An angel falls for a human...in more ways than one.
***
The year is 970 B.C., and the Angel Cathetel has never felt lust, love, or heartbreak.
Then, Cathetel meets Asher.
Asher is a human, and unlike any other mortal under Cathetel's watchful eye...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I arrived an hour later.
Asher was taking a break from his work and lay bare-chested on a straw mat beside his home, napping in the warm sunlight.
I silently crept towards him from the river, unable to stop my eyes from roving over his exposed body.
He truly was a vision: Sun-kissed skin glistening with sweat; wild, dark hair hanging in untamed curls; cheeks as red as the Negev Desert; and long eyelashes fluttering as he sighed in his sleep.
My vessel's knees went weak. The myth of Narcissuses could've been written for Asher. He was perfect.
Well, almost perfect. Except for the fact that his ribs showed through his thin stomach, betraying malnourishment. I eyed his dead crops. No wonder he's starving.
That was not enough to curb my desire, however, and so I approached him.
Asher's eyes flickered open as I closed the distance between us. He groggily sat up on the mat, and I could tell he was studying me, trying to figure out if he recognized the woman I inhabited.
"Uh, hello," Asher said.
An involuntary smile split across my face. I'd only heard him moaning the night before. To hear actual words spill over his lips was sweet music.
"Hello!" I replied eagerly in the woman's creaking warble.
"Sorry to be rude, Ma'am." Asher stood and gave my vessel a slight bow of respect. "But, do I know you?"
I did not reply. I simply continued towards him and—because he was too stunned to stop me—kissed him.
(Do you remember your first kiss? Do you remember how it felt? Your heart racing? Blood warm? Skin tingling? Lips buzzing? It was like that for me. I've received many kisses since then—including yours—but I will never, ever forget this very first kiss with Asher.)
Time froze as my lips moved against his. It was bliss.
And then, predictably, that moment shattered.
"What the—!" Asher tore himself out of my grasp and stumbled backwards, eyes wide with shock. "What are you doing?"
I frowned. "I thought you liked kissing."
"Get out of here, lady." Asher pointed to the dirt traveling path a half-a-mile away from his home. "Go!"
"But you like to be kissed," I insisted. "I've seen it."
"Look, I don't know who you are, but you need to leave. Now."
I stood there and gawked at him. This was not how I imagined my seduction going.
I searched my expansive, millennia-long memories for a hint as to how to achieve my goal. At last, I landed on the only possibility that made sense.
