The Letter

Chapter 12 of Love from Above

“We have mail!” Libby calls, coming in the front door and shaking out her rain dampened hair. The only piece of mail that really snags my attention is a deep red envelope with no return address.

 

“Uh-oh,” Janie says when she catches sight of the letter. “That’s from the High Council.” I grimace in horror as I skim through the letter. It reads;

 

            Dear Angels,

We will be sending a council representative down to check on you and see how you're settling into your new assignment.

                             Sincerely, 

            The Guardian High Council

“Oh, no! What are we going to do?” I say, dropping the letter as if it had burned me.

 

“Okay, there’s no need to panic. This is only the first council visit so they won’t expect you to have very much research,” Janie says very matter-of-factly. “So, all you’ll have to do is BS something about humans being freakishly attached to their cell phones or something.”

 

At that exact moment my own cell phone chimes with the ringtone I had chosen for Jeremy. I look to find a new text message. I read it out loud to Janie and Libby.

 

Wanna go back by the cliffs today?

 

“What should I tell him? There’s no way I can be with him when the Angels come,” I say, beginning to panic, my breath coming in quick gasps.

 

“Kelsey! Relax,” Libby says putting her hands on my shoulders and staring sternly into my eyes. “Just tell him you have family visiting so you can’t do anything today.”

 

I quickly send a reply about some not so nice relatives flying (teehee) in. He sends his sympathies and wishes me luck. I take a deep breath, hold it, and let it out slowly, trying to get my nerves in check.

 

“What can we expect during this visit?” I ask seriously, turning to Janie.

 

“I would say all they’ll do is ask how you’re adapting, collect data, tour the house, and inspect your wings. Nothing too drastic.”

 

“Why do they inspect the wings?” Libby asks curiously. Janie opens her mouth to explain, but I beat her to it.

 

“Because your wings can grow and change as you progress in your training,” I reply. They both turn insultingly flabbergasted gazes on me. “What? So, I study. Big deal.” I ignore them as they snicker.

 

Just then we hear a soft tapping on the front door. Libby opens it to see Maggie.

 

“Maggie! What are you doing away from the gate?” Libby asks, smiling.

 

“I just got promoted onto the High Council,” Maggie says with a smile.

 

“Congratulations! Please, come in,” Janie says, leading the way to the living room. I am secretly thankful we at least know the council member that is checking on us.

 

“You guys are my first assignment, now I’m your designated Council Representative. Every time there’s a check, I’ll be the one visiting,” Maggie says, taking a seat under the front window. “So how are you guys doing? Are you adjusting to Earth well?”

 

“Oh, most excellently!” I say smiling, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice.

 

“Well, I’m certainly happy for that,” with a smile so luminous she is practically glowing (and I mean that figuratively. That crap about Angels glowing is just that; crap). “Do you have any new data about Humans to report?”

 

“We have been so busy getting settled that we didn’t have a chance to collect much,” Libby says.

 

“Though, we did observe that Humans are very dependent on technology nowadays,” I lay out our story.

 

“Interesting,” Maggie says jotting down notes. “Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to inspect your wings. Kelsey, you first.” I stand up and, after making sure the curtains are drawn so no one can accidentally peek in, will my wings to appear.

 

“My! Your wings are quite warm,” Maggie says, stretching out one of my wings.

 

“What does that mean?” Libby asks.

 

“Like the heat of a blush, warm wings mean you’re in love. I didn’t know there were other Angels in this area. Have you traveled out of this city?” Maggie asks, taking measurements of my wings. A stricken look contorts my face and I look to Janie helplessly, glad to have my back still to Maggie.

 

“Once, we went exploring along the coast. We met an Angel there. He and Kelsey had an instant connection. He visited here once before being transferred to Pennsylvania,” Janie lies flawlessly.

 

“I see,” Maggie says as she finishes up Libby’s wing inspection.

 

“Well, would you like to see the rest of our home?” Janie asks. They set off on a tour around the house. I trail behind a bit, still trying to keep my emotions in check. Once we have gone through the house, Maggie says goodbye and flies out the back door. I collapse back onto the couch.

 

“Janie, you are a life saver! That lie was amazing,” I say, finally starting to feel relieved.

 

“Hey, no problem. Jeremy makes you happy; I wouldn’t want you to lose him. Plus, it wasn’t a total lie. While you were off frolicking with Jeremy, I explored the coast and I did meet an angel.”

 

“Well, I owe you one. Speaking of Jeremy, I’m going to go see him,” I say, sending him a message to meet me outside my house. I can practically hear Libby’s eyes rolling. I run upstairs to get my shoes. Before going back down I peek out the window to see the rain has stopped and the sun is shining. By the time I walk outside, Jeremy is sitting on the curb facing away from me. I creep silently up behind him, place my hands gently over his eyes and whisper “Guess who,” in his ear. I feel him smile under my hands as he twists around to kiss me. When we break apart, the joy I feel at being in his arms erases all the stress of the Angel visit.

 

“Come on, there’s some place I want to show you,” Jeremy says as he takes my hand and leads me toward the woods.

 

“We’re not going to the cliffs?” I ask curiously, falling into step at his side.

 

“Nope. We are headed to a location even better than the cliffs. I found it two years ago and it became my special place to think and get away from my father. And now, I want to share it with you,” he says, giving me a smile that takes my breath away. 

 

"In that case, lead the way," I say, secretly touched he would share his private escape with me. We make our way over logs and under low hanging branches through the dense forest. Not too long after, I spot a lightening in the trees. I don’t say anything due to the fact that he probably couldn't see the opening yet, what with my heightened senses and all.

 

“Is that where we are going?” I say once I feel he should be able to see the color of the light go from lacking in color to jade green.

 

“Yep,” he says simply.

 

I step through the fern archway into the most wondrous place I’ve ever seen.