Angeal

Gladios was sleeping peacefully on the bed when suddenly, he felt a soft pat on his side.

"Mmm... what is it," he mumbled to himself as he took a small peek at the clock on his side table. "It's still dawn..."

The old man knew it was his granddaughter, Angeal. It was rare for her to wake Gladios up at this time of day and even though the old man was curious about it, he still continued to sleep.

After half a minute, he felt another series of taps at his sides, and this time, it meant to annoy him.

"Oh, Angeal... what is it?"

The old man slowly sat up and his eyes widened when he suddenly saw a cake in front of him.

"This..."

Gladios looked at the sweet woman in front of him. Angeal was holding out a cake as she was smiling sweetly at her grandfather. She was still wearing her nightgown and her long blonde hair was tied into a bun so it seemed that she had prepared the cake early in the morning to surprise him.

Angeal showed her perfect white teeth as she pointed at the cake, as if telling Gladios to read it.

"Happy 77th Birthday, Pops."

When Gladios read this, he suddenly remembered that today's his birthday!

He looked at Angeal again, and felt a sudden warmth in his heart. He got the cake from her, put it down at the side, then gave his granddaughter a tight embrace.

"Thank you, Angeal! You never forget your Pops' birthday!"

Angeal gave Gladios a kiss on the cheek. Since she forgot to bring her phone, she quickly got a large notepad at the side, then wrote on it.

'I'm going to prepare breakfast soon. We'll have some fun later!'

Gladios nodded then planted a kiss on Angeal's forehead. After that, his granddaughter quickly left the room, preparing to do her morning duties.

As the old man was left alone in his room, he stood up then walked to look at the pictures on the wall. He was reminded of the time the mysterious man saved Angeal. Since then, they have been working for Devin, the soul eater, for 20 years.

The moment Devin saved Angeal, Gladios took his granddaughter to a hospital for an assessment. When the doctor assessed her, they found out that Angeal was born deaf and mute. Gladios was saddened to have heard the news but it did not discourage him from taking good care of Claudia's daughter.

As Gladios was looking at the pictures on the wall, he came across Angeal's baby picture. He looked at it, then he started to recall an unusual event.

***

"Oh, Angeal... sweet Angeal."

Gladios patted her back as he rocked the baby in his arms. Seven months already passed, but the old man was still finding difficulties in taking care of her, and finding out which discomforts her since she can't produce sounds. Despite the difficulty, Gladios still loved Angeal and was completely determined to raise her.

The old man looked at the side table near the crib and noticed that the milk bottle was empty. It was an indication for him to prepare milk so he put the baby down, then made his way to a table at the farther end of the room, where the milk for Angeal was placed.

As he was preparing, Gladios suddenly stopped and stared into space. He remembered how he promised Claudia to raise her child and how he was desperate to save Angeal.

He wondered what if Devin didn't come to visit their small house? What could have happened to him and Angeal then?

Gladios knew he would've been devastated if he lost two of them that night. If he had lost the two of them in the same night, he knew that he would also be good as dead. If that happened, he knew that he had failed both of them... and himself.

The old man shook his head, and his eyes opened wide the moment he turned around. A bright light surrounded Angeal, making Gladios' heart double its pace.

He quickly ran to Angeal to check on her. He carried her, then checked her body if there was something unusual. His brows furrowed when he found out that nothing was wrong.

"Oh, Angeal..." The old man smiled, relieved. "I worried myself over nothing."

What the baby showed to the old man surprised him more. She gave him a smile, an expression, that wasn't usually seen on baby Angeal's face. This made Gladios curious.

"This... Angeal?"

When the old man spoke of her name, the baby girl cocked her head to the left, giving an expression of curiosity as well. This made Gladios' eyes double in size.

'Could it be?'

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away…"

When Gladios sang to Angeal the song he usually sang to his daughter, Claudia, the baby's face lit up and she gave the old man another sweet smile.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away…"

He sang those lines again, just for him to see if his speculations are right. When Gladios saw his granddaughter's reaction, little Angeal reaching out to his hand with a smile, his eyes started tearing up then he gave baby Angeal a loving embrace.

The old man realized that his granddaughter could now hear! Would the mystical light have something to do with this sudden, magical turn of events?