you’re wrong. You are free to do as you will, to do what is good for you.”
“What is the meaning of life?” I asked blissfully, fully believing that here was the one who could answer the question and finally make it go away.
No one laughed then. The archangel leaned forward, cast a smile that I couldn’t help but trust, and said, “Happiness.”
“Yes.” Accepting his answer felt like stepping into a hot bath. I saw all the happiness in the world and knew that everyone was happy, all the time. I thought of Lady Kira and all those like her who work so hard to make happiness the focus of their lives, the true meaning of life.
An image of a wolf came to my mind, and I remembered Aether’s last words to Lady Kira: her reference to the lack of happiness a wolf has for its prey. Something was wrong with the memory, though; I questioned it and remembered that it was not ‘happiness,’ but ‘love.’
“You can stay here, you know,” the archangel continued, reading my emotions like an expert. “Earth is a place where evil thrives. People are so violent.”
“They do not love… You do not love.”
“No. No. I do love. What higher love is there than to spare you pain?” The music intensified, it bored into my mind.
“Aether is learning what love is. She’s learning that growth is painful.”
“The malvirai cannot know love. It is evil.”
“She seeks redemption,”
“What is the meaning of life?” I asked blissfully, fully believing that here was the one who could answer the question and finally make it go away.
No one laughed then. The archangel leaned forward, cast a smile that I couldn’t help but trust, and said, “Happiness.”
“Yes.” Accepting his answer felt like stepping into a hot bath. I saw all the happiness in the world and knew that everyone was happy, all the time. I thought of Lady Kira and all those like her who work so hard to make happiness the focus of their lives, the true meaning of life.
An image of a wolf came to my mind, and I remembered Aether’s last words to Lady Kira: her reference to the lack of happiness a wolf has for its prey. Something was wrong with the memory, though; I questioned it and remembered that it was not ‘happiness,’ but ‘love.’
“You can stay here, you know,” the archangel continued, reading my emotions like an expert. “Earth is a place where evil thrives. People are so violent.”
“They do not love… You do not love.”
“No. No. I do love. What higher love is there than to spare you pain?” The music intensified, it bored into my mind.
“Aether is learning what love is. She’s learning that growth is painful.”
“The malvirai cannot know love. It is evil.”
“She seeks redemption,”