Like a Mortal

I sat there, confused as to what had just happened around me. It was just so sudden, and what they were speaking about was so unfamiliar to me that I my brain seemed to have suffered from an information overload.

I glanced over at Emilia, who still stood there, holding on to her right arm with her left and looking at the ground. She appeared to have not recovered fully from that reunion with Ralus. The image of her teary eyes burned itself into my mind, carving itself into my memories. It was something that I'll never forget. That day, I saw an angel cry.

"You want to sit down?"

I observed her reaction at my suggestion, wondering whether or not she would respond. From the looks of it, she did hear what I said. She slowly walked over to the couch adjacent to mine and then proceeded to sit down on it. As she did so, however, she avoided eye contact with me by turning her face slightly to the side so that, when combined with her bangs, made it impossible for me to observe what facial expression she had.

I do not know what it was that bothered her. If it was something that can disturb an angel to such a heavy degree, then it must be something that us mortals should not even attempt to understand. It is something unfathomable. It is something that even the divine cannot figure out. If it is truly so, then what good is it for a mere mortal like me to think over it, struggle over it, and suffer over it? There are things in this world that...if you just don't know, would make life so much easier for oneself. For example, if your life is perfect and all, would you want to know that it was all fake and is a simulation? I wouldn't, because why bother? A fake utopia is more preferable than a harsh reality.

I sat there in silence, watching her. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't know how and whether or not it would be appropriate for me to do so. She's an angel. She's supposed to be the one that offers guidance to those that are troubled. Not me. Therefore, what should the troubled do when the trouble solver becomes troubled? I do not know the answer to that question, so I chose to remain mute and just sit there and observe her.

After about five minutes, it would appear that she had recovered. Although the tears have dried up, her eyes still remained red and bloodshot. However, even that could not conceal her divine beauty, which was now mixed with a hint of frailty, a frailty that would pull on any man's heartstrings and elicit a desire to protect. It's just that it is so rare for one to see a strong female figure like Emilia display her weakness that when it is displayed, one would often be surprised by the display and be drawn in by the view of the rarity.

"Sorry." Emilia quietly apologized to me.

She lifted her head and looked up at me, and on that face was the mysterious smile that she would often display. However, this time, that smile was no longer that perfect shield. Through the cracks in that shield, I could see trickles of sadness flowing through, almost as if she was calling out for help subconsciously but her conscious prevented her from doing so.

"It's alright," I responded in the only way I know of. "It happens to everybody."

"Weird to say that to an angel," she chuckled, "since we aren't the 'everybody' that you would meet on a daily basis."

Well...what's the difference? Those tears, that sadness, and that look of pain...all of which are observed in us mortals. Are you so sure that mortals and the divine are so different? Because from what I could see, Emilia is similar to an ordinary woman.

"If you say so..." I muttered.

"Sorry that had to ruin the mood for the night," Emilia apologized once again. "Even us angels have...moments."

"Right," I nodded. "So was he supposed to be serving some punishment?"

"Correct," Emilia nodded. "But due to unforeseen circumstances, it would appear that he has broken free of his fetters."

"Should you report that to God?"

She shook her head. "God knows already. This isn't the first time something like this has occurred."

"God just...let's it be?"

"You can say it that way."

"How irresponsible..." I leaned back on the couch and muttered.

"..." Emilia remained mute after that conversation ended.

I glanced over at her, seeing how she stared into space as she sat there. I concluded that she has ran out of topics to speak about. She probably want to avoid speaking about her past with Ralus, which is the reason why she had directed the attention to him escaping his punishment. However, if there's a thing that I do know, if it is someone tries their best to hide something, then there exists a good reason that they did so. Because of this knowledge, I opted to not pursue it any further.

"So...are you truly going to be staying here for the rest of your time monitoring me?" I asked, intentionally changing the topic.

Emilia looked at me with a surprised look on her face, probably because she was anticipating that I was going to ask about her and Ralus. However, like I said before, I am not someone who enjoys prying at someone's secrets and forcing them to say something that they're not prepared to tell me.

"I've changed my mind," she chuckled. "It'll be just for a few nights." She then looked around the living room, eyeing the arrangements of the furniture in the area. "Although I would love to be able to stay?"

"So where will you be staying then?"

"I'm still in the process of looking for a place to stay like a mortal," she explained. "It'll have to be someplace close to here so I can check up on you anytime. Um..." She glanced nervously over at me, blushing ever so slightly as she prepared herself. "Would you mind if I occasionally come over? It's my first time living alone in the mortal world, so..."

"You're afraid that you'll feel lonely right?" I finished her sentence for her. "I know. Go ahead. I don't really care."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"You have to look for your own house?" I then asked.

"That is correct."

"Does God give you any compensation for it or anything?"

"No," she shook her head. "The rent will have to come out of my own pocket."

"What the heck?" I exclaimed in disgust at the unfair treatment. "Do you angels have like a union or something that you can sue God for unfair employment conditions?"

She giggled. "We do not have such a thing."

"As for tonight," I then said. "It would be bad if you sleep in the living room, just in case Loriana does come back tonight. That would also mean her room will be no good...The unused room hasn't been cleaned in quite sometime and is quite dirty...Would you mind if it's the same room as me?"

"I don't," she shook her head. "I trust that you wouldn't do anything."

"That's a lot of trust that you're putting into a high school boy that you've met for less than a day," I casually pointed that out.

"Will you be doing something then?" she said in a teasing manner. "Like those kind of things."

"No," I sighed. "I'm still young, and I don't want to die."

I then got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen. I opened up the wall cabinet and took out a pack of instant noodles.

"You want one?" I asked.

"Hmm...I'm not that hungry at the moment, so if you don't mind, may I have some from your pack?"

"Sure," I said and then proceeded to boil some water with the water kettle.

***

When midnight came around, I decided that it was time to go to bed. Therefore, I took the headphone off and stretched out my arms, yawning in the process. I got up from my computer chair, causing it to spin slightly from the momentum of me getting up, and looked around my room. Emilia was sitting on the carpeted area of the ground, using her phone as a device of entertainment. Beside her was two neatly laid out blanket with a thicker one on top. Without much thought, I climbed between the blankets and pulled the top one up close to my chin.

"What're you doing?" Emilia asked, looking over at me with surprise.

"Well..." I said without turning to face her. "It would be wrong if you were the one sleeping on the ground. You can sleep on my bed. And don't worry. I changed my bed sheets yesterday."

I could hear her chuckle, and looking over, I discovered that she was, in fact, smiling.

"Pretty thoughtful of you."

She then laid down on my bed and covered herself with the top bed sheet.

"Good night," she said to me.

"Good night," I responded, reaching for my phone so that I can turn off the lights using the controller app on my phone.

When the lights went out, I received a message from none other than Ralus.

[If you dare do something to my girlfriend, I WILL kill you. I hope you know that.]

God damn. It's scary af to receive a message like this when you're about to go to sleep.