The swirling skies have opened widely as if it were pierced through with a sharp sword of hatred, blazing at the terrestrial surfaces with a divine light. The peacefulness of the Earth was disturbed with the chaos in Heaven. It seemed to be boiling with unspoken words of the gods and spiced by flames of rapid fire cleaving the innocent clouds one by one. The scene seemed to be taken straight out of the apocalyptic books, nesting a typically human fear of the unknown in the hearts of its potential observers. The Heavens seemed to be shaken by something unusual and mysterious.

        Suddenly, in chaos, an object appeared in the hollow space between the severed veils of the sky. A thing resembling a human body was thrown towards the Earth and kept falling with a short, mournful scream echoing across the emptiness.

        It was impossible to see the details of the falling object, but it might have been a nymph-like creature or, perhaps, a god in its human form. A Fallen Angel.

        Once the being encountered the crust of the Earth, everything stopped, as if scared of the consequences of its rapid upheavals.

        The Fallen stood up, showcasing its human face, covered in dust and ashes. Two things were peculiar about him: broken, darkened wings which kept falling off with every step on the earthly surface, and his eyes. The eyes of the creature, resembling two hypnotizingly shiny dark-red rubies, were full of burning ambition and revealed truths and desires unknown to anyone else in the universe, but were met with a lack of understanding in the heavenly realms.

        The human-like being raised his head to look at the sky, which now returned to its normal, blue color, as if nothing had ever happened there. Ten suns were shining brightly on the celestial surface, burning the fragile skin of the creature, causing pain unheard of outside of the earthly world. The creature clenched his teeth, and a loud shriek broke out from his lungs, announcing to the world the tragedy that had just happened. It went completely unnoticed.

        The creature was alone and forced to walk through the long passages of nothing but debris and wasteland, quietly weeping to himself, brushing emotional tears off onto the ground. Despite deeply hidden sadness caused by disappointment with the Heavens, the shiny spark in his eyes prevailed in its intensity. When marching across grounds touched by droughts and floods, his wings became unfit for the earthly realms, growing heavier and heavier. The feathers started to fall out one after another. As soon as the darkened feathers, big and slim as those of the most magnificent birds, touched the ground behind the creature’s back, they transformed into little, lively animals, gradually filling up the wasteland. Life on Earth was being created unconsciously and incidentally.

        Tears, greatly despised by the creature and seen as a sign of failure, moved by an array of chaotic emotions, unable to be contained inside of a creature's sensitive heart, touched the earthly crust and bloomed with greenery. They turned into colorful flowers, green and juicy with no poison running through their roots, so different from their terrestrial counterparts. Animals created from the feathers immediately jumped towards the newly bloomed plants, enjoying their smell and pleasant shade, finally accessible, as a relief from the heat of the earthly desert. The new world seemed to thrive, awakened by an unexpected coincidence of an act of divine disobedience, but the Fallen Angel, completely indulged in his own inner thoughts in which pictures of lost Heaven were haunting him, seemed not to realize the impact he had created.

        Suddenly, something appeared on the horizon, illuminated by the lights of the suns.

        An animal of an unusual bird-like shape was seen in the light blue sky, descending from some unknown location in Heavens. It’s vast, peacock-like tail covered nearly the entire space. A small swallow's face with a rooster beak was placed on a long neck, making the animal able to look at the world from a multitude of perspectives. Its wings, painted with enchanting colors, made it impossible to turn one’s head away from it. The Fallen Angel stopped in the Fenghuang's shadow, admiring its greatness. Such an animal was unimaginable in the heavenly realms the Angel came from. The ruby eyes of the Angel opened widely, staring directly into the Fenghuang’s pupils, as if trying to pierce through and see inside the animal’s mind, grasping the impossibility of its appearance on this earthly wasteland. It seemed like the bird understands the agony, ambition and disappointment that led the angel to be thrown out from the outer realms, rendering him from his divine privileges and gods’ protection.

        The Fenghuang stood still, looking directly into the Fallen Angel’s eyes. Such intense stares were mutual, but there was no hatred or distrust. The human-like creature reached out his hand and gracefully placed it on the bird’s beak, very smooth to the touch, and felt a peculiar spark of warmth rush through his veins.

        They stood still for some time just looking at each other, being the only divine creatures in the terrestrial realm.

        “What are you?” asked the Angel, taking a step back.

        The bird blinked a few times, but no sound came out from its beak, making the human-like creature realize that it doesn’t speak in a way that is understandable for him.

        The Earth began to shake unexpectedly, but after a few seconds it came back to its previous tranquility. A new era has started, and the world has begun shifting to fit its new patterns.

        The Angel’s chaotic emotions couldn’t disappear, but he clearly felt that his immortal journey had been taking unforeseen turns for the first time in centuries. Meeting Fenghuang was a sign from Heaven – just not his heaven.

        Suddenly, the bird closed its eyes and lowered its head, as if it was bowing. The Fallen Angel raised his eyebrows in slight astonishment, not understanding what was happening. He has just been expelled from the Heavens, and all the gods passionately hated him…He reciprocated the bow, bending his body even lower. As soon as he straightened up, a feeling of confusion sprouted in his heart, and when looking at the mysterious bird in front of him, he anxiously began to think that perhaps it has been a huge misunderstanding and that the Fenghuang was bowing to some other creature. Unable to stop the intrusive thoughts, he felt an urge to check whether the bird bowed to something else other than him. He turned his head around, expecting to see the earthly wasteland, on which he will need to suffer for eternity. But as soon as he laid his eyes on what was behind him, he shivered. The planet was not covered in debris anymore and no sight of wasteland was visible anywhere. The world behind him was uncharted, and truly wonderful. He saw green plants and smelled a pleasant, flowery fragrance, with every single petal made of his sorrowful tears. He noticed animals of all kinds living side by side, all created by the feathers that fell out of his destroyed wings.

        The Fallen Angel couldn’t believe that he made an end to the dilapidated, once torn down terrestrial realm and turned it into his own definition of paradise. The gods never cared about anything outside of their own celestial realms, but he had a chance to change that. A loud, short shout of joy released from his darkened lungs, filling them with bliss. Tears filled his eyes again, overwhelming him with an unspeakable feeling of triumph, and this time, he allowed them to fall. This time, he knew that destruction is just a phase of creation and sadness may turn into gold. With his own eyes, the Angel saw how he himself was capable of light – something the gods never noticed about him.
All at once he remembered about the Fenghuang, and turned around again, wanting to share his deep exhilaration with the other being, but the bird was no longer there. It disappeared from the Earth, probably returning to the celestial realms it originated in.

        The Fallen Angel smiled for the first time in centuries, looking at the spot in the sky from which the Fenghuang previously descended. A thirst for adventure appeared briefly in his eyes, and he suddenly realized that there must be different celestial realms, with gods and beings unknown to him, living their lives by their own laws and rules. A new, exciting thought appeared in his mind: perhaps, being expelled from what he has known to be the only Heaven and the single reality, might have been a wonderful stroke of luck.

Author Bio: Marta is a year three student majoring in Chinese studies. She’s passionate about languages and societies, and she treats writing as a medium to connect with others and share her own perspective on the world.

Instagram: @thegrvmv Twitter: @m_gramatyka

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