Extraordinary

Chapter 23 of Love from Above

Jeremy’s Point of View

 

“Kelsey!” I cry in horror as images from earlier in the night come crashing back. Suddenly she reappears in the sky. Feathery black wings stretched across her back, holding her aloft in the indigo painted sky. She catches my eye where I’m standing on the cliff and I can only imagine the expression of shock and confusion on my face. She dips one wing and flies back to where I am nailed to the spot, dumbstruck. She stands there, wings still out, looking sheepish and scared. I yearn to step closer to her, but the way she looks into my eyes and nervously traces the rock with the toe of her sneaker makes me stop.

 

“You don’t seem afraid of me,” she says, cocking her head to the side in contemplation.

 

“Maybe that’s because I’m not, why would I be?” I reply truthfully, if not a little breathlessly.

 

“You’re not in the least bit freaked out that I have wings? That I’m not human?” she asks incredulously.

 

“Your wings are beautiful, just like you. And I’ve always known you were extraordinary Kelsey. A set of wings doesn’t change that. Nor does it change the way I feel about you,” I say, closing the distance between us and enveloping her in my arms. She clutches onto me as I tentatively reach out to stroke the length of her wings. The feathers are a silken texture beneath my wandering fingertips, Kelsey trembles at the touch.

 

“They’re hot as an open flame,” I murmur thoughtfully. “Why is that?”

 

“Like the heat of a blush, warm wings mean I’m in love,” she says, snuggling into my chest. 

I hold her tighter pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “If I had wings, they would be scalding.”

 

***

 

“What is it like to fly?” Jeremy asks.

 

“You want to try it?” I ask, gazing up at him. He smiles and nods. I scoop him up bridal style with the help of my uber-strength. He yelps softly, having not expected to be able to be lifted by me with such ease.

 

“Shouldn’t this position be the other way around?” Jeremy says chuckling.

 

“Naturally, yes. But if we did that, we would go splat due to your lack of wings,” I giggle.

 

I step over to the precipice once more.

 

“You ready?” I ask softly.

 

“With you, I’m always ready,” he says, brushing a kiss across my lips.

 

I crouch down a bit and push out from the cliff hard. My wings catch the breeze, and we are flying. Jeremy clutches tighter to me as we wheel in lazy circles through the sky. Jeremy's face changes from trepidation to exhilaration to bliss as we enjoy the feel of the wind in our hair. After a while we make our way over the obsidian water to a small island just off the coast. We make a stumbling landing on the powder white sand. I set Jeremy back on his feet and smooth out my wind whipped hair.

 

“I will admit, it’s a little scarier than I would have thought,” Jeremy says, laughing breathily as he grabs one strand of hair I missed and gently tucks it behind my ear. For a moment, I’m lost in the intensity of his bright green gaze, but then Janie’s words from the day we arrived creep into my head; “But that’s forbidden! You are not allowed to fall in love with a human! Ooo if the high council ever found out about this…”

 

Tears immediately spring to my eyes and I turn away.

 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Jeremy asks with alarm, scrambling around so he’s standing in front of me gripping the tops of my arms.

 

“Not only am I still waiting for the reality of what I am to sink in for you, and for your inevitable reaction of terror. But I’m also afraid of the High Council!” I say, my voice building toward hysteria. I sink to my knees and bury my face in my hands. Jeremy sits on the sand and pulls me into his lap, comforting me with his embrace.

 

“First of all, you can stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, I'm not afraid of you Kelsey and I'm not going anywhere. Back up though; why would it be so bad for this High Council of yours to find out?” Jeremy asks.

 

“They are the rulers of all Angels. It is highly forbidden for an angel to fall in love with a human. It’s one of the only rules I see regularly enforced. Granted, they aren’t allowed to watch over us while we’re training, because we need to learn on our own how to be Guardian Angels. But they’re still going to find out about us one way or another, and when they find out I’ve fallen in love with you, they’ll tear my wings off and I’ll become a fallen angel,” I explain to him. He pulls me closer.

 

“Don’t worry. We will figure something out.” We sit there for what seems like a lifetime. His comforting touch pushes my worries to the back of my mind, for the moment at least.

 

“Wanna hear something not so Debbie Downerish?” I ask, looking up at him. He smiles and nods.

 

“When I finish training and become a Guardian Angel, I've chosen to guard you.”

 

He smiles luminously. “At least I know I’ll be in good hands.”

 

“I will never let anything bad happen to you,” I say, kissing his cheek.

 

“Will you come and visit as an angel?” he asks.

 

I look away, tears brimming again. “I don’t think I’ll be allowed to.”

 

He makes a slight choking sound. “Wait, you mean once your training is done, I’ll never see you again?”

 

I nod, biting my lip to keep from bawling like a baby.

 

“When does your training end?” he says, voice rising with dread.

 

“My training will be done when I do a mega good deed for the person I choose to guard.”

 

“Then don’t do anything for me,” he replies simply.

 

“I wish it were that easy. I won’t be able to help it. Not only will the council get suspicious after a while, but it’s in my nature to do good deeds.”

 

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out,” he repeats, kissing my forehead. I sigh heavily, fearing that there’s no good way for this to end and our only option is to postpone the heartbreak.