My Little Angel

Another story from my group of stories. Again made for all audiences including younger. Parenthesis are pictures intended to be in the story when written out.

My Little Angel

In this world almost every child is born with a guardian angel. They protect their child from sickness and bring good luck and light in their life. They do this until they can finally pass onto their own reincarnation after successfully helping a child become an adult. However there are many born without angels to keep them safe. These children live without knowing there is someone behind them to help them up if they fall. A disease has developed in these children and prevents their lives to fully bloom. The only cure is being able to survive the disease until one is an adult.

         In a small orphanage in a port town surrounded by mountains there live two boys, Mika and Ere. Both of them have been afflicted with the disease. Mika does not have it as seriously as Ere. Mika can still go outside with the others, running and playing with his friends. Ere is unable to do the same, He’s usually bed stricken and has to stay inside on cold days. But in late spring and through the summer he’s allowed outside with Mika who he calls, “brother,” and the others.

         Mika is the older of the two being sixteen. He’s built for his age since he works at the docks sometimes lifting packages with some of the others and then being paid. His dream is to afford enough to buy a small house or make his own with bought supplies while still working at the dock. Then he’ll wait for Ere for a year so he can live with him. He’s tall with a spiky black ponytail and brown eyes.

         Ere is fifteen. He has a normal build despite his disease. He tries to keep himself healthy so he eats as much as the others even though he stays thin. A part of being afflicted with the disease is having snowy white hair if the disease is full. Ere has this symptom; white fluffy hair, bright turquoise eyes, and a short stature. Even though he’s unable to work at the dock he tries his best at writing. He wants to become a journalist, telling the news about strange things around their county.

         The spring winds are bringing the smell of the meadows from the hills leading to the mountains. The forest is whispering through the gusts. Ere’s sitting under a tree writing near the grasslands on the outskirts of town. The others are playing tag. Some are sitting with him asking about what he’s writing. “You found something strange to write about again?”

         “Mm-hm. It’s something I found out about the woods.”

         (Close up of Ere’s face while he’s writing)

         “What?”

         “Is it like a ghost?!”

         “Haha, no…I heard about a part of the woods where the river separates into a lake. It you go to the lake you’ll hear bell chimes on windless days when the sun is just coming up.”

         “That’s odd, I never heard of a ghost doing something like that?”

         “It’s not a ghost, Perry. It was probably just someone playing a trick on a traveler and he told someone in town about it.”

         Ere stopped writing, “that’s the strangest part about it. No one knows who they heard the rumor from, but a lot of people in town know about it.”

         “How are you going to find out if it’s true?”

         “I already asked as many people as I could in the last few weeks. So now I have to go see if it’s true.”

         “Will you be okay if you do?”

         Ere was about to start writing again, but he stopped at this question, “…”

         “Ere will be fine, I’m sure ‘big brother’ Mika will be there.” Everyone was laughing except Ere was who flustered at the comment while looking at Mika.

         That night Mika agreed to help Ere to sneak out the orphanage. “You promised no more over exerting yourself after this if I took you.”

         “Thank you, Mika. I promise I’ll never ask you to do something like this again. I just, needed to so I can have something to prove I can…”

         “Ere, we already know you can work hard,” he stopped while they climbed out a window. “You push yourself more than any of us. But, I want you to stop if it’s going to hurt.”

         “Mika, that means a lot to me. But when it comes to actually making money off of work, I need proof that I can. For me and for the people that I want to recognize me.” They carefully walked through the shadows of the buildings while whispering.

         “Why do you need to work when I can work for us both? I can bring in money until you’re not sick anymore. Then you can work.” They’d stopped walking in an alleyway, “please Ere, I don’t want you to get anymore sick because you have to work all the time.” Mika looked overly concerned at Ere who’s eyes shined.

         Ere wrapped his arms around Mika sniffing a little, “please Mika, this is the only thing I want to do. I promised already that I wouldn’t do anything like this until I got better. But, I’m doing this for another reason…

(Ere holding Mika)

There is something that I promised that I’d buy for someone close to me…I have to get the money soon…” he let go of Mika.

         “Mm…I understand…alright let’s hurry.”

         They entered the forest where the fireflies lit the trees like little green stars. They followed the sound of the river until they reached its
banks. They followed it South then West where the brush became thicker. As they went through the bushes Mika began to notice a change in the ground, “hey Ere I think we should go Around..!” The two slipped off a sudden incline, landing in a clearing with a lake.

         Mika got to his feet while rubbing the back of his head, “gahh…Ere..? Ere!!” He ran to Ere who laid twitching in pain in front of him. “Ere, wake up!”

         “…hhhah…Mika? I’m sorry I didn’t see it…where are we..?”

         “That doesn’t matter, are you alright?” he carefully held him.

         “Mm-hmm, my neck hurts a little…can you help me up..?”

         “Yeah,” Mika effortlessly pulled him to his feet and worked as a brace for him. There was a dim glow coming from the mountains. The lake was starting to reflect the light in the sky.

         “It’s almost time, but I don’t here the bells?”

         “Maybe it won’t happen until we can see the sun.”

         They waited for a while longer until they saw the shine coming over the mountains. As it did a noise came from the bushes behind them. It was a sound like chiming. They looked back and saw glimmering lights pop out of the bushes and open. Ere let go of Mika and practically stumbled to the bush where it started. There were pale, almost transparent flowers blooming from the bushes then shining. “…Angels Wings…” Ere said.

         “The flowers?”

         “That’s what was making the sounds. Angel’s Wings only bloom in the morning when the sun just rises. They make a noise like a bell chiming when they bloom,” Ere cried watching the bush.

“Then when the sun goes completely overhead they turn invisible and close. I’ve always wanted one, but they cost so much I could never buy one.” Mika watched the other end of the lake and saw the bushes glisten with their light. “Ere, look at all of them. They’re pretty…it kind of reminds me of something..?”

Mika stopped and thought hard about what it reminded him of. Then he remembered something from a long time ago that shot into his head as if it were always at the front of his thoughts. ‘Ere look at that flower.”

‘It’s pretty big brother.’

‘I want to buy it…aww…’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘That flower costs way too much. I’d have to save my allowance forever if I want to buy it…’

‘…big brother…I’ll buy it for you…”

‘You can’t afford that!’

‘I have some money left over in my piggy bank. And if I don’t have enough I’ll save until I can get it for you…’

         Mika snapped back to himself, “Ere you were..?” He looked back as he started the sentence and saw Ere fall to the ground. He ran to Ere and held him up, “Ere, what’s wrong?!”

         “…Mika, I’m stupid aren’t I…”

         “What are you talking about?!

         “I saved up all my money…everything I had…and now we’re here and I don’t have to buy the flowers for you…” Tears started dripping off
Mika’s face onto Ere’s.

         “That’s why…why didn’t you tell me..?”

         “I wanted…to prove that I could do at least one thing…at least one thing for you too…Mika…”

         “Stop talking Ere, I have to get you back to town!”

         “Ha…haha…funny thing is Mika…I guess I did…” Ere shut his eyes.

         “…Ere, no don’t fall asleep! Ere!! Ere…” Mika dug his face into Ere’s chest. Just as when any pass in their world, Ere’s body radiated a
warm glow. His body began to dissipate in yellow bulbs of light.

         (Mika crying on Ere’s chest as his body starts to disappear, a flower in his arms)

When the light dimmed to nothing the only part of Ere left was an Angels Wings that dropped onto Mika’s lap. He took the flower in his hands
and cried for a moment.

         He stood up holding the flower, walking back to town, trudging with every step. As he walked he came up to the hill with the tree that
Ere always wrote under. The sun was almost above the mountains, meaning the flower would close and become invisible again. He dug a small hole and placed the flower in it before turning away about to walk back.

         As he walked he heard a chiming sound behind him. He turned and saw the Angel’s Wings petals begin to shrink into the stem. Before the bells just sounded like the small chimes of sleigh bells. But the sound was now a pristine ring that seemed to echo beyond the hill. As the sound repeated two of the petals did not retract, they grew.

         The petals spread out and separated from the stem, floating above the bulb. The petals shined and gained form like actual wings, feathers in all, just like a real angel. When they stopped spreading an orb of light took shape between the wings and began taking a new form. Before Mika could watch the shape the wings closed.

         When they opened again Mika almost dropped to his knees. In the center of the wings was Ere, hold his arms around his body and balled up in the air. He opened his eyes and flapped down to Mika. “…Ere…”

         “…I’m sorry Mika…I didn’t mean to leave you alone…”

         “Where did you go..? I thought I’d never see you again.”

         “I don’t know…but, wherever I was there were bells ringing and someone told me ‘there is someone waiting for you’. Mika I’ll never leave again, I promise.”

         (Ere floating and holding Mika’s hands over the hill)