Getting into trouble makes some people queasy. My sister is one of those people. Anytime she screws up, her stomach ties into knots, and she stumbles over her usually well-composed sentences. She tries to cover up her tracks, but she’s a pitiful liar. Always has been. You know the kind—the ones who lie with rosy cheeks and smiling eyes. Growing up, she tried to hide stuff from me, but it never worked. One look at those cheeks, and I’d know. Eventually, she gave up on keeping secrets from me.
That’s one of the many ways in which we’re different.
I’ve never had as much trouble keeping secrets as she has.
Getting into trouble didn’t scare me during my mortal life, either. I remember breaking all kinds of rules throughout my adolescence just for the hell of it.
Even breaking the law during my mortal life didn’t faze me.
About a decade ago, I was twenty, home for the summer after my second year of college, feeling untouchable. Katherine—mygirlfriend at the time—was out of town all summer, and I missed her. So, one night, my buddies and I stayed up late, partying our asses off. I just wanted to get my mind off everything.
After one too many shots of Fireball—I know Fireball is disgusting, but consuming it is a rite of passage, an adult ritual if you will—a daring side of myself unleashed itself. Yes, even more daring than my usual self if you can believe it.
It’s not that serious, and quite frankly, I don’t even know why stealing a street sign is illegal, but it is. Lots of teenagers do it.
However, stealing a street sign naked iseven moreillegal.
Going into it, I knew stealing the sign was illegal, but my naive, drunk self had no self-preservation instincts. I didn’t realize that doing so naked would end up being twice as illegal. If only I had a Guardian Angel guiding me that night, maybe I wouldn’t have been such a dumbass…
But Kai, that’s what parents are for.Yeah, I know. However, my parents didn’t care what I did with my spare time as long as I maintained straight A’s and stayed on the varsity baseball team. An entirely different experience than a lot of people, I’m aware.
Sometimes, people forget that just because your parents let you do whatever doesn’t always make them good parents.
Cool parents from the outside looking in? Sure. But good parents? Debatable.
I digress. I’m sure you can guess what happened next anyway.
As I ran butt-ass naked back to my boy’s truck, I tripped while holding the sign and tumbled to the ground. Everyone got a good laugh out of that, myself included, until beaming red-and-blue lights entered my peripheral vision. I tried to get up, but being as inebriated as I was, I stumbled and plummeted again, laughing my ass off.
As the world spun around me, lying naked on the road under the night sky didn’t matter. Katherine traveling for the summer without me didn’t matter. My parents not caring didn’t matter. As I gazed up at the stars—unsure of whether the stars were there or figments of my imagination—nothing mattered at all.
That night, the police shoved me into the back of a cop car in nothing but a pair of handcuffs and a towel. Within a matter of seconds, they stole my dignityandstreet sign. I had nothing.
Yet, Istillwasn’t afraid of getting in trouble. It’s like I always knew that whatever trouble I’d get into during my mortal life wouldn’t matter in the long run.
They fined me over a thousand dollars for the incident. My parents paid for it all—and I was very thankful—but to teach me a lesson, they required me to pay them back every cent. Fair enough. I spent the rest of my summer working as a valet driver for a nearby resort. Iris and Katherine wondered why I had zero free time, and I played it off. I pretended to be saving up for an upcoming trip to Costa Rica. Only a partial lie—Iwassaving up for that trip, too… just on the side. Semantics.
Costa Rica ended up being a blast, too. I miss traveling. Thank goodness I traveled to seven countries before literally dying. Except for the drunken, sad-boy summer without my girl, I spent nearly every adult summer traveling abroad. I visited Japan, Italy, Greece, England, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Canada. I took every chance I got to escape.
Getting into trouble with the law shook me, but tonight, something much worse could happen. And for the first time in an extremely long time, I’m feeling uneasy. I pride myself on thinking one step ahead of others, but for once, I can’t predict what’ll happen next.
I glance outside from the window of my quarters and lean on it for support, seeking guidance only the stars can offer me.
The sun is setting, meaning it’s nearly time for my judgment based on what Cleo said earlier. Keeping my arms crossed, I stare outside at the blue-pink sky, contemplating how I’ll approach the evening.
If I’m being honest, I’ma littleexcited to see the throne room—I’ve never had the chance to see the Archangels in action like this, and I’ve heard a lot about them. During my training, we touched on their hierarchy a bit. The Archangels reign over the Middle Realm, whereas the Golden Realm is run by Seraphim—higher angelic beings. If this weren’t my own judgment, I’d be way more stoked. If only I could meet them under more casual circumstances. That would’ve been nice, I think.
My haven is cramped but equipped with everything I need. Behind me, a queen-size bed rests on a white wooden bedframe and headboard, and then there is a nightstand to the left near the window. A narrow hallway extends from my bedroom to the living area, which includes a charming living room, and a minimalist kitchen. The kitchen is the smallest part of the haven, with only an opal counter space, white wooden cabinets, and a porcelain sink.
Angels don’t eat in the afterlife. Mildly disappointing, I know, but I don’t experience cravings of any kind, which is a perk. I learned firsthand during my guardianship that angelscaneat, but food doesn’t sustain us. Instead, we find sustenance in an occasional good night’s rest and breathing in this realm’s air. I visited the Middle Realm every now and then during my guardianship to replenish my magic when I didn’t have the desire to rest.
I drift away from the window and walk down the hall toward the living area. I’ve had the same quarters since my passing. Most angels ascend shortly after their guardianship, and seeing as many missions only take a couple of years, we have a pretty steady rotation of angels moving in and out of the quarters.
If I hadn’t crossed the veil to reveal myself to Iris, this would have been my last day here.
My throat thickens as I imagine what lies ahead.
I could lie tonight. I know I could. But something tells me the Archangels wouldn’t buy it. Ancient beings who rule the Middle Realm? Yeah, they’d see through my bullshit faster than a cheetah racing a rabbit for gold in a 5K run.
