Too fat for Heaven?!

Chapter 2 - The meeting

When he regained consciousness he felt 350 pounds heavier. He slowly opened his eyes and tried to get up, finding it considerably more difficult than usual. He finally managed to sit on the floor, panting from the effort. Why did he feel so heavy so suddenly?

He looked at his belly; nothing seemed wrong with it, it was at its usual size and everything, but when he took a handful of it he finally noticed: it had weight, it was heavy! Ezekiel shivered in terror... how could a corporeal body weight that much?!

He tried to stand up, but it wasn't as easy as before. He couldn't move as quickly anymore; even a simple movement like raising his arm now felt like lifting a dumbbell weighting several pounds, it was hell. When he finally managed to get on his feet his legs began to tremble under his weight, so much so that he almost fell down again. He grabbed on a rail to keep his balance and began to breathe heavily. Was he going to have to live like that as long as he was trapped on Earth?

He subconsciously tried to fix his robes, but they had been replaced by an outfit more fitting for that time period: a navy blue T-shirt and a pair of dark grey sweatpants, both made of a very comfortable material. While he was checking himself out he noticed more things about his new self: his halo had lost its usual shine, his already small wings had been shrunk to a laughable size and were just floating on top of his scapulas and last but not least, there was something written on his right hand: "take the stairs and knock on apartment 18".

How did that message get there? Ezekiel shrugged, it was probably Michael's doing, like the clothes. But what was that apartment 18? His new house maybe? Surely Michael wasn't going to have him live in the streets, so it must have been that. He read the message once more... 'The stairs'? He had to take the stairs? Ezekiel widened his eyes and looked up; there were several flights of stairs separating him from his new home, at least eight to get to the 4th floor, where apartment 18 was located. He looked at himself, at his big gut, he couldn't even see his feet, he could barely stand, how was he supposed to go up all those stairs!?

He began to slightly regret his bingeing behaviors, that task would have been so much easier with a normal weight. He looked around, trying to find an alternative. He saw an elevator, but its doors were covered in yellow tape, it was clearly out of order. He looked at the stairs again... there was no way his pathetic wings could bring him up, he couldn't even flap them anymore. He deeply sighed, there was no other way, he had to walk.

He began to climb up the staircase, firmly gripping the rail as if his life depended on it. He noticed that the more he moved, the more he got used to his new body, its weight and its slow movements, but that task revealed itself to be brutal anyway. He counted them: ten flights of stairs, 100 steps, he barely managed to make it. Halfway through he had begun to feel dizzy and by the end of it, his head was spinning and he felt the need to sit down for a little.

He heavily sat down on the last step and leaned on the rail that had supported him for that journey. He felt his T-shirt adhere to his skin because of the sweat as he breathed heavily and fanned his face, "Goodness me... this is so terrible...".

At one point he heard someone else coming up the stairs, then he saw a tall, curvy girl going up the steps steadily. She was carrying four bags full of groceries with no difficulty whatsoever; her stance was proud and graceful, her expression was neutral, solemn. How could someone look so beautiful while doing such a mundane task?

Ezekiel quickly snapped out of it and made his wings and halo disappear before she could notice, then he got up as fast as possible to get out of her way. The girl briefly glanced at him and smiled "Thank you!", she said, with a voice that would have made any man melt, so sweet and warm like syrup. A shiver ran up his spine, how could someone have such a beautiful voice?