Chapter 2
I was sent to a small town to create a love bond between two people who were supposed to have a child that would create stability within the region. My job was simple, you see most people think that I shoot an arrow at two lovers to make them fall in love. In truth I blind them from all others around them. There is a chemical called euphoria and this was created by god for the sole purpose of creating blind love. At the proper time and with the proper dosage I can make two people love. Just one drop in the eyes will cause the pupils to dilate followed by a quickened heartbeat and finally after the body settles, love. Angels have the ability to disguise themselves or even make them selves unseen. In this moment I was unseen and I performed my job perfectly. Dropping glistening beams of blue into the eyes of her just as they scanned the room catching his face and then into the eyes of him when timing permitted. As I began to leave the room I noticed a crowd of men surrounding a woman who was seated in the corner of the room. Now I must allow you to understand something. I can control Love but lust comes from a different area completely. Love is the admiration of beauty in all its definitions; lust is the conquering of beauty. Lust is a tool of Lucifer and can drive men mad. I was most certain that Lucifer was in that room with me on that particular night. I drew closer to the woman and noticed a beauty that I had not seen in ages. It was at this moment that I decided to disguise myself and allow her to see me. It was at this moment that she stood up and walked over to me. She was drawn to the glowing blue vial that I had in my hand. “What is this?” she asked me. I looked down and held up the vial of euphoria. Just before I answered one of the men enviously slapped my arm causing the euphoria to be thrust upward into the air spilling out onto my face, including my eyes but not before my eyes caught one last glimpse of her as I ran out of the room. I quickly flew back to my palace in heaven where I tried to wash the euphoria from my eyes but there was no escape from the potency of love. I would begin to think about how that night must have been planned by Lucifer and I would soon learn that he will have his hands in much of my life from that point on. I did not tell anyone of what had happened that night except for one.
Nathaniel is the most loyal friend I have in heaven; he is a tall, black haired seraphim who is a master crafter. St. Peter was once overheard talking about how much he admired Nathaniel for his creativity, patience and compassion. It is fair to say that most angels strive to become like Nathaniel. Considered to be in the higher echelon of seraphim, Nathaniel has gold tipped wings. When asked how he got such magnificent wings he would tell the angels that he was just lucky; this could be the furthest from the truth. Nathaniel earned his gold tipped wings when he noticed three angels approaching Gods palace. Normally there is nothing out of the ordinary about angels visiting the palace of heaven but in this case Nathaniel became suspicious. When watching them pass by, Nathaniel noticed that the angels’ feet had been singed at the bottom. Nathaniel confronted them and a fight ensued. The three angels’ pulled out their swords and quickly learned that Nathaniel was the more skilled. Two angels’ fell within moments while the third was skewered against a tree leaving Nathaniel time for questioning. It was learned that the angel was named Theodore and he was sent by Lucifer. Before Theodore could explain anymore he began to pray and crumbled into dust. Some say God forgave Theodore and needed nothing else from him but his repentance. Nathaniel collapsed on the ground never realizing that Theodore’s blade had struck him twice slicing off the flesh on both of his wings. God had one of his most loyal angel’s Efigenia sew golden strands into Nathaniel’s wounds. Nathaniel disclosed this information to me in secret just as I had told him about my love for the woman that night.
3 years have passed since that first night. I would visit her on occasion without her knowing. Each time she was surrounded by men. Poets, painters and politicians; the prestigious and the poor all with nothing to offer her. It was becoming all the more clear that she waited for me. I began to wonder if the euphoria spilled into her eyes as well. I must confess that on three occasions I stayed in her room and watched her. Of those three occasions I only watched her undress once. Temptation even creeps into the minds of those who seem to be pure. In my defense I did not stare at the typical things a man would stare at on a woman. I looked at her neck, her shoulders and her elbows. I looked for imperfections and the more I looked for them the more perfect she became. Of those three years I never learned her name. Up until the fourth year I only knew the way she smelled, the manner in which she prepared for bed and parts of her daily life.
It was the 300th day of the fourth year and I had accidentally slept until the morning. I watched her sleep all night and wished to be sleeping by her side. From the downstairs I heard her mother call out her name. The mother’s voice was rather raspy but no matter the voice, the name sounded like song, a song heard from her home into heaven, a name that would lead me on my course to the end of days…Psyche.
My patience had been overcome by my need to reveal myself and on the 355th day of the fifth year I made my way into her life. My love proclaimed in front of her many suitors and to the dismay of all those around her she expressed her love for me as well. I concealed my true identity and was known only as Agonus. The whispers throughout the town of Sorrento quickly became shouts. Word of the wedding between Agonus and Psyche spread as quickly as the mystery behind me. After questioning by her parents on my past history I felt it best to convince them that I was a merchant from the West. Once my past was in order they agreed to have their daughter marry me. On the 1st day of the sixth year since first seeing her, we married. I had a home built on earthly ground so that I could be with my dear psyche. In the day I would perform the tasks that I was created for and at night I would spend as much time as possible with her. The more time I spent with her, the less I wanted to leave her side.
10 years had passed and I was growing weary of my tasks. It was at this time that I began to realize that she would not be around with me for as long as I wanted her to be. I simply could not see my life without her now. My path had been shown to me and it was clear what I had to do.
I entered God’s palace where I did what I had never done. I am not sure about the exact conversation but I can tell you that I asked God to bring Psyche into heaven with me where time would be measured differently.
God granted Psyche the honor of residing in heaven which is normally not an easy task. I am sure my loyalty to him was the deciding factor. I returned to my earthly home and shed the lie of Agonus, a name that has kept me in despair for many years. My Revelation through disrobing and turning my back to her so that she may see my soft beautiful lie. This would be the last time I would ever turn my back on my dear Psyche. Without hesitation she accepted me for my magnificence and my deceptiveness.
Chapter 3:
400 earth years had passed us by and having Psyche in my life made time in heaven seem more infinite. Possibilities grew, Love remained and my tasks had become more burdensome. With each moment I longed to be by her side. I began to notice that the lord would send me to earth on a more constant basis. I found myself visiting the same two lovers on multiple occasions. Instructed to drop a greater dosage of euphoria into those whose eyes were already filled. After thousands of years the potency of love had begun to diminish and I started to become impatient with the humans. How dare they build such resilience to such a blessing? If only they could experience the miracle that I share with my dear Psyche.
My work with the humans was frustrating me but it was work that was thrust onto me without question. I felt beaten but I continued until the day my purpose had been all but conquered. The date on the human calendar read July 11, 2001 and I was sent to do my usual routine. I dropped the euphoria into the eyes of her and then into his eyes just as I have done so many times before. I waited for the euphoria to take hold of the heart but it never did. She looked at him as he did at her, she turned and walked away from him and without hesitation he did the same. Two lines that shall remain parallel never forming the symbol of unity, two unfortunate lines. I struggled with this moment but it remained a secret between the three of us until nightfall. Secrets are best revealed in darkness where they can not find their way to the lord’s ears. Under the security of pillow and cover I whispered my failure to Psyche denying my lord of such important information.
I continued to do what I was created for and I continued to notice my failures had begun to grow. With windows locked tight my whispers at night became softer while the fear of my secrets became more evident. It was clear to me that I was beginning to witness the death of love. Each moment spent on earth I would watch all around me. Hatred was overpowering love; the balance had been thrown off to the favor of Lucifer. Just as I increasingly turned to the security of the darkness so too were the humans. The eloquent words of sonnet quickly gave way to the unreadable pages of litigation. Love on earth in all of its meaning and beauty had been decayed to nothing but a means to manipulate and advance. As I watched love decay I knew that the seeping rot would lead me to Lucifer. My power is too great for the humans to repel all on their own. Could it be that Lucifer was using the humans to gain entrance back into heaven? I made my way to the man who would answer my questions.
St. Peter has been known as the judgment of God since he was given passage into heaven. Angel’s have named St. Peter the throne because he is always sitting with God when important decisions need to be made. This has been the case for at least the last 1,900 years. St. Peter was put at heaven’s gate for a reason; some would think it is because of his ability to deliver God’s judgment without the slightest hesitation. The truth of the matter is that heaven’s gate is the only entrance into God’s fortress and there must be a protector at that possible penetration point. Peter is a fierce warrior who is given the duty of striking down any evil that attempts to enter. His knowledge in all matters equals his ability as a warrior and this is why I turned to him first.
I met with St. Peter at the gate where I told him of my recent worries. I asked him if he could tell me of the reasoning behind such an alarming trend. St. Peter disclosed to me that it was possible that Lucifer could be influencing the minds of the humans through the use of the whisperers. The whisperers were demons who were sent to earth to tip the balance between heaven and hell. They were the creatures that would introduce dark thoughts into the minds of the weak, their constant barrage of hints, hunches and accusations would eventually open the mind to evil possibilities. Jealousy is one of the main tools used by the whisperers and it was easy to see how the introduction of jealousy into the minds of two lovers could lead to the decay of love. I asked St. Peter permission to travel to the underworld so that I could find out just how far Lucifer’s influence was reaching. St. Peter granted me permission but warned me of the dangers in hell. He explained to me that even the purest angel’s could fall to the darkness, being forced into the servitude of Lucifer for eternity. As I prepared myself for my journey I could only wonder if perhaps that was Lucifer’s plan all along.
