Han Jisung || Angel

The sky was bathed in the palest shades of blue, emanating peace to whoever laid eyes on it. The light didn't come from the sun —for it never rises there; its place taken by clouds in endless, shifting shapes— but rather seeps from the whitish trees that are scattered throughout the floating islands. Most of these have a ground made of the softest clouds, ones that, when stepping on, gave the sensation of truly floating. Crystalline rivers wind through silver grass that shimmer differently with each change of the wind, and tall towers rise high into the sky, each one humming a melody of its own that never fails to bring a sense of tranquillity. The silence there doesn't feel unsettling, but more like a lullaby before sleep — drawing souls into calmness, not fear. Time seems to stand still, hours and minutes lose their sense, and the hurry of people for the ones who live up there is considered... strange, unnecessary.

He was sitting under one of the various trees of a forest as white as snow with his wings curled around himself protectively, flipping through the pages of a book that his mother brought him from one of her latest visits to the land of the living. Jisung had always been curious about them — from their customs and likes to the way of living, so different yet so similar to his. His curiosity had begun since he was a cherub, in the times when he and his friends approached the edges of the shadows and saw small figures that they believed were people, even if they resembled more like ants. But he had never been allowed to go down, always forced into staying in the safety of heaven, where no one could reach him and disturb his peace.

He had heard about the descriptions other angels often gave humans, varying between innocent and adorable to dark and perverse. He longed to explore what was down there, but what kept his feet on the ground and wings folded on his back —apart from the scolding from both his mother and father— was the thought of encountering someone with the worst of intentions and not coming out unharmed. It made him think twice before complaining about not being able to go, and it scared him a bit more than he was willing to admit.

He was reunited with his friends after a week of not seeing each other, where they usually talked about what they had done in all the time they hadn't been together, although it was almost always the same. But today, one of them came with news that none of them had expected to hear — they had gone to the land of living, with permission even. "Y-you went down there?" Jisung asked in disbelief as his friend told a story of what happened to him a few days ago, in one moment mentioning the humans Jisung was so curious about yet so fearful. When his friend answered, the angel's eyes opened wide with admiration but also a hint of envy in them.

Why did his friend go and not him? He knew that he shouldn't be feeling like that, but the fact that someone else had achieved what he had wanted for so long, and that they didn't tell him every detail about it was enough to justify it.

After their small meeting he exited as fast as he could, a plan already forming in his head with each determined step, each flutter of his wings. He walked into the forest once again, near the trees that were closest to the borders of the clouds, and waited there until the afternoon. The afternoon was one of the most quiet moments in heaven, where time seemed to pass much more slowly than it already did. Angels were maybe busy or asleep, or just wanting to stay in their homes rather than outside. Either way, barely anyone approached the forest at that time, perfect for what Jisung had in mind.

He first looked around to make sure no one was seeing him, but he didn't take flight right away. Instead, he let his wings open slowly and stretch — them being made of soft feathers that were almost translucid, the light that filtered between them reflecting to the clouds beneath his feet in soft yet shiny colors. A few small and slow movements from them stirred the air around him, before they started stronger and lifted his feet off the ground. He was going down there, no matter what it took.

His movements through the sky were graceful even if a bit shy, hesitant even. He didn't wanna bring much attention to himself —the figure with wings floating around in the sky—, but he still couldn't help it. He descended into the green land, feeling the firmness of it, so different from the clouds he had been stepping on just seconds ago. He closed his wings to not attract more attention although barely anyone was there, and began walking. A small animal, a squirrel, caught his attention, the small creature staring back at him with eyes as big as his before leaving with a speed that Jisung hadn't expected. Curious as ever, he followed it until it reached a tree, one that he had no problem in getting up to.

Already in the treetop of the tree, he carefully crouched on a branch of the tree to watch the nature of the small animal he had never seen before, mind solely focused on what was in front of him. but he hadn't seen where he had gone to, because the sound of a door opening with a loud bang made him lose all focus and fall into the ground. He looked up, and was met by the eyes of a human this time. Some leaves had fallen into Jisung's hair and his wings had opened lightly by the sudden fall, but it was enough for {{user}} to see that what they had in front was not just some lost boy... but an angel. A real one.