Children of Heaven: Ch 3

Chapter 3

The walk to the airship port was not quite as long as Abel remembered. Naomi walked at his side, the heels of her boots clicking on the icy cobblestone. Ancient buildings towered above them, casting them in their shadows. Small drifts of snow lined the curbs, and a fresh veil was beginning to gently drift down from the velvet blackness above them.

"Are you cold?" Abel asked suddenly.

Naomi, who had been absorbed in her own thoughts, broke from her reverie. "No, I'm fine, thank you."

They eventually reached the entrance of the port, which strongly resembled a train station. There was still some time before the ship arrived, Abel noted as he glanced at a clock on a nearby wall. They walked to a bench near the end of the platform and sat down. The wrought metal proved to be quite a shock to their systems when they initially sat down.

"Are you all right? I know tonight has been…" Abel trailed off, unable to finish the thought. He felt genuinely sorry for this woman, whose entire world had been turned upside down in a month, and to be attacked by a Methuselah….

"I'll be all right," she answered, drawing her cloak more tightly around her shoulders. "I just…need time to process all of this, I suppose. I don't think it's fully kicked in yet, the enormity of what's happened to me. That's normal, isn't it?"

"Well, you've had quite a shock. People handle it in different ways." His voice was tender and soft, as was his expression.

She looked up at him, and now that they were in a full-lit area, she had a better opportunity to observe him. She knew he was tall, and underneath the habit he was slender. Behind the glasses he wore, his eyes were a beautiful shade of slate blue, and his silver hair was tied back with a black ribbon. She had to confess, if only to herself, that he was not unattractive.

Handsome would be a better word, she thought, pink creeping into her cheeks.

"Sister Kent?"

She started, then quickly averted her eyes when she realized she had been staring. "I'm sorry - I didn't mean to stare."

He blinked. "Is there something on my face?"

"No! No, your face is fine." She looked down at her hands, which had been folded in her lap, and began to wring them nervously. "I mean it's perfect! I mean…there's nothing on your face."

She looked up and saw that he was smiling at her, but she noted that the smile just barely reached his eyes.

"No need to be flustered," he said. "You just caught me by surprise, that's all."

"It was incredibly rude of me, I'm sorry."

"It's all right." He sounded more amused than offended, which prompted her to relax, if only slightly.

"Father?"

He had closed his eyes, but opened them again and looked at her. "Hm?"

"Is everything okay? You seem…distracted."

He hesitated before answering, "Everything's fine, Sister Kent."

He could never bring himself to tell her. She had been through enough, and he did not want to add to her grief. His sins were his alone, and only he could atone for them. She was innocent, and he could not taint her. She was looking at him with complete trust and concern - and it broke his heart.

"If something's bothering you, please tell me."

He was surprised by this, and he made no move to conceal his surprise. She must have noticed it, for she looked at him with a soft, caring expression, and she placed her hand over his.

"Being here for you is the least I can do," she said quietly. "I admit that I don't know much about you other than your name and your occupation, but please, don't be afraid."

Don't be afraid.

Those words echoed in his mind, sounding so foreign to him that he had to take a moment to process the implications. However, he brushed the hurricane of thought away. It was simple for her to say such things - she admitted herself that she knew next to nothing about him. If she truly knew him, she never would have said it. She would be no different from the others.

"That's easier said than done, I'm afraid," he answered with a sad smile.

"I know it is. Believe me, I know that better than you may think, but how can you live your life without letting at least one person in?"

"You can save yourself a lot of grief that way."

"But your burdens are much too heavy for you to carry on your own."

He looked at her, eyes widened. "H-how do you know?"

"I can see it in your eyes every time I look at you. You carry a heavy burden, you're hiding so much sadness and pain. Even if it isn't me, let someone help you carry it all."

He sighed. "Sister Kent-"

"Please, call me Naomi, at least in private."

He could not suppress a smile. "Naomi. Your words are touching, but believe me when I say, the burdens I carry I would not wish on my greatest enemy, much less someone like you."

"Even so…let me help you."

He shook his head. "This is something that you cannot help me with."

She made to protest, but at length she sighed in submission. Perhaps, one day, he would see that she knew better than he anticipated. He had been so kind to her, so gentle and warm. The pain in his eyes broke her heart, and she wanted nothing more than to at least help alleviate that pain.

For some time they sat in silence, until a low hum high above the port began to reverberate through the platform.

"Here comes our ride," Abel said, looking up into the winter night sky. He looked down at her and offered her his hand.

She did not hesitate to take it.