After a long day at school, I took a walk home. It was only a thirty-minute walk and I found it relaxing. I passed by the grocery store to buy a drink. It was the same grocery store I had been working in during the summer. I got to see a few familiar faces.

“Hey David!” said Alex as he peeked around the aisle corner.

“How’s it going?” I asked.

“Not too bad actually. It’s great to see you actually. Ever thought of working here again?”

“No,” I laughed nervously.

We caught up with each other. I tried my hardest to end the conversation as fast as I could because I knew I wouldn’t keep it up. Not that I wanted to avoid Alex in the first place. He was a good friend and coworker. Alex looked after me and made sure I did my job. And most of all made sure I was doing well.

Having someone looking after me felt great. After a short conversation, I waved Alex goodbye and went on with my day.

There were many high school students walking along this street. The sidewalk was filled with uniformed teenagers. I recall that there was a private school nearby. I also got to see Colin pass by on a bike. It was obvious he was distracted by the high school girls walking by. What a creep. He waved at me and almost crashed as he held on to his bike with one hand.

It was then I had a weird feeling. Like I was being followed. I looked behind me and didn’t notice anything weird. Just a huge crowd of students.

I shrugged it off and continued my walk home.

Before I knew it, I found myself near the park. There were children playing and their parents watching over them. I unconsciously walked to the church right next to the park. It was a habit of mine to go here after working in the grocery store. I found myself in front of the church steps.

“Maybe Phoebe is there,” I whispered to myself.

I thought back to my talk with Lucas earlier today. About what makes us human and our talk about faith. Maybe I should discuss that with her.

But before I could even take a step into the church, a young woman stood in my way. The afternoon sun shined from above as if she was glowing. She wore a v-neck shirt and jogging pants. It gave the impression that she was simply on a run to the park.

“You.”

She pointed at me with her finger. Her other hand was balled into a fist. She stood up tall while looking down at me from the top of the steps. The young woman scowled while showing her gritting teeth.

Please, not another weirdo.

“You’re David right?”

It’s another weirdo…

I couldn’t just ignore her since she was blocking my way in. I could just turn around and walk away as if nothing had happened. But that would be rude, wouldn’t it? Not that I would mind.

“How do you know me?” I asked with a displeased face. Although I had a guess.

The stranger noticed and got annoyed.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“You should be glad to be in my presence.”

“Answer my question first.”

“Fine, my name is Michelle. Sister to the lovely angels you’ve been bothering with.” Michelle said with pride. She then added with a lower voice, “And the devil herself too.”

“Okay,” I said with no reaction.

Annoyed with my response, Michelle walked down the steps in front of me. She stared me down and scanned me. With an unimpressed face, she clicked her tongue.

“Why does it have to be you?”

“I ask that question myself.”

“You’re just another human. There’s no reason for you to be in the presence of angels. What’s so interesting about you?”

“Hey, I have a lot of redeeming features,” I said sarcastically.

Michelle just got more annoyed. When she finally had it with me, Michelle then swung her arms behind her and drew a sword out of nowhere.

“Woah! Woah! Hold it right there! You can’t just do that!”

I looked around frantically. Thankfully there was no one looking around the church. The park was nearby but no one looked like they were paying attention.

“Where did you get that sword from?!” I was pretty sure she didn’t carry anything around with her.

“There’s just one thing I’m here for, and it’s to make sure you don’t mess with my sisters.”

“G-got it.”

Michelle put the sword away

I finished panicking and caught my breath from hyperventilating. Just what in the hell was that?! Who in the right mind would do that in public?!

“Michelle.”

“Yes?” Michelle said while still scowling.

“I don’t know what you think of me. But I’m just neighbors to your sister. I have nothing to do with them anymore.”

“We’ll see about that.”

This girl is so annoying! If only I could just scream at her. But then she might get pissed and draw out her sword again.

“Neighbors, right?” Michelle asked as soon as she calmed down. Her face was much more pleasant to look at now that she appeared less angry.

“Yeah, Raphie is a good neighbor, I would never bother her in any way.”

“So that’s what she calls herself now. What about the devil.”

“Lucy? She’s just as annoying as ever.”

“I see…”

“How do you know about me anyway?”

“Gabriel told me. Although a completely different story.”

Gabriel? I guess it’s the angel who calls herself Jibril now. What the hell was with their names? Maybe they changed their names often. I’ll probably ask another time.

Michelle and I then sat at the church steps.

“How is… Raphie these days?”

“She’s doing well. She works hard at school and even works.”

“School huh…” Michelle looked down at the ground. “She must enjoy living like one of you humans.”

“I guess so,” I scratched my head. “It’s like she’s really one of us.”

What does it take to be human? Is it enough to look like us? There has to be more to it. I remember my talk with Lucas earlier. Maybe all it takes was another human to bring out that humanity.

An angel acting as a human. As in living a normal life as one. It was strange to think of it like that right now. I wonder what Michelle thought about this. For all I know, she might be missing her sister. Or maybe thinking it was low for Raphie to be among us. On the same level as Lucy.

Speaking of Lucy. She was also living among humanity. An idea struck me and without a second thought, I spoke up.

“What do you think about Lucy?” I asked.

“I hate her.”

Michelle’s words were cold as she spoke with a blank face. The orange sun that glared behind her vanished behind the clouds. It was as if her world with Lucy was a dark one.

“I see,” I said in a whisper. I stared up at the clouds in the sky. We sat in the silence for some time now. It didn’t seem like Michelle wants to talk about her other sister.

“Well, I have to go.”

“Of course. I don’t want to hold you up,” Michelle said with a normal face. It was as if she had a complete reset. She wasn’t down nor scowling at me.

I got up and walked inside the church. Before I got to the door, I looked behind me and saw that Michelle had disappeared. She gave me a familiar feeling. As if I saw someone like her before. Like someone stuck in solitude.