Jarus leaned against the white battlements, staring out across the vibrantly green pastures at nothing in particular. As he twirled a beautiful white flower in his hand, he would occasionally look down at it for a brief moment before looking back up and across the field. He sighed, and let some of his loneliness and hope, mixed with some of his love, flow subtly into the flower. A slight cool wind picked up and gently began to play with the length of grey robe that hung over the battlements. Jarus looked down at the flower and stared at it for a long while before he gently let it go, watching as it fell in long graceful arcs and loops, almost as if it was dancing with the playful wind. The flower suddenly dropped, was caught by the wind, and then deposited in the moat far below the wall. Jarus craned his neck to try and spot it in the water, but it was impossible. He sighed and then slowly stood to his feet on the white stones before running a hand along the back of his neck while turning around and making his way along the wall-top back towards one of the thick stone towers. The castle was as large as several city blocks, with walls twenty to thirty feet thick. The great white stones seemed to glow in the sunlight, the wind: caressing them. Jarus stopped for a moment and let the wind play with his robe before continuing slowly into one of the towers. He pushed open the heavy oaken door with his left hand, stood for a moment, and then walked back out onto the wall. He walked up to the battlements and breathed in deeply as he untied his robe from around his body. He pulled it off himself and whispered a word, the robe instantly disappearing from his hands. He wore a fine mail shirt that made no noise when he moved, and was covered in a blank black tunic which reached to his booted feet. He had on mail greaves which showed through the split in his black tunic. The tunic matched the color of his hair, which was as black as the feathers of a crafty raven, but cut short that it did not but barely move when the wind tried to play with it. His eyes, neither hard nor soft, took in everything with a daunting wisdom and intelligence that bespoke of a long existence. He shook his head slightly, and then crouched on the edge of the battlements. A noise, like the sound of a thousand wind-stirred blades of grass came from behind him, and two wings shot out from his back to their full extent. He stayed in that position on the battlements, his wings spread, his body poised, emptying his mind of everything.

    A little girl, her shoulder length hair blowing in the wind, energetically got off her school bus with a few of her friends, laughing and talking with them as they were finally able to come home from their fifth grade classes. Fall was like a heavy blanket over the town, the sidewalk and lawns covered in the gold and orange leaves. The kids played in them as they walked home, throwing them at each other with little ineffectual fistfuls of leaves that showered the whole group rather than their intended targets. The little girl, still laughing, noticed a small white flower lying on the edge of the sidewalk, its pure white petals softly stirring in the breeze. The girl bent down to pick it up, but just then a small gust of wind blew it onto the edge of the street, the little girl following it.

    Jarus leaped from the battlements and fell through the air as it softly rustled the feathers of his wings and the hair on his head. He let go of all of his thoughts and let the wind guide him down, down to infinity.

    The little girl walked eagerly towards the innocent white flower, which was yet again blown further into the street, and still followed playfully by the little girl. The girl, not paying attention, jumped towards the flower and finally caught it. Suddenly, she looked up at the sound of a horn accompanied by screeching tires. The girl screamed and clutched the flower tight. The vehicle tried to stop, but it still slammed into her, rendering her world black and senseless.

    Jarus suddenly snapped his eyes open. Pain wracked his body for a moment, intense pain, and then it was gone. He had an image of a little girl being hit by a human car and dying. He gasped as the pain came again, and tears came to his eyes for the little girl.

    The girl blearily opened her eyes, and saw that she was floating through white…water. She looked to her hand, and saw that she was still clutching the flower. She smiled, not knowing what had happened, and clutched it to her breast. Just then, she saw a large man swimming or flying towards her. As he came close enough to her, he grabbed her gently. The girl was not scared, even felt a little happy at this man’s arrival. Suddenly, she could feel the air on her face again, and could feel a subtle but deep pain throughout her whole body. She gasped, and slowly fell into pure darkness once again.

    Jarus closed tight his wings and dove into the moat with nary a splash. He hurtled through the water: white water that was all around him. He suddenly spotted the girl and grabbed her as he neared her. He effortlessly held her and continued through the water until he tore through the other side into her world. He hurtled towards her body, hoping and praying that he was not too late. The girl had fallen limp in his arms as he neared her earthly body. He noted the blood: the vast amount of blood that covered her body was terrible to behold. People were screaming and crowding around her, staring and crying at the same time. Jarus gritted his teeth and slammed into the ground.

    The crowd, numbering close to twenty people, was shocked by a slight rumble in the ground, and the slight cracks that appeared near the side of the girl’s body. They looked around in confusion while the fire trucks and an ambulance blazed through traffic only a mile away from the crash.

    Jarus felt a tear slide down his cheek and onto the girl’s body as he laid her soul into her mortal shell. He placed his hands over her heart and began to pray with all of his might, with a fervor unmatched by any save for the Lord himself.
The girl slowly and blearily opened her eyes again, the image of the man fading and sharpening at the same time. Unimaginable pain coursed through her body and seemed to tear her very soul for a few brief moments before it began to recede. The pain suddenly spiked and forced the breath from her lungs before it disappeared altogether. She sighed in an aching peace, and smiled at the dissolving face of the man who had helped her. She felt his hand clasp her hand holding the flower before he completely vanished.

    The crowd, seeing her alive and impossibly well, began to joyously shout, her parents falling to their knees and shouting praises to the Lord with all of the fervent gratitude and love in their hearts.

    The ambulance screeched to a halt as the paramedics hastily took the girl into the ambulance, the parents with them, and tore off towards the hospital in an instant.

    The Lord looked down on this event with a smile on his face, and love in his heart. Jarus had finally found someone worthy to have him as their guardian angel.