Chapter 7: A Connection

She didn't need to think twice, she crushed her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around him. Amra held her tenderly, and caressed the back of her hair. She was incredibly happy and pushed away any thoughts of why he came in the first place, and this late at night. She hadn't seen him in weeks and now felt how much she missed him, it was crazy.

"May I come in?"

Caliope nodded with a smile and let him in. Her apartment wasn't big, it was quite simple. One small living room and a little kitchen with a table for two and two chairs. Her little room had a bed and night table, the bathroom was cramped but with enough room to move comfortably. She picked up a book from the sofa and offered him a seat. Amra sat down and looked up at her. She was standing next to him smiling but unsure of what to do. He gave her that innocent smile that always gave her goosebumps and made her weak in her knees.

"I..." she hesitated. "I am happy to see you."

Amra extended an arm and offered his hand to take hers. She looked at first, but then let him take her hand, and he gently pulled her to his lap. She felt tiny there, sitting with her legs on the side, cuddled in his arms pressing her head on his shoulder, near his neck, where she could smell his perfume; something unique and natural, it was soft yet it lingered.

They both remained in silent for a while, he held her and laid his lips on her forehead. She smiled and felt a warm sensation all over. Her hand moved up to his chest and caressed him tenderly, tugging on his shirt. He chuckled. She moved slightly but remained with her head against his shoulder. She couldn't look at him, not yet, she was afraid of what would happen if she did.

"I didn't offer you something to drink. Would you like water? Or juice?"

"Water will be fine."

She took a deep breath and nodded. She didn't want to get up but he was there, that was all that she could think of. Another thought came to her mind, as she stood up and walked to the fridge, she should be calling Miss Clark to let her know Amra was there. She quickly dismissed that thought, not wanting to be apart from him yet, and the last time she knew Caliope was with her son, she rushed to separate them. After getting the glass of water and turning back to him, she heard a sound from her phone, indicating low battery. She picked it up, and passed him the glass, turning to look for the charger, she watched the time in her phone and gasped.

"You are not crazy."

He noticed her reaction, and she turned to look at him scared. It was 12:30 a.m. and he had only been there a few minutes; 10, 15 at the most. Again she was missing time, but now Amra noticed it too, and had just assured her that she was not losing her mind. That was true, she just realized. Every time she felt the time slip away from her, it was near him.

He offered his hand again but she couldn't move, she was staring at him and he shook his head with sadness. He could pull her to him, as she was just a step from him, but she was scared.

"Do you trust me?"

That question was echoing in her mind, did she trust him? Every fiber in her body said yes, but her mind was quickly forming questions. She had to give an answer fast. But couldn't really know what to think. 'He saved you' a voice in her head resonated louder than any other, and she nodded at him. That simple nod brought back a smile on his face. She looked at her phone, noticing it was near 1am. She watched in shock.

"Stop looking at the time or you will panic again."

Caliope closed her eyes and shook her head, opening them again to look for the charger, plug the phone in the kitchen, and then walk slowly back to him. She sat next to him, facing him, a million questions scrambled in her head. She looked straight at him and found him looking at her with growing worry.

"I hope I didn't do wrong by coming here... I felt you sad, it formed a void inside me, and I had to come see you."

Caliope nodded but did not speak. She still didn't know what to say first. He felt her sad?

"Let me start by saying this. I am here to explain some things to you... to give you answers... but as you hear them, more questions will arise." He looked around the room then back at her. "I am not normal, like anyone you have ever met. Time doesn't move the same way around me... and I can't always control this, not yet at least. So please don't panic, it will delay the explanations I can give you."

That was true, she couldn't afford to panic now, not when he was there, in her home, offering her answers to things she thought impossible, things that made her think she was losing her mind.

"What are you...?"

Amra smiled again, happy to hear her speak. "Do you believe in God?"

Caliope frowned "You won't tell me you are God now."

Amra laughed softly and his laugh was a so full of joy and amusement, she thought how silly her statement was. She smiled.

"No. But do you believe in him?"

"I haven't in a while... but I once did."

"Do you believe in heaven and hell? Angels..."

"I guess it is the same. I haven't in a while. I used to when I was little."

"I am an Angel, which is the quickest answer to all your questions, it is the best straight answer I can give you."

Caliope pondered his words one by one. An Angel, he was an Angel. She started to rationalize this carefully. 'Ok, let's not go into this too deep and philosophical, an Angel, time doesn't move the same way around him, ok, it makes sense'.

"I have been here before only once, a long time ago, and I forgot how to control the things I do. I haven't been wanting to re learn them until I met you."

She felt as her heart was pounding fast again. An Angel, which would explain why Miss Clark said had her reservations towards him, this way she wouldn't ask much, she would not bother to talk to him or to really dig too deep. 'Until he met her...' She had too many questions before getting to what was going on between them.

"And Miss Clark? Is she, your mother?"

Amra chuckled "Hardly. She is also an Angel, but she has been here long, and is helping me. Before you ask, yes, Pronab is also one."

"She didn't want us to stay in contact for long."

Amra nodded "She was worried, and with a good reason. Before I was here on earth, I moved in a different reality, and time moved different around me. You noticed it, you had been feeling it."

"I thought I was losing my mind." She sighed.

"I hadn't realized at first, but Elaine suspected it, and after confirming what I was causing, she asked me to keep in mind the effects on you."

"What happened at the restaurant?"

Amra sighed and adjusted in his seat "Not only time moves different around me; I see things different. If I wish to, and I focus, I see many possibilities. I see all possible results of an action; I saw you in my mind making a call to your friend. I saw you at the restaurant. And no matter what action you took, the outcome was always the same. I had to go there myself. I was hoping you could see me and come out, which you did, but I did not think of what would happen after. I did not think you would return."

"So you can see the future?!" Her breath pitched.

"No. It's not like that. It is... as if I see how one action that you make, leads to many possible results, they are like flashes in my mind, many ways of things that could happen, neither is exact, and neither is completely accurate. I saw you a million times doing a million different things. The explosion would have killed you. And I... I didn't want that to happen to you. I couldn't..."

He occupied his mind looking around her home, trying to regain focus. She thought of his words rationalizing them, if she had set her mind into believing this, it was all making sense, and she wasn't imagining things. And above all, an Angel, Amra was an Angel, and he was sitting there next to her, she couldn't help it anymore, it was now becoming more personal, the way she felt around him, the way she was drawn to him, and how he behaved with her, was all this just what was expected when one was around an Angel? She felt as if all the special ideas of them having a connection were crumbling.

"So then... this is what it feels like to be near an Angel."

"To humans in general yes."

"Well, I am human."

"Not just any human to me."

She felt her cheeks blush, and bit her lower lip. He smiled at her and moved his hand to caress her face, she was melting. She thought of how easy she was falling for him, deep inside she thought she was a fool for falling for an Angel when she did not know much of him at all, or his nature for that matter. But he was there with her, revealing a new world, and giving her own world a new meaning. There was a connection between them she could not deny it.

"I really can't explain it... the day I met you, I 'felt' different." He sighed.

"What do you mean...?" She whispered.

"I am down in earth for a reason. A reason you are not ready to hear yet, but I didn't want to be really involved into this mission until... until I met you... you made me believe in my mission." His thumb brushed her lips and she shivered. He put an arm around her.

She looked up at him and felt how she craved for his touch. He could have her any way he wanted right there and then, but he was being gentle and careful, he really cared about her.

"I am just a human."

"The moment I met you, you stopped being just that." He closed his eyes, a long sigh and silence along with it.

She couldn't believe there was something special in her, but if he could see that in her she had to believe it. "How...?"

Amra chuckled again, and did not open his eyes, he was shaking his head slowly. She saw regret on him and that started to make her panic. She didn't regret anything, and no matter how hard it was going to be being with him, she did not want him regretting it.

She lifted her hand and this time it was her caressing his face. His eyes opened and he looked down at her. She felt her heart racing fast as for the first time, he felt helpless. She jumped into his arms without hesitation, taking him by surprise. She buried her face in his neck and he slowly gave in to the embrace, holding her tight to him.

"There is not a how. It just happened. Will that answer be enough for you...? Ever...?" He said while brushing his lips on the top of her head.

Caliope nodded and held him tight, she thought that whatever she did to deserve him in her life, she couldn't control, but the now, the here, she was in control of. She knew he was different, from the first time she saw him, and she felt different with him.

No, it was not the same with all Angels, Miss Clark and Pronab were Angels too, but she felt normal around them. It was only him. Only Amra was the one who moved her with a smile and made her melt in a hug.

"I should leave soon, the longer I stay with you, the more time passes different around you... I still haven't learned to control it here completely."

"At the restaurant, it didn't happen the same."

"It was a place filled with people, I needed to find you. Some people might have been affected, some might not. I didn't care. I was there only for a minute or two. Five or ten for normal people."

"I don't want you to go..."

He smiled and squeezed her arms tenderly. Kissing the top of her head. She took a deep breath and pondered her next words with careful thought. She wanted to be with him. "It's the weekend... stay."

He nodded and didn't object. He held her tight for a few more minutes, then let her go. She curled up in his lap again and snuggled in his arms. She gazed upon the window and saw some light coming up. It was already morning. She felt as if time outside was flying, but in there, with him, time moved slow. She didn't want to leave his side, not now, not ever.

"Promise me something." She said as she started to close her eyes.

"What is that?"

"Promise me that, no matter what crazy powers you have, you will never use them against me. No memory erasing or controlling my feelings, I need to know this is really me feeling what I feel with you."