Chapter VIII. Hinaya

I can't stop thinking about the dream I had last night.

I woke up right after I heard my name from that woman's mouth. Rafaela... who is she?

"Rafaela..." my mouth couldn't hold back to say her name. I stared at the ceiling and closed my eyes. I still haven't talked with my family ever since I woke upㅡI don't know what to say after the things I have witnessed and experienced.

"Hina?" I heard my Dad's voice behind the door. I didn't answer but the door slowly opened.

"I am glad you're finally awake," Mom says, "How do you feel?" She sat at the edge of my bed. I rose and sat. Dad was standing and my sister took a chair for her to sit down.

"I'm good." I answered.

Mom gazed behind meㅡas if she was looking for something. I guess it's about the thing that appeared behind my back yesterday. Those strange wings. It was the first time I check on myself if I still had it the moment I woke up but I couldn't find anything.

"It... disappeared." Clara mumbled.

I looked at my parents and they couldn't look at me directly in my eyes. I started to have this feeling of wanting to ask them about everythingㅡeverything that I am not still aware of. I feel like there are things that they haven't told me.

"Do you have something to say to me?" I asked. "Mom and Dad?"

Dad cleared his throat as he sat beside Mom. Mom reached for my hands and she held it dearly.

"Hina, about the thing that happened yesterday... just don't mind it. It's nothing. Iㅡ"

"Tell me honestly. Why did I have those strange things on my back?" I want to know.

"Hinaㅡ" Mom wasn't able to finish her words when Dad spoke.

"Just tell her, Jen." His voice was calm. Mom looked down and took a deep breath before turning her eyes back on me.

"I guess it's time for you to know who you are."

"I don't get it." Clara said in a small voice. I don't get it too, my mind says.

"When me and your father were just starting life as a married couple, we lived quietly in a countryside. The place was peaceful and very beautiful." Mom started. She never let go of my hand. "One day when I was walking around the field of different kinds of flowers, I saw someone cryingㅡsitting and hiding herself behind the plants. I thought she was lost because there are only few houses near our area and her face wasn't familiar to me. But she was something else. She is special."

"Rafaela." I said which made their eyes wide. "Was that her name?"

"How did you..." Mom couldn't finish her words as she turned her gaze to my father.

"I had a weird dream last night about you," I looked at the them. "with that woman."

"It must be because you just turned nineteen." Dad said.

"I don't really get this." Clara was confused and couldn't understand the conversation we are having right now.

"Who is she?" I asked. I want to know her identity but I feel like my flesh trembled. Somehow, I am scared to know.

"Rafaela... she was an angel." I wasn't surprised to what my father had said just now. I knew that she was an angel. I saw it in my dream.

"What?" Clara was shocked. "Oh, my God. Did I hear it right, right?"

"And she was the one who took care of you when you still haven't been welcomed to the world."

"Cut to the chase, Dad!" Clara said.

"Rafaela was your real mother, Hina." Mom squeezed my hand and I couldn't do anything but stare at them. I know. I saw it in my dream and I just can't believe that it's true. I am a daughter of an angel. It sounds weird, really weird.

"Does that mean you are not my real sister?" Clara asked. "And does that mean that you are an angel too? We saw your wings yesterday!"

"Clara, stop." Dad sain in a calm tone.

My sister, Clara, sat beside me and hugged me, "Even though you weren't from Mom's womb, you are still my sister and I love you."

I was confused and didn't know what to do because of all these things that happened to me. And here is Clara, my dearest sister, told me she loves me. She is really a sweet girl. That is why she caught everybody's attention.

"I am sorry for keeping all these things to you, Hina. I know you deserve to know everything but we had to do it. Now that you are finally nineteen, I think you will fully understand what you father will say to you."

"What is it?"

Dad stood up and closed the curtain in my window and sat beside Mom.

"I am sure you know what happened to Rafaela. You had a dream, you said." His voice was calm before and now it became serious.

"She died." I mumbled.

"There is an old story about the beautiful angel of all the angelsㅡyour grandmother knew about it and I know she had already told you about the said story."

"Yeah, she told me when she visited us last timeㅡbut how did you know about that?" Wait. Are they also aware of Galen's existence?

"Galen," my heart jumped when I heard his name, "you have already met him."

"How did you know?" My forehead wrinkled in confusion as I looked at my parents repeatedly. How did they know Galen?

"But there is something else that your grandmother didn't told you. Galen was an Angel of Spring, the one who took care of the sacred flowers in their world. Those flowers weren't simple flowersㅡthose flowers had special fragrant and petals that can easily defeat a demon. When Galen fell in love with a human and sacrificed his wings, the demons had the chance to destroy the race of the angels. They wanted a war against the angels. Thanks to the four great archangels, the catastrophe was stopped." Dad explained.

"Wait, I don't understandㅡ" I said.

"The prophecy tells that Galen is coming back and he will be saved by someoneㅡsomeone who will be born by an angel who lives in the Sky Kingdom. Back then, there are six angels who were pregnant and one of them was Rafaela. The demons were alarmed that Galen will come back and tried to kill all the pregnant angels. It was the day that you were born and Rafaela managed to escape despite the fact that she was dying because of the poison." He continued.

"And it was you Hina. You are Rafaela's daughterㅡthe daughter of an angel and the one who will save the lost angel from his sadness." Mom added as she pulled me for a warm embrace.