I always thought my existence was regarded as a joke by the deities who were beyond my realm. In that other world, there were only the Holy, the Fallen and the Blessed. The Holy were the angels bestowed with specific gifts to look after creation–the ones with wings made of light; beautiful and pure. The Fallen were the Holy who had lost grace in the quest of overthrowing their creator from the throne of power. Then there were the Blessed–humans who had ascended beyond the flaws of their humanity, or simply those who were chosen to bask in the glory of what it was to be divine. All of them were within the reach of the Creator; the one perceived by humans as God.

I did not belong to their plane. The nature of my being was a threat to them.

I first opened my eyes at the initial gasp of human life. When humans were created, they were meant to be flawed. They were not granted the beauty or flight of angels. They were not granted eternal life. They were gifted with a soul, and the power to live their lives however they chose. I was created to take those souls and deliver them to the Paths, where they would continue to make choices. My existence was simply meant to claim the souls. It was never expected that my strength extended to the Holy, the Fallen, and the Blessed. The difference between humans and the divine being when they faced death was that the human soul continued on to the next life, while the journey of the Holy, the Fallen, and the Blessed ended. It was because of this, I was forbidden to step into the Paths. They feared that if I walked into the Paths, I might find the gate that would lead me to their realm–maybe that was heaven, or probably even hell.

The Holy would come and go into my cold desert to reclaim the souls I took–these were the ones who had what people would call 'near Death'. They were the ones the Creator had chosen to use as instruments for miracles. They all came and went. No one ever stayed long, except for this angel.

"A companion?" I repeated. The words left a sour taste in my mouth as they rolled out of my lips.

"Yes," he replied softly and calmly, unaware that his presence alone offended me. "Your powers are great. As time passes, humans have become more vulnerable to your contempt. You claim these souls without regard."

I breathed heavily. "They are leading themselves to their own destruction. I have high respects for nature, I abide by its laws. I take the soul of the body that is waning." I was powerful. Thus, I was proud. But I would not kill for pleasure. I would be lying if I said that I had never thought of it. I had descended into their world for many centuries, watching how superficially they lived their lives. It would be so easy just to take them all, regardless of whether it was their time or not. It was no lie that the urge to kill the undeserving had been very strong and tempting. Without warning, I wanted to drag these worthless souls to the Paths, and hope that they would choose their next life to be a more miserable one–worse than the one I forced them to leave behind. But to submit to this strong desire to extinguish the life of the unworthy only remained as a mere fantasy. With that restraint, I demonstrated what it was to be powerful...Because, to be truly powerful, one must have control over the craving of taking unjust actions.

"Claim these souls without regard," I continued flatly, repeating the words he uttered slowly and thoughtfully. My lips lined with a smile of annoyance. "Am I supposed to"–I exhaled heavily as I was about to correct myself–"Am I expected to have an affinity with these people? What purpose will that serve me? What happens if I do gain some form of sentiment over these men and women?" I shook my head slowly. "It will not change the fact that I will still have to take their souls back to the Paths. They will still die."

His body swayed slightly towards me with his head bowed and eyes tightly shut. Realizing his disadvantage, he stopped abruptly. He wanted to face me. He wanted to look into the face of the insufferable creature that he had been sent to keep his company. "Yes. They die."

The mournfulness that laced between his words made me lose my frown. It did not surprise me though. He was an angel, after all. Empathy was in their nature. "Then do not bother me with such nonsense." I turned away from him. I had veered away from my task for too long to entertain this foolish angel. My mind returned to the web that extended my consciousness to those who were due for the taking. Simultaneously, the Paths came alive with souls. They were scared and full of remorse.

"Do you hear that?" he asked

My jaw tightened. His presence was nothing but distracting. I took another deep breath in an attempt to shut him out while I continued to take the souls of the dying, relieving them from their human misery.

"Can you feel their longing for what they have left behind?"

"There is no point for them to yearn for their past lives. It is time to move on," I snapped.

He stood from the boulder with a stance so proud and defiant. I still could not see his face, but I could sense his exasperation building up. His face contorted in deep concentration as he listened earnestly to the cries of despair of the departed. They were grieving. They wanted to return to the world they loved, and hold the people they had left behind. They were afraid of not knowing what was beyond the path they were expected choose. Would it lead to a better life? Or would it lead to misery? The others questioned if they would ever see the glittering riches they had acquired once again. What would happen to the gold, silver and gems they had parted with?

I shook my head incredulously. And I was expected to have any ounce of regard for them? I saw his strong chest heave as if his lungs were filled with the air of grief from these poor souls. His empathy for them was deep and he wanted to rid them of their sorrows. A sudden burst of light erupted when he spread his wings out to their fullest, spanning eight feet on each side. For the very first time, I held my breath in awe. From where I stood, the beauty of those wings seemed to have extended wide enough to cover my view of the Paths, and all I could see was him. He took a huge leap into the air until he was airborne. The dust from the red earth stirred into a gentle whirlwind, dancing to the tune of the flap of his wings. I continued to hold my breath as I watched him dive into the Paths, landing gracefully with one foot after the other. I found myself stepping forward, following every graceful move. The souls gathered around him, trusted him without question–like a flock of sheep ready to follow their master. With closed eyes, they tuned their thoughts to him. I could not hear what he was saying...Maybe because he uttered no words. But they were listening. The sound of sorrow and despair hushed. Only the fervent prayers of acceptance and surrender resonated from the Paths. The angel folded his wings. The souls began to turn away from him. Slowly but willingly, they walked forward towards the horizons that the Paths seemed to lead. In different directions they dispersed until they disappeared from my sight.

With his head bowed down and eyes tightly shut, he turned around and sauntered towards the red world. Only then I saw his face. As expected, caressed into perfection by his Creator. His breathing was calm like he was inhaling and exhaling the same air that was given to him when he was kissed into life. I had never looked upon an angel this long or this close before. I wondered if the others were just as beautiful as he.

He came closer to me, his stature towering over me, yet he humbly kept his head bowed. With eyes shut, he made eye contact with the girl who could end his existence just by looking into his eyes. Many of the Fallen have gouged their eyes in the quest to remain immortal. I could tell that he questioned why one solitary being was the source of terror for every being that existed. Only the Creator and the creatures under the care of humanity were free from death's powers. "I have been sent to be your companion. I will help the souls you take detach from all things material. I will help them let go that they may cross the Paths willingly and at peace."

I remained silent. I was above this angel but his presence kept me spellbound to the music of his voice. It did not matter to me whether a soul was attached to their tangible lives.

"I will make them surrender."

"Surrender to what? Or to whom?" I asked. "I am certain that you do not mean that they surrender to their deaths...or to me. I know that you are aware that I do not need their surrender. I am a force that is inevitable."

He let out a heavy sigh upon the realization that to be Death's companion would be insufferable. He was bestowed with the virtue of humility. How could he possibly be in the constant presence of a being with an ego greater than her power? How could the Creator let such being exist?

"No. I did not mean you."

The gentleness in his voice disappeared. I had irked him. Even angels of pure heart could feel anger.

His jaw clenched along with the knitting of his brows. "To surrender their attachments. To surrender to the will of the Creator. To surrender to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth until they find the path where they transcend to being Blessed," he explained.

I turned my back to him and started walking far away. The conversation was making me weary, and was taking me away from the souls awaiting claim. With a wave of a hand, I dismissed him. "Do as you are willed by the Creator. It has no purpose for me."

"Wait," he called out, his arms stretched out as if to reach out for me. The mellow sound in his voice returned. "Please..."

I stopped. Not because he asked. There was something about the sound in his words that pulled me back. I craned my neck over my shoulders, looking forward to the warmth that emitted from the blazing wisps of his wings to touch my face. So this was what being in the presence of an angel was like. The cold had always embraced me, but his warmth seemed to tame the biting chill I brought. "What is it?"

"Please," his voice gentler. "I do know that death is inevitable for these people. But please..." He paused. He lifted his head with an expression so meek and beseeching. "Give these humans time. Allow them to detach themselves from their world before you give them their final embrace. Let them say their goodbyes that they may have their closure before they come to the Paths. I will be there to guide them. Just allow them some time. Grant them your patience."

"My patience?" I repeated as I returned my attention to the red horizon ahead of me. "Your request will be in my thoughts. I bid you farewell for now." It was not long until I sensed the ground stir; he was gone, and I was alone once again. His heart was with these humans, as expected from all who were Holy and Blessed.

The gift of choice, and time before death. When I end the lives of women and men, would they know that an angel pleaded with me so they could be granted time to tie up their lose ends? Would they be thankful? Would they know whom to thank? Would they use the time to wisely manifest the premonitions of their deaths?