The Chamber of Sins

“I love you,” she whispered, heavy tears cascading down her cheeks. “I love you.” Lionette blinked as the image waved and dispersed. She let her body slide on the wall and stood there for hours, surrounded by the loneliness in her heart. In the end, when she stood up, her stiff body refusing to move, her brain scanned feverishly for an answer. “Where are you, Gabriel?”

It was burning hot outside, and all of them agreed to stop playing. Robert wiped his forehead and trotted to the table full of bottles of water. The boy opened one and hydrated himself. He dropped himself on the bench, trying to catch his breath. The tennis game had been demanding, almost losing in front of his little brother in the last round. His leg muscles were pulsing painfully, the same as his temple. He gulped the air greedily and continued wiping his sweaty face and neck as peeking at his brother.

Adrian was chatting with their stepmother while arranging his equipment in the sports bag. Robert propelled himself into the standing position and trotted towards them.

“Fancy a lemonade?” Robert asked.

“Why not?”

“I have got an appointment,” their stepmother replied, and she left, throwing a hatred smile in Robert’s direction.

“Are you alright?” Robert asked his brother, pointing at his hollowed eyes. “You seem tired.”

“A bad night,” Adrian smirked.

“Only one? Haha. It looks like several,” Robert underlined. “Mm, look, I am sorry for not being there for you,” he said, his eyes watching the slag on the ground.

“No worries,” Adrian replied and drained his bottle.

“How is your leg?” he asked, pointing at the scar partially hidden under Adrian’s shorts.

“They are overfeeding me with pills,” Adrian smirked. “It’s been eight years, and they still worry.”

“Any side effects?” Robert asked as seating and searched for a comfortable position.

“Not something that I can’t manage,” Adrian confessed. “Rainy days are my worst enemy,” the boy giggled. “What about you?”

“I am fine,” Robert said.

“Your love life?”

“My love life?” Robert laughed. “It’s complicated. Very complicated.”

“Do you love her?”

“I care about her. She is special and... crazy,” Robert said, forcing a burst of laughter out. “She and I will never be a couple,” the boy said, chewing on his lower lip. “Come on, let’s eat something. I am starving,” he said and threw his towel on his shoulder. Adrian followed Robert, not before peeking at the clamp of trees edging the tennis field.

Sheltered by the tall alder with its branches fanned out wide, diverging from each other like the petals of a blooming flower, Margo listened to the silence following the boys’ departure. Then, finally, she got deprived of oxygen, and watching them leave, she started gasping.

’She and I will never be a couple.’ Robert’s last words resonated in her heart, tearing it into thousands of pieces. Bitter tears inundated her eyes and tumbled down her neck. She felt empty, lost, broken… dead.

Robert didn’t see her as a person, and he was right. She was wandering the Earth and had broken Heaven’s rules - a lost soul searching for salvation. Love was never on her list, but Margo thought she felt brave enough to taste it and let her soul deepen into the sea of comfort and pleasure. So she left her soul unguarded for the first time in her life and got it smashed. The world faded and lost its colour while grey replaced everything.

Margo had remained there until the night fell - dark blue velvet glistened with diamond drops. She wanted her life back and had a way to do it.

Lionette laid the bushy bouquet of lilies on the dry soil. She read the inscription:

Stephan Alwood 1958-2005

She plucked some rebellious strands of grass growing next to the shiny tombstone.

The woman kept the candle burning in her hand for a few minutes, watching the flames twirl and wave like an animal trying to escape from its cage. Then, she put it next to the tombstone, and, taking the jacket off, she sat on it.

“How are you, my darling? Did you miss us?” She said, playing with a stone. “How is my granddaughter? Did you take good care of her in Heaven?” She kept asking without waiting for an answer that would never come.

“Clare is well. She stopped asking about her, except last week when she acted like she was seeing her,” she sighed. “I am well, just missing you so much,” the woman said, slowly massaging the place between her eyebrows. She spun, her hand grabbing her purse, as she heard a branch cracking somewhere behind.

Nobody was in sight, and Lionette took a deep breath. A cold whisper brushed her back. She jumped forwards, stumbling.

“What the-” The woman muttered.

He appeared out of nowhere, dressed in white clothes, clean as he came out from inside a washing machine. His hair and long beard were close to ebony - shiny and deep black.

“YOU,” the woman hissed. The woman launched a furious attack, hitting the man’s hard chest as he stood there, his head tilted downward. She kept punching him until her hands hurt, and her soul was slightly relieved. She stumbled backwards, her sight focusing on her thrown purse.

“You left us,” she cried, her trembling hands covering her eyes.

“I am sorry, Lionette,” the man said.

“You left them. You left your child,” she continued. “And I lost them forever. I lost my babies.” She kept whispering incoherent words.

“I am here now,” the man said.

“I saw you last week. You saw me too, and you ran,” Lionette said.

“I know, forgive me.”

“Where is my granddaughter?” the woman asked, her breath rasped loudly.

“I don’t know,” he confessed.

“But you are an angel, for goodness’ sake,” the woman said reproachfully. Her lower lip quivered. “It has been 15 years. Where have you been?”

“You know what I have done. I couldn’t have stayed with you. They were looking for me,” the man said, slurring slightly.

“You are the most powerful angel in Heaven, Gabriel. You can’t tell me you have been living on Earth since then.”

The man said nothing. Shadows slanted across his face.

“I have lost most of my powers; I had to get rid of them. Otherwise, they would have found me,” the man confessed and turned his back to her. Two stubs loomed from under his jacket.