Serah just stood there as the man scurried away. Satan? Shaking her head with disbelief, she looked down at the drawing before closing her bible again.
He must be mistaken.
Sighing, she walked out of the community center and strolled down the street, heading back home.
The neighborhood was alive with activity when she arrived, people gardening, children playing, others enjoying the sunshine. Some boys played basketball in the street a few houses down, the man across the street mowing his grass. Serah approached her house, carrying her bible under her arm, when a red ball suddenly flew right past her feet, nearly tripping her as it came to a stop in her front yard.
Brow furrowing, she reached down and picked it up when a squeaky voice cut through the air behind her. "Are you lost some more?"
Serah turned around, seeing a small child with mousy brown hair and wide eyes. She vaguely recognized her, remembering the encounter outside the elementary school not long ago. "No, I've been found," she said, smiling warmly as she held up the ball. "Yours?"
The little girl nodded enthusiastically, taking the ball from her. "Do you still got the amnesia?"
"I do," Serah said, surprised the child remembered the incident. Nicki, she recalled her name. She had a father named Nicholas and a mother named Samantha. "They think I'll always have it."
"So you don't remember nothing?"
"I remember some things," she said. "I remember meeting you, for instance."
Nicki lit up excitedly.
"Oh, and I remember my name now," she said. "Or well… somebody told me my name. It's Serah."
"I'm still Nicki," the girl said. "Do you live here now?"
"I do."
"Mr. Johnson used to live here. He wasn't so nice. He got mad when my ball went on his grass, 'cause mama said he didn't like kids. But then he got married to a beauty queen and moved away. Mama called them Beauty and the Beast, because he was hairy and mean, but the Beast was a good guy so I think he was really Gaston." Nicki paused to take a breath. "Oh! Maybe that's what you need!"
Serah's eyes widened. "A Beast?"
"No, silly, a frog!"
Serah stared at her incredulously. "A frog?"
"Don't you read fairy tales? You kiss a frog and he becomes a prince!"
Serah had to wonder if maybe she wasn't the only crazy one. "And how will a frog prince help me?"
Nicki shrugged. "It always helps the princesses in the stories."
Before Serah could respond, a female voice cut through the air from the house next door. Looking up, Serah saw a woman on the front steps, a petite brunette with a bulging stomach. Her hands rested on her belly as she watched them, her expression kind. "Nicki, time for lunch!"
"That's my mama," Nicki said. "I gotta go. I'm glad you were found!"
Nicki ran off before Serah could say anything. She watched the girl disappear into the house, smiling softly. Something about her innocence felt so familiar, so comforting.
Lucifer stood in the quiet parking lot, his back to the old motel. It was nearing dawn, the sky still dark, only a faint orange glow spilling out on the horizon. The town was quiet, most everyone asleep.
Everyone except for her.
She was still working.
He wasn't sure why he was here. He hadn't even thought about it. He tracked Abaddon around the godforsaken world, jumping from place to place, before ultimately ending up right back where he started.
He was weak.
She was tempting.
Lust was his favorite sin, but he was beginning to dislike its counterpart, the one called greed. Because he was insatiable, especially when it came to her. He wanted more, and more, and more. It was never enough.
He wondered if it ever would be.
It would have to be.
He knew he should stay away, that he needed to stay away, to keep his distance, but he couldn't. As much as he tried, he always ended up back here. Warnings be damned…
The door to the motel jingled, soft footsteps starting through the parking lot. Six o'clock in the morning, Lucifer gathered. Probably not a minute later. Humans were good with time. Peculiar things, how they monitored every hour, minute, second, scheduling themselves to utilize every bit of time they're given. He supposed it made sense, when you're granted only a few decades on earth. Sixty, seventy, eighty years, if you're lucky.
He'd squandered more time than that in a long card game.
Time for him always meant nothing. A thousand years was a breeze. Six thousand was barely enough time to get amply pissed off about being trapped in the pit. He never realized how much time he'd wasted until he was staring down a ticking clock, his time with her running short.
It caused something to materialize inside of him when he let that thought simmer, something he'd never felt before. Guilt.
Guilt, because there was only one to blame for the human's short lives, and contrary to popular belief, it wasn't Eve.
"Coffee?"
He closed his eyes briefly, letting the sound of her voice wash through him, before slowly turning around. Serah stood just a few feet away, eyes fixed directly on him. Although he knew, deep down, she saw him, his eyes still flitted around the parking lot, certain there had to be somebody—anybody—else that she was speaking to. But they were alone.
"Coffee?" he asked. "What about it?"
"Do you want to get some?"
His brow furrowed. "For what?"
He must be mistaken.
Sighing, she walked out of the community center and strolled down the street, heading back home.
The neighborhood was alive with activity when she arrived, people gardening, children playing, others enjoying the sunshine. Some boys played basketball in the street a few houses down, the man across the street mowing his grass. Serah approached her house, carrying her bible under her arm, when a red ball suddenly flew right past her feet, nearly tripping her as it came to a stop in her front yard.
Brow furrowing, she reached down and picked it up when a squeaky voice cut through the air behind her. "Are you lost some more?"
Serah turned around, seeing a small child with mousy brown hair and wide eyes. She vaguely recognized her, remembering the encounter outside the elementary school not long ago. "No, I've been found," she said, smiling warmly as she held up the ball. "Yours?"
The little girl nodded enthusiastically, taking the ball from her. "Do you still got the amnesia?"
"I do," Serah said, surprised the child remembered the incident. Nicki, she recalled her name. She had a father named Nicholas and a mother named Samantha. "They think I'll always have it."
"So you don't remember nothing?"
"I remember some things," she said. "I remember meeting you, for instance."
Nicki lit up excitedly.
"Oh, and I remember my name now," she said. "Or well… somebody told me my name. It's Serah."
"I'm still Nicki," the girl said. "Do you live here now?"
"I do."
"Mr. Johnson used to live here. He wasn't so nice. He got mad when my ball went on his grass, 'cause mama said he didn't like kids. But then he got married to a beauty queen and moved away. Mama called them Beauty and the Beast, because he was hairy and mean, but the Beast was a good guy so I think he was really Gaston." Nicki paused to take a breath. "Oh! Maybe that's what you need!"
Serah's eyes widened. "A Beast?"
"No, silly, a frog!"
Serah stared at her incredulously. "A frog?"
"Don't you read fairy tales? You kiss a frog and he becomes a prince!"
Serah had to wonder if maybe she wasn't the only crazy one. "And how will a frog prince help me?"
Nicki shrugged. "It always helps the princesses in the stories."
Before Serah could respond, a female voice cut through the air from the house next door. Looking up, Serah saw a woman on the front steps, a petite brunette with a bulging stomach. Her hands rested on her belly as she watched them, her expression kind. "Nicki, time for lunch!"
"That's my mama," Nicki said. "I gotta go. I'm glad you were found!"
Nicki ran off before Serah could say anything. She watched the girl disappear into the house, smiling softly. Something about her innocence felt so familiar, so comforting.
Lucifer stood in the quiet parking lot, his back to the old motel. It was nearing dawn, the sky still dark, only a faint orange glow spilling out on the horizon. The town was quiet, most everyone asleep.
Everyone except for her.
She was still working.
He wasn't sure why he was here. He hadn't even thought about it. He tracked Abaddon around the godforsaken world, jumping from place to place, before ultimately ending up right back where he started.
He was weak.
She was tempting.
Lust was his favorite sin, but he was beginning to dislike its counterpart, the one called greed. Because he was insatiable, especially when it came to her. He wanted more, and more, and more. It was never enough.
He wondered if it ever would be.
It would have to be.
He knew he should stay away, that he needed to stay away, to keep his distance, but he couldn't. As much as he tried, he always ended up back here. Warnings be damned…
The door to the motel jingled, soft footsteps starting through the parking lot. Six o'clock in the morning, Lucifer gathered. Probably not a minute later. Humans were good with time. Peculiar things, how they monitored every hour, minute, second, scheduling themselves to utilize every bit of time they're given. He supposed it made sense, when you're granted only a few decades on earth. Sixty, seventy, eighty years, if you're lucky.
He'd squandered more time than that in a long card game.
Time for him always meant nothing. A thousand years was a breeze. Six thousand was barely enough time to get amply pissed off about being trapped in the pit. He never realized how much time he'd wasted until he was staring down a ticking clock, his time with her running short.
It caused something to materialize inside of him when he let that thought simmer, something he'd never felt before. Guilt.
Guilt, because there was only one to blame for the human's short lives, and contrary to popular belief, it wasn't Eve.
"Coffee?"
He closed his eyes briefly, letting the sound of her voice wash through him, before slowly turning around. Serah stood just a few feet away, eyes fixed directly on him. Although he knew, deep down, she saw him, his eyes still flitted around the parking lot, certain there had to be somebody—anybody—else that she was speaking to. But they were alone.
"Coffee?" he asked. "What about it?"
"Do you want to get some?"
His brow furrowed. "For what?"
