Manaphel came inside to get cleaned up. Meanwhile I looked down at Anthony's soulless body. It didn't have apple red cheeks anymore. In fact his cheeks were as pale as the sheets he was wrapped in. Still, it was my Anthony, and I loved him. Looking at his dead body made me remember that it was not the vessel, but the soul that I was so infatuated with at first.

Of course I'd love him in his next life. His soul was the same beautiful soul that I had chosen. Of course I'd love him.

Evanora asked, "Do you think you'll be ready to bury him tonight?"

I put the cloth back over his face. "How far did Manaphel get with the digging?"

"Not very far, unfortunately."

"Should we cremate him?"

Evanora raised her eyebrows and said, "Think about that for a moment. Are you really talking about burning his body?"

"Oh, well then, maybe we should just leave his body to the earth. A traditional burial seems too holy for any of us, and it's not like he's going to be gone. Leaving his body to the earth sounds romantic in a way. Maybe we could put it in a cave. Like a tomb of some sort."

"That doesn't sound too bad. Do you know where there's a cave?"

"There's got to be one around here. We can look in the woods later. Or maybe Ariel or Manaphel know."

Manaphel then walked out of her bedroom. She was wearing a new dress. It was white and blue. If I knew anything, it wasn't Hell attire.

I crossed my arms and said, "We're going to be on official business."

"I know," she hummed. She then walked over to Evanora and kissed her forehead. "I'm going to go with him to find Anthony a new body."

Evanora wrapped her arms around Manaphel's waste. "I know," she said, "After that we'll have the funeral. Oridon wants him put in a cave. Do you know where one is?"

"You know, I just might. It's at the base of a hill," Manaphel said. She then looked at me. "Are you ready, angel?"

"Of course I'm ready," I responded as I picked up the jar. I started to head towards the door. Manaphel followed close behind.

We went to the nearest hospital. The birthing ward made me feel uncomfortable, but it was the only place we'd find a baby. There were so many screaming mothers and crying babies. The miracle of life does not start out beautiful.

"Do you think his name will be Anthony?" Manaphel asked. She was glancing around the room, trying to find a soulless baby boy.

"Of course I think that. It's the name attached to his soul. As long as that's the case, Anthony will be Anthony. At least that's what The Big Man called him anyways. He's Anthony."

There were angels all around us. At least it was Manaphel who was getting the stares and not me for once. I felt normal, but not comfortable.

"Uh, yeah Oridon, try this baby."

I looked at the mother. Her face was covered by sweat and tears. A doctor muttered something about an eighteen hour labor to her. Leave it to Anthony to be difficult, even a soulless one. Manaphel asked, "Do you think he'll be a cute baby or an ugly baby?"

"We'll find out soon. Most babies are ugly, so I won't be surprised if Anthony will just be an ugly baby for a while. Humans don't look nice until they're about twenty-ish anyways."

Manaphel asked, "And how soon will it be?"

I looked up at her and smiled. "Perhaps now."

A few seconds later another voice joined the chorus of screams. I opened the jar, and the soul emptied into the baby.

Manaphel looked over at him. "Eh, we can judge if he's cute after they clean him up. He's all bloody now."

After being scrubbed in a bucket of water he was wrapped in a cloth blanket. It looked like it had been cut from someone's shirt or dress.

"Do you know what's funny?" Manaphel asked me as she looked down at him.

"What's funny?"

She looked at me and said, "I think the blanket is linen. It feels like linen is the only fabric around. Isn't that kind of weird."

I shrugged and said, "It's never bothered me. It's a common fabric. There's angels around here too, and angels wear linen. So, no, I don't think it's all that weird. I just think it's coincidental. That's all."

I then looked down at Anthony. He was whining, but not as loud as he was when he was crying.

"Hm. Manaphel I think we may have already set up Anthony for a difficult life."

His mother then screamed again.

Manaphel said, "I think the mother is having twins. You can make friends of your own kind, Oridon."

"Listen to me for a second! I'm trying to talk! Didn't we want Anthony to have a good life?"

"Of course we did. He will."

"What if his mother is a slave?"

She looked down at the mother. "We're in New York. Evanora feels pretty safe here. Anthony should be free according to law if that's what you're worried about."

"Pretty safe. Really, Manaphel, I have my doubts. She doesn't go out, and probably for a good reason. I'm even scared here. Anthony is going to have to make his way in the world. Don't think he'll have it easy. That's what I'm worried about. I'm worried because I know how it feels."

The mother screamed again. We heard another baby begin to wail.

Manaphel looked down. "Well what do you want me to say, Oridon? Sincerely, tell me what you want me to say, because I don't know."

"Not that. Evanora can speak for herself, after all."

Manaphel said, "She will, then. I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

She looked up at me. "Hm?"

"You're not sorry. You're a demon. And you're not like me. You're nothing like me. You just don't want to take any responsibility."

Such a typical thing to assume of demons.

She closed her eyes. "Of course I want to be responsible for it. I just... I just said what Evanora told me. I just wanted to make you feel better. I don't know what will make you feel better. I don't know how to make anything right. I'm a demon after all, so don't expect me to do anything right. You're right, I don't know what to think. I don't know how it feels. All I know is what I've seen, and I know I want to help. So tell me what to do."

Angels were staring at us now. Damn it, we were attracting attention, and there was a soulless baby on the table.

"Well, for a start, you can leave me and Anthony alone. I don't need your help. You messed everything up in his last life, after all."

She nodded once and said, "Fine. I'm leaving then."

The only sound in the room was the clicking of her heals and babies screaming. The moment she left angels started whispering. They even giggled a bit.

I wasn't one of them either.

Everything was so messed up.

I glanced back at Anthony before running after Manaphel. I called out, "Wait! Stop!"

She stopped in the cross halls. "Yes?".

"Look, Manaphel, I'm not as much of an angel as I once was. I'll tell you one thing more than you know."

She turned to look at me. "What do I know?"

"You know what it's like to be an angel that doesn't fit in. No, you're not like me, but you're the closest thing I have. Don't go. I didn't mean what I said about you leaving."

She looked away again. "But you were right. I shouldn't speak about issues like that. I was out of place. I should have known better. Everything will probably be better if I go for a while."

I ran up behind her and hugged her. "No, no, please don't go. See you've learned your lesson. I forgive you!"

She looked down at me. "I'll be back. It won't be forever. You'll make it. I know you will. At least try to go more than thirty seconds without me. You have work to be done, and I have things that need to be tended to."

"Manaphel-"

"Let go of me."

"Don't go. Please, don't go. I'm sorry."

She tugged herself away from me. "Goodbye, Oridon. I'll be back."

I fell to the floor. "Manaphel! Please! We need you! I need you!"

She chuckled, "No you don't," as she started to walk away. I wanted to follow her, but my legs refused. I waited till I could stand again to run the direction she went, but I knew I was far too late. Instead of going out to look for her, I went home.

I was in her home. It was me who was living in her place to sleep. What was I doing there?

I looked in the mirror at myself. Tears were running down my cheeks.

"Are you happy with yourself?" I asked.

Of course not. I was anything but happy with myself.

Evanora watched me. "What's wrong?"

I sat down next to her and sighed, "Manaphel's gone. I don't know where she is. I got upset with her and she left."

"Why'd you get upset with her?"

I sniffled, "Because she said you feel safe here."

"Well, I can't say I feel like everything is great, but it's better than what I've known before. I want more, but here I have more than what I used to have. Being able to live life like this makes me happy. I know it's a tough world, but it takes resilience to make it right, and currently that's what we're waiting for," she said. She then pulled my head down to her shoulder.

I wrapped my arms around her. "So what are we going to do? Anthony... I wanted Anthony to have a good life."

Evanora ran her fingers through my hair. "Shh, it's alright," she whispered. She then patted my back. "If you want him to have a good life, then he will. You'll have to fight for it, but he'll have a good life."

"I hope so... Should we go bury the body now?"

"Did you find a cave?"

I shook my head. "No, but I'm sure there's one along the water somewhere. We'll find something."

I then walked over to Anthony's old body. I cradled it in my arms.

"Oh Anthony, what am I going to do?" I whispered, then followed Evanora out the door. We walked through the woods.

"So Manaphel is gone?" she asked as we followed a deer path.

"Uh-huh, she's gone. She said things would be better without her, and that she had some things to do."

Evanora sighed, "She's probably went to Hell. I'm not excusing her for anything, but sometimes she has bad reactions to things, especially if she was acting good in her mind. I'm not too sure why she's like that. Even as an angel she acted like that. I think Heaven messed her up a bit, honestly."

I nodded a few times. "I suppose she was trying to act in good nature. I just want the best life for Anthony. She wanted to help."

"Oh?"

"I told her she could help by leaving me and Anthony alone."

Evanora stopped for a moment. "Really?" she asked, "Did you really tell her that? She cares about the both of you. You should get to know her a little better. She's not who you think she is."

"Then who is she?"

"Well," Evanora sighed as she started to walk again, "She's amazing. She loves me, and I know she does. She's not like other demons. She sacrificed herself for me to be immortal. We just wanted to be together forever. You wouldn't believe it. I love her, though. She's more than I could ever ask for."

I asked, "Well what should I say to her about today when she comes back? I don't feel sorry about the situation, because she's at fault. I just... I just felt so much about it all at once."

"And what did she say exactly, that set you off?"

"She told me that you feel safe here and that Anthony will be safe here."

"Well, do you feel that?" she asked as she stepped over briars.

I copied her, trying to not rip my clothes, but looking just as graceful. My hopes weren't fulfilled. My pants got a run near the ankle because of a briar.

"No, not at all. I know things can be better, and I want the best life for Anthony. I'm scared of how people might hurt him. And what if he likes men again? Of course he will, because then how will the contract be fulfilled. He's going to be living a dangerous life. I'm scared of him being hurt."

She sighed, "I understand. There's nothing you can do to take it back now. It's up to you to keep him safe now. You're still his angel."

"Really? You know how the humans are to each other. They're like animals. Is that really all you can say?"

She started to head in another direction as she asked, "What do you expect me to say? Am I not only human?"

I followed after her and responded "That's easy to forget, Evanora. You're immortal, and you're a witch."

"Still, I'm human. I was born like any other human, and lived as any other human. The only difference is that Manaphel dared to love me. Do you think I'm an animal?"

"No, of course not, you're better than them. You're refined."

She stopped in front of me. "Oridon, I have a human soul still. I'm as imperfect as all the others. I like it that way too. So tell me, am I an animal, or are you just perfect? And your Anthony? Is he not an animal too or is he also perfect?"

I pushed past her. "I'm not answering any of that."

"Then when will you? At least admit it to yourself that everything of this world is at least a little Hell bound. This world is held together by sin. Either you admit that to yourself, or you lie to yourself and keep thinking you're not one of us. You can't pick and choose your sinners."

In front of me was the water. I followed the rock banks for a bit, hoping there would be a place for Anthony.

"You can't pick and choose your sinners," I whispered to myself. Then I looked back at Evanora.

"I know I can't, but I have the choice to forgive. I believe there's things I need to do too."

I then looked forward. It was late into the afternoon before I found a worthy tomb for Anthony. It was small, but it kept water out. I lowered his body into it, then put a rock over the hole.

"I'm sorry, Anthony," I whispered, "I'm so sorry."

Tears started to muster in the corners of my eyes. It felt like a time to cry, but I couldn't let myself. I closed my eyes for a moment. My mind needed to clear.

I felt Evanora put her hand on my shoulder. "You know, you're not that bad of an angel if you care about him this much. Come on home. We'll figure it out."

I shook my head. "I'll walk you home, but I need to go."

"What kind of business do you have to tend to?"

I opened my eyes. "Anthony business. If I'm going to do this right, then I have to make sure he's raised right. I'll be back when he's old enough. I need to find myself. I need to learn some things, and they're not things I'll learn here. I'll be back though."

We then walked home in silence. I brought her inside, then gathered my stuff and put it in a a bag. Right as I was about to walk out the door she hugged me.

"Be back soon," she whispered.

"I'll be back as soon as I'm ready. Until then, I wish you the best."

She let go of me, and I stepped outside. I found Anthony in town with his mother and twin brother. They lived in a run down house that was made of wood as sturdy as cardboard. No child deserved that, especially not Anthony.

I sat on the floor. They couldn't see me, but seeing them almost brought me to tears again. I couldn't stand to look at them. A mother in such conditions. It was awful. Where was the father? Where were the angels?

From what it seemed like Anthony and his brother weren't the only children. I discovered them when they came home from work. They were so young. How could humans let children not even old enough to cook their own meals or even put away dishes work in factories? Humans were so cruel. Anthony deserved better.

Soon after that their angels came trotting in.

"Who is that?" one of them asked.

It felt like a million eyes were upon me. Other angels. I wasn't like other angels. I wasn't like anyone.

Oh my, I was alone.

"I believe that's Oridon," one said, "Heaven's got a lot of gossip out about you. I saw your little stunt today with the demon. Of course you're hanging out with demons."

I crossed my arm and said, "Not my choice. Anthony has his demons. She's gone for now though. I made sure of that."

The same angel that spoke to me last bent down in front of me. "I believe you. You already seem better than what I've heard. Just don't bring any demons around here, and try not to make anyone else like you."

I nodded and said, "Sure thing."

I didn't need any more friends, and I didn't need any more angels. I was stuck with them though.