Authors: Phoenix Williams
As he tumbled
through the doorway, the door closed behind him. He fell face first
into the softest dirt he had ever felt. His body ached as he tried to
peer upward. The sky was dark and brown. The wind was awful and sick
feeling. Tim felt much less healthy as he laid in that soft
substance. As he leaned up, he realized that the entire ground was
ash. The stuff was still blowing around through the air like snow in
a blizzard. It made it hard for the rancher to keep his eyes open for
too long. The wind was painful to stare into.
It was all
destroyed. Everything as far as he could see was turned into ash. The
wind blew hard over the ground, howling with terrible emptiness as it
rushed past his ears. He stood alone in the wasteland.
Haley sputtered and
coughed as she opened her eyes, breathing again. The light that
glowed down on her was soft, but bright. A form was silhouetted in
its pure white circle as she realized that it was the sun. Wind
played with her hair, tickling her face. The sensation revealed that
she was nude. The grass felt cool and peaceful along her skin. The
figure reached out a hand and she accepted it. She rose to her feet.
She stood on soft
grass. The same soft grass she had been standing on just moments
before. The large green tree still sprawled and stretched in many
directions. Her vision began clearing as the light's intensity
decreased. When she reopened her eyes, she found that Andy was the
one she held onto. Her grip in his hand tightened.
“Andy,”
she said, reaching out to touch his face.
“Haley,”
he whispered back, tracing her delicate hair.
Around them, the
two people could see the metal structure that still surrounded them
lift off of the ground. A perfect wooden fence replaced its form on
the ground, encircling the luscious grass. The tree played gently in
the air. The metal prison flew up into the sky with slow
deliberation. It glinted in the sunlight as it spun, casting bright
rainbows along the grass. The tree seemed to reach up to it as it
departed to the heavens.
The Guardian
stepped up to them.
“They are all
gone,” it said in a solemn tone to the pair of them. “Mankind's
failure will not spread past its memory in time.”
The two humans
bowed their heads in sadness. They seemed to be under a spell.
“Do not mourn
them,” the Guardian told them. “Every end is just another
beginning.”
With fond smiles,
the man and woman looked from each other up to the being. “What
are we to do?” Andy asked in a sedated tone. The creature
turned its face to Haley. Neither human had a single unpleasant
feeling about them. There was little to no remorse for the billions
of departed souls.
“Maybe one
day,” the Guardian started, “you can be a perfect people
living in a perfect world. But for now, how that path begins is up to
you. I entrust this world to you two. All I ask of you is to love.
Your companion will be your sole possession in this new world.”
The woman tilted
her head and furrowed her brow, confused. The Guardian chuckled with
its harmonic voice.
“Consider
this an act of faith,” it said. “I challenge you to live
up to your words.”
Though their mouths
hung open, nothing needed to be said. Both Andy and Haley nodded in
response.
“Good,”
the being said. “I'll be keeping an eye on you.” Then it
vanished, leaving the two of them alone with each other in the
beautiful garden.
After a moment
passed, the two naked people ran around the grass, pointing out the
various shapes along the horizon. There were hundreds of different
fruit trees and berry bushes, so much vibrant, colorful food hanging
around for them. They continued to explore, setting up home at the
base of the tree's roots. The breeze was much stronger on some of the
hilltops as they wandered.
They both jumped
over the fence. Curiosity drove them as they rushed over a field of
pure ash. It was soft and eerie to feel on their bare feet. Together,
they climbed to the peak of a dune of black ash.
They peered over
the edge as the sun began rising. The light streaked through the
atmosphere, playing with the colors to the couple's amusement. In the
distance, resting in the middle of the valley of soot, was a newly
constructed, shiny-as-chrome metallic angel.
About the
Author
Phoenix Williams
wears pajama pants under his jeans in the winter. He has a ham
tattooed to his chest and played Tiny Tim in a play as a child. He
started out in literature by ripping off Dr. Suess and writing a
sequel to The Lorax which he called The Truffula Tree. Ever since, he
has tried his hand at comedy sketches and songs, but novels are his
true love.
He was raised in
Salida, Colorado by his ridiculously supportive parents Jim Williams
and Dorothy Cladas. The father is a writer himself and an experienced
publisher, among many other things. The mother was an editor and is a
children's story writer. Phoenix has two brothers, one older and one
younger. Imagine that. His older brother, Llowell, graduated from CU
in Boulder, CO and is a journalist of multiple medias. All these
writers. His younger brother, Hayden, was born entirely hearing
impaired, and is a senior in high school with grades that make
Phoenix jealously proud and a love for doing mentor work with hearing
impaired children.
A Guardian Angel
is the result of over three years of constant writing, rewriting,
revision, proofing, and nervous planning. Phoenix decided to publish
himself because wanted to offer a free version alongside a paid one.
The author believes that those with little money to spare should not
be excluded from the things they want to do, particularly if that is
reading his work. He writes out of love and would be content not to
make a dime if a few readers were touched by this hypothetical tale
of tragedy.
Visit
A Guardian Angel's website