Light in the darkness

CHAPTER ONE

Perfection

It all started with a dream. No, I don’t mean the dream about the angel; we already know all about that. I mean the dream about the Garden of Eden. In this dream, I knew I was dreaming, although that didn’t happen to me very often. I found myself in a magnificent valley full of running streams, blossoming trees, and flowers, all presided over by a massive maple, the Tree of Life. I was barefoot, touching the velvety soft blades of grass, watching the sun setting behind a huge hill.

The sky was God’s artwork, fiery at the center like the sun’s sphere, then a red that bled into coral-pink, which in turn dissolved into the dark-violet color of the approaching night. I hadn’t seen this garden for the first time—it had happened once before, also in a dream. This time, I was alone, and I wanted it to stay that way. I walked up to the Tree of Life and sat down beneath it, cross-legged. I closed my eyes and placed my hands on the ground. I touched the blades of grass, and a soft, wonderful energy flowed into me from the soil. It streamed into my body, reviving it. I was deeply happy.

Just then, I heard the rustling of grass and realized I was no longer alone in paradise. Confused, I opened my eyes and saw the man who held my heart walking toward me. Leo approached slowly, as if his feet barely touched the earth. I watched him drawing closer.

I got up from the ground and took a few steps toward him, a smile on my lips. When we stood opposite each other, he leaned down and gently stroked my face, just like the first time we met. I looked into his chestnut eyes and, through them, into the cosmic depths of his soul. I liked what I saw there. I suddenly realized how foolish it was to want to be here alone. It should have occurred to me that only with him would my paradise be complete. Then he leaned in to kiss me.

Something alien was slowly creeping into the dream. It was an unpleasant beeping sound that tore me away from Leo and the Garden of Eden, throwing me back into my body. I opened my eyes and saw the ceiling of my room above me. I reached for the alarm clock and silenced the annoying ringing. I collapsed back onto the bed. My heart was beating fast, whether because of the dream or the sudden awakening, I didn’t know. I lay there for a moment, then sprang to my feet and danced into the bathroom.

After my morning routine, I changed into a purple T-shirt and my favorite dark jeans. I brushed my fiery hair—the hair I once lamented but now liked—and put on my favorite perfume, scented with roses and jasmine. I went downstairs to the ground floor of Caroline’s large house. I didn’t bother tiptoeing; I knew Caroline was already up. I was right; I found her in the kitchen, reading the newspaper and eating oatmeal with yogurt.

“Good morning, Nattie,” she greeted me, offering a smile.

“Morning, and enjoy your breakfast.” I smiled back.

“It’s good, have some. I bought a large tub of blueberry yogurt, and it’s excellent with oatmeal.” She urged me, and I gave in. I scooped yogurt into my favorite turquoise bowl and sprinkled it with oatmeal. I sat down opposite her, and we ate in silence for a while. Then we talked about ordinary things until I realized I needed to hurry up.

“Have fun with Violet and Gabriella today,” she wished me as I left.

“Thanks. And you have a nice day at work. See you tonight.” I smiled at her.

I put on my sneakers in the hallway and stepped out into the sun-drenched day. Just as I expected, Leo’s car was parked in front of our house. He was leaning against it, watching me walk toward him. I recalled my dream, which only amplified the feeling that my life was now like a fairy tale. And like in every fairy tale, the heroes had to overcome various obstacles, which was also true for us.

Leo was an angel, and I was human. His presence on Earth created an imbalance, which, it seemed, was balanced by our love. However, we both felt a physical pain when we were close to each other. Just like the Little Mermaid, who felt pain in her feet with every step when she appeared on land.

“Hello, Natalie.” He greeted me gently as I stopped beside him.

“Hi,” I smiled at him.

My breath hitched in my throat when he leaned in and gently stroked my face. He gave me a mischievous smile when he saw my expression, opened the passenger door for me, and waited until I got in. Then he took his seat and started the car.

“How is your day today?” he asked calmly, backing out of the street.

“Beautiful,” I said truthfully. Every day, ever since I knew the demons were gone and our love would defeat them, was beautiful—just another reflection of perfection.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said cheerfully. “Gabriella and Violet can’t wait,” he remarked.

That was certainly true for Gabriella; his sister and my closest friend was capable of rejoicing over any small thing and was not afraid to show it. But Violet had a completely different temperament, I dare say she was more thoughtful and realistic. That’s why I couldn’t imagine her being excited about going to the mall. It could only be true in a figurative sense.

“I’m glad they’re looking forward to it,” I agreed. “A girls’ day out will do us good.”

“I have to say, I’m a little jealous of them. I’d like to spend the whole day with you too,” he glanced at me from the corner of his eye, and I knew he meant it. This hadn’t changed in three months—we still wanted to spend every free moment together.

“Tomorrow is the weekend... we can go somewhere together.” I suggested.

“Excellent idea,” he was pleased. “How about going to your meadow? Or to the waterfall?” He listed the options.

They were all very tempting offers, especially since the main part of them was being together.

“I’d like to go to the waterfall. We haven’t been there for a while,” I finally said.

Just then, Leo parked in the school parking lot, and I hadn’t even noticed we had arrived. I unbuckled and started to get out, but he leaned toward me, and my heart did a somersault. I always reacted like this to his closeness. Completely dizzy, I gazed into his angelic face, feeling both love and passion, desire and need. I closed my eyes as his mouth met mine and he kissed me gently. There wasn’t as much passion in our kisses as there used to be, but the reason was prosaic—Leo didn’t want to hurt me. I wasn’t at all satisfied when he pulled away. Before he could recover, I pressed my lips back against his, and he tangled a hand in my hair. When I felt a pain on my tongue, he immediately pulled back, and the pain almost disappeared.

“Natalie,” he sighed, his voice hinting at a struggle with himself. “Don’t get carried away.”

“I know,” I murmured and stroked his face. He looked into my eyes. “Did it hurt you much?”

“You know that’s not the point,” he shook his head, looking calm. “It’s about the pain not hurting you. When you’re this close, it’s harder for me to control it, you know that.” He explained, and I nodded. “We should go, if we don’t want to be late.”

We both got out of the car and crossed the road and the park hand-in-hand. The school park was full of color; the sunlight filtered through the green leaves of the trees, playing with them. I felt good about everything, and truly, everything looked perfect back then. I was about to turn eighteen, and my mother was coming from England to congratulate me. The holidays were approaching; mid-June was already behind us.

We sat down in our usual place in the classroom. I waved to Gabriella, who was sitting alone, looking forward to lunchtime when we would all be together. Richard also entered the classroom, his eyes automatically falling on me. I smiled at him, and when he sat down, he asked what we were planning for the weekend. Leonardo answered before I could.

“We want to go out into nature,” he replied.

“Yeah, they’re predicting beautiful weather,” he nodded and looked at me.

“What about you, Richard?” I wanted to know. I felt a little bad that I spent so little time with my best friend, and I promised myself I would definitely make up for it in the future.

“I’m flying to Vancouver this weekend. My aunt has a birthday; Sharon and I are going there together,” he said.

“That’s great,” I was happy for him. “And how is Sharon doing with school?”

“Well, as always,” he smirked. “She’s going to have excellent results. I always tell her she’s the best in the class.”

Richard’s sister, Sharon, was studying psychology at the university. I knew her by sight, and she knew me, but we never had a deep conversation, only exchanging a few polite phrases. Still, she seemed very nice and level-headed.

Our conversation was interrupted by Alice Brenner, the biology teacher, who had just entered the classroom carrying a stack of papers—today’s tests. She stood in the middle of the classroom, handed out the tests, said we had an hour, and sat down at her desk. I smiled at Leo, and he smiled at me, and then I began to answer the questions. The test had thirty questions in total and covered all the material from this year. It seemed quite easy to me. I struggled with a few questions, but I knew I had them right in the end. Leo finished the test in half an hour.

At lunchtime, we sat with Gabriella and Richard. I ate chicken with fries and a salad, which Richard also chose, while Gabriella only had a fruit salad, and Leonardo had nothing, as he said he wasn’t hungry. We talked about school and the upcoming tests we still had, and all the while, I felt Leonardo looking at me, and I returned his gaze. I felt like I was melting in his eyes, standing naked before him, but I wasn’t embarrassed by it at all. I knew I could be completely myself with him.

After school, we headed to the parking lot. Violet was standing by Gabriella’s cadillac. She was leaning against it, wearing sunglasses, a blue T-shirt, and black pants. Her effortless beauty struck me again. When she saw us, a satisfied look appeared on her face, though she didn’t smile. As we approached the car, Leonardo took my hand and turned me toward him. I looked at him.

“When you get back, wait for me in your room,” he said.

“Of course,” I nodded. “I’ll give you an exhaustive report on how we went shopping,” I joked, which made him smile.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he leaned down and kissed my cheek. I was completely flushed when he let me go and when I got into the car.

“Have fun,” he called out to us as Violet revved the engine and drove off.