1 Randouka

0. Your Soul Writes The Story

They say everyone gets to choose what kind of life they want to have before they are born. Who Knows? There might actually be some truth in that. One thing is for sure, though, and that is that in the interworld -where spirits live between death and birth –there came to be a girl named Randouka. And, just like everything else in life, the chances of this coming to be were infinitely low. Imagine, how many ancestors you have. Every creature has, going back millions of years. But if so much as one of those pairs of ancestors hadn't met and mated each other on the particular day they did, you wouldn't be here. Admit it –the chances of you being born were impossibly small. We know it has to be someone, so... congratulations! It's you! So, now you have an understanding of how unlikely it was for that specific spirit to collide with that specific body, we shall move on.

In the beginning, there was a meadow. The sound of birdsong floated lightly and pleasantly on the breeze.

Randouka stood. Her bare toes wriggled in between the grass blades in a way that sent tingles all the way to the crown of her head, and back again. In fact, those were the only truths she knew in the whole wide worlds: that she existed, that she was, and that it was wonderful. It felt wonderful.

Up ahead was an enormous oak, too large to imagine (though you could probably accommodate a medium sized village of tree houses on its branches, if that gives you some idea). Randouka watched it with interest. What an odd thing it was, sticking out its knobby limbs in the sky like that! Nonetheless, she walked over. There wasn't anything else for miles around other than grass, grass and wild flowers. Randouka hiked up the small, shallow hill until she reached the base of the tree –a thick ancient trunk with roots protruding like the waves of a stormy sea.

There was also someone sat with their back against it. The person seemed familiar to Randouka, though she couldn't place from where. It looked at some kind of book in its lap, before spotting her, at which point it broke out into a beautiful smile. "Ah, welcome, child," it said in its comforting voice. "Welcome to the place where every story starts. Come." It patted a space next to it, inviting Randouka to sit in one of the tree's grooves. In fact, she slipped in so perfectly, the seat might as well have been made for her. "Look," the nameless entity continued "I have the book of your life here, but it is blank at the moment. Do you know why?" It looked over at Randouka.

She shook her head. As if expecting this answer, the entity replied "That is because it is for you to fill in. This is your choice now, so choose carefully. You only get to do this once." An elaborate pen appeared on the open pages, although it looked like it had been there all along. Randouka picked up the object slowly, with curiosity. She was admiring the splendid pattern carved onto its side. Then began to write. She had never been taught to write yet she knew exactly what she was doing, so that every new alien symbol that wrote itself on the page made perfect sense in her subconscious. She wrote for what would seem like an age to us, except time did not really exist or matter in this dimension. Both remained completely silent until, at long last, Randouka passed the book and pen back to her companion. "I'm done."

The entity dipped its head in acknowledgment. "Very well," it took a glance at the pages "I see…you did not choose the sheep's path." Randouka looked down shyly.

"I must say… you are one of those rare, adventurous souls, who do not go with the flow for the sake of it. You were definitely true to yourself when you wrote this."

She raised her eyes, asking "Does that mean, I can go now?"

The entity took one last look at the book before snapping it shut, making both pen and book disappear. It said "Yes. Yes, you may go. Your story is safe with me now for ever more. However, I am going to erase all your memories of what you have experienced here, so that when you are born, you can start from an empty slate."

Randouka's smile soon shriveled up "Erase… them all?"

"I am afraid so. This is what happens to all people who come to the Earth. But such is the challenge of life –if you can once again reach this state of wonder, awe and happiness that you feel here, but as an adult human… then you will truly be free. Such a shame, that most people fail to. Will you?"

She stared at it blankly, unsure what to think anymore.

"I believe in you. I believe you can find happiness, Randouka. Anyway, it really is time for us to part ways, though I wish you all the best –until we meet again."

Within moments, Randouka became enveloped by a mist. Not that it was unpleasant –just that she still had something to say which had not been said, a question which had not been answered. But the scene faded away too fast, and before Randouka knew it, she didn't know anything at all. What she never found out, however, was that the entity also had something to say, but decided best not to. It had flicked through parts of Randouka's story, and yes, it was the road less taken… but also was the life of a sinner.

PART I BIRTH

1. The World Above

Picture heaven. Go on, what do you see? Perhaps there are clouds and sunshine and pretty angels flitting around. Perhaps you find the souls of those good people who earned themselves a place in the Kingdom of God, where everything is tinted pink, purple, orange and blue. Is that what you see? Well, then you wouldn't be too far wrong from what this place was actually like. High above the Earth, Saint Peter sits before the gates of heaven, holding his scales. If you're lucky enough to be let in, you'll find a whole array of things to do and places to see. Turn left, and there are the soaking pools of eternal relaxation. Turn right, and there will be the Garden of Four Seasons. Or, carry on straight ahead and you'll find all two thousand steps leading up to the temple of God (so high, you'd have to go up to see it). So on the surface, it would all seem well and good. But when you look deeper –how much is it really? All these clouds are too pink, too fluffy. And the angels themselves aren't so pure anymore. Maybe they were, back in the day, but even heaven's inhabitants are starting to develop some of the human ways. Times are tense –we can all feel it. I just hope our problems get resolved soon...

Now, enough of that. All of this started, I can safely say, here, in Heavenly Valley. Or more specifically, in the forge. Sorry, what's the forge, you say? Basically, it is the start of everything that lives. Day and night, the master smiths are busy designing and building bodies for souls to later claim as their own. The work never stops, as us angels seldom need to rest. But it is thanks to them that every living creature, plant, even microbe has a body to live in. A vessel in which to move, breathe, enjoy the world in –all designed to the finest detail. Then, once they're made, worker angels come to transport them to the interworlds. They are strange beings, those spirits. There's no substance to them, yet each one has a mind of their own. For once they've made up that mind on which body to possess, that's it. It's theirs, and theirs only for the rest of life... well, until we find that occasionally, there are exceptions. But you won't find out about that until much later. Soz.

So, once upon a time there was a beautiful body. One of the smiths who specialized in making humans fancied a bit of variety one day (for isn't biodiversity such a wonderful thing?) It's fun making people with different shaped noses, or goggly eyes, or even with some deformity. But every so often –say, once in a blue moon –it was nice to make someone who stood out. A person with features so perfect, you just can't take your eyes off them. And this is precisely what he decided to do with this girl. He gave her a dainty feminine figure in peachy tones; the perfect face with everything from an upturned nose to almond-shaped eyes and – every woman's crowning glory –naturally thick, healthy hair. There's more, but you get the idea. Now, with his work done, the smith gave his creation a last proud look, before adding her to the trolley (it takes a lot of skill to chisel out features, without slipping up and making a mistake!) As for the trolley, this was all part of the work system. Angels know what their job is. Unlike humans, we do not skip from one profession to another, or make a juggling act of several, or get the sack. No, the work we choose at our coming of age will become our life's purpose. Raison d'être. We're not here to pamper ourselves in heaven's luxuries, but to serve God, and those he created. There are many options available: for one, you could be a guardian angel, like myself. Mostly, we watch over humans (because they have a tendency to make poor life decisions). We watch, we give advice, and look out for otherworldly predators that may cause them harm. Just in case. The only rule, however, is this: advise, not interfere. Which is kind of sad, because it means if one of your charges was to say, get stabbed by bandits in a dark alley, you would have no choice but to let it happen. You would be able to warn them not to go in that alley in the first place, only at the end of the day, it's their choice if they want to listen or not. And frustratingly, most people do not. They ignore their instincts, and that is generally what gets them into so much trouble. Animals don't need to have that inner guidance, since their instincts are always on peak. Then there are the carers, such as Daniki, who look after the little angels who have yet to realize their purpose. The smiths, as we've already clarified, are the smiths, and there's not much more to say on that. Our leaders, the archangels, are our loyal and steadfast organizers, as appointed by God himself. After that they have chosen their own successors. Last, but not least, we have the other end of the scale, such as the job of transporting the loaded trolleys of bodies from the forge to the place of spirits. Karma was one such angel. In our region, he's known to not be the brightest of chaps and quite easily influenced –but light-hearted, all the same. Just on that fateful day he saw that girl in his cart, whether it was for better or worse (I no longer know), all I know was it changed our lives forever.

Karma knew his work was necessary for creation to carry on existing, but did it have to be so monotonous? Back and forth, back and forth, every single day. If only he'd chosen to be a smith... the things he could make, what forms he could build! The others would fall head over heels with admiration... Yes, Karma was convinced he could have been the best, had he taken that option. If only he'd known better!

He unloaded yet another cartful of beings into the portal to the interworld. Life carries on, he thought, it always carries on. Back he trudged through the clouds, on a path he'd taken so many times that it would have worn out long ago, had he been made of flesh and bones. Except Karma was only air and conscience, just like any other inhabitant of heaven. Once he returned to the forge with an empty trolley, another full one was waiting. Sighing, he took it back onto the path. By now, Karma stopped paying much attention to what was in the trolley. Even if it was a dazzling life form that had never been seen before, then it wasn't like there weren't dazzling life forms in the trolley every day. That's not to say he didn't take a glance at it –you can't help yourself when it's right under your nose. Karma had his usual quick glimpse, then put his eyes back on the road. Then stopped. He saw something, just a brief flash of something, but still, it caught his interest. He didn't know why, but he just had to have a second look. Karma began rummaging around in the trolley, carelessly pushing aside other creations that were in the way, though not finding what he was after.

"Bother!" Karma grumbled out loud. It unintentionally caught the notice of another angel doing the same job. Frowning, he took two steps closer to Karma, who was completely oblivious that he was no longer alone. So he was caught completely off-guard when the other said "What are you doing?"

"Oof!" Down came an emu's figure with a thud.

"What are you doing? You'll damage those pieces! Really, Karma, you ought to have more respect for others' work."

Sheepishly, he mumbled something about being more careful in future, but no sooner had his colleague walked off when his hands were back in the cart. It took a while to remove everything out, but when he did, he knew immediately when he'd found what he wanted.

Karma stared. He couldn't help it. In his hands was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, even if she was just an empty dummy at the moment. He stood there, taking in every detail, absorbing it like a sponge. He forgot all about wanting to be a smith. No, whoever made this figure must be the master of all masters. Who else would be able to mold a piece so perfectly? He couldn't. Oh, wouldn't it be so wonderful to look after her once she came to life –to be a guardian angel. That would surely be the best of all jobs. If only she'd hurry up and be born! Suddenly realizing he was only holding up this process for himself, Karma gave a yip as he stuffed the rest of the models back in the trolley and raced off. As for the girl-body, he placed her lovingly at the top to avoid her being damaged, as well as being able to look upon that smiling face.

"When you are born," he told the blank, lifeless eyes, "I will come for you. I will convince the archangel to give you a place in heaven, so we can live there together." Karma gave her a kiss on the forehead, before reluctantly letting go of the cartload through the portal. "Until we meet again..." He sniffled. He knew already it would be a long wait and didn't know what to do with that time.

Karma became very glum from that day onwards. Nothing seemed to excite him much or hold any meaning. Everyone else was confused: like, why was Karma so sad when he was betrothed to one of the most respected angels in the region? When Daniki stated their intention to get married, the others thought it was a joke. Their intelligence levels were miles apart. But it was no joke -they really did like each other. Well, up until now, that is.

My own life was undergoing changes as well at the time, which were taking up more of my attention than other angels' love stories. Firstly, my human charge, after eighty-odd years, was now lying on his deathbed surrounded by children and grandchildren. I watch them and sigh. I know I shouldn't feel this way, But it seems like he's led another wasted life. Set out to discover new species in South Africa, ended up as a manager of finance. Because it was the well-paid, safe choice. Not because he ever enjoyed it. It's only now the old fool whines about everything he regrets, everything that could have been... what an idiot! Forgive me for my opinion, but people like Earnest Jones annoy me very much. Makes me wonder –is there any point to my job at all? Why bother trying to guide these people if they simply don't want to know? The amount of times I've wanted to fly down and give those buffoons a slap on the head. Say 'what are you guys doing with your lives? Open those eyes, people!'

I want to resign. I really do.

With negative thoughts in mind, I go off to do my daily business, but, as always, negative thoughts lead to negative events. At home, I wanted to tidy some of my things, but dropped everything onto the floor. Didn't exactly make me feel better. As I began to collect my stuff, someone walked past the window. I don't have a problem with that, except this someone happened to be the snootiest, most irritable angel in all of Heavenly Valley.

"Hello," Polly chirped. "Is that you being clumsy again?" she snorted "Typical."

"I don't know what you think you're doing, flouncing into my territory, uninvited, and then insulting me."

"It's not your territory," she pointed out, annoying me all the more. "Heaven belongs to everysoul."

I know this is true, only I am not in the mood to be penalized, least of all by Polly. "Don't pretend you didn't know what I meant. You are invading my personal space. I'd like you to get out, please."

Polly must have deliberately ignored me, as she placed her elbow on the windowsill and positively leaned in.

"Dear oh dear. You really need to learn how to be more sociable. Like, who will want to talk to you when you always have that horrid frown on your face?"

"Stop changing the subject!"

"See? So abrupt–"

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" I yelled, giving both elbow and face a mighty shove. She fell backward with a screech.

"That's abominable behavior!" she howled "You won't get away with this!" With that, she picked herself up and left.

"Won't I now?" No more was said.

I'm starting to wonder what the problem is. Once upon a time, angels were perfect. There shouldn't be a Karma who lusts after a mortal girl. There shouldn't be a Nemesis who gets angry. There shouldn't be a Polly who is rude. Just makes you think –what happened? Are we, too, destined to become like humans? For they were also flawless once (we can see how well that went). Still, it's strange...Both species were made in the image of God. So why are we slowly becoming...bad? And, more importantly, were we made this way by accident –or on purpose? I wish I could ask; there's only one problem. God's been asleep for the past two thousand years.