***
One night while Eloise was sleeping, Nathaniel stood by the nursery window and gazed out at the full moon. Six months had passed since Eloise was born, yet there’d been no visit from Devlin. Nathaniel still didn’t trust him, especially since he’d threatened to take her back, though he missed him terribly. Shaking his head, he walked over to the cot. There was no way he would leave the baby alone, not even for a minute. Devlin could be as cunning as a fox when he wanted. Knowing him, he’d turn up when least expected.
Nathaniel gazed down at Eloise and smiled. She looked like a little angel when she was asleep, but when she was awake she was forever getting into trouble. If she wasn’t attempting to climb out of her cot, she was trying to crawl outside. It seemed she loved nothing better than to escape out of an open door. At least during the day he didn’t have time to dwell on his loneliness. He was too busy trying to keep Eloise safe from harm.
There was certainly no time for daydreaming while the child was awake, but the nights were always lonely. As he glanced out the window at the kangaroos and wallabies, the TV in the lounge room was switched off and the house went quiet. Nathaniel looked up at the night sky and resigned himself for another long and lonesome night. Madeline always went to bed early and whenever Matthew worked away from home, his guardian went with him. Not that Anael was much company. He was always helping humans with problems of love, passion, and sexuality. Most guardians had no experience with such things and would call on Anael for help. Pity he couldn’t have helped Devlin.
Nathaniel had only seen Anael once in six months and Ramiel hadn’t been to visit since the day they’d arrived home from the hospital. With no angels to talk to, Nathaniel missed Devlin more than he ever thought possible, though he never considered leaving Eloise so he could visit other guardians. That would be irresponsible and way too risky.
Running his hands through his hair, he paced the room. Six months of loneliness was starting to get to him. He strode over to the window and stared out at the stars, but even that didn’t lift his mood. All it did was remind him of the good times he’d had with Devlin—like the nights they went night flying around the world. They’d take off at full speed, only slowing down when they saw meteors or shooting stars. Now he had a huge hole in his existence and there was nothing to fill it except a child who couldn’t even see or hear him. Though Devlin was now his nemesis, it didn’t stop the sorrow of missing what they’d had. Even gazing at the full moon and listening to the waves crashing against the shore didn’t relax him anymore. It only frustrated him that he was stranded like a prisoner and couldn’t even go diving with the dolphins and whales. Gazing up at the Heavens, he wondered if it was possible for an angel to go mad. He’d certainly never felt powerless before. As anger filled his soul, he tightened his hands into fists and shook them at the sky.
“Lord, what’s happened to my tolerance?”
Without waiting for an answer, he threw his head back and laughed. All he needed now was for Madeline to play Bruno Mars singing ‘Talking to the Moon’ like she usually did before going to sleep—then he’d really go crazy. As he waited for her door to close, the perfect voice of Bruno Mars floated like a dream from her bedroom stereo. The song stirred Nathaniel’s soul so deeply, he knew if he was human, he’d cry an ocean of tears for the loss of his best friend.
When Madeline hit replay, Nathaniel held his head and cursed as he laughed hysterically, then he shouted up at the clear night sky. “Devlin, why in Heaven did you have to go and ruin a friendship as perfect as ours? Why, Devlin?”
As he was about to turn away from the window, a shooting star shot above the full moon, reminding him of the night he’d raced Devlin to New Zealand and back. Smiling, he recalled how they’d arranged to meet on top of the cliff at the Creed Valley Lookout. Standing side-by-side with their arms stretched out, they counted to three before zooming into the clear night sky like a couple of action heroes. As they raced each other across the Tasman Sea towards New Zealand, they’d hit and an electrical storm, losing sight of each other as they zigzagged around dark ominous clouds. When they met up again, Devlin had surprised him by grabbing his arm and urging him to follow. Surging upwards, they’d skyrocketed under the twinkling stars before swooping downwards and nose-diving into the deep dark sea. After swimming with a pod of dolphins, they’d shot back out of the water and jetted towards Mount Edward, landing on the peak within seconds of each other. As they’d laughed uncontrollably, Devlin had taken off again, yodelling like Tarzan and obviously determined to win the race.
Nathaniel chuckled. He’d been equally competitive that night. After catching a strong wind, he’d jetted after Devlin. Then with everything he could muster, he’d zipped past him, reaching the Creed Valley lookout only seconds before him and winning the race. But as always, Devlin was a sore loser and he’d growled like a bear as he lifted him up and flipped him off the edge of the cliff. But instead of falling into the sea or flying back to the lookout, he’d summersaulted in mid-air and landed right on top of Devlin. After wresting for a while, they’d fallen in a heap and laughed uproariously before heading back to their wards.
Coming out of his musings, Nathaniel felt lonelier than ever. Ramiel said there was a shortage of guardians because too many angels had fallen, hopefully Devlin wasn’t one of them. There was nothing he wanted more than to have his comrade back by his side, but he wasn’t sure that would ever be possible now. Bowing his head, he prayed that Devlin had been to rehab and was recovering from his addictions.
As he walked away from the window, he flicked his wings with frustration. Night flying was so exhilarating, especially having Devlin with him, but oh, how he’d taken it for granted. Now he understood what humans meant when they said, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone’.
A noise outside the nursery soon had him on full alert and he wandered over to the window and peeked out. He guessed it was just a kangaroo, but decided to go and check. After making sure Eloise was still asleep, he walked out the back door. As he flew around the house, he peered in hidden places to make sure Devlin wasn’t lurking about. There was no sign of anyone, but just to be sure, he zipped into the nearby woods and looked around. Seeing nothing suspicious, he shot back to the house. He figured if Devlin hadn’t gone to rehab by now, he’d be too busy researching fallen angels and ogling pretty girls to be bothered trying to get Eloise back.
As he checked on her cot again, he realised he had no right to criticize Devlin, not after the way he’d been moping about and feeling sorry for himself. That sort of behaviour certainly wasn’t helping Eloise. He sighed. He’d just have to find something else to concentrate on in the middle of the night and guard the child like he was assigned to. Bowing his head, he prayed to get his patience back.