CHAPTER 3: THE ARTIST

There are lots of children playing in the park today. The sun shines brightly in the sky and the wind moves so gently. I can feel it touching my skin and the laughter of the people around me makes me smile. Some butterflies are peacefully flying around the beautiful flowers. I can hear the bark of the dogs to their owners that sound so affectionate. Their owners might be very nice to make them feel so loved. The love that I can sense in this park is too comforting. It's such a wonderful and peaceful place to start your day.

I’m currently listening to music on one of the benches in the park. Looking at these people made me feel alive. It’s such a nostalgic feeling but wistful because I couldn’t remember it. I took a deep breath of distress and closed my eyes for a moment and listened to the music that I’m currently playing in my music player. It’s such sad music. It kinda reminds me about that person again. 

I couldn’t remember his face, his name but I can hear his gentle voice. The voice that makes me feel that I’ve known him for a long time. It’s the voice that I’ve longed for each day and night that passes by in my life. Those are the meaningful memories that I wanted to recover. 

***

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“Just listening to the sound of the dawn,” I said.

I’m currently sitting under the tree where we first met.

I smiled because I felt grateful,

Meeting him changed my life,

“Have you ever asked out?” He said that made me flustered.

“W-What do you mean by asked out?!” I said while stuttering.

He laughed at my reaction. 

His laugh sounds like a song in my ear as well,

I wanna hear more of it,

He smiles but everything is blurry...

“What are you smiling for?” I asked with an annoyed voice.

“It’s just-- You’re too beautiful, It keeps me from smiling” He said.

I can hear it, 

My heart is beating fast.

And I can feel some butterflies in my stomach,

His words made me blush and at the same time...

I felt I was being fooled.

It annoys me,

So I throw most of the leaves from the trees to him,

“You shut up?! Stop playing with my feelings, it’s not funny!”

“But I’m not joking-- Ahh!” He said while running away from my punches.

“Stop it! I was just telling you the truth!” He said then laughed hard.

It was the dawn in autumn,

Under the maple trees of our youth...

***

I lifted my head then a tear fell down on my cheeks as I remembered a moment with him again. Even in my memories you’re the only one who’s not vivid. I couldn’t even see your face nor your hair and body, your voice is my only comfort and clue to find you.

“Who are you really?!”

“Where could I find you?”

“Where are you now?”

I said in my thoughts. Then a strong but gentle wind suddenly touched my skin and made my hair sways in the air. I also felt a sudden shade on my face that protects me from sunlight. I got curious about what's happening. That made me want to open my eyes. I opened my eyes slowly and suddenly saw a guy standing in front of me. He's staring at me with worried eyes and he was also a bit flustered. He's too close!

After he realized the current position that he was in, he stepped backwards and put his hands behind him. He kept bowing to me showing that he was very sorry. I’m just a bit surprised but his reaction made me laugh.

“I-I’m very sorry, I didn’t mean to stare at you like that!” He said defensively.

“Oh come on! What am I doing?! This is so embarrassing! How can I stare at her like that?! She might have thought that I'm a maniac, argh!” He said in his thoughts. He didn’t know that I could hear it. That made me smile.

He’s cute, let's tease him a bit.

“Well, that’s alright. I’m not hurt anyway.” I said then smiled at him. That made him more flustered.

“She’s kind” He thought, I giggled. 

I’m sorry but I’m not.

“Please don’t get me wrong,” I said. He just nodded at me. 

“I just wanted to ask if-- are you a maniac?” I continued. He froze in a minute.

“I knew it! I knew she would think that, argh! This is so embarrassing!” He thought of this while mumbling something in front of me.

“N-No! I’m not. Please don’t get the wrong idea. It was just an accident, It’s just--” He said then paused. I saw him looking at his left hand. I observed him more.

What is he thinking?

“You just what?” I continued. Then I heard his thoughts once again.

“It’s just because of the strong wind. My paper flew right into you, I just tried to catch it without realizing that it would lead me into you and put me in that kind of position. I’m sorry” That’s what he thought. I smiled, now that’s why.

But what’s on that paper anyway?

“Uhm, what’s in your left hand?” I asked, then stood up and walked near him. 

He was surprised by my question and action.

“I-It was nothing!” He said while stuttering and shaking his head.

Why is he so defensive over a paper?

“Oh come on! I know you are hiding something!” I said then took a step forward and went near him. He just shook his head. I put my face near him and tried to convince him once more. 

“N-No! Please don’t come near me!” He said in his mind.

Why not?!

“Wah! My heart is racing! She might hear it. Argh! I’m so shameless” He said in his thought that made me giggle.

“Please, let me see it. Pretty please?” I said while giving him my best smile. His face and ears turned red then looked at the other side.

“Please don’t look at me like that, you’re too beautiful for my eyes!” That’s what he thought. It suddenly made me pause for a moment and remember something.

***

“Please don’t look at me like that, you’re too beautiful for my eyes!” He said.

“You’re the one who’s too beautiful for my eyes!” I said.

He smiled and looked at me, 

His face was blurry but...

I can see his hair,

It was black and redish,

“Really?! That's how you see me?” He said then laugh

“You don’t know how much those words flattered my heart,” He said. 

After that he looked at me with sincere eyes.

“Argh! So cheesy, I gotta get out of here fast!” I said.

“Oh come on! Don’t be like that-- Hey! Wait up!” He shouted

***

His hair, I saw his hair! It was black and redish.

A tear fell down on my cheeks again. Even though it was only a part of him, I still can’t help myself to be happy remembering a part of him. It’s another memory for me to long for him once more, another clue that will lead me to remembering him. I couldn't hold back my tears and looked at the guy in front of me and I could see his worried eyes again like what I’ve seen earlier.

“What’s wrong?!” He said.

“Why is she crying?! Is it because of me not giving the drawing that I made because I think that she’s beautiful?” His thoughts said.

Wait-- He drew me?!

“Please don’t cry, here I’ll give it to you. It’s for you anyway. I’m just hesitating because it isn't finished yet but more than that-- I just don’t wanna see you cry. So, here take it” he said, then smiled at me. He gave me the paper and I saw a beautiful picture.

“It’s beautiful,” I muttered.

The art was so beautiful, even though it was just from a piece of paper. The detail and drawing was so meaningful and pretty. It’s a picture of me lifting my head in the sky and listening to music. Then I saw a tear on my cheeks on the drawing. I see, he saw me crying at that time. This is so embarrassing, I wiped my eyes and nose.

“This is so beautiful, thank--” I said but as I turned my head to him, I saw him looking at me sincerely.

“But it would be more wonderful, if it was your smile. Don’t you think so?” He said and smiled at me.

“When that time comes, I’ll make sure that it'll be the best of all my artworks” 

“Thank you so much!” I told him. He just nodded at me as his welcome.

“Until we meet again, pretty lady” He said, then ran away. I just looked at him leaving.

Pretty lady huh?

He said I’m kind,

But he’s wrong,

“You’re the one who’s kind” I mumbled. I looked at the drawing again. I’ll keep it and cherish this. I looked at the place where he left.

Until we meet again, Mr. Artist.

I started to leave the park as well and walk back home. It was supposed to be a nice day but all I could do was keep thinking about him. All this time, I’m looking for a clue to recover my lost memories and I couldn’t find anything. Today was different, I remembered even the slightest part of him. He has black and redish hair, just like that person I saw earlier. I suddenly paused from walking.

“Could it be he’s the clue that I’m looking for?” I thought as I looked back to the place where we met.

I was walking on my way back home when my surroundings turned blue and gray. It only means I’m back in the land of the dead. The replica of the human world. I saw lot’s of spirits hanging around the place. Some of them are shopping in the mall inside this blue and gray world. Some are jogging while the others are sleeping on a bench on the street. 

It is said that what they’re doing here in this world are the things that they were doing before they died and the things that they wanted to do before they died. Once they are finished to do the things that they wanted, it is time for them to ascend in heavens where all the spirits have no memories of their past lives and experiences. It’s a utopia where there’s no pain and memory. A place where all the spirits are waiting to be reincarnated again.

“Alright! Now…” I stopped walking

“What do you want?” I asked,

A black shadow suddenly appears in front of me. It’s hissing and moving around me like it’s observing me. It’s my first time meeting a weird black spirit like this. I just raised my eyebrows while looking at it. After his observation, It stopped in front of my face then whispers something and suddenly vanishes in an instant like a smokey air.

What is that thing?!--

My eyes widened as I turned my head. I saw the innocent spirits suddenly covered in black rain drops. 

Those raindrops, 

I know those raindrops.

I’ve seen them before in my dreams.

I ran into those innocent spirits that slowly became evil as fast as I could, then I tried to purify them using my blue fire but it didn’t work.

“What’s happening with you guys?!” I asked the spirits using my mind but it isn’t working.

They are all turning into ghouls. I tried to touch one of the spirits to see what happened to them. As I touched the soul, My eyes gleamed and saw a weird black spirit.

“It’s the black spirit that I saw recently. “ I mumbled.

It touched the innocent spirits that were slowly forgetting their memories. The repenting spirits need to forget everything before they ascend to heavens but looking back to what happened. This evil thing triggered their memories just in one touch and it turned them into ghouls. The painful past that they were trying to forget, they were remembering it all again.

“You evil sneaky thing!”

I’m slowly panicking and the wrath living inside me is getting stronger.

“How dare you disturb these innocent spirits?!” I shouted with gritted teeth and fury eyes.

I took a deep breath and transformed myself.

“Guardian of soul, awaken!”

My hair turned into a long blue fire that is blazing stronger than before while my eyes turned into white. My lips changed it's color into black .The horns in my head grew bigger than what I had before, the same as the fire that I can produce is even more powerful than before. These new changes made my wings appear behind me then made me fly fast to some of the advent ghouls in front of me. I gave them fire that’s stronger than before. It’s a fire called the “Purge of souls”. It could make all of the souls that I’ve touched return back to normal. Although, there are still lot’s of them that still need to be purified. 

“It’s all that weird evil spirit’s fault!” I said in my thoughts.

This creature,

How many innocent spirits had he turned into like this?!

I have to kill this one before it all gets worse!

“Calm down!” I demanded and raised my voice to the spirits using their language.

My voice echoed to the whole place. It’s a voice that could turn all the ghouls back to normal again in an instant. That’s the “Voice of divinity”. The voice that could purify souls in an instant whoever hears this voice. A power that only God could give. I took a deep sigh of relief. Everything went back to normal again but the black spirit who’s at fault. I have to find it first.

--But how will I be able to find it?!

“That power! So, you’ve finally recovered it now” I heard someone said in his mind,

As I turned around, I saw a young boy floating in front of me. It’s a soul that’s neither alive nor dead. He’s looking at me with a smile and delighted. It made me pause for a moment.

“Hi Azzie!” He said

“Do you need any help?!” He asked, then looked me straight in the eyes.

That made me smile.

AZRAEL THE LAST PSYCHOPOMP

"to kill or to save: choose your purpose" 

Written by: Chavinsky Y.E