The Fallen Angel

By Julia Engel

Juniper felt sweat dripping down her bare neck and began to wipe it away with the sleeve of her cardigan. She was still not used to having such short hair. She looked back down at her book and started to read where she had left off. A flock of birds ascending from the nearby forest were caught in the corner of her eye, distracting her, and she wondered what could have caused such a commotion.

She went back to reading only to be distracted once again by a human form slowly descending towards where the birds had flown from. The figure had white all around her, like clouds. Juniper stood up, ignoring her book falling from her lap onto the soft grass, and started towards the woods. By the time she arrived, the girl was already on the ground, the clouds gone. Her hair was white and fluffy like a cloud, contrasting with her dark skin. Crouching, Juniper examined the girl’s long, white dress. The girl’s eyes fluttered open, and Juniper took notice of her white eyelashes.

“Where am I?” she asked softly.

“Greenwood Village. A bit north from here is Petalton, and even further north is the castle.  If that helps, anyway,” answered Juniper.

“I’m not sure where those places are. I’m not exactly from here…” the girl replied.

“I can tell,” Juniper laughed. “You’re from the clouds, right?”

The girl stared at her for a moment. Then, she slowly nodded.

Juniper smiled. “Well, you can come stay with me. I get kind of lonely living by myself. Oh,” she continued, “I never caught your name.”

“It’s Audra. And yours?”

“Juniper.”

“Well, Juniper, let’s get going! I’d love to see your village,” Audra said as she looked around. “Actually, I’ve never been on the ground before. …

“Oh! My bracelet!”

Audra began to look frantically around, crawling on all fours. Juniper realized that the bracelet’s fall must have been why the birds from earlier had flown off.

“We can look for it tomorrow,” she said. “You’re probably exhausted.”

Audra suddenly stopped her search and yawned, as if she had only just realized how tired she was. She stood up and mumbled something incomprehensible, and the girls exited the forest.

They never found the bracelet and eventually, after weeks of searching daily, they gave up. Juniper was almost relieved, though. She could finally show Audra what life on the ground was like, and maybe Audra could explain her life in the clouds.

One morning, Juniper dragged Audra out for a walk in the meadow.

“Don’t you have to work today?” Audra groaned.

Juniper continued to drag Audra along the trail. “None of the villagers have clothes for me to wash, so I’m free for all day.

“Lighten up!” she laughed.

Suddenly, Audra did exactly that. She seemed intrigued by something. Juniper followed her gaze, which landed on a white-winged butterfly that was perched on a hyacinth. She smiled.

“That’s a butterfly. You’ve never seen one before?”

Audra shook her head, still in awe. She slowly crept towards it and let it fly onto her index finger.

“I think my favorite thing about this butterfly is that even though it doesn’t have a face like ours, it’s still smiling on the inside,” said Audra, thoughtfully.

“Insightful,” said Juniper. She wasn’t quite sure why a thing like that came to Audra’s mind, but she decided not to ask.

After Audra finished admiring the butterfly, Juniper set up a picnic blanket and put out some sandwiches she had prepared the night before. The pair relaxed for a while, and eventually Juniper decided to reveal her surprise for Audra.

“You know,” she started, “there’s an inventor that lives in this village. I stopped by there a few days ago and asked him if he has anything that can fly. He doesn’t, but he has plans to build something. Once he’s finished with it, he said he’ll let me borrow it.”

Audra looked at her, mouth agape. “Really? I’ll get to go home!”

But suddenly, her expression dropped. “I really like the ground, though. And I would miss you terribly. Oh, I’ll have to think about this.”

“Well, I have one more surprise for you,” said Juiper, reaching into her pocket.

“Juniper! You didn’t!’”

In Juniper’s hands was a sparkling silver bracelet.

“I know that your bracelet meant a lot to you, so this isn’t going to replace it by any means, but I have a lot of extra money saved up for things like this.”

“Still! This means a lot to me, in a different way. My old bracelet was given to me by my mother,” Audra reminisced. “It’s supposed to reveal the path back to my home, if I were to ever get lost. When I lost it, I thought I would never be able to see my home again. But this just might work!”

Audra beamed and admired the bracelet, slipping it on and off her wrist with ease. The two girls enjoyed the rest of the picnic until the sky turned a violet hue, and they sleepily returned home. The next week, the townspeople began to take notice of Audra and rumors began to circulate that she was a goddess, or perhaps an angel.

At first, Juniper noticed, Audra seemed to enjoy this attention, gladly accepting offerings of bread, clothing, and flowers. But after a while, she began to loathe the constant group of people that followed her everywhere, offering family heirlooms and money.

One crisp Fall evening, Juniper invited Audra to the town’s small, but charming library. Of course Audra accepted.

“You’ve been popular as of late,” Juniper teased. “The village is just buzzing with excitement after learning that an angel has been sent to visit.”

Audra frowned. “I’m not an angel! And, I really wish people would leave me alone.”

Juniper smiled. “But you really are an angel,” she started, “at least to me. You appeared just when I was feeling lonelier than a person could bear. I do understand why you don’t like this kind of attention, though. It’s the reason I moved here and changed my appearance.”

Audra perked up a bit and looked at Juniper curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I didn’t always live here. A few years ago, the prince died due to an unknown illness. Apparently, I’m related to the royal family in some way, and I was chosen as the next heir to the throne. So, I ran away,” she sighed, “I really am horrible, aren’t I?”

“Of course you’re not! Juniper, you’re the best person that could’ve found me! It makes plenty of sense to not want that kind of responsibility out of nowhere. I certainly wouldn’t want it.”

Juniper stared at Audra in awe. Then, she grinned. “I really am lucky to have found you, Audra.”

On a snowy winter morning, Juniper awoke and peeked out the window to find royal guards standing outside her door. They had finally found her. She frantically awoke Audra, and the two snuck out through the back door into the garden. They ran hurriedly through the village to the inventors’ house and waited, panting and out of breath.

The inventor had recently finished the flying machine, and he gladly gave it to Juniper and Audra. They thanked him and carried the machine to a nearby field. The machine looked a bit rickety and was obviously missing a few cosmetic finishing touches.

“Ok, which way to your cloud?” asked Juniper.

“Just fly towards the nearest one,” she answered. “The bracelet will reveal it.”

“But that isn’t the same bracelet! How do you know it’ll work?”

“Just trust me!”

Juniper hesitated, then nodded and began to take off. It was rickety at first, but once in the air, it was a smooth ride to the clouds. As they neared the large, white mass, Audra pointed.

“My house!” she cheered.

Juniper steered towards the small cottage and landed about a yard away. Audra laughed and jumped out of the machine. She ran around and cartwheeled and sang with joy. Juniper was wary and slowly climbed out, putting one foot on the cloud first, then the next after determining it was safe. She stood for a moment, taking everything in.

Audra grabbed her arm. “Come on,” she laughed.

They walked on the soft cloud to the lone house and Audra excitedly showed Juniper the place she grew up. Juniper listened intently to it all, and before she knew it, it was time for bed. Sleeping in the clouds meant peace and quiet throughout the entire night, which was a strange but wonderful experience. The next day, Juniper decided to stay and live with Audra. With the flying machine, they could return to the ground whenever they desired.

“Hey Audra,” Juniper began, “how exactly did you know the bracelet would work?”

Audra looked thoughtful for a moment. Then she replied, “I didn’t know for sure, actually. But when my mother gave me my original bracelet, she told me it would always guide me home, if I kept her love in my heart. So, I just assumed that the bracelet you gave me could do the same, if I kept your love in my heart.”