Soul Savior- Chapter 2- Azim

"Where are we now," I said questioning the angel. "Welcome to Elysium," the angel answered. "I thought angels came from heaven," I declared. “Look above you Leo. We're underneath heaven and only the selected, elite angels are allowed up there," the angel replied. 

"Why did you bring me here if I'm not dead," I asked. "There's so much to explain in so little time. I will tell you this though, you have been chosen to be the next "Soul savior," the angel said. "Soul savior," I was beginning to feel confused. 

"Soul saviors are chosen mortals by angels that have proven that that they have potential to the world. Usually they have encountered death for the first time, and have an urge do something out of their own will. However, not all soul saviors are mortals. A majority of the soul saviors are angels, including myself. Soul savior angels are guardian angels too which you understand more in depth later. Do you somewhat understand? It can be complicated to interpret for some," the angel said. "I guess so," I replied quietly. 

"By the way, we never formally met. My name is Azim and I am your guardian angel. It's a pleasure to meet you since not many angels are allowed to the mortal realm," Azim said happily. His face stopped glowing with glee when he saw my depressing expression.      

"Don't worry so much Leo. You've come here mostly because you will learn to take the "test of courage" against your weaknesses to save Charlotte," Azim said, hoping that I  would look at things in a different way. 

"She's...still alive," I asked extremely surprised. I remembered that she didn't fade away like everything else did the last time I saw her. "She hasn't died yet and there's still time to rescue her before she passes away. The question is... are you willing to risk everything? There's no turning back once you've made your final decision," Azim said with a stern indication in his eyes.

Azim gave me time to think about it for a while and I remembered the evanescence over and over in my mind. He came back an hour later when I finally made a decision. "Have you decided yet," Azim asked. I nodded and I answered confidently, "I've decided that I'll do anything to save Charlotte, no matter what it takes." 

"I was hoping you'd say that," Azim grinned and continued to speak. "Remember Leo, this won't be as easy as you might think it will be. Many dangers lie before you." "You mentioned a "test of courage," what did you mean by that, I asked. Azim replied, "You'll know what I mean soon. Before you can go on your journey to save Charlotte, I must see if your potential is truly worthy for what you'll face in the future. I will teach you everything you need to know so you can fulfill your task."

"Azim, why didn't you seem surprised to me for the first time," I blurted, out of curiosity. He paused and said, "I was born as a guardian angel and in time I learned how to become a Soul savior. Since I am a guardian angel, I was assigned to protect someone in your world. You could say I searched my whole life to find you from above in the sky until a year ago. 

I've watched you ever since, learning about emotions I never knew existed. I saw you glance at Charlotte every once in a while. You always secretly smiled at her, but tried to hide it and drew her portrait in your notebook. You were so passionate about life and all your accomplishments while living life like it was a dream. So when I got the chance to chance to travel the mortal realm to pick the next soul savior, I knew exactly who I would choose. I then sprinkled stardust from the sky, which triggered your powers to come alive and afterwards, you froze time. Gliding down from the clouds, I landed quietly and watched how you reacted for a few minutes, but since you didn't react much, I approached you and laid my hand on your shoulder. I was more surprised to than you think I was at that moment. It's just that angels don't express that emotion too well." 

I could barely believe that what Azim said was the truth. I never felt the stardust fall on me or his landing from above.  "I stopped time today," I said in my mind repeatedly, but I didn't understand why. 

"Leo I don't expect you to understand everything in one day. I just wanted you to realize why you're here. Take some time to rest. There's no need to rush right now. You can begin with a fresh start tomorrow, ” Azim said. It was almost like he had read my mind.

He took me to one of the many golden castles in the sky and lead my into a room where when I looked out the window, Earth seemed like a million miles away.  Azim left me in silence, closing the door. I fell overwhelmed onto the bed made of pure gold and thought "I stopped time today," once more and instantly fell asleep.

Soul Savior - Accident

I was getting closer to my house while remembering every second when each of my footsteps touched the asphalt. Charlotte and her friends weren't much farther ahead of me either and they never looked back. I was daydreaming about Charlotte and then reality struck me like a lightning bolt. Charlotte's friends already had crossed the street and Charlotte was about to follow them but then something appeared out of nowhere.

Her friends shouted "C'mon Charlotte, what's taking you so long?" By the time she heard them, it was too late. Her innocent eyes grew wider and she gasped when the car drove faster toward her. I looked at Charlotte and I was surprised as she was in that timeless moment. 

I started to run across the street without even thinking first, I screamed, "CHARLOTTE!" Somehow I was stopped by invisible forces that prevented me from moving forward. Then everything around me just stopped. The car was only inches away from her and barely touching her skin. No one moved and even the wind froze before me. I was the only one who wasn't plastered in place.

This horrible vision didn't seem real at all. I didn't know what to do or how long this would last. After a few minutes, the whole world was covered in light. Charlotte's friends disappeared into the light as well as the sunset and the town of Rosewood. I stood there shocked in the middle of the evanescence and there was nothing I could do about it. The light wasn't unbearable, but it burned the life out of me. 

Only Charlotte was still there in the distance with a car in front of her knees. Motionless as she was, I stepped toward her with the greatest amount of ease.

Then someone put their hand on my left shoulder and said, “I chose you for the best reasons possible and it's about time you knew." My heart raced and I wasn't sure if it was because of fear, confusion, hope, or a combination of both. I had never seen something more extraordinary in my life. I didn't even turn halfway around and I was already speechless.

It was an angel with pure white wings, dark brown hair, perfectly, fair skin and pale, cerulean blue eyes. The angel wasn't how I pictured, and how I thought that angels looked like. He noticed me stare at him in amazement and laughed softly. 

"I see that you've stopped time with my assistance, of course," the angel said. His voice was crisp and clearer than water when he said things straightforward to me. The angel somehow wasn't surprised to see me either. 

I suddenly blurted out, "Am I dead?" "No, Leo you're in the division of life and death. Take my hand and close your eyes. Everything will make sense in time, you'll see," the angel said warmly. I took his hand and we went into the depths of the light.

Soul Savior - Prologue

It was only one day that changed my view of life and death completely. School had ended and I came out of the train doors to go home. A sunset emerged behind some houses that were a couple of blocks away from my house. It felt almost as if I was walking beneath a battle of the colors that fought to keep their place in the sky. I wasn't in a rush, so I had time to notice these beautiful details. 

While walking down the street, I saw Charlotte who was a girl that was in some of my classes. I was not surprised to see her friends with her, since she was known to be a "social magnet." She was also envied by most of the girls in my school because she was extremely popular. However, I liked her for other reasons though. Charlotte had been in my classes since kindergarten, yet she never noticed me and sometimes I even wondered if she even knew my name.

Charlotte was a different person when she wasn't at school. She always tended to her grandmother who in exchange told her everything so she could answer what Charlotte could never figure out. She wasn't oblivion like she was most of time in school and showed her generous side at home. 

Meanwhile at school, she was a well-known sweetheart who tried to fit in with everyone else even though I knew she never could. I've seen boys from my freshman class approach her almost every day with variations of flowers or heart shaped boxes of chocolate.

When she blushed, it was as if the most sincere rose with a plush pink laid its petals on her blissful cheeks. Out of everyone, including her closest friends, I was the only one who knew her secret. Charlotte couldn't be completely satisfied with flowers or chocolate. 

She wanted someone out of the impossible to tell her something unpredictable, besides the fact that she was told that was beautiful in a million different ways. I wanted to be that someone. The one who would sweep her off her feet and take her somewhere faraway from our small, little town called "Rosewood." I just haven't found the perfect words to say yet, and I'm still unsure if she'd feel the same way as I do about her.

Charlotte doesn't know that she's only one who can ignite my fiery emotions and the person she's been searching for her whole life, sits right behind her in science class.