Years later, I would find out that they never left her side.
Hundreds of years, they stood through snow, sleet, rain, sun. They forever were paired with her.
And forever would be.
And when it was time for the end, they would experience it with her, and later on, I would learn.
It was their divine pleasure.
To Watch—Her.
FOURTEEN
Cassius
Thousands of years later…
Fall 2022
I watch her.
I watch my little girl.
The miracle that was born between me and my wife, Stephanie with the powers of an archangel—a miracle of a being, compliments of my father.
My little girl is beautiful.
She is also special. She doesn’t have to chase the darkness—no, the darkness runs away from her light. It runs away from her smile. And I know she will do something incredible one day.
I know she is a gift from the creators, and I know my father looks down from his deserved spot and smiles when she giggles and knows that even if he looked away from his purpose.
A new one was created.
There will never be a mistake that we cannot come back from, and there will never be a sin that cannot be forgiven, and what is done in love? Well, is that really a sin?
I have my doubts.
As does the rest of the immortal council.
It is not a sin to love.
It is a sin NOT to.
I sing her to sleep. My plan is to watch her while my wife Stephanie moves around the room, getting ready for bed.
And I can’t help but wonder maybe this was what the creators had in mind all along.
All I know is she is mine, and I love her dearly. No curse remains in this house, only love, acceptance, and joy… the journey was hard, but the reward? I would do it for eons for this. So yes, I watch her, my daughter, as she looks up at me with bright blue eyes and says, “Tell me again, Daddy. Tell me that part again!
I start to speak as she falls asleep, and then she opens her eyes wide, clutching my hand.
“Daddy, it’s okay. It’s okay to miss him.” She’s three and speaks like she’s thirty.
I frown down at her. “What, sweetheart?”
She smiles up at me. “He says you were his joy. I play with him sometimes, oh almosts forgot!” She scrambles out of bed while Stephanie gives me a warning look.
It’s a bad habit, wanting to sit by her at night, talk with her, sing to her until I’m ready to fall asleep too.
“Look!” She runs back from her desk with a piece of paper. It’s a picture of my father, feathers and all, and next to him, one of the creators, his form I’ve seen often, he has long dark hair and ebony skin, he’s smiling and playing with her. “He’s really fun,” She points at him. “He always tells me it is well. That it will always be well no matter what, cool huh?”
“Very cool.” I truly don’t know what to say, I’ve struggled to balance this whole king of the immortals thing with fatherhood, and now I’m even more out of my element, thankful that I have a wife who can sweep in at any time.
Who’s also choosing not to and just watching us with a smile on her face.
“T-they say I’m special, Dad! One time they said I was a gift. So it’s okay now, right? Everything’s going to be okay.”
“Do you…” I start. “Do you see them during the day?”
“Oh no.” She shakes her head.
I exhale.
“I see angels though. During the day, they watch me, and they say they watch me like they used to watch her, and in my dreams, I see Grandpa, and I see the other man who says I have a purpose. That’s good, right?”
Tears fill my eyes. “So good.”
She hugs me tight then jumps back into bed. “Okay, now I’m ready for another story.”
Stephanie makes a noise in the back of her throat, standing at the door like I need to be the bigger person and let our girl sleep.
Instead, I start the story. “Once upon a time, there was a beautiful girl named Stephanie.”
Adiel giggles. “He’s talking about you again, Mommy!”
My wife simply moves to my side and says, “Perfection in the imperfect. Was it the plan all along?”
My daughter takes that moment to accidently sneeze out the cookie she somehow snuggled into her bed and laugh.
“Maybe that’s why they stood on that mountain so long? All alone, he was told to be a Watcher. Maybe his job… was to both find and watch her, my mother.”
We smile as Adiel eats another stolen cookie. She’s going to have to brush her teeth again. And I’ll probably have to tell her more stories.
I don’t care though.
Because they’re both right, as was my mother and father. The darkness will always call to the light, but the light will always defeat the darkness. The balance will still remain in order for balance to remain on this plane.