return / raf + evangeline
It was just another morning. Just another in a number he’d began to lose count in. It wasn’t as if it mattered if it was morning or night, or sunrise or sunset, dusk or dawn, everything was always the same. And yet, the human world turned on time, and so Raf adjusted his to it as well. He’d found a purpose, now so even if things in his head turned to the same thoughts as they always did, a small part of him was busy in overseeing this new task. At least it ate up his days, and for that he was somewhat grateful.
He’d taken to guarding the lake beside the village. It was a large expanse, and dangerous, ice floes threatening to break off at any point to plunge anyone who crossed it into dark depths. It was also the only way into the neighbouring village, and so all the villagers had to brave crossing it to get there. Most of them fared well, but occasionally there were children who came to play here. Why their parents let them, Raf would never know. And twice there had been an errant child who’d fallen and slipped through the cracks, and twice Raf had dove into the water to retrieve them before the cold had any power to do its damage. It was always a lightning quick job: he was there, and he was gone. The children began calling him человек тень, shadow man.
So it was with purpose that he sat and watched. Although of course, such an activity still had no bearing whatsoever on the swirlings in his head, constant and relentless. But he was used to it by now. Or not, it was a lie he told himself.
There was something that disturbed him on this particular day though. Or stirred rather, not disturbed. There wasn’t much that could disturb his mind, or so Raf felt. But it was an odd sensation nevertheless, something external was trying to internalise itself in his mind. A voice. Words? Something forming. Then his eyes began to falter, or at least he thought they did. It looked like heat wave distortion, things flickering in the distance which were usually still — but there was no heat in this heartless place. He leaned forward, unsure whether to trust his eyes or not.
Even though it pretty much looked like that Evangeline was at the circus all the time, helping out people, singing in the biggest tent, there was a lot more that Evangeline did daily. She was still doing her real work, watching over people and other creatures, helping them the best way a guardian angel can. And Rafik Javan was one of those. No matter how the man didn’t think he’d need someone to watch over him, or someone even caring about him, Evangeline was still watching over him. She helped Raf in little things time to time, of course not doing anything obvious, because you couldn’t let the protege know about your existance.
But there were moments when you had to appear and let them know who you were and what you were doing. This day was a day like that. Rafik was far away from where the Cirque was, his brother’s wedding was soon and Evangeline knew how much Rafik cared for Behmard. Probably Evangeline was the only one to even know Raf’s whereabouts, so that made her the only one to let him know since he didn’t seem to be coming back before he’d miss the wedding.
Instead of appearing right in front of the man Evangeline decided to give him a soft landing, so she let her astral to take form on the thin ice of the lake near the cottage Raf lived in. At first she was just a soft image that could easily be thought as a Fata Morgana, but as she walked closer to the cottage the clearer her form got. “Relax, darling”, she said sofly, knowing Raf could hear her even though she was still walking on the ice bare feeted in her flowy white summer dress. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you, I’m not going to share your location with anyone, so you can relax, Rafik.”
