

Maya stared.

"That sounds like good advice."

"It does."

Elena looked toward the window.

"But there's something I don't understand."

"What?"

"Why would the woman pretend to be someone else?"

Maya thought for a moment.

"Maybe because she wants you to trust her."

"That's what I thought."

"And if she's lying about who she is..."

Maya stopped.

Elena looked at her.

"Then everything she tells me could be a lie."

"Exactly."

Elena felt a strange sense of relief.

For the first time, she had something she could hold onto.

Not an answer.

But a possibility.

The woman wasn't someone she needed to understand yet.

She simply needed to remember that appearances could be deceiving.

---

That afternoon, Elena returned home alone.

The house was quiet.

Her parents were in the living room.

Daniel looked up when she entered.

"Where were you?"

"With Maya."

Miriam smiled faintly.

"Did you have a good time?"

"Somewhat."

Elena walked toward them.

"I need to ask you something."

Daniel's expression tightened.

"About?"

"The night I was born."

Miriam looked at Daniel.

"Elena..."

"I know about the woman."

Neither spoke.

"I know she was outside the hospital."

Silence.

"And I know she said the name Aurelia."

Miriam's hands trembled.

Elena noticed.

"Mom?"

Miriam stood.

"Your father and I wanted to tell you."

"When?"

"When we knew it was safe."

Elena laughed bitterly.

"Safe?"

Daniel stood.

"We weren't trying to lie to you."

"But you did."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because we were afraid."

"Of me?"

"No."

Daniel's answer was immediate.

"Never of you."

Elena's expression softened slightly.

"Then what?"

"Of what might happen if other people found out about you."

"Why would they care about me?"

Daniel looked at her.

"Because some people believe certain things about what you're supposed to become."

Elena's heart began pounding.

"Become what?"

Daniel hesitated.

Miriam whispered:

"We don't know."

Elena stared at them.

"You don't know?"

"We know very little."

"Then why are you afraid?"

"Because we saw what happened when you were born."

Elena waited.

Miriam sat down.

"After the power came back, there was a strange light outside the hospital."

"What kind?"

"White."

"Like lightning?"

"No."

Miriam shook her head.

"It was too still."

Elena frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"It filled the entire sky."

Daniel continued.

"There was no thunder."

"No rain?"

"There was rain."

"But the light wasn't lightning."

Miriam looked at Elena.

"It was beautiful."

For some reason, Elena felt a strange ache in her chest.

"Then what happened?"

Miriam's eyes filled with tears.

"The woman appeared."

"The one in the photograph?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

Miriam looked toward Daniel.

He nodded.

"She said you belonged to the world."

Elena frowned.

"What world?"

"We don't know."

"Then why did you think she was dangerous?"

"We didn't."

Elena froze.

"You didn't?"

"No."

Miriam shook her head.

"She didn't frighten us."

"Then why didn't you tell me about her?"

"Because after she disappeared, everything became strange."

"How?"

"The hospital records changed."

Elena stared.

"What?"

"Your birth time."

"3:11 became 3:17."

"Yes."

"The photographs."

"Some disappeared."

"Some?"

"Yes."

Miriam looked at the photograph on the table.

"That one was the only one that remained."

Elena picked it up.

"And the woman?"

"We never saw her again."

"Until now."

Miriam looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

Elena hesitated.

"I've been seeing her."

Miriam's face went pale.

"In your dreams?"

"Yes."

Miriam stood so quickly that her chair moved backward.

"What does she say?"

Elena looked at her.

"She told me not to trust the angels."

Miriam's expression changed.

Not fear.

Something closer to confusion.

"Why would she say that?"

"I don't know."

Daniel frowned.

"Did she tell you anything else?"

"She said I was something they feared."

Daniel exchanged a look with Miriam.

Elena noticed.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Looking at each other like you know something."

Daniel sighed.

"We don't know what she means."

"But you have an idea."

"An idea isn't the truth."

Elena folded her arms.

"Then tell me the idea."

Before Daniel could answer, a loud knock sounded at the front door.

Everyone froze.

Three knocks.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Daniel looked toward the door.

"Stay here."

Elena followed him anyway.

He opened it.

Nobody stood outside.

Only a small package.

Brown paper.

No address.

No name.

Daniel picked it up.

Elena watched.

"Don't open that."

Daniel looked at her.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Something about the package felt wrong.

Daniel placed it on the table.

He carefully opened it.

Inside was a book.

Ancient.

Bound in dark leather.

Miriam gasped.

"What is that?"

Daniel pulled it out.

There was a symbol carved into the cover.

Six wings.

Elena stepped closer.

The moment she saw it, the symbol on her wrist appeared.

Golden light spread beneath her skin.

Daniel dropped the book.

It hit the floor.

The house shook.

The windows rattled.

Elena grabbed the wall.

"What is happening?"

Miriam rushed toward her.

"Elena!"

The golden light became brighter.

Then suddenly—

Everything stopped.

The shaking.

The light.

The sound.

Silence.

Elena looked down.

The symbol had disappeared.

The book remained open on the floor.

Its pages were turning by themselves.

Slowly.

One after another.

Until they stopped.

On a single page.

There was a painting.

A woman.

Six wings.

Silver hair.

Golden eyes.

Standing beneath a brilliant white sky.

Elena's heart raced.

She knew that face.

The woman from her dreams.

But beneath the painting was something she had never seen before.

A name.

Not Aurelia.

Not Elena.

A completely different name.

Miriam whispered it.

"Seraphiel."

Elena looked at her.

"What?"

Miriam pointed at the page.

"The man in the painting."

Elena looked closer.

The figure standing beside the six-winged woman was unmistakable.

The same golden eyes.

The same face.

Seraphiel.

Elena's blood ran cold.

"That's him."

Daniel looked at her.

"Who?"

"The angel."

---

That night, Elena returned to her room and locked the door.

She placed the ancient book on her desk.

She didn't open it.

She simply stared at it.

Something told her she shouldn't.

But curiosity won.

She opened the first page.

Nothing.

The second.

Nothing.

The third.

Ancient writing.

She couldn't understand it.

Then her fingers brushed across the page.

The words changed.

They became English.

Elena stared.

THE EARTH ANGEL WALKED AMONG MEN BEFORE THE FIRST KING BUILT HIS THRONE.

Her breath caught.

She turned the page.

SHE CAME NOT TO RULE.

Another page.

SHE CAME TO HEAL.

Another.

SHE CAME TO GUARD WHAT COULD NOT GUARD ITSELF.

Elena swallowed.

She kept reading.

HER NAME WAS...

The rest of the sentence had been torn away.

Elena frowned.

She turned the page.

Blank.

Another.

Blank.

Then—

A whisper.

"Elena."

She froze.

The voice came from behind her.

She slowly turned.

The six-winged woman stood beside the window.

Elena's heart pounded.

"You."

The woman smiled.

"You found the book."

"Who are you?"

The woman didn't answer.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to remember."

"Remember what?"

"Who you are."

Elena stepped closer.

"Then tell me."

The woman smiled.

"You already know."

"No."

"You will."

Elena stared into her golden eyes.

Something was different tonight.

The woman's face looked almost perfect.

Too perfect.

The expression never changed.

The smile never moved.

Elena remembered what Maya had said.

If she's lying about who she is, everything she tells you could be a lie.

"What's your name?"

The woman's smile faded.

"You know my name."

"No."

A long silence.

Then the woman said:

"Aurelia."

Elena's stomach dropped.

She stepped backward.

"You aren't Aurelia."

For the first time, the woman's expression broke.

Only for a second.

But Elena saw it.

Anger.

Pure, cold anger.

Then the woman smiled again.

"You are learning."

Elena's heart stopped.

"What did you say?"

The woman disappeared.

No smoke.

No light.

Nothing.

Just gone.

Elena stood alone.

She looked down at the book.

The page had changed.

The missing sentence was now visible.

Only four words.

SHE WAS NOT ALONE.

Elena stared.

Then another line appeared beneath it.

AND SOMETHING FOLLOWED HER.

The room became cold.

Elena slowly closed the book.

Outside her window, thunder rolled across the sky.

But there was no storm.

And somewhere beyond the Mortal Realm, something ancient opened its eyes.

It had waited twenty-four years.

Now it knew Elena had begun asking the right questions.

The game was no longer about keeping her asleep.

It was about reaching her before the truth did.