Fallen (Part 2)
Suddenly overtaken by an urge to reach out and touch the feathered wings, James reached forward, forgetting that the man in front of him appeared terrified. As his hand neared the wings, the man let out a cry of pure fright and scuttled backwards until his back hit the tree behind him and effectively stopped him.
James shook his head and reprimanded himself silently. He would obviously have to go slowly. He began to reach forward again, but this time he moved slowly while he spoke in soft, soothing tones. He wasn’t quite sure what he was saying, something about it being all right and how he would not hurt him. This appeared to be working, for the man in front of him stilled and began to stare at him with a curious look on his face. When he finally reached out and made light contact with the white feathers, the other man only flinched slightly, his face quickly twisting into a grimace of pain.
"Does it hurt?" James asked. He did not receive an answer, but he could now easily see that one of the wings appeared broken. James moved his hand away and looked up into the darkening sky in awe.
He had touched an angel. An angel from heaven.
Just then he heard Joseph’s heavy footsteps crunching the dead leaves under his feet. He looked up but did not move from his position. As Joseph reached his side he asked, "Where have you been? What has taken so long?"
Instead of answering, James merely looked at the angel in front of him. Joseph’s eyes turned to follow his brother’s gaze and widened in surprise at the sight. "What is that?" he asked.
"Joseph, I think he is an angel. From heaven. Look at his wings," James said.
"An angel. Well I’ll be damned. What is it doing here?" Joseph asked as he looked around.
"He," said James softly. "Not an it."
"If you say so. What is HE doing here?"
"I’m not certain. I believe he fell from the sky, Joseph."
Joseph kneeled down next to James. He reached out and touched the broken wing without any of the gentleness that his brother had exhibited. The angel jumped and squealed in pain and fright. "What is that awful noise?" he asked as he placed his hands over his ears.
"You hurt him," James admonished.
Joseph sighed as he watched the trembling stranger in front of them. "Well, what shall we do with it?"
"Him," James reminded him. "Him, not it. As for what to do with him…well, we shall take him home and let father decide."
Joseph nodded his agreement. "Fine," he said as he grabbed the angel’s wrist and pulled.
The angel squealed again and pulled his wrist away from Joseph’s grip. Blue eyes stared at him in terror.
"Go slowly, Joseph," James said softly.
Joseph rolled his eyes and tried again. He held out his hand and tried again to grab the angel’s wrist. Again the angel yanked his arm back, shaking his head furiously as he did so.
"Fine. If you want to be difficult about it…" Joseph said as his hand formed a fist and struck the angel across the face with a crushing blow. The angel fell down with a small sound of pain and laid still, his eyes falling closed.
"Joseph, why did you do that to him!? He would have come with us!" James yelled at his brother.
"We do not have time to convince him, James. Do you not see there is almost no light left in the sky? We must go." As he spoke he stood up and grabbed the prone figure before him. With a grunt of exertion he slung the unconscious angel over his shoulder much as he would a sack of barley. "Ready?" he asked James.
James gave him a withering look but said no more as he followed Joseph through the path in the woods. As he walked, he periodically looked up from the ground and focused on the limp figure draped across his brother’s back. James could still picture the beautiful face although it was now obscured. The urge to reach out and touch the curls that appeared so soft was great, but he held his hands down at his sides with effort.
There would be plenty of time to admire this beautiful creature later.