Lips of an Angel Part I: The Beginning

Once upon a time... in a far away land, where the sun never shined and the nights were always bitterly cold, there lived a boy named Joshen... The people of this land were feed up with their miseries and prayed to god to save them... they prayed night and day and finally, after long last, the almighty stood before them in all his brilliance. "What is it you wish ? Speak", he said in a loud voice. "We all wish for eternal happiness", replied one stout hearted person. "So be it", said the god and vanished. The people were elated. They felt uncontainable happiness burst out from their hearts. They were all happy.


Joshen sat on the floor and held his head in his arms. He was lonely... and sad, for he was not present when all the other people received their happiness from the lord. The people bounded past him, some hopping, others skipping... but none took a second look at poor Joshen. He was all alone. He felt darkness coming and welcomed it willingly.


He dreamt about a rose, budding and blooming to its full glory before withering and dying. "Wake up! Why are you sad ?", he heard a voice say in his dreams. He slowly opened his eyes and saw standing before him, a girl of extraordinary beauty. She was smiling at him sweetly. "Why are you so sad ?", she repeated. Joshen gave a start and jumped up to his feet as if he were being stung by a summer's bee. Startled, the girl backed away, looking at Joshen warily. She seem to be deciding something, for a moment later, she tentatively crept back towards him. "Don't cry", she said in a low whisper, "It'll be ok", she promised. Joshen realised he must have cried himself to sleep again and hastily wiped away the remnants of yesterday nights tears. "Here, come with me", said the girl, holding out her hand. Joshen looked at her hand and then back at his own dirty ones. She grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the local inn. "My father's the inn keeper. I'm sure he'll have something for you to eat". Joshen, on hearing this violently shook his head and started to tug against the girl's hand. The inn keeper didn't like him very much. She puled harder, indicating towards the inn. With a resigned sigh of defeat, Joshen stood up and cautiously made his way along the narrow, winding path.


The girl quietly entered through the back door, eased the bolt and motioned Joshen to follow her cautiously. She led him up the stairs, into the attic, to a small bed beside a window that overlooked the yard. "You must be hungry, stay here, I'll get something to eat". Before he could say a word, the kind girl was gone. He looked around at the interesting attic and slowly lowered himself onto the old moth-worn bed. Outside the window, he could see the stars twinkling merrily at him, as if they were sharing a joke at his suspense. He shook his head, trying to clear it. She waked back inside and sat beside him quietly. He recognised her more from her perfume than her physical presence. She smelled like dew in spring. "Here, have some bread". she offered. He gratefully took one piece and began to chew on it. "You haven't told me anything about yourself. My name is Carol . What's yours ?!". He looked up and sighed. She stared at him, and looked away "Ok, its upto you. I won't force you to if you don't want to". He sighed and continued to eat the bread. "I'll be right back", she said and got up to leave. 'Wait', he pleaded in his mind, grabbing her arm, 'I'm sorry...', he tried to tell her. She looked at him for a moment. "Thats ok", she smiled and left the room.