Lullaby 3- Mary-Ann and Silence

A Chapter by Keeley

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No one speaks. A dead and incredible silence. Not a normal silence where you might hear the slight rustle of trees outside or the tiny clinks of other servants bustling about in the kitchen doing one thing or another or even the breathing of Ira or the blank-faced women, which made me even more surprised when she was the first one to speak.

"Not just any angel. but an angel of the Order of Ias." her voice was not crackly and hoarse like I expected from the aged look of her face, but it was smooth and strong, which suddenly made her more beautiful than she was at first glance. And now, as much as I wanted to look over at the woman while she spoke, I was determined to keep my eye locked on Ira. As so many questions whirled endlessly in my head, I could not fish one out the overflowing pond. So my lips remained barred. Ira looked at the woman as if to say her words were lost on me, in which she was right. Angel? Ias?

Finally the words came, "Ira, you've been burning too many incenses. Your brains fried."

Ira just chuckled. "Hear me out and then you can call me a coot, alright Andy?"

I leaned back in the chair, crossed my arms and choked out, "I'm listening." I noted the arid and saccharine state of my esophagus once again

Ira took a sip of her tea and breathed in deeply, so much so that I felt as if she has sucked the breath straight out of me. And the she began, "When people think Angel, they automatically identify that with God, or cherubs, or other commercial society-produced images, so disregard all of that for a second. But us on the other hand, control the unhumanly parts of the world. By unhumanly I mean the uncontrollable parts of human life. Everything from forgetting where you put something to falling in love to the most important things as when and how you die. That's why you are and that's what we are. But of course you have not been through our sorting process to find out your denomination.

"Assuming there is a bit of truth in all of this ludicrous, what denomination were you and...?"

"Imbis, but my human name.. Mary-Ann." the woman quickly finished my sentence.

"Right, what denomination are you and Mary-Ann?"

"I happen to be Prephin, I guess the human term is..."deja vu"?"

Mary-Ann seeming a lot more talkative than early speaks up, "I'm an Essip. I control odds or chance."

Hardly believing everything I just heard I ran my fingers through my new hair, reminding me of another question.

"Why did I pass out?"

"You went through your first Calling. Your descent to angel hood. Most angels receive a lighter complexion and hair."

"You said my first Calling. It'll happen again?"

"Most definitely, my child."

The clock in the corner chimed 8:00 in the morning. Mary Ann tapped Ira on the shoulder.

"It's time to go, my child." Ira said while getting up briskly.