Eternity (v5)

I felt the simultaneous urge to sob and giggle. Because the whole notion of El speth Faneuil as savior to the world was both overwhelming and ridiculous.

The only thing keeping me sane while I walked down the hal way was Michael. The link of his fingers in mine was like a tether to our new reality. I believed I could navigate through our conflicting worlds—the frivolous Til inghast High School and the looming otherworldly battle—with him beside me.

But once I said good-bye to Michael before heading into English class, I lost my anchor. I felt like I’d been cast unmoored into an unreal sea.

English class brought me near to the brink. The minute I entered the classroom, Miss Taunton launched into me. Like a hawk circling a wounded animal, she bombarded me with questions about our latest assigned novel, which I could barely remember amid the more vivid recol ections of my days in Boston and my encounter with Ezekiel. I wanted to scream at her that none of this mattered.

The second that Miss Taunton laid off me, my best friend, Ruth, texted me. “Wait for me in the hal after class.” Normal y, I’d welcome a quick chat with my oldest and best friend in the world, especial y if it involved commiseration over Miss Taunton’s unfair, but not unusual, treatment of me. But I didn’t know if I could handle a one-on-one conversation with Ruth just yet. I had no idea what she remembered. The last time we were together —just before I boarded the train to Boston—she had confessed to seeing me fly. Had my parents tried to erase Ruth’s memory, too, with more success?

If so, could I pul off the act of regular El ie? I pled il ness and intermittently coughed throughout class to support my ruse.

At the ringing of the bel , I raced out of class. My head was spinning. I needed a moment to catch my breath, to reassemble myself.

Instead, I ran smack into Piper. My next-door neighbor and one of the most popular girls in school had been ignoring me for weeks since I decided to take the blame for that wicked Facebook prank. Unbelievably, she had decided that this was the moment to break the silence.

“I know what you did, El ie. I just don’t get why you did it. Why would you take the blame for something you didn’t do? Why would you sit through weeks of detention and walk down the hal ways knowing that al the kids in school hate you? Without ever pointing the finger at me or Missy. I bet you think you’re some kind of a saint,” she said with a flip of her perfect blond hair.

I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to tel her the truth. That her snide little guess wasn’t total y off the mark. I was a half-angel, and I simply couldn’t have sat by and let others suffer at her hand. That she better rethink her future actions and ask forgiveness for those past, because there wasn’t much time left for malevolent games.

The conversation nearly delivered me to the edge. Who was I meant to be? How was I supposed to behave, knowing what I knew?

Before I said anything I’d regret, Michael appeared at my side.

He had been waiting for me after class, farther down the hal . When he saw Piper accost me and witnessed my obvious discomfort at the exchange, he raced to my rescue.

“Are you al right, El ie? You look real y pale,” he asked, once we were alone. I must have looked real y bad, because alarm registered on his face.

“I’m not sure if I can do this, Michael. I know we need to pretend, but I’m having a hard time already. Knowing what we know,” I whispered.

Michael put his arm around my shoulder and walked me down the hal way. He brought us into a darkened alcove. More than anything, I wanted to stay in that warm, shadowy recess, wrapped in his arms. It was the only place I felt safe. It was the only place that made sense.

Michael placed his finger under my chin, and tipped my face to his. “El ie, I know you can.” He slipped a letter into my hands. He nodded that I should read it immediately, so I smoothed out the paper and started.

My Ellie —

Do you remember the first time we went flying over our field? You were so nervous of everything. You were afraid to fall from such heights; you didn’t want to embarrass yourself in front of me; you were fearful of doing something so clearly otherworldly. But you were determined and strong. And I watched in awe as you furrowed your beautiful brow, willed your fears away, and took to the air.

You were breathtaking up there. The wind at your back, your black hair whipping all around you— you owned the skies. From the very beginning.

And the very next day, you walked down the hallways of Tillinghast High School like nothing had happened. Like you were just a regular girl—prettier and smarter than all the rest, of course, but still just a regular, human girl.

You can do that again, Ellie. You can walk the tightrope between the two worlds with courage and determination. You’ve done it before.

I love you,

Michael

I smiled as I read the letter. Somehow he had anticipated my feelings, and understood—perfectly—how to restore my confidence. How to bring me back to myself. Michael truly was my soul mate.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Just remember who you are. Remember that you walked this walk before, and you can do it again.”

I nodded and closed my eyes for a second. Conjuring those days from earlier in the fal , my self-assurance returned. Slowly and shakily. I real y had no other option. I had to successful y playact at being a regular high school junior, concerned about homework and her new boyfriend. Michael had to convincingly make-believe that he was an average senior guy, focused on footbal and col ege prospects and me. Too much depended on our role-playing.