1 A bad end opening to a new beginning

An inhuman creature shivers in a dark and lonely dungeon. He spends many of his caged days hoping for judgment day to arrive. Thinking of the days before his fall from the clouds above. Lamenting the decisions he made. At first, the thoughts were angry but over time they turned to regret. He knew now what he had done had been wrong.

The pain was all that he felt. So heavy was it that he couldn't move a muscle. When he first arrived, he wanted to weep but now he only wanted this to end. Of course, when he first arrived things were different.

While thoughts of the past bubbled into his mind a set of feet came into his vision.

"Hello." Greeted a voice as smooth and pleasant as the feel of silk.

He remained quiet.

"It's a shame, I miss how you looked before. All feathers and light. Now, look at you. Green, thin... or simpler yet you're ugly."

He huffed and tried to ignore the voice.

The door to his cell creaked open, the noise loud and harsh in the quiet.

The fallen watch as the feet stepped out of his view and heard them approach. Then the clanging of chains greeted his ears. accompanying the sound was the pull on his shackles around his limbs.

"I suppose these aren't needed it doesn't seem like you can move." Says the voice while tugging the chains, "I suppose I could take them off you."

The fallen wondered how long he'd have to try and ignore the voice before it would leave him be.

"But then you seem fine with them on anyway," the voice said as the chains dropped to the frigid stone floor.

"Why don't you leave him be," Came a second booming voice.

A silky chuckle rang out like a bell, "You act as though I am tormenting him. Yet you're the one who imposed this punishment upon him."

Then the booming voice directed itself to the Fallen, "Do you sincerely wish to repent?"

The fallen felt the weight that held him to the ground lessen. He took the opportunity to look up at the owner of the booming voice.

With all the energy he could muster croaked out one single word, "Yes."

The silky voice growls, "How can you!? You know why you are here right? To turn to dust! I wasn't the one who left you here!"

The fallen did not turn to the owner of the silk voice but only gazed at the being before him.

"Then I will send you to the humans, there you will dwell. You will live a mortal life as they do. Never again will you let yourself be led astray." the booming voice informs the fallen.

"Do not ignore me!" the silky voice screeches.

"I will," The fallen says with a wavering voice.

The fallen felt the heavy burden lighten.

"You will not survive the human realm! You agreed with me and followed me. You will return!" the silky voice vowed.

"Now stand." The booming voice commanded.

The fallen stood, no longer feeling the burden weighing him down.

"Know that every action you take will determine your end. You will not get a second chance to redeem yourself." the booming voice warned.

The fallen nodded, "Thank you."

When the fallen opened his eyes he found that he was no longer in the dark dungeon that he had resided in for so long. Instead, he was now in a warm soft bed with thick blankets and a room with a small window and a few pieces of furniture. As much as he did not want to climb out of the warm blankets he did so. The floor was hard and cold but soon warmed from his body heat. He took the time to look through a chest of drawers and found some clothes to replace the tattered rags he wore.

He pulled on a set of socks and smiled. No longer did he have to walk on a cold floor with bare feet. Moving on he looked over a bedside table and an empty set of shelves.

With nothing more to explore he left the room. He found two other rooms that had similar furniture. He pondered the purpose of having the two extra rooms but moved on soon after to explore the rest of the house.

He walks into a kitchen with a table big enough for six people. He looked through cabinets and drawers and even a pantry. There is a little bit of food in the pantry. The fallen then moves on and goes outside.

The first thing he sees is a barn. Inside there are a few cows and a horse. He walks around some more and finds a chicken coop with five hens and a rooster.

Going passed that he finds a garden with different plants and herbs growing. Not far from that he finds a shed with the necessary tools to care for the garden and animals.

Once finished looking around he finds that trees surround the area. they are thick enough that he cannot see to the other side. The fallen wonders whether the woodland is that big or that thick. It even occurred to him that it may even be both.

Before long he finds himself back with the cows. One, a brown cow with black spots, takes to standing next to him. She moos at him. He raises a brow but listens to her, nodding every so often.

The fallen goes back into the house after the cow stops talking to him. He wonders around the house until he walks to the table to find a note.

Please remember that you are now mortal. You must remember to eat and drink. Also, you need to feed and give water to the animals as well as water the plants. Make sure you eat three times a day. Feed the animals two to four times a day. Finally, water the plants at least once a day unless it is a particularly dry day.

The fallen places the note in a vacant drawer and decides it would be best to care for the animals and plants first. He goes to the shed and pulls out the animal food. The bags are large and heavy. The fallen looks around more in the shed for something smaller to carry food and water in. He finds a blue bucket. he holds it as if triumphant and then moves on to getting birdseed to the birds. After that, he works on food for the horse. While watching the horse eat, he wonders why even have the animal. The garden was small enough that he alone would be enough.

The sound of mooing pulled him from his questions as he worked on feeding the cows. The black-spotted brown one rejoins him after a few bites of food.

"You should go eat." The fallen suggests.

Instead of doing as the fallen says she picks up the bucket and walks towards the trees.

"I'm not sure it's safe for you to go in there." The fallen calls out to her.

She takes the first few steps in and looks back waiting for him. The fallen raises a brow and goes to retrieve her. She moves out of his reach. The fallen takes the hint after a few tries and follows her.

A short walk later and he finds that the cow has led him to a creek.

"Thank you... I appreciate the help." the fallen says with a smile.

"Mmmmmooo" the cow says before turning away and leaving.

Once alone the fallen fills the bucket as full as he can manage. the first thing he does is water the garden. He takes two more trips to water the plants to his satisfaction. Much to his frustration, it takes many more trips to fill the water troughs for the animals.

When he finishes, he finds that he is quite fatigued and decides next time he'll eat first. He finds that he has almost no energy to care for himself. Everything feels heavy and weak. his limbs shaky. He wonders how much longer he can manage until he drops.

He goes through unfamiliar motions and ends up cooking something burned. He grimaces at the food but eats it anyway.

By sundown, he finishes taking care of the non-water-related things. he goes out and makes sure the animals have enough to drink overnight. Then he heads to bed.

Sore and tired he thinks of how much easier it would be if he was still an angel. For one food wouldn't be a need and there wouldn't be a lack of energy. He would only need the bucket for water as the food bags would be easy to carry around. Instead, all he had was his weak mortal form to work with.

The earlier part of the day replayed in his head and his heart burned with determination. He would get things right this time, he would make sure of it.