Thief (47 page)

“Are you -?” But even as he tried to ask her how she felt, she told him not to worry. She felt fine, as was intended. And he knew it was true, for he too felt how she felt. Sherial felt fit enough to fly around the world like the concord. Even as he felt her wellness Sherial invited him into her body as she had before, and he learned first hand what it was like to be pregnant.

It was as nothing he had ever imagined. Mikel was overcome with simple awe as he felt the beginnings of new life moving softly within him, felt the innocent love and incredible trust of their child, and returned it with everything he had. The baby was tired now, almost asleep as it would be for most of the rest of her pregnancy, but it knew him and smiled. It was inadequate as a description but there was no other word to describe what it did.

The baby was so infinitely precious, its thoughts delicate and wonderful to feel. Sherial was surely the luckiest person in the universe to know such wonder, and through her, him too. Perhaps the moment only lasted a few seconds, but that memory would endure for his entire lifetime. Then again he would do this again and again.

Back in his own flesh he knew a chaos of joy. Wonder of wonders, Sherial was pregnant, and overjoyed about it. So was he, if slightly shell shocked and more than a little apprehensive. What would it be like? Would they need a doctor? A hospital? A vet? And then what would it be?

Sherial grabbed his head and kissed him firmly, deliberately breaking his concentration, and he knew she was also thanking him for giving her this wonderful new life inside her. Immediately he kissed her back, thanking her in turn. He could not ever give her enough praise for being the mother of their child, but he promised he’d try. She told him not to worry, and he finally gave in utterly to their joy at her news.

Only four or five more months huh. She must have gotten pregnant at that brook. Good. At least he had something to show for the pain he’d endured after that. Sherial’s laughter echoed his own, and then she told him that their very first day had been the one, as she had hoped it would be. She had felt the conception and praised the Lord for his blessing then and there.

Their first huh. How many did she want? It didn’t matter. He would gladly give her all she could desire. He dearly wanted children. He dearly wanted her children. He loved this child.

He would have asked more, but a sudden sound caught his attention. A sort of furtive sliding that instantly aroused his danger sense. But then the sound of a vacuum cleaner told him what it was. It was Tuesday and Mrs. Pool was here.

Mikel relaxed back into the pillows, and then realized he’d better get up and ask her to leave anyway. Being caught with an angel in his bed might be difficult to explain away, and he didn’t want to have to leave his home. Their home.

Letting go of Sherial, even for a few minutes was a nightmare. The sudden breaking of contact, the fear of isolation, the sense of loss. Separation was a physical pain. Yet even when he’d finally managed to tear himself away, he found Sherial was still with him, and that alone gave him the strength to do what he had to.

“You’d better not go out there like that.” While he caught the intent of her thoughts, there was something else behind them that he missed. Something secret, something she wouldn’t tell him, but something that she was delighted about. Something that was causing her to bubble over with happiness and laughter.

Sherial was right he realized, going out stark naked might not help things along at all. Besides, he suddenly realized looking down, he was covered in mud from head to foot, no doubt from their pond. He reached for the gym shorts he kept in the dresser beside his bed, wondering why Sherial was still laughing so much. He wasn’t that funny, was he? But as he dressed he felt her amusement, growing if anything, and suspicions began wandering freely.

Checking, just in case the shorts had some holes in embarrassing places, he pulled them on quickly and stood up. The room started spinning again and he felt a little unbalanced. It took a few seconds to stop himself from falling backwards. Must have been dizzier than he realized. Being burnt and then killed, married, beaten up and then loved by an angel, as well as finding out he was soon to be a father could really take it out of a guy. But Sherial was still laughing like a flock of drunken pigeons. On impulse he walked over to the wall mirror, and then stopped in complete shock.

“What the - !” He very nearly found himself breaking one of his new rules almost immediately, and only just stopped himself in time. Old habits die hard.

In the mirror staring back at him he saw wings. Gigantic white and cream coloured wings. Spinning quickly he looked behind him to see nothing, no wings. But turning back they were there again. Not only that, there was a sensation of weight in his shoulder blades, and he had the damnedest feeling he could feel them, almost like he could feel his arms. His mouth hung open in shock as he stared, and he couldn’t think of a thing to say or do.

He shrugged his shoulders, and the wings shrugged with them. And then as if by themselves, they flexed. He could feel other muscles coming into play, muscles he’d never had before, moving, rippling like nothing he’d ever known. And in the mirror he could see them, rippling among his pectorals, among his abdominals. Yet while he could feel them and he could even see them, he couldn’t really control them. Yet.

A hand circled his waist and Sherial came back into his arms, still laughing and yet serious.

“I knew there was something else I had to tell you.” He stared at her, finally understanding her laughter, and yet not understanding a single thing. His mouth opened a closed a few times, but not a sound emerged.

“You see, our Father takes a very dim view of people attacking him. And an even dimmer one of people doubting him. Consider this his way of saying never doubt him again.” But she was smiling as she said it, and he knew he had nothing to fear. Much to be ashamed of, but nothing to fear. The Lord had punished him with blessings, shaming him for his mistrust, while still managing to tell Mikel he too was loved. He was both humbled and awed by the lesson.

“For my part, I get the duty of teaching you to use them.” Sherial too, he realized, had erred with their Lord, thinking he would accept her self-mutilation, and been punished in exactly the same way - blessed. For if he was the one who had been changed, he had been changed for her. The Lord he realized, above all else is a father. He does not disfigure his own children.

“Ohh no.” Light dawned anew and Mikel held his head in his hands in sudden shame. This then he finally understood, was his new life that he should have accepted from the Lord. Not as he had thought an afterlife, but rather his life as Sherial’s husband. Of course he couldn’t have returned to Earth as he had asked. It wasn’t good enough. Instead he was now exactly as the Lord had always intended, regardless of all his theatrics. All he had done was embarrass himself.

But it went further than that he quickly realized. He had wings simply because he had to. He had to be with Sherial, and the Lord had known that from the very first. They could not have been together any other way.

‘Always judge a man by his actions.’ That ancient maxim forced its way into his mind as he discovered Sherial's understanding of everything that had happened. The thief had finally kicked back into action, and his analysis agreed with Sherial’s down to the very tiniest detail. Logic, guided by her wisdom, showed him how perfectly things had been arranged.

Their mission had never truly been about rescuing people from hell. Physical well being was far less important. It had been about letting the Lord’s message of love and hope reach everybody from the fallen and their prisoners to the angels high above. It was a devastatingly powerful message.

For the fallen had learned anew that they were fallen and that even given their failure, their Father still loved them. Even they could redeem themselves, and perhaps too they had discovered anew that eventually they would have no choice. Sooner or later they had to return to him. A journey more painful than he could imagine.

The prisoners had learned again that they were loved and that as long as they believed, there was hope. Their Father would never forget them, would never fail them. All they had ever had to do was but ask and trust in Him. And now that they were free, they could help guide others away from their own mistakes, as they quickly or slowly returned to their Father.

The others of the village had learned the fundamental rules of life and the universe, which they would pass on to their peoples. As had he, they too had been humbled, and taught. That knowledge would be shared. In time he suspected, they would become known as teachers, spreading the word, and strengthening the good, weakening the evil. Hell would shrink further as their message was spread.

The thief had learned the same lesson as the rest of the villagers, and at the same time found his place as the servant of the good man Mikel. Mikel was not a thief, but rather a good man who stole. He had the skills and instincts of a thief, but neither the heart nor the soul.

The choir had once again felt and celebrated the wonder of God. While he and Sherial had discovered each other, and where they had gone, others would follow. Many others.

And it had all begun long before he had ever laid eyes on Sherial, for she had been his guardian angel long before he’d ever met her. He looked into her eyes and saw the truth. Sherial had been hand picked for the job of safeguarding him by the Lord, knowing exactly what would come from her duty. It was always intended.

Mikel was awed. It was incredible, impossible and true. Every single tiny minutiae the Lord had thought of. Every possible outcome somehow calculated and then planned for. The shear depth of planning involved was simply awe inspiring, so far beyond anything any man could have developed, or would ever develop, and Mikel knew ever more wonder. The greatest mark of the most magnificent plan was surely that after it was all over and light shone on what had gone before, all would agree with its every single step.

Then the import of what Sherial had said rolled over him and shocked him anew as he suddenly realized what wings were used for, - flying. He was scared of heights and he had wings. Sherial might have her work cut out for her, but then she would enjoy the challenge. Then again, he realized she would succeed. It too was intended. He shook his head. Sometimes life just doesn’t make sense.

And sometimes it does.

“I will serve.” Words, and more importantly, commitment that had been far too long in coming finally flowed from him. In that moment, in Sherial’s arms he understood that this was his moment. This was his choice. His Father had asked him to come home. It was time. But it was not and never could be a choice for him. It wasn’t for reward, because the service itself was its own reward as Sherial showed him. Nor was it to avoid the Hell of those who rejected it all, for he had already been there and would not return. No more was it because he had been commanded to do so; he hadn’t been. His service would be welcomed, but never demanded.

He would serve because it was only right.

“My love. I am the most able criminal on this entire world. I’ve studied, trained, planned and devoted my whole life to this single work. Yet you’ve shown me how little I truly know, especially about myself.” The strange thing was there wasn’t even a trace of bitterness in his words, only understanding and acceptance. For he had been wrong. Now was the time to be right. Now was the time to become everything he could be.

“I’ve made more stupid mistakes in the last few months than I could ever have imagined. All my life I’ve made those same mistakes and I’ve never even guessed. I’ve hurt myself and hurt you in the process. I’ve rejected your wisdom and failed us both. But the worst of it all is that I’m still a man, still capable of making those same stupid mistakes. I am a fool and I need to learn.”

“I am our Lord’s thief and your husband. Everything I am is yours. Teach me. Help me to serve.”

As he spoke Mikel felt no shame, no false modesty nor misplaced honour. He felt only the truth of his words.

Sherial surprised him then, as she in turn knelt before him, taking his hands in her own and kissing them. Tears shone in her eyes, tears of love as she accepted his gift and cherished it. As he felt the wave of love that simply streamed out of her and engulfed him, he finally knew he’d done the right thing. Only through her would he ever learn how to be everything he could be, everything her husband should be and everything the father of her children should be.