ANAK CAHAYA- A child of Light

EPISODE 2

She found the call strange but had nothing else to do for the day and decided to go for the meeting. Was it truly just an internship? For some reason, her heart believed something else. She laughed at the feelings that filled her from within when she got out of the S5 right in the centre of the city. Oxford’s streets today are more crowded than any other day. People are hurrying up and down the alleys. Today, on top of being Saturday is also the Saint Giles fair, which made the usually 13-minutes journey from the city centre bus station to the St Thomas the Martyr’s church take her close to a half an hour because of the many people walking in all directions. The fair’s colourful and loud environment added to the delay; how can you not get distracted by a fair!? Luckily, she left early and still had plenty of time until 9:30 am. She entered the churchyard from St. Thomas Street, looking around for suspicious people. Who in their right mind holds a job interview in a church? She raised her left eyebrow betraying the contradicting thoughts from her mind. A church!?  Despite the suspicions that begun to grow into her heart, she put one foot in front of the other, and before she knew it, she found herself in front of the church’s door. She timidly pushed the door in to check if it is unlocked, somewhere in the deep of her mind she hoped that the church was locked, however, the heavy door opened with a gloomy cry. Slowly, she entered and closed the door behind her. The church is an old building, and despite being used by the orthodox Christian believers, it is an Anglian church, characterized by an open altar that unlike orthodox churches is not separated by a floor to ceiling iconostasis; the outside and inside the structure of the church is completely different from that of an orthodox church. Looking around the hall, she could see no soul in the altar or sitting on the pews. They might be in the backrooms; it makes sense. She told herself and decided to explore the backrooms. Not a soul in there either. Maybe they went outside for a second. Ella answered herself. Checking her watch, only ten minutes remained until the meeting. Maybe they are on the way, she told herself. She returned to the front of the church, saluted the hung Christ, and put the flowers she bought in front of St Mary’s icon. The only noise in the church was the one she made; the pit-patter of her feet on the stone floor and the crumbling of the paper foil that wrapped the flowers she bought. She said a short prayer like a hello and sat in one of the front row pews, firmly decided to wait for a maximum of 20 minutes past the meeting time and then leave if no one showed up. She was really not expecting anything out of this situation, but somehow, she felt that she had to do this.

“Early as always!” The telephone voice surprised her. She turned around, a man strikingly alike Ian Somerhalder, neatly dressed in a navy suit and a pastel pink shirt smiled at her. Instead of the blue eyes that Ian has, this man has enchanting green eyes alike the spring leaves of the apple trees. She breathed in overwhelmed by his charming appearance before she replied to him.

“Well, better earlier, than too late!”

“True…”

“By the way, as I said on the phone, I am Gabriel!” He introduced himself, and they shook hands.

“I’m Mihaela…Nice to meet you!” She shook his hand and looked around slightly concerned. I thought he said “we”? Is he on his own?

“I see…” Gabriel stated out loud about her concerns.

“What…what is it. Is there something wrong?” Ella retreated her hand and adjusted her clothes again.

“I mean, your name…you said your name is Ella, is short from Mihaela, right?” Gabriel made a reference to her name to explain his reaction to the question she had in her mind.

“Well, since I moved to the UK, I wanted to start anew, and then very often, my name is the only thing that gives away the fact that I am actually not British.”

“Ahh…” Gabriel replied, smacking his lips.

“You said “we” on the phone. Are your colleagues on the way?” They are already here, he wanted to say, but then he decided that maybe doing that is not the best choice.

“Mikael and Raphael are at the Moya restaurant. We should head there.” Gabriel said. Mikael and Raphael stayed silent. Mikael wanted to argue against it but reading her aura, he realized that he should agree with Gabriel.

“Then, why did we meet up here?” She asked Gabriel, slightly confused.

“This was the original meeting point, but Mikael and Raphael got hungry while they were waiting and decided to go to the Moya restaurant, they saved some spaces for us too.” Gabriel skillfully danced around the truth. Lying is a big no-no and he knows that he will have to pay for his lie. Last time he lied, he paid with 20 years of imprisonment, and that time he lied to save someone else’s life. The truth is, in his old age, that person became senile and poisoned a whole barrel of wine at a wedding, which ended up killing the newlyweds and make a few children orphans. To pay for his sin, Gabriel became the father of those children and put them all through school. This time he can’t truly know the extension of his lie, but he did it to maybe save from insanity the Anak Cahaya, the child of light. Mikael’s plan was to fully reveal themselves to her, with no prior preparation. Reading her aura, Gabriel saw too much pain and mistrust into her soul. Perhaps revealing themselves to her now is not advisable. Such an event can drive people insane. He just hoped that his instincts were right, that no evil can come from her.

“I never heard of the Moya restaurant” Ella stated.

“Is not very far away,” Gabriel answered. “Let’s go!” He told her.

She had never heard of the Moya restaurant before but decided to follow Gabriel anyway; he, somehow gives her a trusting vibe. It did not take long to get to the Moya restaurant. They were talking about her degree, and she suddenly got distracted by a five-penny coin shinnying on the asphalt. This was when Gabriel teleported themselves right in front of the restaurant.

“Look, a five-penny, this is good luck!” She childishly showed off her freshly picked off the ground coin.

“Now, you can pay for our breakfast!” He lightheartedly replied, and they both burst in laughter. Her enthusiasm reminded Gabriel why he finds humans so fascinating. They can find happiness in the littlest of things. “We’re here!” Gabriel stated, putting a pause to their laughter.

“That was truly quick!” She was surprised by how fast they have arrived. Because she has never heard of the Moya restaurant before, she thought that the restaurant might be somewhere outside of the city. It must be a new place, that is why I have not heard of it yet. She told herself while following Gabriel inside the restaurant.

“Do you have a reservation?” The waitress asked them upon them entering the restaurant.

“Yes, the name is Mikael Hreshtak,” Gabriel replied promptly. The lady looked on the list, but she could not see the name.

“I can’t see any Hreshtak, sir!” Of course, you cannot, not even the Anak Cahaya can see any now. He wanted to say, instead, he gestured a writing gesture on his palm, behind his back.

“Could you please check again!” The waitress checked the list, and to her surprise, there was indeed a table of four booked under the name of Mikael Hreshtak.

“I apologize for that, sir!” The waitress apologized for her mistake; she really did not see the name the first time she checked. But she must have missed it somehow.

“That’s ok; you’re only human!” Gabriel replied to her.

“Your table is number 12. If you would like to follow me.” She took two menus from the stall near the entry and proceeded to take them to the table. Two other men were sitting at that table, one of them waved towards their direction. The waitress put the two menus on the table and invited them to take a seat.

“Is there something you would like to order?” The waitress asked the two men who were still browsing through the menus.

“I’ll take the chef’s breakfast followed by the chocolate cheesecake and a cappuccino” The younger, feminine-looking male replied.

“I’ll have the same, but a black coffee instead of the cappuccino.” The other man replied.

“Same!” Gabriel automatically replied. “With the black coffee.”

Ella looked around a bit confused; it was obvious how close the three of them are; she felt like an outsider. “I’ll have the same!” She found herself replying without even knowing what the chef’s breakfast is, but she loves anything with chocolate.

“Should I tell her?” Gabriel telepathically asked Mikael.

“I’ll take care of it!” Mikael replied to him.

“Miss…” Mikael tried to call her name but stopped realizing that they have not exchanged names. Although he fully knows who she is. She cannot remember him, calling her by her name might make her lose the trust they try to build.

“Ella” She replied.

“I am known as Mikael.” He replied and attempted to stretch his hand for a handshake, but the waitress interrupted them.

“So, four chef’s breakfast, four chocolate cheesecakes, two black coffees, cappuccino and a….” The waitress read their order back to them and paused when she reached Ella’s order “…cappuccino or black coffee?” The waitress asked her.

“Do you do latte?” Ella asked instead

“Yes, we have small and large lattes; which one would you like?”

“I’ll have the small latte, thank you!”

“And a glass of cold milk!” Mikael added.

“Thank you!” Ella replied.

“Thank you!” All the men followed.

“So, why am I here?” Ella directly asked them.

“We have to know ourselves a bit before being able to work as a team.” Gabriel continued.

“We need your help in a very important mission!” Mikael answered her.

“Ok, what is it about?” She asked curiously. “Is it really that important?”

“Well, it could just bring about the end of the world, if unsuccessfully managed!” He answered in a serious tone.

“Yeah. Good one!” Ella laughed, they did not.

“Miss Mihaela, this is not a joke.” The man sitting next to Mikael scolded her reaction.

“If this is so important, why did you contact ME for this? There are so many other people better qualified for this!” She asked him, still doubting the seriousness of the situation, and slightly annoyed for being scolded.

“You were born for this!” Mikael answered, looking her straight in the eyes.

“Yeah, good one! Born for it! Haha!!! There must be one great adventure waiting for me!” She continued sarcastically. The men looked at each other, puzzled about what to do next. Mikael opened his mouth to say something but then realized that his approach is wrong. If someone does not want to believe in something no matter what evidence one brings their belief will just get strengthened towards their own direction. The internship, he reminded himself of how Gabriel approached her. The internship excuse should work, Mikael told himself.

“Regardless, this internship, we were talking about…” Mikael continued.

“Do I not need to see a contract?” Seeing that the men did not show any documents yet, Ella’s doubts returned. She interrupted Mikael from speaking, trying to catch him off guard.  

“Yeah, absolutely...I almost forgot about that. Here it is!” He pulled up a perfectly neat 5-pages A4 sized contract from his blazer, for the casual position of Anak Cahaya, job function: defender of the people.

“This is some fancy wording! What is this position exactly about?”

“Well, it is about making society a safer place.”

“So, what like a special police constable?”

“Yeah, something like that…”

“But aren’t there lots of other people better suited for this. I don’t have any law enforcement training, and then, look at me!” Ella gestured towards herself, “I am only five feet two, I am not the best material for a police constable!” Ella argued. Although Gabriel gave her a feeling of safety and gentleness, the man sitting opposite to her did not. His perfectly sculpted face, his brilliant blue eyes, and his rose-petal coloured lips paired with his ice-cold glance made him look like a god, like an avenging god. He seemed somehow familiar, but that only made her feel more worried and afraid every time he spoke.

“What we require is more like a social investigator than a law enforcing officer. A person that can identify the harmful aspects of the society which are not controlled by law. And at times, find the people that managed to escape lawful regulations by hiding their actions. It is largely something like that.” Mikael explained.

“Sounds exciting! But isn’t this already done by the police force or the neighbourhood watch members?” Ella asked, her feelings of suspicions increasing, they didn’t even ask for her CV.

“We need someone with a psychology background, someone that shows maturity and is driven by a strong sense of justice and kindness at the same time!” Mikael continued his speech still trying to persuade her.

“I strongly believe that you should look for someone else!” Ella continued. Ready to rise and leave at right that moment.

“Think about how great this would look on your CV! Psychology relevant experience! Where would you find this offer so early in your degree!” Mikael added, trying harder to pursue her.

“I am afraid that I am already quite busy as I am. Why would I waste my time with a volunteer casual position?” She apologetically replied, before rising from her seat.

“We’ll pay you. Think about the pay!” Mikael added, in a last attempt. He really cannot afford to lose her again. Humanity might find its end sooner than planned if he cannot put back in place the Anak Cahaya.

“What about the pay!?” She rhetorically asked him already annoyed by his persistence.

“All travels and missions…” He realized his wording and corrected himself “job’s costs will be covered, such as accommodation, food, transport while on the job. Additionally, you will be paid a lump sum of £200 per workday.” He continued.

“Whoa...that sounds awesome!” She sarcastically remarked, sitting back on her seat. “What, are you going to make me dance naked in front of some old geezers?” She leaned in, whispering the words only loud enough for the three men, but with enough anger in them to make her point. Nobody pays an unqualified person £200 a day for a simple job. She considers herself reasonably attractive, and women are very often ‘lured’ into doing immoral things. She looked at the three of them, all perfectly groomed, wearing neat clothes that accentuated their beauty and complimented their handsome faces. What kind of jobs would they ask of her? She wondered.

“Miss. Mihaela…” Gabriel calmly called her name. “The job might get challenging at times but…”

“Please, read the contract!” Mikael ordered her in an authoritarian and frightening tone that made her obey him immediately against her will, forgetting completely her wandering thoughts.  Gabriel frowned at Mikael in disapproval. The second paragraph of the contract answered her question.

No immoral or illegal activities will be requested by the employee at any given time. Additionally, if the employee has any concerns, the issue should be discussed with Mikael Hreshtak. If the employee decides to terminate the contract, the employee should inform Mikael Hreshtak, and accept three conditions, before the request will be reviewed.

“Ok, where do I sign?” Ella replied after reading the paragraph, forcing a smile. In a strange way, Mikael’s tone made her feel a fear she never felt before, a fear that protruded her core. What if they are planning to seriously harm me if I don’t comply? Ella asked herself. Gabriel gave her a pen for her to sign the contract. Ella thanked the waitress in her mind for breaking the awkward atmosphere by bringing the food.

“Let’s say grace!” Mikael announced in the same commanding tone. Ella looked at them in a confused manner. Them saying grace made her feel even more confused about what type of people they might be. One second ago, she thought that they might do human trafficking and the next they are saying grace? Firstly, who in this day still says grace. Secondly, who would say grace in a restaurant? Ella asked herself. She thought they might be joking on purpose to put her, the outsider in a spot. However, shortly after Mikael’s order they all crossed their hands on their lap, bent their heads down and begun whispering prayer-like words in a language completely foreign to her. She copied their gesture. However, her prayer was not a grace prayer but rather a prayer for help. Who are those men?

“You might actually enjoy this one; you will visit a town, the town of your childhood.” Gabriel broke the silence, after they said grace, in an attempt to fix the uncomfortable atmosphere Mikael created.

“Really, Chilia Veche?!” She cheerily replied, trying to entertain them.

“Yes!” Mikael affirmed

“What is the job about?” Ella asked.

“Witchcraft!” Gabriel answered her.

“Witchcraft?!” Ella’s face frowned in great disapproval, but she still felt too afraid to say anything else. She does not believe in witchcraft, but people who do can go to extreme lengths to solidify their beliefs. Are they those people that call themselves Wiccan?  Odd thoughts began to pop up into her mind. What if they are murderers? What if they are going to kill her in some weird ceremony. Even worse, what if demons are actually real and they are going to steal her soul?  She tried to calm herself out; We are in a public space. She told herself.  I just have to go through it all, and as soon as I escape them, I’ll hide as deeply as possible. Observing Ella’s reaction to Mikael’s command made Gabriel worried. He disagrees with Mikael’s approach, but Mikael is his superior, and he cannot argue against him; especially when he exercises his command.  

“In the old times, people thought about witchcraft as a religion, but of course not God was the centre of it and often there was no place for any type of good either. Witchcraft was forbidden for a while; any of the people who were suspected of practising witchcraft were killed in terrible ways.” Gabriel narrated, to build a background for her to understand what the mission was about. He took a deep breath in, as he would need it to dive underwater, and almost with sadness on his face resumed the narrative “...many other innocent people died on that time, children and even saints.”

“That is sad!” Ella replied out of politeness and trying to appear engaged. Her heart was still beating fast in anxiety. Against her logic, her reaction to Mikael’s order felt uncanny.

“Yes, it is. However, for a few centuries witchcraft almost disappeared. All that persecution was a good thing, after all,” Gabriel replied, in a calm voice, followed by a long moment of silence. He used a calm voice to dissipate the anxiety Ella felt because of Mikael using his authoritarian power. He took a moment of silence to assess if she returned to herself.

“But, from what I read, people would associate any advance of science with magic and witchcraft. From what history tells, it was all embedded in people’s minds. There is no such thing as witchcraft!” She found herself argue against their ridiculous story. Her anxiety began to diminish which gave her the courage to stand for her beliefs. She regretted her reaction and questioned her sanity. Instead of trying to sail safely, she decided to adventure into dangerous waters.

“There was a lot of confusion, but witchcraft did exist, and it still does. In those days, it was difficult to distinguish between the true practitioners of witchcraft and the falsely accused ones, as the practitioners would often disguise themselves in sheep’s skin. Witchcraft is the adoration of darkness and is a service under Samael’s commandment.” Gabriel continued, trying to ignore her thoughts echoing into his mind.

“This is quite interesting to know, but how exactly are you defining witchcraft?” Ella asked them, wiling to shade light into their inappropriate way of thinking. There is no such thing as witchcraft, is all superstitions and lack of education! Gabriel looked at Mikael with a question drawn on his face. “What am I supposed to say now?” “I’ll take over!” Mikael mind replied to Gabriel.

“They are disrupting the social order of the community they live in and cause intentional physical and psychological harm to people. However, the harm they cause, although sufficiently severe at times is not punished by the local law and they continue with their antisocial activities.” Mikael regurgitated Gabriel’s words in a way that Ella would accept and feel motivated to fix. “You will have to break a party!” He continued in a joking tone. “We found out that in all saints night, a group of twelve witches plan to release a god they call Beelzebub. Their intention is very harmful as they intend to bring a human sacrifice to release their God. Although this harm is punishable by law, they intend to conceal it as an accident.  All the people present at the party will be in great danger.” Mikael continued in a calm and friendly tone, which surprised Ella.

“There are two months until Halloween! Why all this rush?” Ella asked him.

“Yes, there are indeed, and still, it could seem not enough. Unfortunately, we are known as busting such events, and the criminals will be warned off if we show up, even the mentioning of our names is sufficient to warn them off. They are responsible for several similar events, but until caught red-handed, we cannot do anything about it.  You will have to find a way to bring evidence; the best way is to infiltrate them. Here are five known criminals, at least one of them is expected to be at the event.” Mikael took out a small envelope and gave it to her. Ella attempted to open it.

“Don’t, not yet! Open it when you get home, there are too many eyes here.”  Mikael warned her.

“We have to go!” The man next to Mikael stated after checking his watch.

“You can go first, Raphael. You too, Gabriel! I’ll pay the bill and join you.”

“Yes, brother!” Both men replied in a respectful way, before picking their blazers off the seat’s back support and leaving the table simultaneously.

“Mihaela…” Mikael called her name to capture her attention back from the two men now leaving the restaurant. The softness of his voice startled her.

“Yes…sir!” She found herself answering in a very formal way.

“Mikael…my name is Mikael. At least that’s what everyone calls me.” Mikael corrected her using the same softness in his voice.

“Mikael. Is a beautiful name!” She replied. He smiled; his smile made her feel nervous and uncomfortable. The kindness and warmth contained in the way he looked at her now, made her feel hurt in an illogical way. No one before glanced at her like that, and still, it seemed familiar, he seemed familiar. His smile took her aback, being so different from his cold icy stand from earlier.

“There are more details about the job in this file.” He continued, presenting her with a thin folder. Then made a sign to the waitress to bring him the bill. Ella began to calculate her part of the bill.

“I’ll pay for this, don’t worry!” Mikael announced, seeing her count her part with such diligence.

“Thank you!”

“I have to be somewhere!” Mikael continued.

“Oh…Ok”

“It’s been a pleasure!” Mikael stood up and stretched his hand for a salute. Ella raised too and shook his hand. The moment her hand touched his, pictures begun to be poured into her mind at a very fast speed. Everything seemed to spin, and she fell back into her seat, followed by a complete blackout.  Mikael rapidly went to her; he felt some of her memories being pulled out of him. Those memories were meant to be completely deleted, but he had never done something like that to an Anak Cahaya before. Completely deleting these memories seemed wrong. And now, those memories were fighting to return.

“Mihaela…Mihaela…Mihaela!” Mikael called her name anxiously.

“Should I call the paramedics?” The waitress who waited for their table asked having seen what happened.

“No need, I used to be a doctor. She is in good hands!” Mikael answered her. He was more afraid that the paramedics could make it worse.

Ella heard him call her name, but she could not open her eyes or say anything, she felt too weak. “Gabriel!” Mikael telepathically called Gabriel’s name, shortly after, he entered the restaurant.

“What happened?” Gabriel asked him concerned

“She fainted!” Mikael answered.

Gabriel touched her forehead. “she is burning up!”

“What have you done? You know that pouring memories in someone’s mind is extremely risky. Especially a human mind!” Gabriel scolded Mikael. “Even if she is the Anak Cahaya and she might be able to withstand such things, do you know the side effects it could bring her?” Gabriel mid scolded Mikael.

“I just shook her hand!” Mikael replied defensively. Gabriel made a sign to a close-by waiter and mouthed the word ‘ice’.

“Our ice machine has broken down; we have no ice for today!” The waiter answered him apologetically.

“Just bring some very cold water then!” Gabriel replied impatiently. The waiter returned with a jug of very cold water.

“I shouldn’t touch her,” Mikael informed Gabriel, looking at him pleadingly.

“I’ll do it, just do your thing!” Gabriel snapped at him. Mikael turned the water into snow and Gabriel applied it on her face like a face mask. “This should do it!”

“Ella?!” Gabriel called her name.

“What happened?” Ella asked not understanding how that could have happened, she never fainted before.

“You fainted!” Mikael replied.

“Fainted?” Is this how fainting feels like? But pictures?

“Mhm. You’re better now!” Mikael told her.

“We really must go!” Gabriel reminded Mikael.

“Rest for a few, drink the tea the waitress will bring you and then go home. If you have any more questions, call this number.” Mikael advised her, putting his business card on the table.

“Can you please, bring her a ginger tea?” Mikael asked the same waitress, before paying the bill and leaving with Gabriel. She never fainted before but assuming that the anxiety she was put under caused her to faint, she dismissed any worries.