The Fallen Angel

Once upon a time, there was this angel. She lives in a serene place called Utopia, together with all other Angels and the Guardian of the land. One day, the Angel received an assignment to go down to the Earth in the form of human, and live there for one year. She has to learn on how human beings interact among themselves and most importantly, to learn about their feelings and emotions. All angels will eventually get their turn to do this assignment. The Guardian has already set the date and the Angel has finalized her preparation. But before she is sent down, she needs to see The Guardian for her last briefing.

"My dear Angel, now it's your turn to go down to Earth, live as a human being and learn everything about them, especially their feelings and emotion. You will take the form of a woman and you'll be given one year to master all those emotions before I call you back to Utopia. You must keep your wings safe, secret and secure during your time on Earth and other magical power will be disabled temporarily; but don't worry, you'll get it all back on the day you are called back. Exactly one year from tomorrow. If your true-being is somehow revealed, you must return to Utopia at once. Please take care of your wings because once it's damaged or broken, you cannot have the new ones.  I must warn you that this is a very challenging assignment, many Angels failed to return to Utopia because they were too engrossed with the emotions. So, please do be careful... You must not let too many negative emotions in, because it will damage you forever..." - The Guardian ends the briefing.

The next morning, The Guardian sends the Angel down to Earth. She landed in a small town and quickly put away her wings. Once she settles in, she hides her wings in a wooden trunk and placed it under her bed. She smoothly carries on her mission to learn about human's emotions.

After a few months, the Angel has already mastered many emotions. She can feel happy, embarrassed, sad, disappointed, angry, confused, attracted and hurt. There is still one more feeling she needs to master, love. Every day she tries to seek for those feelings but she can't find it anywhere. Until one day, she met a man and she was attracted to his charms and sweet words. The man, is also having a mutual feelings. Each and every day they are drawn to each other closer and closer. Until in one evening the Angel finally understands that she falls in love with this man.

The Angel was fascinated by this beautiful feeling. Every day she was happy. Everything seemed so perfect and beautiful. There was no pain, no misery and no anger. The world was so complete whenever she was with him. They're both spend a lot of time together. But one morning, the man sat her down and talk to her about going away for a while.

"I have to make a trip to the land across the sea. I will be back. I promise you. And while I'm away, I will send messages as much as I can. I will send messages every fortnight. I want you not to worry.... I love you..." said the man. The Angel can do nothing but to agree, trust him that he will be back soon. And so they bid goodbye...

The first fortnight the man kept his words. The Angel received tons of message and was thrilled reading them. But not too long after, the message is getting less and less... Until at some point it completely stopped. The Angel waited and waited every day and night, but nothing was sent. She was very sad, disappointed and angry. The Angel was almost drawn in sadness completely when she realized that she actually learned more feelings than other Angels. She learned that she also felt neglected and forgotten. She could feel the pain and hurt while waiting in uncertainties. She was brokenhearted. She lived in despair and endless waiting. She shut herself off her surrounding and lock herself in the house. She never went out for a walk in the sun or dance in the rain anymore. She was in solitary confinement that she created herself.

A year has passed. It was a gloomy morning in early January when The Guardian sent his call to her through the wind and clouds. But the Angel refused to answer the call and decided to stay on Earth a little longer, waiting for her man to come back. Or at least for his messages to come. The Guardian was worried and sent a call every day, which she rejected every time. "My dear, Guardian... Let me stay a little longer here, for I am waiting for the messages sent by my man. He is away on a journey to the land across the sea. I'm sure he will send a line by tomorrow morning, because he had promised me so..."

The Guardian saw the Angel's persistence and decided to give her another option...

"My dear Angel, you left me with no choice but to let you be. But you must remember, this has passed your time and every day on Earth will make you weaker, also if you have absorbed the negative emotions, it will make it worse. Promise me you'll come back to Utopia before it's too late. Do come back when you still have some strength. Send your call to me through the wind and the clouds that pass by, then I shall summon you home..."

So, the Angel continued waiting. Days become weeks. Weeks become months. Season after season she waited in vain. She could feel herself getting weaker and weaker, yet still there was no words from him. The Angel started to believe that he had broken his promises and will never return to her. The extended days on Earth combined with the negative emotions she absorbed, have made her weakest than any other Angels ever.

It was a dark winter night. Another year had almost passed by. She was very... very... weak. Consumed by the Earth hours and negative emotions, she was struggling to make her way out in the dark. Using her last energy, she sent out a call to The Guardian trhough the wind and the night clouds, asking him to open the passage to Utopia. She took out her wings which looked battered for being kept too long on Earth. Outside the thunder and lightning are chasing each other with loud noise. She walked slowly while strapping her wings on her back. The dark winter sky vaguely greeted her and showed her the passage to Utopia.

The wings, weakened by the time, took the Angel up slowly. Thunder and lightning are chasing each other around her. Halfway through, the wings broke and she fell down back to Earth. Without her wings, she cannot live in Utopia. She cannot even get to Utopia. The Guardian can do nothing about it and the Angel was too weak to do anything about it. The Guardian screamed out of despair and had no option but closing the passage to Utopia. Soon, he will once again announce a sad news in Utopia. Another Angel has fallen back to Earth, and then all the Angels who have learned about emotions will cry while others will sing a requim for the fallen angel.

The next morning, as destiny had chosen her, the birds found the Angel was frozen.... Hard and cold as a marble statue. Her wings are broken and battered; and there were 2 lines of tears on her cheeks. Everyone who passes her wouldn't realize that she was once a woman living among them. But many of them, somehow, felt a closeness to her.

Meanwhile, in a far... faraway land across the sea... another Angel has just landed on Earth to start her assignment. She jumps off a tomb where it is written: R.I.P - A STRANGER FROM THE SEA

[inspiration came out of nowhere... Jakarta, 13 January 2012 - Solemn Hour]