Terra Firma

Don't you feel hungry?" I asked.

She gave me a famished look.

“You mean I need food...and stuff? I don’t, but I’m not without my petty desires.”

She sat down at the sofa, leaned back and rested her legs on the coffee table. “Dont think that I am inexperienced angel. Oh, no, no, no. I’m quite ancient.”

She narrowed her eyes, smacked her glossy lips and asked. “Do you have a name?”

“Sure I do. But I like to be called by my nick name. Nicknames are great. Like 'Devil'.”

I, sometimes get into some tight spots. Nothing serious. My mate should’ve helped me.

Angel adjusted her bathrobe. “Can’t you get me something decent to wear? A bathrobe isn’t very dignified.”

Angel took the steps, two at a time and locked the bedroom door behind her. The bed beckoned. It was a perfect spot to collapse. She threw herself onto the mattress and covered her eyes with her palms. She sat up, startled to find me going through her closet.

“How did you get in?” she asked.

“You think locked doors are a challenge?” I sized up a pair of pyjamas that would suit Angel.
I went to the dresser and took out a paisley necktie and threaded it through the belt loops. “There, that should help.”

I stepped into her space, her skin spicy with a strong scent of lavender. My fingers tickled her chin and her touch felt cool. Joy ruptured my soul, and an unexpected sensation caught me off guard.

Curls silky against her cheek, and my nose touched the tip of her ear. “You’re so beautiful, Angel, never forget this.” I released my hold.

“Not many think like that.” she said.

I held out my hand and gloved her fingers in my palm. “It only takes one person to appreciate the real you. You must keep hope alive.” I pressed the tip of her fingers over my lips, and traced it down to my chin. She glanced through the contour of my shoulders, and ran her palms down my arms. My kiss must have penetrated and left her with a sweet meltdown, her emotions a puddle on the floor.

I soaked my hands in the pond of water, trying to ignore her presence. Instead, I concentrated on rinsing my fingers cups. Angel sat on the floor, her legs crossed like a Buddha. “I see no heart in your work, Ha__” she said.

Swishing around the water and without a turn, fear buried me like an avalanche. When did I mention my name? Why all this talk about heart?

“I wasn’t born with one.”

I drummed the surface of the water with my fingers. When her hands slid protectively around my waist, I jumped. The fragrance of lavender made me dizzy. I reached for the edge of the counter to steady my legs.

“If you have no heart, why did you help me? You gave me the coat off your back even though you were freezing. You offered me food, although you had no food.” She quizzed.

Angel pressed herself against my back.

No tears, I refused to break down. The compassion in her voice hurt my chest. And then, she said what he dreaded the most. “You loved me with all your heart.”

My palms splashed down on the water surface, sending up a geyser, soaking her face and pyjamas.
Angel, unfurled, stretching her arms and legs. With a graceful hop, she stood up. She puckered her lips and the velvet quality reminded me of what I missed in loving a woman.

I stared at my hands. “I’ve never loved a woman --"

“It’s what you've come to expect. But expectations can change.” She philosophised.

“I’ll never be the guy who wakes up happy because the sun’s shining.”

A smile escaped her lips. “Of course not, but what do you want?”

“To be loved by a woman. Do Angels fall in love? "

“Because I’m not human, I cannot love? Love is causing me no end of trouble. Like you, I’ve my lessons to learn.”

I flung on my back, staring up at the ceiling. “Will you be my mate for eternity. I want no other.”

“Your soul-mate,” Angel said, wistfully. “I wish somebody else had felt this way.”

I leaped up on my feet. “This boyfriend you’re with, does he give you what you need?”

“He loves me.” She stressed.

“Does he give you what you need? Does he satisfy all your needs?”

Angel bit her thumbnail that was recently clipped (the piano must have told her to do that) out and closed her eyes 'He thought only of himself'. The solitude she sought in the park must have been to answer this very question.

“I’m not sure." She said with some regret in her voice. “Loneliness is with you now. You must trust yourself to make the right decision.” she continued with her philosophy.

I stepped out into the stairwell.

“Now you must take me to the red mountain; it is the only portal open to me.” She said.

"The red mountain'?, Where on earth would I find a red mountain?