Bonus Chapter
‘Awww! That’s nice… She remembered to thank me…’ whispered Esmera as soon as she and Laranon transported themselves to the pier by Emilia’s house, in their fully ethereal forms. The two of them had been watching Emilia and Andreas since he arrived on the yacht. Then, they’d hopped on the boat with them, enjoying the fruit of their work, but now it was time to give them some privacy.
Archangels didn’t often get the chance to enjoy a nice boat ride, and Laranon had been acting like a kid. He was still so excited.
‘Oh, they were so cute, the way they whispered sweet little nothings to each other!’ he said.
She laced her hands together and shook them before her chest. ‘Indeed. Ooh! I do love a happy ending!’
‘Don’t we all? Congrats, by the way. Another mission perfectly accomplished.’
‘Well, thank you.’ She winked at him. ‘I learned from the best.’
He gave a nod, then asked, ‘So, when are the girls leaving the island?’
‘They’ll say their goodbyes to their friends tomorrow morning, and then they’re going back to Sifnos with me. I have a new assignment ready for them. They’re off to Folegandros this weekend.’
‘No rest for the angels, huh?’
‘You bet. God wanted it that way. That angels never rest and humans are always protected. Provided they ask, of course.’
‘Of course. Free Will is the ultimate law. If they don’t ask, we can do nothing for them.’ He chuckled, then added, ‘But then, there’s you, Esmera… Showing up in their lives, imparting gifts when they least expect it.’
‘Well, some of them need a little nudge, that’s all. Those who don’t ask us for help, but are still worth saving… We can’t help them all, but we do try.’
Laranon’s eyes lit up. ‘Ooh! That reminds me. I have a field training exercise with Chloe tonight.’
Esmera knitted her brows. ‘Field training?’
‘Don’t ask.’
She elbowed him playfully. ‘Don’t work her too hard or you’ll have to answer to me.’
‘Actually, it’s the other way around.’
Esmera laughed out loud. ‘Sounds like Chloe, all right.’
###
Aleka was steaming with vexation as she drove home with Takis at the end of another quiet night.
They’d served only half a dozen tables for dinner tonight and a few others just for drinks or desserts. It was a disaster. If things carried on like this she’d soon no longer be able to afford paying the cook or the electricity bills. She’d have to close down the business, and start afresh in another place, as far from Papikinou beach as possible. The very sight of Trata being filled with patrons to the gills made her nauseous every night.
‘Careful!’ shouted Takis from the passenger seat, and it brought her abruptly back to the present. At the same time, she realised that she had just overtaken a motorbike, a little too close for comfort.
‘Phew! Had you gotten a little closer to that guy I’d say you were actually intending to kill him! Honestly!’ complained Takis.
She smiled coldly, showing her teeth, in lieu of an answer. Takis vexed her more than usual these days. Even this drive did, late every night. Nothing was easy any more.
They’d just left the restaurant, driving home on a country road that traversed fields and olive groves. There was no street lighting on this stretch. ‘Imagine riding a motorbike on this dark country road! The guy must be suicidal!’ she said suddenly, sniffing and blinking hard, as if that would help improve her vision. She was nearing forty-five, after all, and still refused to wear prescription glasses. But how could she? They just made her look old.
‘Maybe, I am the one who’s suicidal, letting you drive!’ Takis quipped, and she whipped her head toward him, taken aback.
‘Excuse me?’
‘You heard! You’re driving like a maniac. Just like you’re doing everything else. You’re losing it, Aleka! And me, being an idiot, I allow myself to get involved in your conniving schemes. But that’s enough. I’ve had it! You hear? No more!’
‘What do you mean? What…schemes?’
‘Um… let’s see…’ he said, voice dripping with sarcasm as he put an index finger on his lips and raised his chin. ‘I don’t know… um… ordering me to spoil soups for the competition and to put hamsters in their kitchen? To spy on them every day? Ring a bell much?’
She shook her head. ‘You didn’t complain when you were helping me.’
‘No, I didn’t, but even the biggest idiots one day realize their mistakes. The day when they say, no more !’ He leaned in and shouted the last two words in her face.
Aleka saw red. ‘How dare you speak to me like that? I was the one, remember, who took you out of that little shack where you used to dwell and brought you to live in my house! I even bought you a new wardrobe! I taught you manners! And introduced you to all my professional, intellectual friends! I made you somebody , Takis! You were a nobody before I came along! When I met you, your idea of acquiring a fine wine was buying dry red by the kilo from your uncle Antonis’s taverna! Or, do you forget? I taught you how to tie your own tie, for crying out loud!’
Takis sneered. ‘Yeah, you keep telling me how I was a peasant before we got together. I hear you! And maybe you are right. Maybe, I am not chic , as you say. But I am not mean like you! You are poison ! You hear? Poison! And I’ve had enough!’
Aleka was so vexed her answer came out of her mouth totally unchecked. ‘You have? Well, fine by me!’
‘Really? Okay then, Aleka. Take me home now! I cannot wait to pack my bags!’
‘You’re leaving me?’ Now, she was shocked. More shocked than upset.
‘Yeah, Aleka! I am leaving you! I’ve had enough.’
‘Oh, please! Where will you go? Without me, you have no house and no job!’
‘I’d rather sleep in the fields than spend another night under the same roof with you!’
‘What? Fine! When in Rome…’ Aleka hit the brakes so hard that Takis’s upper body thrust forward violently. If he hadn’t been wearing the seat belt he’d surely have smashed that stupid head of his on the dashboard.
‘Get out! Get out of my car!’
He looked at her incredulous for two seconds, then opened the door. ‘You know what? Fine! See you! Have a nice life!’
He swung the passenger door open and jumped out, his mobile in his hand, not even a sweater to put over his shirt. The notion surprised her. What do I care if he gets cold overnight? Or how he gets home on foot when he sobers up? We’re drunk… We’ve both drunk so much again…’ And yet, her ego didn’t let her show him that she cared.
He’d banged the door shut but the windows were rolled down so she heard him clearly when he said goodnight, sneering.
She looked at him for a while, and he returned to her the same mute gaze that telegraphed he felt as spent as she did.
Then, she pressed the gas and left with a roar. But, as soon as she did, an explosion of light appeared a little further down the road. It was right in the middle of it. What on earth is that? Fire? A pillar of fire?
She barely had time to brake and stopped about five yards from the shiny pillar. A moment later, she realised it was alive – some kind of otherworldly being that shone in the darkness. It had a human shape, both arms outstretched before it, but the being had no face. It was all light. Golden yellow, with a green tint. A beautiful, mesmerising, pulsating being of light.
Aleka leaned forward in her seat and blinked hard, scared out of her wits. Now, she was starting to wonder if this was a dream. It has to be a nightmare! How can this be real? Have I passed out back at the taverna? It won’t be the first time… Wait! What are those things on the being? Owls? Oh! Owls! ‘Eeek! Aaaargh!’ she shrieked.
Panic seized her as the two owls she’d seen suddenly shot forward, flying over. Rendered paralysed with fear, she simply watched as they flew inside though the passenger window. They sat on Takis’s seat and looked at her, seemingly as tame as pets, as if they’d been there before and were just happy to return.
Her shoulders jumped and she nearly screamed again when she heard the passenger door open. Looking up from the owls, she saw Takis get in the car shooing the birds so he could sit down.
She reached and held him and he held her too. ‘Are you okay, agape mou ?’ he asked.
‘I am, I am… I am so sorry, Takis…’
‘I am sorry too, Aleka… We shouldn’t fight…’
‘I agree, agape mou . And we shouldn’t drink any more either. It’s not good for us…’
He agreed, squeezing her shoulder gently, then said, ‘So, what do you think this is?’ He pointed to the light being that still blocked their passage.
She shrugged, and they both sat staring at the light show for a while. It was so stunning they were now more transfixed than they were scared.
As for the owls, which had gone to the back seat when Takis disturbed them, now hopped over back to the front.
One sat on her lap and one on Takis’s. Frozen, they each looked at the bird on their lap, then they both looked up at the same time.
Because, then, the light creature began to speak…
###
They’re getting close now! I can feel them! said Chloe to Laranon inside her mind.
The two of them had been standing in their fully ethereal forms—invisible to humans—at the roadside in the semi-darkness for a while, waiting for Aleka’s car to pass.
Chloe’s assignment at Trata tonight had ended. She and Elise had been busy helping all evening so that Andreas could take Emilia out on the boat. And now, it was time for her own secret assignment, which she had planned entirely on her own, but she had needed a field agent to help carry it out. The pun for the word ‘field’ caused her to giggle again. They were surrounded by fields for a good distance, after all.
Her whole ethereal form tickled, electrified with exuberance. Her teacher, Laranon, was perfect for the job, his form being so tall and imposing. He had gladly accepted to help her by taking on a semi-ethereal form for a while, just enough to talk to the humans.
The moonlight was strong, and that was fortuitous. She couldn’t wait to see the faces of Aleka and Takis when she set her plan in motion. Being an angel was a rewarding yet sombre kind of job, but it provided tremendous opportunities for hilarity sometimes, too. Tonight, was going to be one of those times, she could tell.
From a distance, she saw Aleka’s car approach, surely with Takis inside. She had followed them home many times in her ethereal form, and had even ridden in the car with them. She’d heard enough to pity them more than she wanted to give them a comeuppance, which would be well deserved, regardless.
Aleka and Takis had been naughty. Very naughty. And, being an angel, she had the divine obligation to set them straight. It was for their own good.
Teacher, here they come! she said inside her mind, and Laranon called on the small parliament of owls that sat in a huge almond tree nearby. Two of them flew over to him and sat on what looked like each of his shoulders. His form consisted of light rather than physical matter and it kept blinking, on and off, like white Christmas lights.
Laranon spoke to the owls and Chloe tittered. They looked so strange perching mid-air whenever the light faded, for a split second at a time.
To her surprise, Aleka’s car stopped abruptly before reaching them, a good distance away. In the strong moonlight, she saw Takis get out of the car. The couple exchanged angry words, most of which neither she nor Laranon could make out.
Sounds like they have been drinking again… she said to her teacher.
Don’t worry, Child. The owls will help them with their addiction. I’ve given them clear instructions.
Let’s hope so. They’re not really evil, just deeply traumatized…
Laranon then began to whistle, and a swirling mass of tiny yellow dots of light appeared on the night sky. It was magical. The lights were blinking and seemed to have come from every bush and every tree.
Chloe gasped. Teacher, is that what I think it is?
Laranon tittered. Well, if we’re going to scare them, we might as well give them a show!
Before she could speak again, the tiny yellow dots of light all came to land on Laranon. They had the slightest hint of a green tint, and now, she could see clearly they were fireflies. Bit by bit, as they landed on her teacher, they brought his form to life.
‘Oh! So beautiful!’ she whispered out loud, enchanted by the spectacle.
‘Yes, it is beautiful… The Earth is, and all its creatures, Child. The greatest, the most dazzling spectacle of all, in the entire Universe, is life on Earth!’ he said aloud too, opening his arms wide on either side.
This caused the fireflies to spread out and sit even on the underside of his sleeves and on his sides. More fireflies had landed all over his face, his whole head and hair, and even on his shiny robe and his boots that she remembered from that first time they’d met in the street. Now, they shone even more brightly. And, just like that, her invisible teacher had become fully visible, except… he was bathed in yellow light. The light of the fireflies.
She blinked a few times, her jaw slack, still mesmerised by the beauty.
With a roar, Aleka’s car engine came back to life and the car jerked forward. It caused Chloe to whip her head around with a start. She’s leaving Takis here? In the middle of nowhere?
But, she hadn’t gone too far. She couldn’t have. Aleka hit the brakes abruptly at a short distance from the firefly spectacle in the middle of the road, her eyes ghostly as she stared at it, her jaw agape.
Laranon raised his hands and the owls perched on his arms, then shot forward when he spoke to them, flying straight into the car.
Takis sprinted to the car and got inside in a rush, shooing the owls to get to his seat. Chloe shook her head to witness the humans talk to each other lovingly as they hugged. She’d seen them fight and make up at the turn of a hat many times before, and always on the nights when they’d drunk way more than usual.
Laranon spoke then, his voice booming, and it caused the humans to stare, their eyes wide with fear.
‘Look, Ye! I am the spirit of the fields! I command you to listen or else! You have exactly twenty-four hours to go to Trata—both of you!—and confess to Andreas that you’ve been sabotaging his business. Apologise to him and never step foot on his taverna again!’
Laranon brought one arm forward slowly, as not to disturb the fireflies, and pointed a luminescent finger at the humans to add, ‘If you disobey me, or if I see you as much as walk past Andreas’s kitchen door, I will send bats inside your house to make nests in your bedroom! They’ll be there every night when you sleep! Every night! Do you hear me?’
Laranon stopped speaking and laughed inside Chloe’s mind. Chloe was giggling too. Aleka and Takis seemed frozen in their seats. Chloe guessed had they been sober they’d have been more reactive. Perhaps, they might have swerved to circumvent them and keep on driving, but that was one good effect of the alcohol—it had rendered them stunned enough to sit and watch.
‘Well, did you hear me? Give me your answer, humans!’
‘Yes… Yes…’ mumbled the two.
‘And? Do you agree to do as I ask? Without your verbal acceptance, I cannot be satisfied!’
Laranon had upped the ante, his voice booming, and now he let out a resounding, blood-curdling yawp, jerking the humans into action inside the car. They began to speak aloud, nodding their heads profusely.
‘Yes! Yes, sir! We’ll do as you say! We promise!’ shouted Takis, his voice wavering.
‘Yes, we’ll do all that you ask, Spirit! We’ll apologise. Just please, don’t hurt us!’ echoed Aleka’s voice, frail, from the car.
‘Good! Now, listen! Tomorrow, when you awake, you may think you’ve dreamt about me… You may think that what I asked was not real but part of a bad dream, induced by an alcoholic stupor.’
‘No… no, we won’t. We promise we won’t!’ yelled Aleka from the car, shaking her hands before her face.
‘No need to promise me anything, humans! I am not taking any chances. That is why I gave you these two owls. When you wake up tomorrow, you will find them before you, then you will know this is not a dream! You will know that I am serious and that my warning is real!’
‘Yes, of course. Thank you,’ said Aleka in a trembling voice.
Takis seemed too stunned to speak. All he did was gaze at Laranon, his face ablaze with alarm.
Laranon raised his chin. ‘My owls will stay with you for the next forty days. Keep them as pets, and always take them with you as you travel to your home and your restaurant. Be kind to them, and let them assist you. I have seen your ways and you have a lot to learn. Keep my owls in your bedroom. Overnight, as you sleep, they will teach you so you will grow a distaste to your vices. But remember, you have to do as I ask, or no assistance will come to you!’
‘Yes, yes… We promise. We’ll talk to Andreas. We’ll tell him. We’ll apologise!’ said Aleka.
‘Good! Because if you don’t, there are plenty of rats in these fields, and your taverna is not that far away for their scurrying little feet to reach! Do you hear me?’
‘Yes! Yes! We do!’ they said in unison.
‘Good! Now, go !’
Aleka hit the gas and the car swerved abruptly onto the field on the right side of the road to pass by Laranon at a wide distance, causing both passengers to lean to the right forcefully and the owls to take flight inside the car, their wings flapping before their faces. It caused the humans to scream in panic.
Aleka shifted gears and the car engine roared as it thundered down the road, the humans still screaming as they drove.
Laranon raised his arms high and whispered a blessing. The fireflies flew, rising into the sky, causing his form to disappear again, bit by bit.
Now, the fireflies were dotting the night sky, like a swirling cloud of brilliant luminescence, heading back to the bushes and the trees from whence they’d come.
As darkness returned to the road, Laranon approached to speak inside Chloe’s mind. Was this to your liking, Child?
Yes, it was perfect. Thank you, Teacher.
Thank you for letting me assist you. I never pass on a chance to help humans, whenever I can. Even the naughty ones. But these two are not evil. Which is why they can still be helped.
Do you think the owls will help them, Teacher?
Oh, yes. Trust the owls to do a job well done. Humans don’t call them wise for nothing.
As they marvelled at the clear night sky, the stars coming alive in the darkness, Chloe tittered, then said, I only hope the owls don’t nip too hard.
Well, that’s up to Aleka and Takis. The owls, as instructed, will deter them, every time they see a cigarette or a glass of alcohol in their hands. Not to mention, every time Takis flirts with another female.
The angels laughed, and now, they were ambling down the road, back to Papikinou beach, even though they were pure energy and they didn’t need to do it. They could just will their minds to get them to town instantaneously, but there was no joy in that. Walking under the starry sky, the sounds of the night creatures rich in their ears, was way more enjoyable. The humans had it best, and the angels envied them for it.
Maybe, we should have given them something to wear around their necks. Like those collars that zap dogs each time they bark, to teach them not to?
Laranon thought about it for a moment, even though he knew it was a joke, then said, Nuh… The owls are way funnier. Did you see her face when they flew in the car? That was SICK!
Chloe giggled. In the breaks between him teaching her the ways and the special powers of the angels, she had been teaching him the earthly language of the young, just for fun. Each time he used the odd word or phrase it caused her to dissolve into hysterics. Once again, she gave a side-splitting laugh, then said, Serves her right for trying to put hamsters in Andreas’s restaurant.
Indeed, Child! And, you should have seen Takis running, cage in hand, when Esmera threatened to turn him into a rat! That was DOPE!
Chloe howled. She couldn’t see Laranon but could imagine rap-music-video-style hand gestures to go with that. It was even funnier because he didn’t know how hilarious he sounded. Teacher, I have to tell you. You’re very cool.
Why, thank you, Chloe. You’re cool too. The coolest little angel I know.
You have reached the end of The Song of Youth. Thank you for reading!