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"Hello, Myrina," she greeted me. "Have you finished breakfast already?" She peered furtively behind me, where everyone else sat, and stared at me, watching my loud and angry exit.
As soon as her gaze fell on Tanael, she scrunched her eyebrows in concern.
She smiled at me in her usual affectionate way and hooked herself up to me.
"I think a walk would do you good." She pulled me through the door to the underworld more resolutely than I had expected her to, and with one last look around, she closed it forcefully.
"Come on, the garden is gorgeous at this time of day."
Perplexed, I let her lead me to the patio door and then out into paradise, as Chris had called it when he first saw it. I finally felt like I could breathe.
We silently strolled through the small park until we arrived at a cozy-looking seating area. Zuri sat down, and I plopped into one of the armchairs.
"You know, Myrina," Zuri finally broke the silence. "Lucifer and I have known each other for ages, as he mentioned last night."
She kneaded her hands nervously.
"Don't worry about it, Zuri. I won't come between you. Never," I tried to reassure the angel.
At first, she looked at me in amazement and then, to my own astonishment, burst out laughing.
"No, dearest Myrina. You've misunderstood something. You can't interfere because we're not together, and we never have been."
She reached for my hand and squeezed it.
"Lucifer is like a big brother to me. That's all there ever was and all there ever will be." Her smile froze, and I saw the memory wash over her like a wave. She lowered her eyes sadly.
"Is everything all right, Zuri?" I asked her worriedly and put my arm around her delicate shoulder. She suddenly seemed so fragile.
"Yes..." her voice trembled. "It's the memories." A solitary tear rolled down her cheek. I didn't know what suffering this woman had experienced, but I could see that it would stay with her for the rest of her life.
"Should I get Tanael?" Although I couldn't leave her alone in this state, I wanted someone to comfort her, someone she trusted.
"No, please stay," she begged, grabbing my hand again. Her skin had become very hot, and a tremor ran through her slender body.
"It's still tough for me to talk about it, but I think you need to know the story to understand our relationship." She took a deep breath.
"Back then, Lucifer was cursed to give up his power as a god and become an angel. He became one of us. We found it difficult to accept him at first. He was no longer a god, but his power was much greater than ours. Initially, we avoided him because we didn't want any problems, but we watched him with suspicious eyes. We followed his every move and excursion on earth to the humans we were not allowed to approach because they were cruel beings. That's what we had been taught."
She gave me an apologetic look.
"But over time, we recognized the purity in his search for his great love. A feeling that had also been forbidden to us because it was human. But how could such a pure feeling be lived by beings who were supposed to be cruel? The more often Lucifer flew down to earth, the smaller our group of angels' sense of obedience to those gods who held us captive in heaven became, and one day we secretly followed him."
A dreamy smile stole across her face.
"Surprisingly, people welcomed us with open arms. It took a while, but the more we left the sky, the warmer we became inside. The people showed us how to feel and how to love, and in return, we taught them the elements and how to deal with them, as well as a little magic."
Zuri sighed and looked at our clasped hands.
"It was a wonderful time. We had joined a larger village, and love soon blossomed between humans and angels. That's where I met her. Sara. She had long raven-black hair, like yours, but then with unruly curls that were as difficult to tie as her spirit. Never before had I felt so at home anywhere as I did with her." She furtively wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"Of course, we knew about the much shorter lifespan of humans compared to us angels, although back then, it was significantly longer than it is today. Nevertheless, we wanted to make the most of our time together. Some of us moved in with our partners in the huts in the village. We kept our wings invisible and quickly blended into the village community. Sara and I were happy. One day, a man and his wife died of an illness in the village. They left five children behind as orphans, one of whom was an infant. We took them into our home, and they grew up with us like biological children. Suddenly, we became a real family, and life was even more beautiful. The children loved us, and we loved them, but nothing could compare to our love for each other. It was much more than love. It was a bond of the soul. I had found my other half in her and couldn't imagine ever being able to live without her."
"What were your children's names?" I wanted to know.
She gave me a grateful smile. "The eldest was called Jacob, then came Izaak. The three youngest were all girls. Lia, Amara and Rebecca."
"What has become of them?" As soon as I asked this question, I had a terrible premonition. Zuri's smile froze, and horror spread across her face.
