Archanghel: Tale of the Universe

Chapter 21

“This will be your room. Is that fine with the both of you?” Lola Isma turned around to look at us.

I eyed the room. It was neat and clean; not like I was expecting otherwise. It has a bed, large enough to fit two people and there’s still room to move. There’s also a small table on the side and no dresser. There were also two windows, one facing the door that viewed the garden side, and one was facing the bed and was overlooking the road in the distance.

Janus entered without a word and set our things down. I followed him and sat on the bed. The sheets and pillows looked new, indicating that Lola Isma had cleaned the room in advance.

“You take a rest, first. I know you’re tired. I'll just help Lola Isma outside.”

I nodded at Janus’ suggestion. We walked for a long time and the heat was a little too much for me. I felt my thighs go numbed and my body felt heavy, maybe due to fatigue. I gently laid on the bed, my feet were still rooted in the ground.

Ah, I missed this. This might sound weird, but I've missed this feeling. Feeling tired and sleepy. I haven’t experienced that much for a long time. I let myself succumb to sleep. When darkness enveloped my vision, I took my rest.

+++

“Lola Isma, here is the r****h you asked from mom.”

Janus looked up at the backdoor of the kitchen. Standing there was a woman who was dressed in short jeans and a crop top. Janus was taken aback at what he saw. He was shocked to see a woman dressed in a less manner and confidently walked in a broad daylight.

“Oh, you have some visitors? He looks quite handsome and nice. Your son?” The woman actually moved closer, which made Janus take a step back.

Rather than being offended by his reaction, the woman rather smiled. She was amused by his reaction. She once again took a step back and a flushed Janus bumped into a wall, all the while avoiding the gaze and the advances of the woman. Lola Isma was oblivious to Janus’ struggles as she was busy cooking their lunch. So, Janus was left alone to deal with her.

“NO!”

Everyone was startled as they heard a loud scream. Janus was alarmed and quickly ran to the room that he and Xandriel shared. It was a great escape but he was worried about Xandriel that his face couldn’t be described. Lola Isma and the woman looked at each other and then both of them followed Janus.

“You have another visitor, Lola Isma?” The woman asked again as she got no answer to her first few questions.

“Cleo, the young man’s wife,” Lola Isma answered in a worried tone. She was also worrying about Xandriel.

“Wife? He's married? That good looking man?” Shock was evident on the woman’s face but Lola Isma didn’t care at all. Her focus was also on Xandriel.

They'd reached the open door of the couple’s bedroom. There, Janus was holding Xandriel in his arms, calming her as the latter gasped for air and crying in her sleep. Janus was shaking her lightly and waking her up.

“Rachele! Rachele, come one wake up!”

But she’s not waking up. And Janus was not going to give up. He tried and tried and eventually Xandriel woke up. She looked at Janus wide-eyed and in terror. Xandriel instinctively pushed Janus away and pleaded.

“No, please, no. Get away from me.” Xandriel kept muttering those lines.

Janus captured both of Xandriel’s hands and locked Xandriel in an embrace. She was still struggling to get away from him.

“Rachele, it’s me, Cleo. Rachele!” Janus also kept answering her.

“Cleo, I think Rachele was still half asleep.” Lola Isma could only voice out.

Their visitor watched the scene unfold in confusion. She didn’t know what was happening. She thought that the wife might have some brain problem with acting that way, thrashing about and not recognizing her own husband. She felt sympathy for Cleo and that also gave her some hope.

“Rachele, wake up. Come on, love, wake up.” Janus was persistent in waking Xandriel up and hugging her body.

Then she went still and silent. Xandriel breathed heavily and evenly. She clasped her hands around Janus’ shirt and looked around. She met Lola Isma’s worried eyes and then another set of eyes she did not recognize. Janus felt the calmness in Xandriel, so he slightly released the woman out of his embrace and held her shoulder. Xandriel was now looking at him with a calmness and question in her eyes. Janus sighed in relief.

“You’re okay now, Rachele. I'm here.” He softly whispered in her ears.

Janus once again hugged her and the latter replied by tightening it more. Sobs escaped Xandriel’s lips and the tears that were brimming at her eyes fell.

“I’ll just finish preparing the lunch. Liza, can you help me, dear?” Lola Isma tugged at the woman’s hand to follow her. They both leave the couple in that intimate manner.

Janus slowly sat straight. He was now patting Xandriel’s back and was brushing her hair. He let his fingers glide in between her locks and straightened them. Xandriel kept quiet as Janus’ movement made her calm.

“I’m sorry.” Xandriel muttered, as she tried to contain her sobs.

“Ssh... It’s okay. You're okay. I'm right here, see?” Janus spread his arms to prove his point.

When it looked like Xandriel was still in doubt, Janus hummed a song. He can only hope that this will really help Xandriel calm down.

He did not know where the melody came from. All he knew was that it was embedded in his heart and that he had memorized it. It just made him feel something and he wished to let Xandriel experience it too.

+++

I woke up once again. This time, there is no nightmare or some sort. I opened my eyes and was greeted by a sight that I had dreamt of so many times. I only imagined myself being in this place and experiencing it now. It felt surreal. Janus was sleeping next to me. His breath softly panned my face. His arms were wrapped around me, keeping me secure.

I stared at his face, the face he had right now was totally different from his own. He looked manly, his cheekbones were prominent and the bridge of his nose was high. Gone was the boyish look on his face and replaced with a more manly face of a stranger. I then thought of her own face.

It was also different. My round face was now thinned and long. The eyes that also stared at my reflection were of a stranger’s. I still can’t get used to it all. I always look almost freaked out every time I look in the mirror. That’s why I avoided it as much as possible.

Janus stirred in his sleep, pulling me out of my reverie. I looked at him to see him staring at me. He was watching me, making me feel embarrassed just remembering the panic attacks I had earlier.

“Are you okay now?” He carefully asked, as if just saying those words would break me.

“I’m fine now. Thanks to you.”

I was relieved when I saw Janus smiling. I wanted to move closer to him and gave him a tight squeeze, but I held myself. Trying to be contended with what we have right now. That’s why I almost shrieked when Janus scooted closer to me and embraced me. Doing the things that I wanted to do earlier.

“Let’s stay like this for a moment. I didn’t get enough rest as I needed to help in the kitchen. When you panick, it drains all your energy. I was worried about you.”

Conscience tugged at my heart. Janus was worried and was attending to me and what was I thinking about? How handsome he is and a lot more. I slowly put my hand on his head and patted it. Janus buried his head more in between my neck and my shoulder.

+++

“Bless, it is thy child that would sacrifice things for thy world. Bless it is the child of thy child that would offer thy life to protect will humanity. Bless is the family who understand the process of life. Bless is the person who was reading thy letter, a demon, a human, or an angel. Thy entity will have the greatest blessing one could only ask for.”

Azrael read the letter aloud. He had already memorized each word. He had already examined every single letter written on the parchment. But nothing can explain his situation. No one was around to talk to about what was surrounding him. Not until someone emerges from a smoke.

An entity taking its form in front of Azrael. He looked familiar, but at the same time he did not know him, or her, or whoever. All he could do was wait for the entity to finally make an appearance. Wait for the words to make sense. Wait for... he did not know. Because that is all that he can do since he had all the time in the world. He badly wished he could escape this.