Page 3 of Touched By Darkness

Oliver is a popular angel. She doesn’t want us to be ostracized.

“So,” Oliver starts, joining me on the grass, “why didn’t you say the prayer?”

“No reason. I was distracted.”

“Distracted?” he asks, like it’s an impossible concept.

It sparks my curiosity. Rearranging my hair to cover my breasts, I face him fully. “Have you ever wondered about the world outside the walls?”

He sits with his legs drawn up and his elbows on his knees. “Why would I ever wonder about what’s outside Eden? Besides,” he says, messing his hair, “we know what’s out there. Fallen angels, death, pain, and suffering.”

“But what if there’s more?”

His friends shift uncomfortably beside him. We don’t talk about the outside world. Our only knowledge is the stories handed down to us by the elders. “What if there’s goodness inside all that darkness? What if we need pain to truly appreciate bliss?”

“Aurelia,” Freya whispers, a look of embarrassment crossing her features.

“Think about it.” I’m on a roll. “How can you love without pain?”

“In pain, there is no fear,” Oliver counters, and I roll my eyes. It’s like describing red to a colorblind person.

“Life is not a Bible, Oliver. You’re not a robot without emotions.” Even as I say it, I know it’s not entirely true. There are lots of feelings we’re not subjected to here in our world. Negative emotions, like the annoyance inside me now, exist only on the outside. It’s how I know what happened to me was not a dream. I escaped the garden once, and the feelings I gained are still with me. I can never forget how my heart sped up at the taste of a kiss. Thinking about it now hardens my nipples, and I blush before I can stop myself.

Reaching out, Oliver brushes his finger over my burning cheek. “You’re red.”

Of course, he doesn’t know what blushing is or why it happens. I also can’t use the sun as an excuse because it’s never too hot here. Everything is just so… perfect. It’s making me antsy. I peer behind me at the walls in the distance. The top of them is visible through the trees. I’m a fish in a bowl. A Santa in a snow globe. I’m trapped.

“Hey…” Oliver brings my attention back to him with a finger below my chin. “Where are these thoughts coming from?”

Oliver has never touched me before. I don’t admire his big wingspan or the blinding shimmer of his skin, so he never pays me much attention. Virtuous as he may be, he likes to be praised. It soothes something inside me to know that even here in Paradise, flaws exist.

Gazing into his eyes, I search for something but return blank. His sparkling blue irises have no hints of flames or devilishness. They’re as still and pure as a clear lagoon. I look away. “It’s nothing, Oliver. I’m being silly.”

His gaze lingers on me for a moment longer before he rises to his feet when the elders cross the grass.

“What was that?” Freya whispers while we bow. The elders sweep their eyes over the class, smiling softly. They radiate beauty, kindness, and compassion. With their blonde hair and shimmering skin, they take your breath away.

“Talk to me,” Freya urges when the class is finished and we’re on our way to our house. Why won’t she drop it?

“There’s nothing to say,” I reply, keeping my gaze forward.

She pulls me to a stop outside our door. “You’re lying. Why won’t you trust me?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” I tell her, looking around for listening ears. “But you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Frowning, she watches me open the door. “Maybe you should try me.”

I sigh, walking in. She follows me and shuts the door before leaning back against it with her arms crossed.

“Well?”

“Fine.” I plop down onto the wooden chair at the small, circular table by the window. It’s open, so I lean forward and pull it shut. You can never be too careful.

Pushing off the door, Freya drags out a chair across from me.

I don’t know how to say it, so I blurt, “I escaped Eden, but then I got kidnapped by three fallen angels and taken to Hell. I fled and tried to get back in, but the gates wouldn’t open. Then I found a way in through my mind.”

She simply blinks, staring at me. Her mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out.

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