Miheal buried his head in his arms as he knelt before Archangel Gabriel, he had no possible explanation to give, there was no answer to give either. He had failed, all he had to do was to protect her and he had failed. His ragged feathers and broken wings were testimony to his failure and his disheveled appearance screamed his abject despair, but it did not gain any sympathy from Gabriel, rather it only increased his ire and frustration.

"You have been given gentle reminders and stern warnings, and all for a naught. Guardian angels are there to guard their human wards, not to beseech God to change the path of their destiny."

Miheal sighed, "I just want to know how do I do my duty while watching her die? Is wanting to be able to comfort her in her direst need also not my duty? Should I not be allowed to offer her solace as part of my role, more so, when the Heavens have turned deaf to her prayers?"

Gabriel's feathers rustled in golden fury and Miheal pulled in his ragged wings a little closer. All of the angels, guardian or otherwise, were quite familiar with Gabriel's frustration when the rules were not followed, even in those cases where following the rules would hamper their duties. He had disobeyed the rules one too many times and even though Miheal was sure that each time it was only to protect his ward,  he knew that almost all the angels would take a contrary stand.

"...it was the same with your first charge, she would feel happy and calm, your testimony to that state, and you would oblige her by announcing you presence—"

"I never made myself visible to either of them, it was only"—

"—by dropping your feathers. You were assigned to the sorting duty for a couple of centuries and you still have not learnt? Maybe another couple of centuries might teach you."

Miheal protested, sorting duty involved reading and segregation of the prayers of humans into various categories and it was an onerous duty. Some of the letters were so poignant and distressing that he spent hours in tears though most were so selfish and demanding that it left him fuming. The prayer sorting duty had almost made him lose hope in humans and humanity and he was glad to be reassigned to his guardian duties. 

"Please Gabriel, anything but the sorting duty"—

"How many times have you been told that giving any indication of your presence to your ward is forbidden? I have lost count of it but you do not seem to learn. Why do you not understand"—

"He might, if you give him a chance to think."

Both Gabriel and Miheal gasped at that voice, it was rare for the Almighty himself to make an appearance and Miheal was now convinced that he was going receive to the worst punishment ever meted out in the angel history. However, despite his circumstance, he allowed himself a brief smile when he beheld Gabriel dropping down to his knees. 

"So Miheal, why have you been ruffling Gabriel's feathers?

Miheal did not raise his head but felt a tiny hope when he heard God's question, it could be his only chance and the only hope for Grace, "She is dying and I cannot do anything to help her. It pains me, I am her guardian angel who cannot do anything but watch her die. She...she believes in you and in angels, so once in a while I let a feather drop by. I know it is against the rules, I know it is against everything I have been told, but when she holds a feather, there is a smile on her face and she forgets about her pain. It is only for an instant but then"—

He stopped, dropping feathers was not only a crime, it was also a painful act, each feather that was dropped by intention caused the angel untold agony, and no feathers grew in place of the plucked one. 

"Do you love her?"

Gabriel was more shocked than Miheal and reached out to grasp his wrist as though to warn him to think before he answered, everyone knew what happened if a guardian angel fell in love with their ward. It was unacceptable and banishment from Heaven was imminent. The angel would be stripped off their wings and sent to Earth as a mortal, with no memory of either their angelic days or the ward they had fallen in love with. 

However, Miheal could not lie and would not either; slumping even further on his knees, he mumbled, "I do love her but I am not asking for a chance to be with her or anything like that. I am also not..."

He raked his fingers through his hair, unable to form words to express what he wanted, when God spoke, "What exactly do you want for Grace? And tell the truth, needless to say, I will know it if you  do not speak true."

At that loving admonishment, Miheal dared to raise his head, "The truth? I would want her to be healed completely. And if the price is the loss of my wings, I am willing to give it up, every single feather left to me." 

___________________________________

"I see you have met your new friend, he is Melvin Godson and he is your 'buddy'."

"Buddy?"

Dr Benedict Miller laughed and Grace smiled, he really did look like Santa Claus dressed in a doctor's scrubs, just as jovial though a slimmer version. She had been  assigned to his care a couple of weeks ago and had taken and instant liking to the kind doctor, who was always smiling and encouraging her, giving her hope when she found it tough to hang on; she needed that hope, however frail it was, especially when she had to give blood for the bloodwork and continued tests; the pain of the needles, the hope and helpless of waiting for the results and the disappointment of same. Today the results would come in and despite the hope that there would be some difference, some amelioration after the change in her medication, there was always the fear that it would not be good news or rather a worsening of her condition. 

She kept smiling though, as Dr Miller continued, "Well, the young man here, is a volunteer and part of the newly implemented programme where we wish to pair up fighters like you with like him. He does not have any illness as such to battle but he has his share of helping people to fight. And since you are of similar age, I thought you could be friends."

Grace looked from the doctor to Melvin, she had been astonished when she first saw him for he reminded her of her picturisation of her guardian angel. She was no great artist, so the representation of her imagination on paper had no likeliness to the young man who stood before her, yet he was exactly like how she envisaged her guardian angel to be. Her astonishment had caused her to be shy and abrupt with Melvin. 

She was also tired, tired of hoping that things would improve; that she could get better. And making new friends in her condition needed energy, more than that it needed faith, faith which she found it increasingly different to keep. But as she looked from Dr Miller to Melvin, Grace had a sudden realisation, it was more of a strange feeling, a feeling that this was a test, a test of her faith. And never one to give up on faith, she held out her hand to greet Melvin.

Miheal  stared in wonder at her small hand resting in his large one, unable to fathom the tumultuous feelings the ravaged him. He then looked at Dr Miller, who patted his shoulder and who winked at him...and then all memories of his angelic life faded from his mind. 

_____________________________________

Gabrial huffed and sulked, "It is not fair, my Father, you cannot bend the rules just because Miheal"—

"I cannot?"

Gabrial gulped and took a step back, he knew he had crossed a line, "I am sorry to question your infinite wisdom, but..."

The laughter that sounded in his ears was nothing like he had heard in his long existence and then he heard the familiar love, "Gabriel, my child, you are my favourite, despite being a stuffy rule follower. Have you not heard the humans say, 'God moves in mysterious ways?' Or maybe you should just look up your Book of Lives again."

Gabriel did that and when he came to Grace's page, he staggered. Earlier her page had only a few months left after this particular moment, now it showed a full life, children, grandchildren and great grand children, one of whom would grow up to be a doctor who would finally find a cure for the disease that nearly killed Grace. 

"This was the testing point for Grace, a test to see if the hope and faith she has would succeed. When she accepted Miheal as a friend, her faith won for she hoped it would help her. Miheal loves her and love is an act of faith.  And you should know that where there is faith..."

"...there would be miracles," finished Gabriel, still with a slight pout, staring at the place where God had stood a mere seconds ago.

Once God disappeared, Gabriel gave a soft chuckle and decided to take a leaf from his father's book or rather a feather from the Fallens' jars. Parting the Heavens by a sliver he peeked at Earth below, a few years into the future.

Grace looked up in surprise as the small feather floated, unmistakable in the shower of rice and petals, and bent to pick it up. Her eyes widened, it was similar to the ones she had received in her childhood and during her illness; she turned misty as her fingers caressed the small, soft silvery feather. Feeling her husband's glance on her her, she smiled at him and whispered, "remember those feathers which I collected and believed them to be belong to my guardian angel? They looked just like this, do you think he is still around?"

Melvin looked at his wife; he loved and adored her, and for her sake he would agree to anything she said, though she must have had a guardian angel for there could be no rational explanation for what had happened over the past six years, her near miraculous recovery, her falling in love with him and now being married to him. 

He smiled and murmured, "Maybe he is still around, even though you are no longer a kid. Do you miss him?"

She gave a low laugh, finding the hint of jealousy in his voice adorable and whispered " God does move in mysterious ways, curing me and bringing you into my life. And who needs a guardian angel when I have you?"

At those words, Melvin could not stop himself from kissing her, uncaring that they were still on the steps of the Church. Cheers of joy and wonder rose among the wedding guests as the couple seemed to be bathed in heavenly sunlight.

Gabriel let the Heavens close, nodding his head in agreement; God, indeed, did move in mysterious ways.

Word count 1895

This is my entry for the prompt by the profile Horns_and_Halos, a profile dedicated to Angels, Demons and Nephilim. 

Contest Prompt: 

"Lets just say there are numerous OBSTACLES in the way of love.Especially when a Guardian Angel develops feelings towards their human and admitting to those feelings would cause the Angel to fall...not just in love but from Heaven. 

Tell us all about it in 2000 words or less"