Change of Heart

Jariel could feel the stone walls around him come crashing down, crushing his lungs and suffocating him. He tried his best to endure the pain and run, refusing to look behind him at the scene that was now unfolding behind him. What was happening? Why now? Confusion swirled around in his head as his feet continued to carry him down the hallway breaking around him, his chest heaving at every breath he took. He knew his lungs were collapsing on him, the pain was just too great, but he also knew that if he gave up now he would be dead for sure.

And he wasn’t going to be okay with that.

Jariel quickly turned the corner of the coliseum, hoping to see any form of escape, when he was stopped dead in his tracks. It was her, the one who had caused all this, the reason he was here to begin with. Her green eyes pierced into him, a wicked smile plastered on her face. He knew he couldn’t turn around and flee, behind him lied nothing but crushed stone, but he knew in his weakened state he didn’t stand a chance against her. He was at a dead end.

“You’re finished now.” she said, her voice filled with pride. “How does it feel to no longer be the most favored? You’re nothing now.” Jariel could only watch as the floor below him collapsed into nothing, taking him along with it.

Jariel woke up screaming at the top of his lungs.

Sitting up from the cold, damp, ground, he rubbed the dirt out of his eyes before taking a look at his surroundings. Night had fallen, causing a cool breeze to gently blow in his face. It was far too dark to see anything, he had yet to adjust to these new eyes of his, far less superior than his supernatural vision, but from what he could tell he was in an alleyway. His head was still spinning from the prior day’s recent events, thoughts and questions still sitting unanswered in his mind. Bright, flashing, lights radiated from either end of the alley, and he could hear what sounded like car horns going off. As he wrapped his white, prodigious, wings around his body to keep himself warm, he wondered what had went so wrong and how he, one of the most favored Angels in Heaven, could end up walking among mortals now. He had been the most faithful servant in Heaven, done everything that was asked of him, and this is what they gave him in return? To be thrown out of Heaven, the only home he’s ever known, to live among these disgusting scum known as humans. He cussed under his breath, he should have known better than to trust Elise. She had been known to trick the Angels that were favored over her out of Heaven. Jariel had let his guard down around her and now he was paying the consequences.

Letting out a deep, frustrated, sigh, Jariel kicked a can down the pavement, placing his hands in the pockets of his black trench coat. Things had been going so smoothly between Elise and him that he thought she had changed, that he had helped in some way. Not once did he think that she was toying with him and his emotions, he actually believed her to be his friend. Sneering, he took his hand from his pocket and punched the brick wall next to him. The sensation of pain radiated through his hand, a feeling that was all too new to him. He could feel the blood running down his hand and cussed under his breath once more. Not only did he have to live among mortals, he was one himself. The only thing differentiating the two were his long, white, wings that grew out of his back letting other fallen angels know who-and what- he was. He kept them hidden under his trench coat, bound tightly to his body, a feeling he hated. Wings shouldn’t be hidden, but displayed proudly for all to see, Jariel truly believed that. However, living in the mortal world had its rules too. Rule number one being to never let humans know of your existence.

His black combat boots splashed in the small puddles lining the alley as he made his way out, still loathing the fact that he had to keep his wings hidden. Reaching the end of the dimly lit alley, he had to stop for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the lights of the city he was trapped in. Taxi’s flew by and herds of people were rambling their way down the sidewalks, a few every now and then looking up at the giant sky scrapers and pointing, unaware of the fallen angel that was among them. His royal blue eyes looked up at a sign that was lit up like the Fourth of July, reading “Welcome to New York City”

“Great.” He muttered to himself as he brushed his long, black, hair away from his face. “I’m in the city that never sleeps.”

He didn’t know where to go, so he picked a random direction and began to walk. There were people everywhere, and Jariel did his best not to sneer in front of them. They were loud, either yelling about something to another person, talking too loudly on the phone, the noise just didn’t stop! It was giving Jariel a headache and he wanted nothing more than to get away from the crowds of people. Swerving through, he tried to push his way through, his eyes scanning for a place where he could get some peace, and his eyes landed on Central Park. A place that big, he knew he’d be able to find a place to sit down and collect his thoughts.

Sure enough he found a quiet spot by a tree and sat down, leaning up against the trunk. He was surprised that the city was so busy for the time of night it was, but he supposed that was how it got its reputation of being the city that never slept. Leaning his head back, he shut his eyes, enjoying the momentary silence. He was surprised for how busy the city was, the park seemed to be completely empty.

“Excuse me, sir.” A voice said, waking Jariel from his thoughts. His eyes opened to see a man, slightly shorter than him, dressed in a uniform and shining a flash light in his face. He sighed, knowing that this couldn’t be good news.

“Can I help you?” Jariel asked from where he sat, shielding his face from the flashlight with his hand.

“You can leave the park.” The officer replied bitterly, obviously not happy with Jariel’s attitude. “The park closed an hour ago.”

“I wasn’t aware a public park had closing times.” He replied, making no attempt to get up from where he sat. He wasn’t causing any trouble, yet they thought they had the right to kick him out? “Besides, I am not causing any trouble; wouldn’t you think a better use of your time would be going after people who are doing actual crimes?”

The officer really didn’t like Jariel’s response this time, as he stepped closer, looking about ready to grab Jariel and drag him out. “Look here, smart mouth, you can either get up and leave now, or I can give you an all-expense paid ride to a cell for the night. Your choice.”

Grumbling to himself, Jariel reluctantly stood up, shot the cop a dirty look, and then left. The last thing he wanted was that human touching him. To think though of all the other crimes that were taking place at that moment in the city, and he was upset about a man peacefully sitting in a park, not causing any trouble at all? Humans, Jariel scoffed and shook his head. Far too concerned with small things rather than the bigger issues at hand.

Now where was he supposed to sleep? If he slept at all tonight that was. There were benches, but most of them were occupied already. Nobody even gave him a second look; they were used to seeing homeless people in their city, and that was what he was now. Not an Angel from high above that deserved to be respected, no these people knew nothing about him or his world. He was just another homeless scum taking up oxygen in their city. He couldn’t blame them for being self-centered and not giving him a second thought.

* * * *

Dawn entered Joe’s Diner, completely out of breath from running all the way there. Despite her feeble attempt to get to work on time, she had arrived late once again. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she snuck past her boss and into the back room, grabbing her apron and quickly tying it around her waist. She knew her boss would be upset with her for being late again, but at the present moment she was more concerned about the painting at home that still needed to be finished before her friend, Sam, left for California in two days.

Tying her auburn hair up in a ponytail, she made her way back to the front counter where her other friend, as well as roommate, Annette, was cashing out a customer who wouldn’t stop drumming his fingers on the counter to the beat of whatever he was listening to.

“Someone is late again.” Annette sang, handing the customer his change before turning towards her. Dawn just smiled to herself as she grabbed some menus and seated a couple at the counter. “Let me guess, you were still working on that painting?”

“So what if I was?” Dawn laughed, taking a wet rag from the sink and wiping down the counter to make it look like she was working and not just talking, something the boss frowned upon. “You know that my paintings bring me peace.”

“Those paintings are going to get you fired if you don’t start coming to work on time.” A voice behind Dawn said, startling her. She whirled around to see her boss, Joe, who was drying a coffee pot with a stained dishtowel. “That’s the third time this week, may I remind you.”

Dawn bit her lip. “I’m sorry Joe, I lost track of time again.” She apologized, twirling a strand of her hair around her index finger, a nervous habit. “I swear it won’t happen again.” She silently hoped she could keep her promise; she needed this job if she was going to continue with her paintings.

Joe shook his head. “It’d better not, or I’m going to have no other choice but to let you go. I need people I can rely on to be here on time. I don’t want to let you go if I don’t have to, but I will if I have no other choice. Understand?”

“Understood.” Dawn replied, letting out a small sigh. Joe nodded and went back to continue cleaning. She bent over, leaning against the marble counter, resting her head in her hands. Letting out a frustrated groan, she gently hit her head against the counter. She needed this job, without it she couldn’t afford art supplies, much less the rent for her apartment. Getting this job had taken a miracle; she didn’t want to imagine the pain of going through that again.

“Hey now.” Annette called, walking over and gently placing her hand on Dawn’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll help you, even if it means taking your art supplies hostage.” She let out a small laugh when Dawn looked up at her, giving her a death glare.

“Do that and you’re going to wake up one morning without any hair.” Dawn threatened, flashing a smile. She knew that Annette was aware that she was only joking, but it was funny when Annette mocked being afraid.

“You wouldn’t.” Annette gasped, placing a hand on her head, pretending to be offended.

Dawn mysteriously gazed at her. “Oh yeah?” she asked, trying not to laugh, “Just try me.”

“I wouldn’t mess with your art supplies if my life depended on it. I know you too well.” Her friend laughed as she grabbed a menu and went to sit another couple at a table.

The day, much to Dawn’s favor, passed quickly. She left the diner, once again smelling like coffee and pastries, but with a spring in her step. Walking past the apartments and businesses she passed every day, her feet found their way to her favorite place in the whole world; Jenna’s Wonderful World of Art. She still had to finish her goodbye painting for Sam, but she was running low on paint and didn’t want to risk completely running out and not being able to finish the painting in time. The art store always made a bad day better anyways, even if she had already finished the painting she would have still come here; just to browse the shelves of paint and canvases.

The familiar sound of the bell ringing when she opened the door comforted her. The store clerk, Rebecca, welcomed her from the counter with a smile. Dawn waved hello and then quickly found her way to the back of the small store where they kept the paint. She stood there for a while, trying to decide what shade of blue she should get, quietly laughing to herself. Most girls her age were at the mall, deciding between shoes and shirts to wear, but no her. No, unlike most twenty-three year olds, she was trying to decide what shade of paint to buy. Picking up a light blue color that struck her eye, she brought it up to the counter, placing it down before digging around in her purse for her wallet.

“Hello Dawn.” Rebecca greeted, scanning the tube of paint before placing it in a small bag. “Working on another painting?”

“Of course!” Dawn answered, smiling. “It’s going to be a goodbye gift to a friend of mine whose moving to California.”

“I bet the painting looks fantastic.” Rebecca smiled as Dawn swiped her debit card. Dawn smiled a little, thanking Rebecca before leaving the store. Her feet carried her home, she was far too impatient to begin working on her goodbye painting once more. She disposed of her shoes and her coat in their small kitchen before running to her room where her easel sat by the window. She put the tube of paint on the small paint-covered stool next to her easel before changing out of her work clothes and into her painting clothes, a pair of old jeans and a green shirt with holes in it. Quickly running to the kitchen to grab herself a bite to eat before getting to work, she was greeted by her black cat, Michelangelo.

“Hey there buddy.” Dawn greeted, scratching the cat’s head. “Catch any mice today?” As usual, Michelangelo ignored her and scampered off. Laughing, she continued to make herself a sandwich. Annette was most likely off with her boyfriend, Derek. Dawn shook her head, carrying the sandwich to her room. She didn’t really like Derek, he drank and partied too much, and she felt that Annette deserved someone who cared more about her than some stupid party. Despite her dislike though, she knew it wasn’t really her decision who Annette could date. She wasn’t her mother after all.

Dawn went back to work on her painting, knowing she would be up well into the night trying to complete it. She silently prayed tomorrow would bring a better and brighter day.