House of the Angels

Rachel sat at the edge of the cold spring, staring into the deep blue water now coated over with small, slimy trails of emerald green algae. The spring was surrounded by a rickety fence made of rough wood and the blocks of stone that barely rose up out of the ground were spotted with rough, brown and green mosses and lichens.

Her well was one of the most comforting places on the entire property and also one of the quietest. Crickets and frogs chirped all around her while the chilly night air made her wrap her pink shawl tighter around her shoulders. The heavy scent of the water, dying leaves and freshly cut grasses hung all about the air and clung to her clothes and burrowed in her deep golden hair as the pale moonlight shone through the trees.

The well wasn’t just a quiet place for Rachel to get away from the house. This was where she could see everything in that deep blue spring. Here, she saw the future, the past, the present and the lives of everyone on Earth. Whenever a voice in her head whispered a name, she would go to the well and search for the person the name belonged to.

Rachel thrived off of every joy she saw within the well. Joy filled her heart whenever a child was born, or a young boy and girl shared their first kiss. She found joy in almost everything she did and saw.

The sound of footfalls in the grass startled her but when she saw who it was approaching her, Rachel was relieved. It was only Dylan.

“See anything in the well?” he asked, kneeling beside her.

“Not much.” Rachel replied. “I haven’t had much time to watch. What about you?”

“I don’t like to watch.” Dylan replied. “I get too sad sometimes.”

Rachel knew all about why Dylan hated watching people in the well. Her powers were over the virtue of Joy but Dylan’s was quite the opposite. His power was that he could draw out everyone’s sorrow and sadness, swallowing it whole so that it would never escape. Whenever the sadness overwhelmed him, Dylan let out a terrible scream that shattered the glass and echoed for miles and miles around. Sometimes the screams were so bad that it drove people to their deaths and made him shed tears of blood.

“I don’t blame you.” Rachel said knowingly. “I know what happens when you get too sad.”

Dylan nodded in agreement. “I don’t think anyone wants to have their ears shattered this late at night.”

Rachel laughed as he drew her close to him, her head resting on his shoulder, breathing in the scent of water and rain that seemed to follow him everywhere.

“What else did you see in the well?” Dylan asked as Rachel shifted herself into his lap. “Tell me.”

“Well,” Rachel began. “I had seen a soldier reunited with his family, the birth of a young couple’s son….you wouldn’t believe how happy it made them.”

Dylan was proud of Rachel and her gift, but secretly he detested his. He envied her for what she could do to help people. Her gift brought happiness and comfort to the world. But his? His was painful. Horridly painful. Most days it crushed him, physically and emotionally to the point where he would sleep for three days and nights. The more he heard from Rachel, the more he wished he had been born differently.

“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked, seeing that saddened look in his earthen brown eyes.

“I’d give anything to have what you have.” Dylan told her.

“Dylan,” Rachel sighed. “You were given this power for a reason.”

“What reason?” Dylan asked. “This isn’t a gift, it’s a curse.”

“Is that what you think it is?” Rachel asked.

Dylan leaned into her so that their foreheads touched and their eyes locked together. “Have you ever heard hundreds or even thousands of people screaming all at once? Or felt their lives slip away before their time?” he asked. “It hurts. It’s like your being crushed by a boulder.”

Rachel had hoped never to experience the same crushing sadness Dylan felt whenever he took it away from people. But she knew she couldn’t ignore it either.

“You won’t leave the house will you?” she asked.

Dylan laughed a little and looked her right in her deep blue eyes. “What, me? Leave?” he chuckled. “No. I wouldn’t leave you or the guys or the rest of the girls. This place has always been home to me. You think I’m gonna leave because I hate what I do?”

Their arms snaked around each other like ivy vines, holding each other protectively as though it were their last night on this earth. Rachel and Dylan both laughed at the ridiculous notion of him ever leaving Angel Manor and disappearing into oblivion. Out there on Bayou St. Therese, life was hard and dangerous, much too dangerous to be alone. Rachel couldn’t live without Dylan and Dylan couldn’t live without her.

“You know I’ll never leave you here alone right?” he said before he kissed her.

“I know.” Rachel said before she returned the kiss. “I know.”