Consequences

“I have an idea,” Yui said, ambushing Hope and me as soon as classes were out for the day.

“Are you hurt? I hear your first time is supposed to be painful,” I said, knowing the idea was about demon hunting.

“What do you mean? How can ideas be painful?” Yui asks sincerely.

“Never mind, I was making a joke,” I say, knowing it’s more trouble than it’s worth trying to explain it to her. She readily accepts my answer and slides between Hope and me.

“So you remember what the octo-thing said last night?”

“Not at all; if you’ll recall, I fainted, and when I came to, you were both well into fighting the tentacle monster.”

“Okay, well, what about you, Hope?” She asked, turning to Hope, who’d been silent.

“Uhhh, I remember a few things, but it’s all kinda fuzzy,” she says, clearly forming an idea of what Yui wants to do.

“Oh my gosh, aren’t you two supposed to be smarter than me?” she laments, lowering her head to the desk’s level. “The thing he said about getting a new post from Simpo.”

“He said Shino,” Hope said, chiming in.

“Yeah, him,” Yui said, straightening her posture and smiling at Hope’s engagement. “I figure we can scout out where this Shino guy is and attack him.” Her face seemed to glow as she spoke, the bright emanation of her joy blocking out the dismay in ours.

“You can’t be serious,” I stated, sure I didn’t hear her correctly.

“Dead,” Yui says without hesitation.

“Did she have to word it like that?” I wonder.

“I figure there’s only so many forests on mountain tops, and if we split up, then-”

“That sounds like a horrible idea,” I declare, cutting her off. “All three of us fought that tentacle thing and barely made it; now you want to fight his boss?”

“Oh, come on, Yukki, it won’t be-.”

“Yes, it will be that bad, and I won’t take part in it,” I declare, picking up my school bag.

“Yukki, wait-” Yui says, but I don’t stop.

“Besides, I have to pick up some hot peppers on my way home, so I couldn’t come even if I wanted to; sorry,” I called back, leaving the classroom. As I exit the school grounds, I hear an all too familiar voice.

“That was a wise choice,” Khanethael says, almost spooking me at his sudden appearance. “It is unwise for you to seek out danger in your current state.”

“What do you mean by that?” I ask

“Exactly what I said,'' he states matter-of-factly. “Should you find yourself in danger alone, then you would perish almost instantaneously.”

“Hey, I did alright last night,” I declare, thinking back to the parts I remember.

“No, last night you were foolish.

“How was coming to help Yui foolish? She could’ve died if Hope and I hadn’t helped her.”

“No, rushing headlong into battle without a plan or strength is the most foolish act one can perform on the battlefield,” he says with a mix of disappointment and scorn. “And you not only rushed in yourself but dragged Hope in as well. We can only thank the Lord above that he prevented Hope from paying the price for your foolish actions.”

“Didn’t Jesus say something about not calling people fools in his teachings?” I ask, trying to quiet him just once.

“If you are referring to Chapter 5, verse 22 of the Gospel according to Matthew, then I would recommend a more thorough reading,” he says, turning more disgruntled. “Your attempt to rebuke me with scripture is misplaced. I would recommend against attempting it again in the future.” He disappears from my sight, and I stew a bit while I keep walking home. I’m still a little heated when I arrive home, making the sight as I walk through the door all the more chilling.

“I’m home-”

“Yukki!” Mother shouts. Her voice is sharp and pointed, like a chef’s carving knife. It’s so sudden, I jump and tighten my grip on my school bag. Without taking off my shoes, I lean, trying to peek around the corner and see what’s going on. “Well? Do you intend to stand at the door all day? Come in here at once!” She calls, almost making me fall.

“No idea what she’s mad about now, but no sense in giving her more ammo,” I reason, using extra care to take off my shoes and place them neatly at the door. I take a deep breath and approach the living room, desperately trying to think of anything that’d make her shout like that. Sure, she got angry with me before, but she viewed shouting as unbecoming of a woman who’s meant to be seen but not heard. I came up with nothing until I entered the room; what I saw on the dining table made me stop right next to the stench of the open trash can. The table was covered in a myriad of bright veils. Each was a work of art, featuring pinks, yellows, oranges, and sky blues, both plain and patterned with flowers and repeating designs. “Care to explain?” She asked, picking one up with only two fingers, as if it were a moldy cloth. I wanted to swallow, but my throat was completly dry, and I had no words.

“Should I tell her dad bought them?” I instantly thought. “No, there’s no way she’d believe me, and it’d just make it look like I was dodging responsibility, even if she did believe me, which she won’t,” I reasoned.

“Well?” She asked, dropping the veil; her glare only grew more intense with each second I delayed answering.

“Say something, anything,” I thought, taking a breath to begin.

“I just wanted-”

“Wanted to what? Disobey me?” Mother snaps, cutting me off. “Wanted to make a fool out of yourself? To bring shame upon our family?” Even though her niqāb covered her face, I could still see her jaw grinding through the thin fabric. Her arms were crossed, and she was squeezing her arms like she was strangling a chicken.

“It’s just a little color,” I muttered, my voice on the verge of cracking.

“Just a little color is the beginning of many things,” she said, standing to begin another of her awful lectures. “First, it’s a little color, then it’s designs. How long before you don't wear the hijab because you get a piercing? What comes next? No hijab? Why not wear a dress that shows your shoulders, thighs, or your cleavage once it grows in?” Her imagination ran wild with all the ideas she’d seen on TV and in magazines.

“Does she have no faith in me at all?” I wonder as she finishes her rant, her eyes fixed on mine. I see her waiting for a reaction, something to prove my guilt, something I refuse to give. I let my face go slack. I only follow her with my eyes; I'm not letting my lips move, not even a twitch, knowing she’d see right through it. She continues throwing accusations at me. Hoping for just one to phase me and give her justification for what she wants to do, but I’m determined not to give it to her. I’m doing a perfect job, too, until she lashes out with one final strike. “You got so much attention from that boy with just your eyes; imagine what he’d say if he saw you in a two-piece swimsuit, I bet you’d get all the attention from him and every other boy in that school.”

“A two-piece?” I think, “Swimsuit.” The image flashes in my mind. The idea of having next to nothing covering me, letting anyone, let alone everyone who takes even a passing glance, know what I look like. It makes my stomach churn. However, the word 'swimsuit' reminds me of another feeling. The salty ocean wind blows through my hair as I watch the sunset from Papa’s shoulders. A pleasant memory from years ago, when he told me my hair was more beautiful than even the setting sun. I couldn’t help but smile at that thought and instantly regretted it. I watch Mother’s eyes widen, but not in anger. For a split second, there’s joy spread in her eyes. It’s dashed so quickly that it never reaches her face, but the look in her eyes is unmistakable before flashing straight back to rage.

“So just the thought of that makes you smile, does it!?” Mother hollers, finally finding evidence for her guilty verdict. It doesn’t matter that I stopped before actually smiling; it doesn’t matter that my niqab covered me, and it doesn’t even matter why I began to smile. I know that in her mind, the matter is settled, and she can justify anything and everything to prevent the reality in her mind from becoming real. “You may have been born looking like a Gyaru,” she declares. “But I’ll be damned before I let my own daughter dress and act like one. She isn’t something to be laid for all the world to stare at.”

“They already do!” I yell, raising my voice for the first time. I know it won’t make anything better. I know it’ll only upset her more, but with how mad she already is, there’s no point in holding back now.

“If you’re already on death row, you might as well take the executioner with you, right?” I think as the words begin pouring out of me.

“You say I need to dress modestly so people won’t stare, but they already do. Everywhere I go, everyone already stares and whispers because of this.” I grab my veil. I want to tear it off, but I can’t get a grip without pulling my hair with it, so I settle on just holding onto it. “And I’m fine with wearing it because I know it’s about modesty, and being modest in my dress will help me walk closer to God, but if they’re going to stare, I’d rather them whisper about how pretty it is rather than how I look like a ninja or a shadow. I already feel like your shadow whenever we go anywhere. I just want people at school to know me for something other than how I dress. Is that really too much to ask for?” I keep my eyes deadlocked on hers. Hoping and praying for any change. The slightest hint of doubt in her mind, but it doesn’t come. But they’re only filled with more anger.

“Yukki, I can’t control the world; it will hate and despise you for your faith. I know that better than anyone. My own family, my father, and mother, my brothers and sisters, would kill me for following Christ. So I don't want to hear that kind of talk from someone who just has to listen to people call her a ninja behind her back. If that’s all it takes to break you, then I haven’t taught you how hard life can get,” she says, breaking eye contact for the first time since I walked in. Her eyes wander away from mine and toward something to my right. “So I guess I need to teach you now.” I glanced over, seeing it with my nose before my eyes. The trash can, full of grease from breakfast and discarded bits of chicken from preparing dinner, sat at the top, along with all kinds of other food scraps and waste from the day's cleaning.

“No! Don’t!” I thought, but it was too late. She’d already gathered all the veils together in her hand. She pushed me out of the way, locking eyes one last time.

“I’m doing this for you,” she says as if it’s a mercy. Then, without hesitation, she plunged her arm into the trash can, descending well past the top layer, ensuring that the veils found their way to the very bottom of the pile and twisted to keep them there. When she finally pulled her arm up, it was covered with grime and stank worse than the can itself. She waited a moment for the last bits of slime to drip off her arm before slamming the lid. It rang out with a thunderous *CLANK* as she stared down at me like a tyrant who’d just executed the last of the rebels.

“Now leave the peppers on the counter and go to your room. I need to clean up before finishing dinner,” she said with a huff. Her last words made my body go from burning hot to ice cold.

“I forgot!” My mind screamed. I’d been so distracted by arguing with Yui and then Khathael that I’d completly forgotten to get the peppers.

“Well?” My Mother asks, holding out her clean hand for the peppers. “Take them out of your school bag and hand them over.” Her demand was definitive, but I wasn’t able to abide.

“I forgot,” I whispered meekly, unsure if I wanted her to hear or not.

“What?” She demanded, her voice on the verge of shouting again. I didn’t want to listen to it anymore. I dropped my school bag, turned on my heels, and paced to the door.

“I forgot the peppers,” I called over my shoulder. “I’ll go get them now.” From behind, I could hear Mother saying something, another lecture about how I was no good and needed to do this or that better if I wanted to amount to anything, as if she’d never forgotten an errand.

“Since you’ve proven that you enjoy spending money on frivolous things, make sure to bring back a receipt and the change, and may the Lord have mercy on you if you aren’t back by the time I finish cleaning up because I certainly won’t.” That was the only part I heard as I put my shoes on and rushed out the door as fast as I could. Throwing myself out the gate, I had to balance running to keep me from crying in public and keeping my head down to avoid eye contact with anyone passing by.

“Why does she have to be so… So!… SO!... AAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!” I yelled, finally giving up on keeping my head down. I keep running, past the point of panting and exhaustion, past the point of my feet hurting from my hard school shoes, and past the point of knowing exactly where I am. I finally decided to stop at a small park. One I hadn’t visited myself, but knew of, given the name and the street it was on. There was a playscape with slides and tunnels to crawl through, a sandbox with a few benches nearby, a seesaw, and a few chain link swings. I took a seat on one of the swings, but didn’t swing despite them always being my favorite. There was no point since I wouldn’t feel the breeze in my hair. I just sat and stewed, trying to think of anything other than what would happen once I got home, and failed miserably.

“I could wait to go back until I’m sure Papa will be there,” I thought, knowing he’d keep her from going too far. “But I have no idea when that’ll be since Wednesday is his game night, and if I wait too long, then he’ll be on my case when I get back, too. So maybe-”

“You need to leave now,” Khatheal says. His voice is so sudden and booming that it shocks me from my thoughts, and I nearly fall from the swing, only barely catching myself with the chains. I look up and see his shine dimming from a blinding radiance to a hardly noticeable glow.

“What’s going on?” I asked, getting up from the swing and looking to the entrances on either side of the park.

“That is of no concern to you,” Khathael says indifferently.

“Is there something dangerous coming?” I ask, taking slow, cautious steps towards one of the entrances.

“I said that is of no concern to you,” he repeats, with a bit of venom on his tongue. “All that should concern you is that I’m instructing you to leave, so you should leave; now hurry.”

“No,” I say, stopping in my tracks and feeling his whole being glare at me.

“What?” he demands like an angry tyrant.

“NO!” I say again, louder and with more force, so I know he hears me. “I’m not going to get up and leave just because you tell me.” I’m standing now; even though I’m higher than on the swing, he’s still looking down on me, but I don't care. I’m not going to let him order me around like Mother. “You think you can just show up and order me around? So what if you’re my guardian angel? What will you do if I say no? You can’t do anything because you can’t kill me or hurt me in any lasting way. You can’t tell my parents because they can’t see you. So what are you going to do? Tell God on me? He already knows, and if he isn’t doing anything to stop me, then I can’t be that bad. In fact-”

Just as I’m about to start yelling, the sound of a barking dog draws my attention. I turn and see a little girl entering the park with a shiba inu on a leash. Or, more like the Shiba was dragging the girl along as it pulled against its leash with as much force as its little legs could muster and sniffing the ground.

“What is it, Hana?” The girl asked, gripping the leash with both hands. She had long brown hair that covered her thick glasses and the shoulders of her one-piece dress.

“Get moving NOW!” Kathael orders again, making my body tense up and lean forward. I step to keep from falling, walking into the park over a small indent at my feet. “It does not matter which exit you take; just go to one and do not look back!” He orders, but I refuse to walk.

“Why’s he so insistent on me leaving the park?” I wonder as the air begins feeling heavy. Suddenly, it feels like I’m wading through chest-high water. I feel my skirt tug at my legs as if being blown back by a harsh wind, even though the air is still dead. I keep my eyes down and feel Khanethael staring daggers into my back. As the pressure increases, I feel my feet dragging on the dirt, like something’s sliding me closer to the exit, slowly passing the benches where a man in a gray suit threw bread crumbs to a group of crows. None of them seems to notice me despite the grinding sound of the dirt from my shoes. The air was becoming so dense that I considered just taking the last few steps to the exit, but the barking dog again drew my attention. I looked and saw the Shiba Inu standing alert, its teeth bared and ears pulled back, barking at a man seated on the bench.

“What’s going on there?” I ask under my breath

“Nothing that concerns you,” Khanethael snapped sternly,

“But what’s going-”

“Nothing that concerns you. It will only cause unneeded trouble; now go,” he said even more forcefully. His words almost pushed me along, but I dug my heels in and watched.

“Hey, come on, Hana, stop barking at him,” The little girl says, tugging on the leash. “I’m sorry about this, sir.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” the well-dressed man says, looking up from his bag of bird seeds. “She probably just smells the dog treats I carry with me. Would you like one?” He stows the birdseed in his suit, produces a small bone-shaped biscuit from his pocket, and holds it out to her. The dog continues barking, but the man isn’t shaken at all. He seems to have an air of calm around him that swallows those around him. Even the crows happily peck away at the ground despite the dog barking mere centimeters away from them. The girl seems drawn in by it, too. She steps in front of her dog and grasps the treat in her hand. The instant she does, the crows begin to stir, flying up and onto the girl and her dog. The dog continues barking even more furiously, but the girl remains completely calm.

“What’s going on?” I demand, looking up to Khanethael.

“Nothing but trouble. Now move!” By this time, I can feel it’s actually him pushing me. I pull myself free, nearly losing my veil and my balance in the process. I catch myself at the last second, but as I’m hunched over, I stop hearing the dog barking. I look up and see the poor pooch lying down on the ground, completely covered in squawking crows. The girl, too, begins to disappear beneath a shroud of black feathers.

“Yukki, do not get involved-'' Khanethael commands, but I don’t listen. I rush up to the girl, fumbling for my cross. It’s still tangled in my scarf, so I yank it off, pulling my hair, but it doesn't matter. I get the cross out just as I step between the little girl and the man. As I get closer, I get a better look at him. He wears a well-tailored gray suit with a matching fedora that hides his eyes. It’s so nondescript that he could easily blend into any crowd like a book in a library.

“Could that be why I didn’t notice him at first?” I wondered as I tried looking at his pale, almost translucent face. But it’s so translucent that I can’t even see it when looking directly at it. I can’t seem to focus my eyes on him, so I can only catch glimpses from the corner of my eyes, like some kind of optical illusion. He doesn't look at me either, his face fixated on the still girl before me. As soon as I’m close enough, I reach out and slap the dog treat from both their hands. It falls to the ground and crumples apart like sand. The girl falls back into my arms, and the man jolts up as if he’s just as surprised.

“What the Who?” he stammers, the vague outlines of his mouth remaining completely still. “Oh,” he sneers, turning up to look directly at me. Even though I can’t see his eyes, I feel his icy stare linger on me. It’s so cold and piercing, but nothing compared to the cold of the cross from the other night or Khanethael’s gaze, so I ignore it for a moment to look down at the girl in my arms. Her hair blows in the wind from the swarm of crows, and her eyes are in a daze as she breathes heavily.

“Wha? Where- Who?” She groans as she regains her senses.

“It’s going to be okay,” I say, locking eyes with her. My face is covered, but despite that, I still smile from beneath my scarf. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Are you the Blade Hidden in the Shadow I’ve heard about?” the man continues, chuckling slightly. “I’ve heard many rumors about you. They say you’re quite different from your companions. You strike us down with a brutality matched only by your efficiency. Why has it even been said that you survived an encounter with one of the Peripheral Sins? Have you come to slay me as well?”

“Don’t engage with him,” Khanethael warns from behind. “Just-”

“I don’t know what you're talking about,” I declare, setting the girl behind me and standing up to the man. I tower over him as he continues sitting on the bench, shoulders leaning forward. His intense gaze seemed to diminish somewhat as I spoke. As if an intrigued grin vanished from his invisible face.

“Oh? So you aren’t. Well, that’s disappointing,” he says, unlocking his fingers and leaning back. “Then you are far less interesting than I would’ve thought. I must commend you on your attempted deception, though,” he calls behind me. “Expanding your pathetic presence to make it seem as though you’re failing to suppress an extraordinary one is an interesting plot; too bad it won’t work. For a moment there, I believed I was in the presence of an archangel, but I guess not.”

“Who are you, and what do you want with her?” I demand, inching my finger to the cross around my neck.

“Oh, you come not knowing the enemy you face?” The man says, rising to his feet. “You are either very new to this or very foolish. Though I suppose you could be both at once.” He lets out a deep, unnerving chuckle as he rises to his feet. Once he’s standing, I can see he’s actually much taller than I am. As tall as Papa, if not taller. He’s so tall I have to tilt my head all the way back to get a good look, and even then, I can’t see his head. I firmly grasp my cross as his suit changes, shifting from a dull gray to a skeletal white that almost seems to shine against the nearly completely black backdrop of swirling crows around us. His fingers extend and sharpen, ending in fierce claws that resemble swords more than kitchen knives. “In either case, I’ll be sure you don’t repeat the mistake.” His voice carries down to me in an astonishing way. Though his head is easily meters above me, it sounds as if his mouth is just above my head.

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” I call, holding the cross high above my head. “You’ve preyed upon the innocent and weak for your transgressions; I shall punish you. This I shall do, in the name of the Lord.” As I speak, my cross begins to glow bright blue and shake violently. It becomes so cold it burns, and I can barely hold it. As I finish my declaration, it leaps from my hand and falls to the ground. Spinning across it like a wheel, drawing three interlocking circles of pale blue fire with the girl, her dog, and me at the center. The crows that had been swarming the girl and her dog disappeared and began flying in circles around the outlines of the flame.

“What?” I think, barely keeping the words from exploding from my lips. “It’s fire this time? Not ice? How’d that happen? And why so little?” I’m not the only one wondering this as guttural laughter erupts from above my head.

“Ahahahahahahahahahaha!” it bellows, clambering his long swordlike fingers together like wind chimes. “Oh, and to think I perceived you as a threat because I couldn’t see you. Apparently, it was merely because your presence was too small to notice. No wonder you’ve been saddled with such a pathetic angel.” He points down at me and then behind me at Khanethael. I half expected to hear a furious war cry from Khanethael after the demon insulted him, but I heard nothing of the sort.

“Could it be the demon’s actually telling the truth? Could Khanethael have lied about his position? Or maybe something else?” These thoughts distracted and distressed me so much that I didn’t even notice the clawed hand reaching for me till it was over the flaming circles. As soon as he was about to touch me, the flames burst up in a colossal pyre around his hand. The heat was so intense I felt my eyelashes being singed and tasted the hints of burnt cloth from my Niqab.

“AAAAHHHH!” The demon screams, pulling back his smoking hand. I feel his glare intensify on me as he speaks. “YOU SLY VIXEN!” He shouts loud enough to make the tree branches shake. “I SHALL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THAT!” As he reaches out again, the flames swell upwards, and he stops his hand. In the light of the blue flames, I see his face more clearly. It’s centered on his torso with eyes and a mouth where a person’s nipples and belly button would be. His eyes flash with fear as he looks through the flames; seeming to weigh his options, he slinks back. “You haven’t seen the last of me! I shall douse your flames and come for you, and none short of the almighty himself shall be able to save you!” He leaps over the walls of the park, crashing through the trees but shaking them no more than a slight breeze. Once he’s gone from sight, the flames die down, and the cross returns to my hand. It’s neither cold nor hot when I take it in my hand; it is simply metal as the chain links find their way back around my neck, and the cross falls to my chest. I look back at the little girl who’s still cowering behind me, holding her dog, who continues to growl.

“It’s okay now; you’re safe,” I say, kneeling to her. She opens her eyes and looks around for the man. “Don’t worry, he’s gone now,” I say, taking out my handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

“Wh-where. Where did-” she tries to ask, but her voice is cracking too much.

“I need to cheer this girl up before she starts balling. I don't want to deal with Mother scolding me for taking too long.”

“Hey, now don’t cry,” I say lovingly. “Are you hurt anywhere?” The girl looks down and gasps when she sees a small gash on her wrist, no doubt from the demon's claws when I slapped the dog treat out of her hand. A slow trickle of blood flows down her arm, and she falls back. More tears well up in her eyes, and I hear the beginnings of a wail escape the corners of her mouth.

“Oh no, no, no, no, no,” I think, scrambling for my kit.

“Hey, no need to cry; I have bandages,” I say in a desperate plea to stop her from a full-on cry. I take them out and begin to patch up her wrist, making polite conversation to distract her while the dog sniffs me.

“My name is Yukki, what's yours?”

“Chō,” she says, her voice still cracking.

“That’s a pretty name; what about your dog here?”

“Her name’s Hana.”

“Oh well, what's a better match than flowers and butterflies? Did your family name her that on purpose?”

“Yeah, I named her.”

“Ahh, that’s so cool; she must be a good dog for trying to protect you like that.”

“Yeah, she is,” Chō says, stroking Hana’s head. The little dog doesn't react to Chō’s strokes, remaining highly alert.

“I’ve gotta finish this quickly,” I think.

“Do you live nearby?” I ask, hoping she can make it home on her own.

“Just down the street,” she says, pointing.

“Well, then, why don’t you and Hana head home? Your parents are probably waiting for you.”

“But…” he says, clenching the lead in her hands. “But what if he comes back?”

“Ahh, shoot,” I think, my worst fears being realized. “What do I say? What can I do? I can’t take the time to watch over her. Maybe if I gave her a charm or something, it would calm her down. But I don’t have-'' I stop myself as I put my handkerchief away; in my pocket is the cross. I take it out and look at Chō.

“Hey Chō, look at this.” She looks up, and I hold the cross in front of her face. The silver circles and golden cross glimmer in front of her, and her eyes widen a bit.

“What do you think you’re doing?''Khanethael inquired, much like a parent trying to stop a child's actions without directly telling them.

“You said it yourself; this cross is what warded off the ghost the other night and the demon just now,” I whisper under my breath so Chō can’t hear. “It’s clear to me that she needs it more than me, or are you going to stop me?”

“I cannot stop you, but-”

“Then butt out,” I say, feeling a wave of satisfaction at finally being able to cut him off instead of the reverse. His form doesn't change, but I can feel him staring daggers at the back of my head.

“What’s the matter? Don’t like it when others interrupt you? Maybe you’ll be a little more considerate next time you wanna talk. Better yet, there’s no real reason I have to listen to him. It’s not like he can stop me, or at least he never has before in all those years of being there. Why was I getting so shaken up about him now?”

“This is a charm that will keep you safe from that monster,” I say, focusing back on Chō. “Just keep it on you, and it’ll protect you,” I explained, hanging the cross around her neck. The chain is very long on her, so I tighten it as much as I can, but it still hangs down to her belly. Chō doesn't seem to mind much and actually looks excited. Once I finish placing it on her, she will grasp it and look at it against the sun.

“Wha-what kind of charm is this?” she asks, eyes enamored with it.

“It’s not so much a charm as it is a cross. My church gave it to me, but it seems like you need it a bit more than I do. Now go and head on home,” I say, rising from my squat. Chō follows me to the park exit, and I watch for a minute as she heads down the street, Hana in tow. As I turned to get back to my errand, I heard her call me from behind. I look and see her running up to me, but it isn’t a scary run. She stops right in front of me and gestures for me to lean down. Once I do, she cups her hands and whispers in my ear.

“Are you an angel?” she asks, with the innocence of a child. I stand up and smile at her.

“ Well… You’ve said so,” I say, patting myself on the back for thinking of a good line for it. I walk down the street without looking back, only to hear Chō call.

“Thank you, Cloth Angel-sama,” she yelled as loud as she could.

“Really? Cloth Angel? Is that the name you gave me? I already told you my name; no need for a nickname, especially a lame one like that.” I hang my head down a bit as I continue to walk. It seems Khanethael was waiting for me to get some distance from others because once I turned the corner, he hovered in front of me, giving off an aggressive aura. “Is that supposed to scare me?” I think as I walk right through him. To my surprise, my collar snaps back and chokes me a bit as I do so. I grip it and turn back.

“You think you can just ignore me like that?” He demands, in what I’m beginning to think is his default hostile tone. “I told you not to get involved. What do you do? Run straight in, perform a stunt like that in broad daylight, don't swear the girl to secrecy, and give away your cross? You could hardly be more reckless if you tried. In fact, I have half a mind that you tried to do everything you could to make my job harder.”

“Are you getting mad at me for helping that little girl?” I demand, tired of his holier-than-thou attitude. “Was I just supposed to let that monster attack the little girl and do nothing?”

“Yes, you were supposed to do nothing because I was already taking care of it!”

“By doing what? Aren’t you supposed to be watching over me? How would you take care of it if I were halfway down the street? Or are you omnipresent, too?” I feel a wave of heat from his words, and the wind blows through the trees.

“I TOLD YOU, NEVER COMPARE ME TO THE LORD; DO NOT PLACE ME AT HIS LEVEL, AND YOU DO IT AGAIN!” The trees shake violently, and the wind blows so intensely that I have to shut my eyes. After a minute of this, the wind dies down, and I look in front of me. There, Khanethael hovers as before, his form vibrating at a disorienting speed. “I am not your parent; I am your guardian angel. I am charged with guiding you and protecting you from the plots of the enemy. NOT saving you from the consequences of your own actions or forcing you to make the correct decision, and I shan’t mourn at your passing. I pray you are as well prepared as your actions suggest.” With that, he disappeared from my sight, leaving no sign or sound behind.

“Like I ever asked for your guidance,” I say under my breath. As I keep walking, my anger and resentment only continue to brew.

“What guidance? He never gave me guidance; he only gave me orders. It’s like he’s a drill sergeant or something. Just like Mother, never asking or suggesting I do something, always demanding I do it, like a slave. I’m nobody’s slave; I wish you’d realize it.”

I continued to stew as I walked. I passed by the diner and looked at the poster in the window. “This Week Only Try Our Special Chocolate Strawberry Parfait Only ¥1850 for Students,” it read with a picture. The raised tulip bowl was filled to the brim with vanilla yogurt, granola, and other fruits, and then the top overflowed with strawberries, covered in a thick layer of whipped cream and chocolate syrup. You couldn’t make a more appetizing-looking dish if you tried. My stomach growled as I looked at it; Mother had said to hurry back, but if dinner was going to be late anyway, then I might as well get something to tide me over till then. I took out my coin purse and counted the allowance I had left. No matter how I counted them, all my coins only amounted to ¥1515. I sigh, disappointed knowing I won’t get more till next week. “That’s why I wanted to split it with Yui and Hope. If only Hope hadn’t been so pushy, I’d be enjoying it already.” I kick my legs forward as I head into the market. I pick out the hot peppers and chili powder, wondering what kind of meal she intends to make with them and hoping it isn’t too spicy. As I wait to make the purchase, an older lady in front of me fiddles with her purse.

“Oh, I know I have exact change; just hang on a minute, deary,” she says, stuffing her arm into her purse almost to her elbow. “Come on, old lady, hurry it up,” I thought while watching the obnoxious display. She already had a larger bill on the counter, so there was no reason to struggle for exact change. Once she latches onto something, she pulls her arm out along with half the contents of her purse. An avalanche of tissues, hard candies, and other items she’d collected since the time of Moses came tumbling out, spilling onto the counter. “Oh dear me, I really need to organize my purse,” she says, picking up the items and stuffing them away.

“I have a trash can behind the counter if you’d like to dispose of some of the tissues,” the clerk says with a pleasant smile on his face.

“Oh, this isn’t trash, sweetie; this is my collection,” the old lady boasts. The clerk's smile melts from his face as he watches the old lady meticulously place the items back in her purse. After a minute, she seems to grow bored with it and decides to sweep the remaining items off the counter and put them into her bag. This almost works except for a glasses case, which falls to the floor and tumbles in front of me. I quickly bent over to pick it up, fearing it would take her the entire spring to perform the same motion.

“Here you go, ma'am,” I say, handing her the glasses case.

“Oh, thank you, dear,” she says, taking the case. “Such nice manners for a colored girl. Do your people like hard candy?” She asked, clearly missing my perfectly spoken Japanese. “Do they even have hard candy where you're from? Ahh, well, either way, here, have one,” she says, pulling out a small wrapper and handing it to me. I’m used to these kinds of comments, so just say thank you with a smile. She tries to pick up a few more tissues that fell from the counter, but the clerk insists that he’ll take care of it, clearly wanting to get her away from his stand as more people begin forming a line behind me. She apologized for the mess and thanked me again before taking her giant bag of produce in both her frail arms and slowly waddling away. The clerk and I share a sigh of relief once she’s gone, and he begins ringing up my items. It’s less than a minute before I’m walking away from the stall, peppers in hand. I’m just about to begin my forced march home, and a commotion takes me by surprise. I turn and see the same old woman shooing away a crow. It’d landed on her head and began pecking away at some blueberries at the top of her bag.

“Sho, get on ya, thieving bird!” The woman called, trying to scare the bird off to no little effect. She shifted to hold her brown paper bag in one arm as she swung her unzipped purses in an arc over her head, trying to knock the crow away, only to have an avalanche spill on top of her. Tissues, hard candies, and everything else she’d just stuffed away in her purse came tumbling out yet again, and this time, they were blown by the wind. The only positive side was that it seemed to scare the crow away. I didn’t see where it escaped to; I was too focused on the shimmering light that flashed in my eye. I watched as it rolled towards me, landing right at my shoe. I bent down to pick it up and could hardly believe what it was.

A ¥500 coin sits firmly in the palm of my hand. “The old lady must’ve dropped it,” I think, looking back to see a small crowd surrounding the woman, helping her to pick up her slipped purse. “I’m sure if I ran, I could return it,” I think, looking up to think of a way through the crowd and seeing no easy path. “But if I did that, the peppers might get bruised,” I reasoned, my hand drifting towards my pocket. ”Wouldn’t want to give Mother another thing to be angry about,” I think, pocketing the coin. “She won’t miss such a small coin,” I think, heading back home. “Besides, there’s no way to prove it came from her. It could’ve just as easily been dropped by someone else or even dropped by the crow. And besides, there was no reason to go out of my way for her since she’d insulted me and treated me like a foreigner.”The sun begins to set as I make my way back down the street. As I walk, the sunlight glistens off the diner windows, and I notice the sign again. My eyes fixate on the “¥1850 for Students'' section. I’d had ¥1515 earlier, but now, with the extra coin, I had ¥2015. “I could get it,” I think, my mouth watering. “But what about time?” I wonder. “Mother had told me to hurry, but she was already as mad as she was going to get. Besides, if I waited till Papa returned and told him I’d been held up by an old woman who’d called me a colored girl, there’s no way he’d allow her to do anything about it.” Though it may not be entirely honest, none of that was a lie, and like that, I headed into the diner.

I got seated strangely fast and ordered without even glancing at the menu, waiting in bated breath for the parfait to arrive. On my right, the sun continued to set outside the window, and I worried how long it would take. “Maybe I should come back tomorrow,” I ponder. “Would be less risky; Papa wasn’t fond of me staying out past dark, and the promotion should be going throughout the week anyway.” I thought, my anxiety mounting. Just as I’m about to leave and come back tomorrow, the parfait arrives, and my jaw drops. Somehow, it looked even better than the picture outside. “Must be the extra strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce,” I thought as I dug in. Each bite is like heaven as the crisp strawberries contrast the fluffy whipped cream and slightly warm chocolate sauce. I eat as quickly as I can while savoring every sweet, fluffy bite. I’m in absolute bliss until the dreaded *Clink* of the spoon on the glass tells me I’ve reached the bottom. For a while, I scrape the sides, all but licking the bowl to get every last drop of bliss out of it, and then I hurry to the checkout. I skip out the door, jumping down the stairs and half jogging down the street as if I’m racing against the sun, shadows slowly engulfing the roads, and street lights flicking on.

I couldn’t think of the last time I was so ecstatic. “This is the best thing to happen to me all week,” I think as I begin losing ground to the shifting shadows. By the time I’m on my street, the sun has completely disappeared. The only light is artificially made just above my head. Thoughts of being scolded for being out past dark rush through my mind. “How much flak am I going to get? Will she be too focused on dinner to do it right away? Maybe it’ll be less severe if Papa’s there. He wouldn’t take too kindly to what the old woman said, so maybe I could get pity from him and get off easily.” Those are the thoughts that run through my head as I’m utterly unaware of what’s next to come.