fallen Angel

"God has a plan for everyone."

A pair of big wrinkled hands gently stroked the ends of his hair.

"Many times, we will feel pain because of the torment of illness, or cry because of parting from our loved ones, or even fall into despair, but no matter what kind of trials God gives us, it is to bring us closer to Him and become a better person , Our weakness will eventually become stronger through tempering."

I vaguely remember that despite being seriously ill, my grandfather's haggard face was still kind.

"My dear Arthur, we can't give up hope. Even if I'm gone, you have to strengthen your beliefs, continue to give and protect the people you care about, okay?"

◇

Be firm in your beliefs, care, give, and protect what you love...

Arthur still clearly remembers that this was the last agreement he made with his grandfather who raised him before he died of cancer, and it was also his unshakable belief.

"Father Arthur, good morning."

The oncoming students greeted him with bright smiles, and he smiled back and nodded to them.

After Christmas, the new year is ushered in soon. The campus, which was deserted due to the holidays, has once again returned to its usual bustle.

Arthur walked quickly through the simple and elegant promenade. He was very glad that after graduating from the seminary, he was able to return to the town where he was born and serve as a priest in this historic Catholic school.

He likes this small town full of human touch, the campus with a sense of history, and the energetic smiles of the students.

"Ah! Father Arthur." The female teacher passing by stopped, as if seeing a savior, "Please help me remind Teacher Curtis, the only one left is that he hasn't handed in his teaching diary yet."

"That's why I'm going to find him."

As a part-time administrator of the Academic Affairs Office, although he is only responsible for part of the business, Arthur, who is familiar with the teachers and students of the whole school, often becomes the object of entrustment by other colleagues, especially the thing that Curtis has not handed in the teaching log. The director often shakes his head and sighs at this.

Curtis Dillon was Arthur's good friend in the seminary, but after graduation, he did not devote himself to the priesthood like himself. Instead, he worked as a mathematics teacher in the same school and was also a class tutor for seventh grade students.

Curtis, who has a cheerful personality and is loved by students, has the only shortcoming of being quite forgetful.

"Really, I remind him almost every day! Every time he says that he must remember to hand it in tomorrow, but he never remembers it, and I have been scolded by the director."

Colleague Lilith frowned, a little impatience appeared on her pretty oval face, and she frequently complained "Does Curtis have amnesia?" Arthur could only smile wryly.

Not handing in the teaching log is a trivial matter, but the promised things have not been fulfilled, and it has caused troubles for other colleagues, which is not a small problem for Curtis.

After promising Lilith that he would take back the teaching log from Curtis himself, Arthur continued to move towards the seventh grade classroom.

Along the way, many students still greeted him enthusiastically. Seeing these innocent and lively children, he couldn't help but think that when his grandfather passed away, he was about the same age as them, only ten years old.

His mother died after he was born. His father, who joined the army, went to the battlefield when he was five years old. His life and death are uncertain. Even the grandfather who raised him suffered from cancer, and his life came to an end.

At that time, he cried at a loss, felt helpless and sad, and couldn't face the pain of his grandfather's imminent death.

His grandfather's words made him understand that this was God's test for them and wanted him to be a strong person.

He also remembered that after he promised to abide by the agreement, the grandfather on the hospital bed smiled into the void, as if he had witnessed a beautiful scenery he had never seen before, but at the end of his sight, there was nothing but the portrait of an angel hanging on the wall.

Grandfather had always loved the painting featuring Michael and Gabriel.Holy angels and resurrection angels with white wings descend from the sky, reaching out to devout believers and leading them to heaven.Grandpa praised the charm conveyed by this painting as the most similar, as if he had seen these two noble and beautiful archangels with his own eyes.

And Arthur's last memory of his grandfather is that he murmured "They are here to pick me up", stretched out his fingertips to the sky, as if waiting for the angels to hold his hand, and then closed his eyes with a smile.

He always believed that it was the angels who took his grandfather away, led him to a paradise free from illness, and continued to guard the Lewitt family and himself.

On the day my grandfather died, the war ended.A few days later, the father returned to his hometown, and the father and son finally reunited.

At that time, he deeply realized that God really has arrangements for everyone.

There is no real hopelessness in the world, and there is hope everywhere, but the world often forgets the existence of hope because of sadness and pain.

"Father Arthur!" The young man who saw him coming all the way poked his head out of the classroom window and greeted him with a loud voice and exaggerated waving movements. "Happy New Year, you look good."

"You too! You must have enjoyed your vacation, right?"

The boy who nodded and said "Yes" was Sam Granger. He was nicknamed "Sammy" by his teachers and classmates for his lively nature.

"Sammy, I haven't thanked you for what happened on Christmas Eve!"

"thank?"

"Thank you for having a wonderful birthday for me. Your song "Holy City" is the best I have ever heard."

"Huh? Why..." Sam widened his eyes in surprise and pouted, "I know it's me."

Arthur smiled but did not answer, because among all the choir members, Sam had the most excited expression, and of course it was easy to guess that he planned this matter.

However, neither age nor birthday has special meaning to him. The children's blessings and smiles are the most precious.

He would be grateful for his mother who died of illness on this day, and felt that being born on this day was a supreme honor for the Lewitt family, which has been devoutly believing in God for generations.

But other than that, he didn't want anyone to deliberately celebrate him. Many students and townspeople gave him presents before, and how to deal with it gave him a lot of headaches.Aware of his troubles, the kindness of Sam and the choir students made him have a very warm birthday this year.just after that...

In an instant, black wings unfolding in the air appeared in his mind.

Flying blond hair, emerald green pupils, a perfect yet evil figure is imprinted deep in my heart and I can't get rid of it.It also happened on Christmas Eve, but it was completely different from the warmth given by the students. It was a weird and unpleasant memory.

The beautiful, cruel, and evil demon took away the innocent souls who had been deceived, and declared that he would fall at his feet.

But so far, my life is still the same as usual, no different.Is this just a nightmare?

"Okay! I know that nothing can be hidden from Father Arthur's eyes, as long as it makes you happy."

Sam's cheerful voice dispelled the shadow in Arthur's heart, and he decided not to pursue the truth of the dream.

"Thank you, I'm really happy."

"You're welcome!" On the contrary, Sam became embarrassed and scratched his head shyly, "You usually take good care of us... By the way, are you here to see Teacher Curtis?"

"Yes! The next class is his class, right?"

"Well, but he hasn't arrived yet, maybe he forgot something and went back to get it." Sam laughed, apparently accustomed to the teacher's forgetfulness.

Arthur smiled and shook his head. Later, he had to remind his friends to lead by example, so as not to lose the prestige of the teacher.

Suddenly laughter came from the classroom, Arthur subconsciously looked towards the source of the sound, and saw several girls gathered in front of the podium, excitedly surrounding a tall man, chatting with each other Lehu, and exaggerated laughter from time to time, cast eyes of admiration and admiration on the man.

Even if Arthur had no experience in love, he could feel the atmosphere of first love in the scene.

"Here it comes again!" Sam held his forehead seemingly unbearably, "These girls will hang on to the handsome teacher whenever they see it, and they can't wait to take theology class all day long."

Arthur carefully looked at the man with his back to him. This theology teacher had a rare red hair, a neat white shirt with a well-tailored double-breasted suit vest, which outlined the lines of a handsome body, and his broad shoulders exuded professionalism. A steady breath belonging to an adult male.

He can understand why the little girls are vying to surround the "handsome teacher" in Sam's mouth.

But for some reason, Arthur felt a sense of uneasiness in his heart, always feeling that the other person's figure looked familiar.

"Sammy, where is Mr. Charlie who taught theology?"

"Huh? Didn't Mr. Charlie go home to recuperate? Mr. Mephisto came here before Christmas and has been substituting for several days!"

After being teased by Sam for not coming to the seventh grade classroom for a long time, although Arthur did not show any panic on his face, the consternation and uneasiness in his heart gradually expanded.

He didn't understand what was going on.As an administrator of the Academic Affairs Office, it is impossible for me not to know about the replacement teacher in the seventh grade theology class, and I have no impression of this substitute teacher named "Mephisto".

As if aware of Arthur's inquiring gaze, the object he was observing suddenly turned around and met his eyes.

At this moment, Arthur seemed to have returned to the dark church that day, facing the flawless and beautiful face, trying his best to resist the temptation given by the other party.

He gasped, his uneasy emotions turned into anxiety and fear, and a chill ran down his spine.

It was the demon... the one who had declared that he would fall.

But in his memory, the demon has blond hair that shines even in the dark, and unstained green eyes, while the man in front of him has red hair like flames, and dark brown pupils that are bottomless .

But the handsome face, the tall and straight body with perfect proportions, all matched the demon in his impression.

The shock made Arthur forget to maintain proper manners, but Mephisto didn't care about his overly presumptuous gaze, and even nodded to him gracefully when the girls shouted "Father Arthur is coming" regards.

Arthur didn't miss the flickering smile on the corner of the elegant mouth, which seemed to be mocking and seductive.

Alarm bells were ringing in his heart, and he was about to go into the classroom to confront Mephisto, but the loud voice behind him woke him up.

"Arthur, why are you here?"

Looking back, the smiling friend immediately stepped forward and gave him a warm hug. "Happy New Year! By the way, my mother said that this year's apple harvest is very good. She sent several boxes to me. I will bring them to you in two days..."

"Curtis, who is that man?"

Interrupted abruptly by Arthur, Curtis frowned slightly, but still kept smiling, following his line of sight.

"Oh, you mean Mephisto? I forgot his surname, anyway, he is a substitute teacher who temporarily teaches theology for Charlie. It's so rare that there is something that Father Arthur doesn't know about!"

"When did he come?" Ignoring his friend's teasing, Arthur hurriedly asked, while not forgetting to monitor the interaction between Mephisto and the students.

"He came before Christmas!" Curtis gave the same answer as Sam, "Why? You are also interested in this mysterious handsome teacher! He has only been here for a few days, and the students like it very much Him. It’s strange to say that he never participated in student activities, but these kids always like to pester him.”

Curtis laughed and said that Mephisto was very popular among the students. Not only the girls were fascinated by him, but even many boys liked to chat with him. Arthur also heard the invitations from the girls around him from time to time. He went to a picnic or a football game, but he politely turned them down.

"Look, they are really persistent...Huh? You didn't come to our classroom just to see him, did you?"

"No." Arthur finally remembered the purpose of this trip, and hurriedly reminded Curtis of the teaching log.

As if waking up from a dream, Curtis patted his forehead and yelled, "It's too bad, Lilith must be so angry!"

Arthur was about to encourage his friend, but found that Mephisto walked out of the classroom at a leisurely pace amidst the girls' reluctant farewell.

"Curtis, you go back to class! I have something to talk to Mr. Mephisto."

"Huh? I haven't... Hey! Arthur!"

In order to keep up with Mephisto, Arthur apologized to Curtis, and quickly followed the graceful figure ahead.

"Wait! Mephisto-sensei."

"Hello, Father." Mephistopheles, who seemed to have expected him to follow, stopped at the corner of the corridor. There was no surprise in his eyes when he turned around to look at him, and his calm voice was quite pleasant. , "What's the matter? I remember I handed in the roll call for every class!"

"I heard that you came to replace Teacher Charlie's theology class before Christmas, but I'm sorry, why don't I have any impression of you as a substitute teacher?"

Seeing that the students had all entered the classroom and the corridor was empty, Arthur didn't beat around the bush, and went straight to the core of the problem.

"Your question is really interesting! It may be that you were busy reporting good news before, and I should have participated at that time, so that you will remember that I am a new substitute teacher. But it is not too late, you You can read my resume from Teacher Lilith, I believe it will help you understand me better."

"I don't need to read your resume, I've seen you in church before, haven't I?" Arthur asked in a tentative tone, but his bright black pupils looked directly at Mephistopheles, trying to get out of his Vibration can be seen in the expression.

But Mephisto only raised his forehead hair with an elegant movement, not only did he not show a trace of panic on his face, the slightly raised corners of his mouth even showed a hint of teasing.

"I really didn't expect that even a noble clergyman like you would use this old-fashioned move to get closer to the new teacher."

"A move?" Arthur didn't know what kind of "old-fashioned" move he used, and he never wanted to get closer to the other party, "I didn't..."

"But it's a pity, I never met you before I came to this school." Spouting out the decisive words, Mephisto's lips curled into a charming arc.He took a step closer to Arthur, and his handsome face approached him, "After all, even if you are so beautiful, I will never forget it even if I just glanced at it."

Not used to being in such close contact with people, Arthur was trying to avoid it, but Mephisto took his left hand and kissed lightly on the back of his snow-white hand.

"I think anyone who is lucky enough to confess to you, even the most heinous criminal, can get rid of their filthy souls! Or...will they be imprisoned by your beauty instead, and miss you all day long?"

"Please don't talk nonsense!" Unexpectedly, the handsome man in front of him would say such frivolous words, Arthur hastily withdrew his hand, but the indescribable heat has slowly flowed from the place where he was kissed to his whole body.

"I'm just a medium to convey the will of the Lord and convey the beliefs to the believers. It doesn't matter what I look like. Those who really want to get forgiveness from confession should not stick to my appearance."

"Sorry, I made a slip of the tongue." Mephisto apologized with a low smile, and took a step back. "Then, please forgive me for leaving first. Although I still want to chat with you, there is still class later."

After leaving a sentence "I hope to have a chance to talk to you again in the future", Mephisto nodded to him and turned to leave.

Arthur looked at the tall and straight figure that was fading away, and the remaining warmth on the back of his hand still persisted.

Although it was not the first time someone had kissed the back of his hand, compared with the kisses symbolizing piety and trust of believers, this man's eyes and lips all conveyed undisguised eagerness, as if expressing his love for him.

love?Arthur couldn't believe that he would have such an illusion, because this is an emotion that cannot exist between the same sex. However, the focused expression of the other party staring at him made him feel a strong sense of danger.

Suddenly remembering that he flinched under the man's words and forgot the original intention of stopping him, Arthur blamed himself for his negligence in a low voice, which also made him suspect that this man who knew how to avoid topics with a beautiful voice and sweet words might be really It's the devil incarnate.

"Really..." He didn't like to doubt others casually, especially seeing the other party as a symbol of evil, which made him worry that he would frame Mephisto.

But this idea, for some reason, always lingers in my heart, lingering.

◇

This time, Mephisto must not be allowed to slip away again!

After a whole night of precipitation, Arthur walked to the seventh grade classroom with firm steps.This time, he checked the class schedule in advance, and made sure that Mephisto had no class scheduled, so there was no excuse to avoid his questioning.

Approaching the noisy classroom, he found that just like yesterday, the person he was looking for was surrounded by girls in front of the podium.

"Mr. Mephisto, why do you say that Michael has no compassion?"

The female student's question caught Arthur's attention. He was displeased with this statement, but he didn't know why, so he had to stand outside the classroom and listen to their conversation.

"It's not that he has no compassion at all, it's just exaggerated." Mephisto said slowly in a soft voice that could confuse everyone: "After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit by mistake, who led the angels descended from the sky and announced that they would be expelled from the sky?" Out of Paradise?"

"It's Michael!"

Mephistopheles nodded approvingly, and the girl who answered cheered loudly as if she had won a lottery.

"So, come to think of it, why did God send him on this mission?"

"Because He is the Angel of Justice!"

"Because He has extraordinary wisdom and courage!"

"Very well, you have all said what the book teaches." During this rush of answers, Mephisto raised his slender index finger and shook it from side to side in disapproval, "But if He is really the embodiment of justice, why should He Wearing dazzling armor and battle robes, conveying God's will to Adam with the majestic posture of the coming of the king? Faced with this poor human being who was deceived and made mistakes, he didn't need to put up such a big battle."

The girls fell silent, some whispering, some even nodding, but Arthur was rather offended by the nonsense.

"Therefore, we can boldly assume that Michael did not feel that Adam's situation was worthy of sympathy, so he announced his end with a lofty "heroic posture". It was precisely because he did not sympathize with Adam that he was able to carry out the mission thoroughly. From some angles In other words, maybe Michael is an angel who likes to show off his might, taking this opportunity to highlight himself as the messenger of God who can reign over thousands of angels..."

Unable to listen any longer, Arthur, who couldn't stand it anymore, was about to walk into the classroom to stop Mephisto's misleading remarks from the students, but a big hand was placed on his shoulder from behind.

"What a coincidence, Arthur, I'm looking for you! What are you doing here?" Curtis, who was carrying a bamboo basket, stood behind him with a smile.

The girls in the classroom were attracted by his loud voice, and found that Arthur, who was a priest, was standing outside the classroom door, all showing "bad" expressions, as if they secretly gathered together to say bad things about someone, but were caught on the spot caught.

On the contrary, Mephisto, who was suspected of bewitching the crowd, still maintained his usual elegant demeanor and smiled at them.

Arthur secretly lamented that the timing of his friend's appearance was unlucky, which made his situation a bit awkward, so he had to pretend to be calm and greet Curtis.

But Curtis, who said he was looking for him, fell silent for no reason. He still stared at Mephisto in the classroom for a long time, and looked back at Arthur from time to time. He wanted to speak several times, but he still swallowed it back.

Out of intuition, Arthur guessed that Curtis wanted to ask him what he was doing here, but he didn't want to take the initiative to explain, after all, it was somewhat embarrassing to be caught acting like an eavesdropper.

In the end, Curtis didn't ask anything, just returned to his smiling face, raised the bamboo basket in his hand and shook it, "Didn't I say yesterday that I would give you some apples? I brought them! Produced by Dylan's family, Quality is guaranteed."

"I don't doubt that your apples are delicious, but I can't eat so many by myself."

"It's okay! You can..."

Just when Curtis was thinking about who he could give it to, Arthur caught a glimpse of the person he had been paying attention to walking out of the classroom, and nodded politely as he passed in front of them.

"Ah, Mr. Mephisto, wait a minute." Arthur called the other party without thinking, let alone noticing that the face of his friend beside him darkened.

"Father Arthur, hello." Mephisto's politeness stopped here, and then his smile became a little narrow, "Any new tricks today? I'm ready to get closer to you step by step distance."

"I said, I don't have any moves!" Arthur was so angry that he couldn't explain it clearly.

Sensing that the atmosphere was not right, Curtis interrupted and said with a smile, "Then I'll use apples to establish friendship with Mr. Mephisto. These are apples grown by our family. Let's take a few back! You can share them." Give your wife or girlfriend a taste."

"Thank you, but unfortunately, I don't have anyone to share with." The smile on Mephisto's handsome face was full of meaning, "Besides, this is a forbidden fruit! I'm afraid that if I taste it once, I won't be able to extricate myself."

Tactfully rejecting Curtis's kindness, he passed between the two and strode away.

"Wait a minute..." Not wanting to let him go, Arthur planned to catch up, but remembered Curtis who had specially given him an apple, so he quickly turned around and took the basket in his hand, and put it in his arms.

"Curtis, thank you for the apples, please give my regards to Auntie."

"Hey! Arthur! Where are you going again?"

Leaving Curtis' unwilling call behind him, Arthur only said "Sorry" and followed Mephisto without looking back.