Malachim

It was an unfamiliar white ceiling. He moved and felt as though his body had cracked from a layer of cement.

After giving himself a few seconds, he clenched his abdomen and used his elbow to prop himself up until he settled successfully.

Glancing around, he realized he was in a private hospital room. Across from his bed, the pale man from before was dozing off on a too-small bench, his dark shoulder-length hair tied back loosely. The bench was too short for the man's legs, so they bent and touched the floor.

His eyes locked on the window to his left, seeing nothing but the orange-tinged sky from the setting sun.

How long had he been asleep? Was Asher alright? Questions flooded his mind, and he thought of his parents, steeling himself for any news that was about to come.

"You awake?" The pale man approached his bed, stretching and yawning. Alley looked up at him, surprised by his height, estimating he might be a few inches over six feet.

Before responding, Alley reached for a cup of water on the bedside table, relieving his dry throat with a long sip before letting out a sigh.

"Are you a priest? Do you know where my brother is? How long have I been asleep?" he asked in rapid succession, as the man pulled up a chair to the left side of his bed.

"Whoa, one at a time." The man adjusted himself before answering. "I'm kind of a priest. Asher is with your Aunt. You've been asleep for a day." He nodded, displaying his ID, which identified him as a priest.

"Which aunt?" Alley asked, mentally reviewing the many aunts on both sides of his family tree.

"Uhh.. I think her last name sounded like that of a fish…" the other replied, trailing off.

"A... fish?" Alley echoed, puzzled.

While in thought, they heard someone struggling with the door handle. Turning towards the sound, they watched as the door finally slid open, and the spiky-haired man entered with a bag of groceries.

"Roy! What was his aunt's name again?"

"Cressila Pompan. She left just this afternoon. She told us you have to call the moment you're awake," Roy answered, not meeting anyone's gaze.

Alley's eyebrows furrowed briefly before relaxing. It dawned on him that Cressila was the full name of his favorite aunt, Silla. Although in the back of his mind, he knew she was the one who would step forward, being closer to their family than the rest of their relatives.

"Thanks. I'll call them later," Alley replied.

Roy walked over to the bedside table and set the groceries down. Alley tried to catch his gaze behind the sunglasses, subtly scanning his face. He noticed a large scar on the top of Roy's hand as he unloaded the fruits and necessities.

Turning to Alley, Roy extended his hand. "I'm Roy," he introduced himself.

Alley shook his hand. "Ah… Alley. Alley Ressula."

The pale man clapped his hands together, his face brightening. "Oh! Names!" he exclaimed. "I'm Pierrot," he finally said, smiling, as Roy picked an apple from the fruits he bought and went to wash it.

Alley wondered if it was customary for people in other districts not to say their full name when introducing themselves, as he had been taught to always use his full name.

"It's an alias," Pierrot beamed at him. "In case you were wondering."

"I didn't know priests needed aliases," Alley said as Roy came back with a washed apple and began to peel it at the table.

Pierrot and Roy shared a look.

"We're not priests, but we are affiliated with the church," Roy clarified, pausing his peeling to look at Alley. "We're Malachim… more commonly known as exorcists," he added, then resumed the peeling.

"Can we tell him that?" Pierrot asked in a useless whisper, as Alley was right between them.

Roy shrugged as he finished peeling the apple and started to cut it into slices.

"Malachim?" Alley echoed.

"Yes. I'm a Malach, and that clown's a Malach, we're Malachim," Roy explained, arranging the slices on a plate and placing it within Alley's reach on the bed.

"Hey, don't call me that…" Pierrot pouted, reaching for a slice of apple.

Roy slapped his hand and he pulled back. "It's for the child, glutton."

"It's for the hungry!" He countered, as his hand tried again for the fruit.

Alley watched the banter between them, silently observing. Pierrot noticed this and sat on the edge of the bed, resting his feet on his previous chair.

"Just be careful not to mix up 'Malach' and 'Malachim'—it might offend someone," Pierrot added.

"Right. It's a common mistake," Roy agreed, taking a seat on the bench opposite them.

"But… Why did you guys stay here?" Alley asked them both.

Both looked at each other and then at Alley. "We're actually here to inform you of something important," Roy said.

Alley raised his eyebrows, ready to listen.

"Malachim are people who are capable of tapping into their souls, and it's a whole lot of self thing from higher heavens stuff with prayers and divine holy beings, and help us to exorcize, defeat, condemn demons back to—'' Pierrot stopped when he saw Roy's face.

"What..." Alley could not follow any of it.

"We'll tell you the rest tomorrow, you have to rest today," Roy said as he walked toward Pierrot and smacked his nape.

"Ow..."

"So you guys are the ones who exorcize the possessed... but why do people refer to you as priests?"

There was hesitation in Roy's face as he tried to think of what to say. "Well, we're not really allowed to say we're Malachim. That term is only used at church or among ourselves," he finally explained.

"But there's no reason to hide that you're not priests," Alley said.

Pierrot grinned, "He gets it, Roy."

"Well," Roy sighed, "It's also to ease the public's minds. It's better to think we're priests than just random people."

"So why am I allowed to know that name?"

The two looked at each other and Pierrot faced him and immediately said, "You're one of us."

Yet Roy only sighed, "We'll spare you the details until you're out of the hospital, so don't mind what he just said."

Pierrot stretched his torso sideways in his seat. "Right, you have to rest because… first thing after you're discharged, we'll have a conference with the Priests at the church," Pierrot said, giving a grunt here and there. "The Archbishop will be there!" He added.

Alley was stunned. "What..."

"Pierrot," Roy was stern. "Why'd you have to say that now, let the kid rest."

"To prepare the mind! The mindddd~" Pierrot pointed at his head repeatedly.

"Malachim... Archbishop..." Alley stretched his head from side to side and released a deep breath. "Haa.. My head hurts."

"Just rest." Roy walked over to the window and closed them, adjusting the air conditioner. "Some officers will be here first thing in the morning, just to question you about the incident."

A grin grew on Pierrot's face. "Ah yes… My favorite people."

"Don't tease them too much." Roy looked at him sideways. "Sycamore is having a hard time explaining why his officers for follow-ups are getting low."

Pierrot smirked and chortled as he stretched his hands and neck. "If they can't even listen to the stories, they won't survive their job."

"It's partly your fault."

Pierrot only smirked as a sudden chime prompted him to check his phone. Upon seeing its content, he looked over to Roy and gave a nod.

"Well, hup!" Pierrot exclaimed as he stood up. "And that is all, we'll have to leave now," he told Alley.

"Call your aunt. We'll be back tomorrow, so contact us if anything happens," Roy added.

"Okay... Thank you," he replied as the men began to head out. Then, hesitantly Alley said, "But..." and both of them turned, "How about my parents?" he asked.

Silence filled the room, heavy. Alley expected no good news.

"They both didn't make it," Pierrot finally said.

"We were too late. I'm sorry," Roy added softly.

Alley's heart sank. A wave of cold sensation showered him. He nodded slowly, and again, "Still, thank you for everything."

Pierrot smiled while Roy gave a small nod, and they proceeded toward the door.

As the lights dimmed, the room grew colder. With the click of the door, he was now alone.

He took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "Malachim," Alley whispered to himself, his mind drifting from his parents to Asher, and to the strange phenomena that had happened to him.

Yet how strange, he prepared himself for the news. At the back of his mind, he expected this outcome, so why couldn't he fully grasp the weight of this loss?

It felt as if all his walls had crumbled down without making a sound, and all he could do was watch.

And so, in the silence, he just silently wept.