사랑하니까 (On the Wings of Love)

III

Jessica sat up in bed slowly as blinding streaks of sunlight poured in through the windows of her room. She yawned and stretched herself out a little, not used to the fact that there were no melodious trumpets playing. She pulled the covers off to reveal a paper-blanketed bunk. She must have knocked herself out with all that reading the night before. The angel hastened to collect the documents before placing them back into the dossier where they belonged. A post it was attached securely to the cover of the file. She had written down a list of things she needed to do on a daily basis.

“Take a shower…” She mumbled to herself as a wide smile spread across her face. She had always wondered what it was like to be bathed with water and soap. There was never a need for that back where she came from. Once or twice she had attempted to circle somewhere beneath the clouds when there were downpours but the Chief was always ahead of her to hold her back. Now she would be able to experience something similar for a hundred days in a row, and for as long as she liked without disturbances of any sort. Sweet.

After spending an hour frolicking in the bathtub, the curious angel amused herself further with the blow drier before devoting another half hour to brush her hair. A box of cotton swabs happened to be resting just beside the sink, and it took Jessica fifteen minutes and half the carton before figuring out its purpose. She very much wanted to do some more exploration but a rumbling in her tummy reminded her that she needed food. She picked out some denim leggings, a white linen crystal boxy tee, and completed the look with a charcoal baseball cap. She marveled at the reflection in the mirror with a satisfied smile, very pleased that she was actually capable of pulling off such a human-y look.

Another growl from her empty stomach spurred her to grab a matching grey duffle bag before she eventually left the room.

*          *

Just a few minutes’ walk away from the motel stood a fairly attractive café, and the hungry angel entered without further deliberation.

In the glass display cabinet laid an exquisite array of various cakes and baked goods that made Jessica’s mouth water. Treats and goodies were available in Heaven but limited in variety. She had never seen anything quite like this.

Before she knew it, she had selected an entire tray of tasty-looking pastries and was at the counter all ready to make payment. That very moment, she became aware that she did not have her purse with her. The man behind the cash register didn’t look too happy as he prepared to withdraw the platter from the angel’s hands.

She held on tightly, however, insisting that it would only take her a little while to journey back to the motel for the money. The preposterous fellow was as insistent as she was, and simply refused to let go. She was about to concede defeat when all of a sudden, a steady hand slammed a stack of fresh notes onto the countertop, and a voice announced that the change be kept. As the greedy man released his steel grasp to reach for the money, the figure beside Jessica snatched the discharged tray with one hand and grabbed the angel’s hand with the other before leading her to one of the many tables outside.

Jessica finally got a good look at the guy’s face once they were out of the joint and her eyes lit up as she threw a pair of arms around his neck to embrace him.

“Sehunnie!” She exclaimed in a high-pitched manner as she hugged the boy closely. He was one of her best angel friends, which was highly ironic because he was also a model angel. The lad returned the caress with equal fervor but his face mostly registered this blank look.