:: wayward angel ::

At the beginning of March 2007, one of my friends asked me to write a short story for her. I am the first to admit that short stories aren’t normally my forte, but as it was a request I happily obliged. Her sole request was that the story be centred on Taylor Hanson, with the rest entirely up to me. This story is the end result, and has been named for Wayward Angel by Kasey Chambers.

Aurelia raised an eyebrow at the redheaded woman behind the bar. Said woman had her head bent over a thick ledger, scribbling away frantically with a ballpoint pen that was running out of ink. Every so often, a slender-fingered hand would reach up to tuck a curl behind first one ear, then the other, and a heavily-accented voice would mutter under-the-breath curse words in Welsh.

“Is that so?” Aurelia crossed her arms over her chest. “Why then, Aderyn, was I able to just waltz in here without so much as setting off an alarm? Your concept of ‘closed’ needs some work, my girl.”

The woman’s head snapped up. “Au-Aurelia!” she gasped, crossing herself. “Oh sweet merciful Jesus, what are you doing here?”

“I’m on an errand for Gabriel.” Aurelia rummaged in a pocket of her coat and drew out a somewhat grubby, folded-up sheet of paper. “And I need your help. Being that you are the foremost expert in all of Wales at locating my charges, you were the first person I thought of.”

“One of the younger angels has gone missing. Gabriel has all the lower choirs of angels on the case. Even managed to wheedle Lucifer into doing a sweep of Purgatory and of Hell – he wasn’t there. He’s not in Heaven either. Therefore, we decided he had to be down here somewhere.”

Aderyn raised an eyebrow of her own. “Why would he be here in Cardiff, though? If your angels come anywhere near Britain, they usually head to London.”

“True. But we’ve already got a few others doing a search of London. I was dispatched here instead.” Aurelia then nodded toward the window of the pub, where the words ‘Capel Seion’ could be read backwards. “And then there’s the name of this little establishment of yours. ‘Chapel of Zion’? Really, Aderyn, what were you thinking?”

“It was the first thing I could think of,” Aderyn said defensively. “Not to mention I needed a name for the development application.”

Aurelia nodded, not quite convinced. “Back to why I’m here.” She unfolded the paper she had taken from her pocket and handed it to Aderyn. “Have you seen him around?”

Aderyn studied the page for a little while. “He came in earlier this evening,” she replied. “Over there.” She nodded toward one of the darker corners of the pub.

The first thing Aurelia saw as she came up behind him was a full-feathered, rather bedraggled-looking set of wings, indicating that their owner was less than happy. A closer look yielded confirmation that she had located her quarry – the feathers were not a uniform white just yet, indicating that this particular angel had only just been granted their wings.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Aurelia said as she pulled out a chair and sat herself down.

“No, I don’t think I will. See, I’m looking for an angel, and if I don’t bring him home Gabriel will not be pleased. Nor will any of the other archangels. So really, if I want to keep my wings, I have to keep Gabriel happy.”

“Might want to watch your mouth, kid. Gabriel gave you those wings, and he can just as easily take them away.”

The owner of that voice lifted their head, and Aurelia smiled in satisfaction. Gotcha, she thought. A pair of sad but defiant blue eyes stared at her, just daring her to say the ‘K’ word again.

“Compared to me, you are.” Aurelia cocked her head to the side, studying him. “What’s wrong, Taylor?”

“Nothing,” he mumbled, looking back down at the table. “Aside from the fact that today’s supposed to be my twenty-fourth birthday, everything’s just wonderful.”

“Supposed to be?” Aurelia asked, puzzled – and then it dawned on her. “Oh…”

To Aurelia, there were two kinds of angels she found to be the most saddening of all – those whose mothers had miscarried, and those who had been stillborn. Everyone could pick them from a mile off – they were the only ones who aged. It was her job to guide them until the day they were granted their wings, after which she was meant to keep her distance. It was difficult work, but it was nevertheless rewarding. Along with the other guides, except in the rarest of circumstances she was assigned her charges by lottery.

But guiding Taylor had been her choice, and hers alone. When she had seen him for the first time eighteen years earlier, looking up at her with those same sad blue eyes, she’d known it was meant to be. None of the other guides had wanted anything to do with him, for reasons known only to them. Aurelia had volunteered, and had taken Taylor under her wing. And despite resolving not to get emotionally involved, the child had captured her heart. It was going to be the hardest day of her life when she had to let him go.

“Stillbirth,” Taylor corrected. “I was born and I died on March fourteenth 1983.”

He shrugged, and a few feathers fluttered down onto the table. “Nobody asked, so I never mentioned it. It didn’t seem to be important enough.”

“Of course it was important. That’s what I’m here for, remember? You’re meant to be able to tell me anything, even if you don’t think I’ll care. And I worry when you don’t tell me things.”

“Why? You only do this because you have to. The other guides don’t give a damn, so why should you?”

“You’re right – this is my job. But I’ll tell you something that not many of the other guides know. I chose to guide you. Nobody assigned you to me – I picked you as my charge. And that, I think, has made a rather large difference.” Aurelia clasped her hands on the table top. “Why do you keep coming down here?”

“If you’d had your life snatched away from you even before you had a chance to live it, wouldn’t you?” He looked back down at the table. “And I…I want my mother to know that I’m okay, but I don’t know where to find her…”

Aurelia thought quickly. “I may be able to help you there. But if I do help you, I need you to promise me that you won’t keep coming down here. I know it sounds harsh, but you’re more of a help up there than you are here – I know that this world holds a certain attraction for you, but for someone like you…it’s really the worst place you could come.” She reached across the table and touched his hand gently. “We’ll go and visit your mother, because I know you need it, but after that…no more of this, okay?” She slipped a hand under his chin and lifted his head, so she could see into his eyes. “I want you to swear it.”

He closed his eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh. “Yes, Aurelia, I swear that I won’t come back down here.” He opened his eyes again, and Aurelia saw a fire burning in them that she had never seen before. “Unless I have a very good reason, of course.”

“Good enough. Come on, kid.” She stood up, scooping up fallen feathers as she got to her feet.

“I take it you found him, then,” Aderyn said as the two angels were leaving.

“I found him,” Aurelia confirmed. “You don’t have to worry – he won’t be back.” She nodded a farewell to Aderyn, and guided her charge out into the street.

Their final destination for the night was the front yard of a two-story house somewhere in Oklahoma. A few windows on the first floor were alight, and Aurelia could hear loud music drifting from within its walls.

“I’m assuming so,” Aurelia replied, answering his unfinished question. She turned to look at him. “Are you ready?” she asked, receiving a nod in reply. “Come on then.”

A tall girl with long blonde hair pulled back in a loose ponytail answered Aurelia’s knock at the door. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“Yeah, she’s my mom,” the girl replied, her tone wary. “Who wants to know?”

“Please tell her that Aurelia is here to see her; she’ll know what you’re talking about.”

The girl nodded and closed the front door; Aurelia could hear footsteps pounding up the stairs, and it wasn’t long before the front door opened again.

“Hello Aurelia,” Diana said, with a warm smile that even Aurelia knew was slightly forced. “I must admit, I’m surprised to see you here.”

“I hate to bother you so late, and especially considering what today is, but…I have someone here who I think you should meet.” Aurelia shifted her weight from her right foot to her left. “Twenty-four years ago today, if I figure it correctly, you had a son who was stillborn – right?”

“I thought so.” Aurelia reached behind her and drew Taylor forwards and level with her. “Diana…this is Taylor. And” she dug an elbow into Taylor’s side “I believe he has something he wants to say to you.”

Taylor shot Aurelia a wounded look. “I…I just wanted to let you know that I’m…I’m okay,” he said quietly. “I…I would have come earlier, but I didn’t know where to find you.”

“Oh honey,” Diana whispered; Aurelia could hear tears in her voice. “Thank you – I’ve been wondering for so long.” She stepped forward and reached up to Taylor’s face; he closed his eyes tightly as his mother’s fingers brushed his cheek. “You’re an angel,” she said.

“It was no trouble. I only wanted to grant him this – I knew he needed to see you. I might be his guide, but I’m no substitute for his mother.” Aurelia heard the soft sound of bells, and she knew it was time for them to go. “Taylor, we have to go,” she said, regret in her voice. “Gabriel’s calling us.”

“Okay,” Taylor said, sounding so much like the child Aurelia had once known.

“Happy birthday, Taylor,” Diana said as she hugged her son for the first time. “And thank you.”

Before they returned to Heaven, Aurelia drew Taylor aside. “I know I made you swear that you wouldn’t come back here,” she said with a sigh. “But…I think you need this. As much as I truly want to be, I can’t be your mother.”

“I’m saying that, if you need to, you can come down and visit your mother. Just make sure you let me know where you’re going first – Gabriel will have both our wings if he has to send everyone out to look for you again. And nobody wants that.”

“Good.” Aurelia smiled, and cheered inwardly as her charge returned her smile. “Come on, kid. Let’s get you home.”