CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER THREE

The greatest motivation known to man is the growing passion for revenge, which requires no extra factor to fuel its fire. The simple spark of memories lingers on in the dark path of bitterness. Such is that which demons cling to as the betrayal of service and devotion to the light and all affection, which was anticipated as a reward for eons of servitude has been handed over to the creature known as man. So why not unleash the accumulated frustrations and anger on the being he has chosen over the angels?

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After the first encounter, the appearances of Lucifer became a constant affair. Seth had grown so fond of his unnatural companion and so used to his presence that even when he could not see him around, he could sense he was there but hidden. He had even learned to communicate with his audible voice in times when in places he knew Lucifer's appearance would cause a distraction. It was a seamless sequence of appearances carefully orchestrated by Lucifer with perfect timing; he was grooming the boy. He had an uphill task to keep little Seth out of sin. By so doing, he had to contend with all that he stood for, for the greater good, or perhaps the greater evil?

Every day came with new experiences that the child looked forward to with daily anticipation; he lived the exciting fairy-tale life he knew only existed in books. Lucifer became his guiding angel. His mission was to keep and protect him from an evil conscience and nudge him always towards what was good. It was an idea that filled its perpetrator with inexpressible distaste, but it was to be borne to the end for the sake of his great cause.

The boy grew strong on the wisdom of his instructor and daily guide who never left his side. At this time, he had so far kept his promise of keeping their meeting a secret and had not as much as mentioned the name, not so much as a whisper. At first, everyone else had wondered why he had changed a lot in just a matter of days. His countenance looked like that of one who had seen a vision, but once they noticed that, it was not a change for the worse. They encouraged and welcomed it. His father had some concerns about the child, but he seemed to be happy and thriving.

It was Seth's tenth birthday​.

'Paidi mou.' His father used the pet name of the old country. 'I am truly happy that you find life here so full of joy. I can see it in your smile and in the zest with which you tackle life each day. I have often wondered that this started many years ago when we first came to Italy. Did anything bring about this change?'

His father added, 'You know you can tell Papa anything that goes on in this little big mind.' He smiled and ruffled Seth's hair, giving him an encouraging pat on the shoulders.

'I know I can talk to my papa anytime, but I just love our life here. All I want is to be like you someday.' He paused and looked away. 'Papa, do you think I will ever make a good priest?'

His father wondered at such seriousness in one so young; he squatted and took the hand of his son, studying him closely. 'Son, you can never be truly free until you embrace who you are. You want to know what I see when I look into your beautiful eyes?' He brushed his cheek with his thumb. 'I see a little prophet like Samuel who will wield his sword against a dark and evil world because he has the light of God in him. My answer to your question would be, yes, you will make a very fine priest, and you will be the best at what it is you are called to do. If you ever feel like you are a square peg in a round hole, just know that it is because you are special because you have been called by God to do something special for Him.'

'I am proud to be your son, Papa.'

Abbé Adams didn't see that coming. He was often taken aback by the way Seth talked and freely expressed feelings without fear. The kingdom really belongs to such as these, he thought, as he looked into his son's warm blue eyes, so different from his brown ones, and wondered when it would be right to tell him the truth about the circumstances surrounding his birth and adoption. He would ask questions after a while. After all, how did a priest come to have a son? That bridge would be crossed when they got there. Now, all he was going to do was enjoy his boy's innocence and celebrate this day.

'I have not yet seen a father as proud as I am … I don't think there is yet any. You are a good son, Seth, and I am honored to have you.' He took his son into his embrace.

Abbé Adams broke the silence. 'I have something for you, Tesoro.' He used the name many of the brothers called his son as he reached into his bag and brought out a folded piece of paper. 'Open it,' he said. It was a perforated gold coin with a roaring lion's head embossed on the front side of it. On the flip side was a carving of armor-clad men crossing their swords.

'Wow! This is great, Papa. Can I keep it?'

'That was from my mom whose father was a monarch, a king. I am so glad I have someone I can pass it down to. Of course, you can have it. Wear it for me at all times and anywhere you go, for there is a lion in you. Now, you may go upstairs to your room … who knows what surprises may be waiting there for you?' He smiled with a sly glint in his eyes.

'Oh yes!' His dad watched him scamper off. He smiled to himself and headed back to his study. He considered himself the most blessed of men.

Seth found a surprise treasure trove waiting for him upstairs. He excitedly rummaged through his new stack of treasures placed in his room by all his favorite monks and the cantor. Among the pile was a He-Man play sword, a coat of mail of just about his size, adventure storybooks of all kinds, a pair of boots, mufflers, mittens, roller skates, a talking robot, and a small box containing a scroll. He picked up the scroll and unfurled it on both sides. The words written on it were in a strange language that Lucifer had spent the last five years teaching him.

His guardian angel seemed bent on teaching him this language, which he said was the forgotten language of man. Man had forgotten the first language he spoke before the confusion that occurred at the tower of Babel. Seth often wondered why he had to learn the language when nobody spoke it anymore and Lucifer could speak the languages he could speak, but he learned it anyway to please his friend. He had learned the language; he now spoke and read it out loud when he was with his guardian angel. Lucifer made sure that every letter, note, and school textbook—everything he ever read—was translated to that language immediately.

There were notes and cards on the bed, and as he began to read, he discovered they were love notes, thank you notes, and well wishes from everyone he had come to love at the abbey. As he read, his eyes lighted up with the joy of a very careful son. There's a war going on between good and evil, even at this minute. The price is the appreciation, and he swelled with pride at the honor accorded him by everyone.

No sooner had he picked the scroll to start reading than the familiar presence filled his room with the draft of scented warm air and a river of colors that slowly mellowed until he was present in his ordinary form as a man. 'Be careful of pride, young friend. While you are free to bask in the privilege of being highly regarded and loved by everyone, be sure you start thinking of yourself as better than any other human being. Pride is a most subtle sin that can mask itself behind even good intentions.' Lucifer gave him a pained smile; it was the sort of strain Seth had seen so many times whenever he smiled, laughed, or tried to show any form of delight. He had tried to probe into the matter once, and Lucifer had said, 'Every angel has a secret cross to bear, you know; it is safest for humans not to pry into angel matters.' This was followed by a pause and then gay laughter, and the conversation returned to normal.

Seth enjoyed Lucifer's companionship and his chatter, chiding, and stories. Now that he was older, he was not quite sure whether the stories were actually historical events or whether they were the product of an angel's highly imaginative mind to entertain him. 'I'm so lucky to have you as my friend, Lucifer, for you are the best thing that has happened to me. I wonder what life would have been without you.' The boy spoke with deep, mature emotion.

At one time, he had become worried about the insistence of his guardian angel on his not doing many things he thought to do as his friends at school did. At school, he was often bullied by older kids who thought he was a weirdo. Sometimes, Lucifer made funny faces that made him laugh instead of cry when he had been kicked hard or abused by boys his age at school. He told him, 'Retaliation is a show of weakness that your enemy can capitalize on.' Seth had just been ruffled in school by a boy he could stand up to, and Lucifer was there, telling him not to utter a word or raise a finger at the boy, but rather he should speak kind words to him, showing empathy, for such unbridled demeanor.

At home that afternoon, he was filled with questions. If he did not get any hard answers, it might destroy all Lucifer has wormed so hard for all these years. 'Why are you doing this to me? Why can't I be like every other kid who makes mistakes and learn from them? I'm a child, I am a child! I just turned ten and I'm allowed to make mistakes. What is the essence of mercy if I do not make mistakes? Why, Lucifer, why?' the kid lamented, throwing himself on his bed, then got off and walked to the window, stamping hard on the ground with every step he took, while his guardian angel stood there calmly in watch.

'Okay.' He smiled and then continued. 'I'll show you a scripture, in the Bible, of someone just like you who did not sin a day in his life and ended up saving the world.' He moved and sat on the kid's bed and handed him his Bible. He tapped the bed right beside him, and Seth walked and sat next to him, carry a frown.

'Turn the Bible to the book of Hebrews four fifteen.' Seth began to flip the pages through. 'It is after Habakuk and before Exodus,' said Lucifer.

'That's not true. It is after Philemon and before James,' Seth replied with the confidence of a scholar.

Lucifer paused and looked at him for about five seconds and then lashed out. 'Then open it and stop acting like you deserve a medal.'

'We do not have a high priest who does not sympathize with our weaknesses,' he read and paused. 'I don't see what that has got to do with me.' Lucifer was looking at him with amusement in his eyes. 'Complete the verse before you speak about what concerns you and what doesn't.' Seth smiled at his attitude and then continued.

'But was tempted in every way, as we are, but yet he sinned not.' When he read it, he looked at Lucifer with a question on his face.

'So, what did you make of it?' he asked Seth, who was waiting to ask him the questions.

'The verse was talking about Jesus and how He never sinned, even though He was tempted in every way, as we are, He still did not sin. But that's Jesus, not me.'

He raised his voice in his response. 'He never sinned, even though He was tempted, and it was recorded that He became the father of salvation, right?'

'I hear what you are saying, but what does it have to do with me? What does it mean?' Seth implored him?

'Listen to souls of men, and even though Jesus sacrificed himself to give man the access to get into heaven, there's still so much work left undone. So,it means that you are destined to do a great thing in this life, and sin will destroy your calling.'

Seth was quiet for a while. 'So if I don't sin, I will do a great deed like Christ. Is that what you are saying?' The confused ten-year-old was finding it difficult to add it all up.

'I am not saying anything, son. There is this much I can tell you.' He held up twofingers and continued. 'You would have to put the pieces of the rest together until it's time,' said Lucifer as he picked up the kid's toy sword and pointed it like a true swordsman, spun it around, and pointed it at Seth, who was still beaming for answers.

'What time, or should I say when is the right time?' he asked.

'The day is not today. The time is not now, but I can tell you that you'll have to be old enough to have your own free will.' Seth was quiet, but Lucifer would not allow the wrong thought to creep in, so he nudged him and cheered him up. 'Birthday boy, it is time to take sword in hand and stop the monster skeleto, for you are He-Man, and I am coming for you.' The boy in Seth immediately woke up as he grabbed his sword from Lucifer, with excitement to do battle. Lucifer took the sheet off his bed, placed it over his head, and began swinging his hands like a mindless monster and making funny noises. The two played as a happy duo.

Father Adams knocked on his door and entered, with Seth still swinging his sword. 'Is everything okay, my son?' he asked, holding a smile doused in curiosity, as he entered the room. Seth wasn't bothered about Lucifer being seen, because this particular scene had played out numerous times, without anyone seeing him.

'Yes, Father, I'm just playing with my, my, my... my sword,'he replied. Father Adams chuckled. 'Of course, you are, alright, have your fun.'He walked out and shut the door.

That night, the demon known as fear went to pay a visit to the kid who fought Seth in school. He scared the living daylights out of the kid, both in his dream and in real life. By morning, the kid had lost his mind and was pulled out of school.

No doubt, Lucifer had made Seth much wiser than most adults. Lucifer had taught him Latin, Greek, Spanish, and English, all of which he spoke fluently. Seth was taught to dance, sing, and play chess, and he learned etiquette befitting a prince.

Seth still gaped into the scroll with parted lips and moist eyes. He was taken by the kind words everyone had to say about him and how much he had come to mean to them in the last six years. He knew he owed his guardian angel a lot of appreciation for all he had been taught; he looked at him in gratitude, and Lucifer understood.

'You're most welcome,' Lucifer said, replying to his thoughts. 'Happy birthday, my child.' This was the first time Lucifer had ever addressed him in that manner. 'You know that if I were human, I wouldn't have minded having a child just like you.' For a while there, there seemed to be some form of emotion in the eyes of Lucifer. One couldn't tell what it represented or if the devil could afford such luxury. 'Your father must be very proud,' he said as he reached out and ruffled his hair.

'He says he is, and I am so proud of him too. I only wish I knew who my mother is, her real name and how to find her. I would tell her everything about our world and how beautiful you have made it for me.' He stopped himself with a sigh.

'Our little secret, remember?' cautioned Lucifer. 'Someday, I'm sure you'll get to find her, but there's no need to ruin a perfect birthday worrying over what isn't here.'

'I am really glad to have met you, Lucifer.' Seth spoke with so much excitement, looking up at his angel friend, who had never heard anyone say that to him.

'Really, and why's that?' he asked.

'You know, you are so much different from what people imagined you to be. I wish they could get to know you as I do. Then some adjustments would be required in the Bible.' Seth replied to him as he reached to Lucifer and held his hand.

Lucifer paused for a while and responded in a gasp. 'Someday, kid. Maybe someday.'

The boy and his angel spent the rest of the evening together.

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He undressed for a shower. His large bones creaked at every joint. He ached from his broad shoulders down to his waist, due to the heavy laundry he had lugged in and the cleaning he had done the previous day. He walked into the bathroom and paused in front of the mirror to check out his biceps and near-perfect abs. He was nineteen now, and today was his big day. In a few short hours, he would be reciting his vows, and shortly after, he would become a professed monk—a holy priest of God.

It was as though the whole of his life depended on this day, and he was not about to be late for his rite of passage. A quick shower was taken, and he started to dress himself. The events of the previous day came back to him, and he felt he had done the right thing.

Abbé Adams had been watching his son from a distance for the past four days. He understood that the period before taking the oath was an unsettling one; it was a defining moment for any priest. The problem, though, was that Seth seemed to be having a harder time of it than was normal. The abbot noticed his son's sulkiness and a general uneasiness that he displayed even in public; his eyes were puffy from lack of sleep. His initial thought had been to allow his son to make the decision alone like other young men, but at some point, a day before the taking of oaths and priestly blessings, his fatherly heart stepped in to lend a hand.

He met Seth after the morning Mass in the chapel. 'See me in the office immediately.' He would not wait for an answer, for he also knew that when Seth had something bothering him, he would avoid him and everyone else until he had fixed the problem.

Seth looked into his father's eyes, not quite sure that he had done anything wrong but sure that something displeased him. He was familiar with that line, for the office discussion was always something serious. He obeyed and followed behind his dad somewhat awkwardly, feeling like a naughty child caught by his father in an act of disobedience.

'Sit, paidimou.' His father had not called him that in a while. He knew he was concerned, but he did not want to show it too much, and he still had not so much as looked at him.

Seth obeyed. He glanced around his father's familiar office like he had a thousand times before.

Father Adams studied his son for a long time, and he could see him become uneasy. The last time he had seen his son act like this was when the cantor, Father Mark, had died five years ago from a strange illness. Seth had been devastated, and the father had seen his son struggle on his own for a while but come to terms with it in a healthy way some months after.

'Is something the matter, Father?' He reached up and smoothed his hair back with his fingers.

'I was hoping you could tell me,' was his father's reply, still looking into his son's piercing blue eyes. Despite his son's almost desperately wild look, he was as beautiful as ever. He often wondered that the boy did not lose the otherworldly beauty of his childhood even as he advanced in years.

'Nothing that I can't handle, Papa. Really, you can trust that I can deal with this.'

'No, son, it's time you trusted God,' his dad replied. 'You need to trust that He loves you much more than I ever could, and He has marked out the path that you must follow. It is the way of this life that He gifted us with. He will by Himself show you the way of life which leads to His presence and only in His presence will you find the fullness of joy in every step you take.'

'I hear you, Papa, but I have all these questions, many questions. There are nightmares every night. Voices in my head. Sometimes, I am not even sure who I am anymore or what I want out of life. I feel like there is a control on my life that I have no power over.'

His father stood and walked to where his son sat hunched in his chair. He placed his arm over the shoulders of this young man, who had once been in those arms, whose face was still buried in his palms. 'I don't think I understand what you mean, my son, but I do know if you cast these cares on God, He will help you to a place of peace and quietness.'

'I know all that, Papa, but I have seen visions of angels these past fifteen years, yet I still feel this way.'

'Beware of that, Tesoro; angels are only servants of God and not God, and they alone cannot fill a man. Man was created to be satisfied by God and God alone. An angel won't do. You are created in God's image, which means you are like God, just divinity in human cover, but to enjoy this feeling, you must receive God's offer,' said the priest.

'I want peace within, Papa. I want to be sure for the first time in my life that everything is not a mistake. I want to know who my mother is and where she is. Is she still alive? Why did she let me go? Does she still think about me? Papa, you said you would tell me someday,' Seth said, with his eyes pleading.

'I still will, but the time is not now. You have a big day tomorrow, and you must be ready, mentally, physically, and spiritually. I will pray with you in a minute. Here and now, I need you to let all that worries your heart out to God and let Him take the burden that weighs you down.' The abbot smiled at his son; he knew the time had come to tell him about his origins, but that could wait until his little boy became a man of his own tomorrow. 'Yes, paidimou, speak to Him in the name of Jesus; His son and He will hear you. This marks the beginning of the rest of your life.'

Seth prayed and cried his eyes out to God as he had never done before.He wondered why Lucifer had not shown him this path, but he still had been a good friend. His dad took his palms in his. 'Let me pray with you, my son; but first, say these words after me …'

The two men walked out of the office shoulder to shoulder with smiles on their faces as Seth had seen his father do countless times before with other candidates and younger monks.

A short distance away, an angel observed these happenings, unseen and very distraught over the turn of events. Seth's thoughts came back, and he noticed the strange absence of his guardian angel, who he believed was somewhere around watching him. 'Aren't you going to wish me good luck or something? It's my big day, remember?' He spoke out with nobody in the room and then a voice came out of the wardrobe.

'Not when you smell like that I won't.' Seth chuckled and knocked the wardrobe door hard. 'Being an angel does not mean I do not have eardrums, you know.'

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Later that evening, the guardian angel came into his room in full-blown angel mode while Seth was doing his laundry, hurting Seth's eyes with the blinding light. Lucifer was angry but soon thought better of causing a scene and destroying all the work he had labored on all these years. He became man-sized and was ready to talk.

'That was an unnecessary show of weakness you put up today,' Lucifer said. 'Well, I do understand that you are human and therefore prone to emotion, but I have told you several times that emotions are not to be trusted. A great mind must be clear and in control; self-control is the source of power and serenity of mind and soul.'

Seth had never argued with his teacher, but all day long, he had wondered and doubted the suitability of the way Lucifer was leading his life. Yes, he had been a good friend and companion; all the advice he had ever given was right and had never failed, but he genuinely wanted to let him know that he just wanted to be human and live like everyone else. It was too demanding a life living without mistakes. Being perfect was a very heavy cross to carry and he did not want the responsibility anymore. It was the correct thing to do, living right, but living without mistakes was trying too hard to be God.

Sensing some misgivings in the mind of his charge, Lucifer chose his words more carefully and spoke with the easy, lazy charm of an old serpent. His words were smooth and soothing; and he portrayed wisdom, intelligence, and gentleness, which made Seth unable to speak as plainly as he felt.

Hearing the angel's words, Seth responded, 'I believe there is nothing wrong with being human and vulnerable. God created me so.' He bit his lips, not sure how to continue the discussion. 'No matter how far off the path I might veer, there is grace to guide me back, but how will I ever know the joys of this grace if I never need it? I understand that you are an angel, free of human flaws, so you do not understand, but you must not mistake me for an angel, for surely you believe me to be one with these high standards you set.'

Lucifer smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He had not expected this so soon.His protégé was indeed presenting what could potentially destroy his plan, and there was too much invested to let this go. 'What you speak of is truth in a sense.Nonetheless, we suffer pain that no sorrow of man can match. Angels are judged by standards far higher than man's reason can comprehend. I will tell you more about this much later, but now I will leave you to ponder these choices. Farewell, my friend, in your ordination as a priest of God, an honor not to be taken lightly, and many congratulations from my angel friends.'

Lucifer winked at his young friend as he had done when he was younger; the gesture seemed to reassure Seth, who returned the gesture. In a moment, there was none of the angel form left but air.

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Time went by quickly. Seth's boyhood days were long gone. So were his few days as a priest in Italy. Seth was out on an evening stroll as part of his private celebration of his six months in office as a priest at St Philip's Cathedral, a traditional Catholic church in a satellite town east of Bucharest.

Dressed in an opulent long-sleeved shirt, black denim, a muffler to fight the approaching evening chill in case he chose to stay outside a little longer than planned, and a pair of light brown Nike sneakers, he carried a black rucksack that held a few items he could share with kids and adults in need of them. This included toys, canned foods and drinks, shirts, mittens, and dozens of portable gift items, some of which were gifts from friends during his send-forth party from the abbey in Rome.

Seth believed a great deal in being a part of the lives of the needy so much that he always carried such supplies with him each time he took a walk. He would also buy more supplies than he would ordinarily have needed and share with any destitute people he met along the way. He became so popular that he tried on different disguises and made his walks throughvarious streets, footpaths alleyways, and bypasses. He sought always to help solve problems for people but not in any way become the center of attraction.

At twenty-one, Seth was a highly attractive male model figure whose attention any young woman would covet. He looked all the more modern and youthful this evening and was sure he would get a few necks to turn his direction before the sun was entirely out of sight. But he had a lot of memories to wade through, thoughts to engage in, and decisions to make within a short time. He also compiled stories and experiences to share with his father and mentor, who had written to him often since he left. Earlier in the week, he had told him of his coming to Bucharest. He had quite a number of questions stacked up in his heart to ask his dad about in the last six months.

The night before he left the abbey, he had been so confused and frightened about the unknown. In the last three years, he had become apprehensive and uncertain about the future.

Everything his guardian angel told him pointed to a great assignment that was so important that any wrong step would besmirch him and ruin his chances of ever achieving his mission. The fear grew each year. He quelled the tremor in his soul with a selfless commitment to doing good and seeking the good of all people. His guardian angel, Lucifer, was a stickler for perfection and gave him no chances. His thoughts dared not sway in any wrong direction, knowing that Lucifer had a way of anticipating his thoughts and went the extra mile to warn him of the danger of thinking some thoughts even before he could think of thinking about them.

His guardian angel forbade any other of his colleagues to come near a mile's radius, knowing well enough that the heart of man would choose evil over good if both sides had a fair competing chance. With no tempter near and no smell of evil close by, it would discourage any temptation by the tempter. It sounded like a perfect plan at first, but in operational terms, it would be difficult since the creator of man had made man a free moral agent who was given power and authority from God to choose. No one would take that from him.

Seth tossed a can of baked beans and a large pack of oatmeal cookies to a young child, not more than eight years old, who had looked at him with hungry eyes. Seth studied him for a minute and decided he had probably not eaten for the whole day or maybe longer.

'I thank, master,' he said profusely in the little English he could muster.

After a few short steps, Seth looked back at the boy. He was stuffing the goodies into a faded, torn, blue knapsack. Seth walked back to him and gave him a warm smile. 'You don't seem to be interested in eating that anytime soon, but from what I see, you are trembling with hunger,' Seth said with a lot of hand motion to aid comprehension.

'My mother sick,' the boy said with his head down. 'Car hit her leg break. I beg for her.' A tear rolled down his left cheek and hit the knapsack. The boy started zipping his bag to keep from looking at Seth.

'I think I can share,' Seth said and then he brought out everything that was in his rucksack.

'No, I don't think so,' Seth said, changing his mind midway. He stuffed everything back into the bag. 'Here,' said the priest.

The boy looked up at him, confused.

'Help yourself to anything in there you can use. Share what you can't. Never forget to share what you have.' He walked away as he said this.

Seth never looked back to acknowledge the young boy's desperate gasps of thank you. It was always fun for him to see a smile on the faces of people he helped. He was privileged, and he knew.

The sunburnt horizon on the west seethed with a gold-and-amber remnant of the sun's rays. As darkness settled, the creaks and croaks of crickets and bullfrogs floated the night's ambiance to his consciousness. Seth was also aware of another familiar presence. It was a presence he had craved for in his every waking breath as a child. The presence and the personality he knew he owed so much, especially the animated and kind-hearted person he had become.

He said no words and neither did the angel who now walked at a slower pace behind him. He had been walking alone, away from the noise of working people and St Philip's. However, somehow at the moment, he found he wouldn't mind the company of his guardian angel.

Lucifer spoke up first.

'It was a great one you did back there, son. At the end of the age, you will have to get a standing ovation from the clouds of witnesses in heaven. "When I was hungry, you fed me, and when I was naked, you clothed me," the Son of God will say.' Lucifer had level pace with him now as they walked towards a quiet stream. 'You are a righteous man.'

Whenever Lucifer talked like this, Seth always knew that he was sure to expect more. Seth waited as the angel played with his pauses. It seemed like a way every wise person talked to his protégé when the message had to sink to the roots.

'Seth, you are a righteous man,' Lucifer repeated as he sat on a huge rock by the stream. The young moon had just been released from a dark cloud and cold was the night sky. Seth sat down quietly beside his angel.

'The time has come, and you have been found worthy. Just right for the assignment I have for you.'

The cool breeze kissed his brow, reminding him of the cold sweat breaking out on his temple and finding itself under the chin of his young, scanty beard. Was he really sweating and palpitating?

What does he mean? Am I found worthy for what? Does God really think he could do much with me? I just couldn't make sense of it.

The angel had been looking at him for over five minutes.His eyes white as light pierced into him, reading him like a book. He spoke again, this time a pitch higher and jolting. Seth was back from his thoughts.

'The time has come, son. Responsibilities are waiting to be shouldered, not by just anyone but one with a heart like yours. You have been made ready for such a time as this.'

'Can I please know what this is all about? The unspoken secret of this undisclosed mission is choking me to death,' Seth lamented. 'Whatever the mission is, I think that God ought to pick someone else.' Seth shook his head and turned away from the angel.

'You mortals are so changeable, and you just presume that even God could change his mind at your every whim. Well, things don't always happen that way, my dear boy.'

The angel's towering frame stood in front of Seth in a flash. He squatted so that he could maintain eye-level contact with Seth. That notwithstanding, the angel was still an inch taller than the young man. 'On my word, you will get to know all I have to say to you after one cold flight in the morning.' As he said this, a pair of massive wings burst out with light from somewhere behind Lucifer. With one flap of the enormous set of wings, he was airborne. 'I will send some to your room.' As he said this, he circled the scene. Every leaf swayed in the wind as Seth felt smaller and smaller in the ascension.

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An eerie air hung on the next morning. It felt rather strange that no birds sang except for a distant cooing of a pigeon or an occasional squawk of a large raven alighting on a branch from one of the forest trees in the St Philip's compound.

St Philip's housed a theological seminary, a university, and a state-of-the-art library that attracted researchers from all over Romania and Europe. The large expanse of land was home to different kinds of fruit trees, flowers of fragrance, grassland animals, and native and migrated birds from as far as Asia and Africa.

The foreboding atmosphere seemed to give silence to the usual bustling activities of both man and beast. Seth had been staring blankly at the dreary scene playing out in front of him. It was already nine in the morning, but the sun was not anywhere in the sky, nor was there a blue sky in the clouded morning.

His father had called the previous day, saying he would be arriving at St Philip's sometime before noon, as his train was billed to arrive at the station at ten thirty-three. The train station was merely a twenty-five-minute drive to St Philip's, which left him with little time to set his scattered room in a fairly good shape, shave, bathe, brush, and possibly take breakfast before his dad arrived. He brushed aside the ominous air still hanging in the atmosphere around him and got to work.

'Dad,' Seth gasped. 'You've been drinking from the fountain of youth again … well, I caught you this time.' The young man wagged a forefinger at his dad, his brow furrowed in the feigned disapproval of an angry mentor who caught his student cheating. Father Adams wiped his lips with the back of his hand and gave out his usual, white-toothed fatherly smile that always warmed Seth from the inside.

Both men were in each other's arms, each marveling at the changes that had taken place in the other in so little time.

'I have been on furlough for the last four months,' his father explained. 'I took to running, fencing, horseback riding, and lots of little stuff to tone up just a little.' He smiled as he dislodged from the embrace. He looked in his son's eyes that now brimmed with tears.

His son had grown so much, but not yet so much as to not need his father. He saw the familiar loneliness return to the young man's eyes. This time, Father Adams had resolved within himself that it was time to tell him the circumstances surrounding his birth. As they both walked by lawns and well-manicured flower stalks, the scent of honeysuckle and freshness from the activities of the honey-making bees and the flutter of birds in the orchard trees poured on them from all around. Both men relived memories, retold each other's favorite stories, and related new experiences. There was not a single care in the world that was greater than the moment they shared.Students walked up and down the path; some said hello to them, while others just passed by. Seth shared his feelings of loneliness and that his knees had buckled at the weight of new responsibilities in the last six months.

'Son, I am here to lay my hands on you and strengthen you. That's what fathers do,' his dad said.

'And what do moms do … would I ever get to find out what they do?'

'And moms …' Father Adams stoppedthen continued as though he had heard Seth's thoughts. 'Moms never forget their sons. They always whisper unheard prayers to God for sons and daughters. They breathe on us from wherever they are … their hearts guide us, but even if they forget us—yes, sometimes they do—your heavenly Father said He will never leave or forsake you.'

`Yeah, right, as though we don't know better,' said Lucifer, who sat on a branch, far from where they walked, eavesdropping into their conversation. He kept a watchful eye on Seth, so no one should throw a wrench into his wheel of progress.

Father Adams paused. He wanted to say something more, but he paused. He anticipated the big question that he had dreaded all his life.

Seth was quiet, with his gaze fixed on Father Adams, all dripping with anticipation, and the hunger for answers. The silence grew as though someone pushed pause on the DVD player.

'I never knew your mother.' Father Adams exhaled. He could see the light go out from his son's eyes. Seth wilted. Father Adams was sorry.

Seth finally looked into his father's eyes. Then he seemed to have aged up to his real age in just that split moment.

'Does that mean you are not my …' Seth's voice trailed off in the sudden realization of what he almost said.

'I am your father,' he said, desperately raising his voice and lowering it again in the same instant, 'still your father … I will always be. I love you, Seth … my son.' Father Adams tried to reassure his son of his love and care, but that did not turn off the hurt switch, which had overwhelmed him.

'So how did you find me? Who brought me to you?' he asked with a drowning tone.

'You were left at the gates of the monastery in a beautiful basket. Your name was wrapped around your wrist. That is why we called you Seth.' Seth was not lifted by his words. Rather, his heart was ripped and torn in shreds at every word he uttered.

'My son, you are a gift to me because you came into my life when I needed to share the love of a father with his child. I thought of renouncing my vows and finding a companion who would bear me a child, although no one knew this at that time.'

'I did,' said Lucifer, gloating from his tree branch.

'The point is that I might not be your biological father, but no father could have loved you more than I did,' said Father Adams, whose words were irritating Lucifer to his stomach.

'Could somebody please shut this old loser up before I die of, oooooh …' Lucifer fell off the tree before he could finish his statement.

A truck honked in the distance. 'What happened?' The young man tried hard to swallow down the knot that tightened in his throat. 'How did I end up at the Paraclete Abbey, Dad?' The endless rush of questions overwhelmed him as he fought back hot tears. The sun hid behind the clouds, and the light formed a dark brown glow around the cloud's fringes.

'Here, sit here.' Father Adams was half-relieved that the young man still called him 'Dad.' The two men sat down by the side of the road on a concrete slab. The wind was in their hair. 'I loved you from the day I saw you. You were left at the gate, where you were picked up by one of the guards on duty. It was unlawful to keep you, but I felt very strongly that God had sent me to you, a great man to make of you.

'I convinced the new abbot of my convictions, that it was God who moved me to pick you up. The moment he gave consent, I felt like the happiest man on earth. The rest is history.' The holy father smiled to himself.

Silence.

A child played with a rubber ball on the sidewalk on the street across from where Seth and his father sat talking. 'Friend, friend …' the boy called. Seth looked over his shoulder and immediately recognized the face of the boy who excitedly waved at him from the other side of the road.

The ball bounced rhythmically around the young chap as he juggled the ball around on both feet, his head, chest, and shoulders. The ball soon tumbled out of his control into the street. The boy started after the ball. Seth had been watching the show-off in a desperate attempt to escape the sadness that was welling up inside him.

Seth gasped in terror. To his right, there was a haulage truck almost at the boy. The driver honked, popped out his head from the truck window, and yelled madly.

Tyres screeched, people gasped, and screams rent the air.

Seth quickly scampered into the road on instinct and was just in time to push the boy out of the way of the oncoming truck, but Seth was knocked out cold. His father raced to the scene in panic. Trembling all over, he knelt down beside his son's crumpled body. The impact was so hard and loud that he fumbled around for a pulse, his desperate miracle. Seth lay lifeless in a pool of blood; his ribs, limbs, and skull were broken.

A crowd gathered. Everyone was shaken. His father cried out, 'Not now, not today, not you, my son … not you,' he wailed. The rescued boy covered his head as he lay on the ground and sobbed.