Gargoyle

It was a gray day, very unusual for that city. People still bustled around in their bright colors under umbrellas, and raincoats to wherever they needed to be. Always ignoring the man with a bleeding back, no shoes, and the worried expression. He constantly looked around, though this little place seemed to be safe. Sadly no one cared, or noticed him, no one but one woman. She was more girl it seemed then woman, with a small body, long dark hair, very dark clothing, and cold hard eyes. It was as if she was looking at him through ice plates. She had no raincoat nor an umbrella. She stood before him, the wounded man that crouched low to the ground due to the pain of his cuts and bruises. Though ice ran through her it seemed, she extended a warm hand to him her eyes never changing from that cold stare.

Reluctantly he took the little hand and brought himself to stand. She was so tiny compared to him, the top of her head barely reached his chin! He ignored this fact, and followed her across town, into a wood with a dirt road and not long after a grand house half under ground. The land was so beautiful, but he had no time to take it all in. She led him down a flight of stairs something like a stairwell to a balcony type first floor. It went all the way around in a square with doors and a hall way or two there and a set of stairs on the opposite side leading down to the second floor. The ceiling was mostly glass and the sound of rain hitting the glass was the only thing heard. He had stopped to gasp and gape at the beauty of it all so she pulled him hard to lead him the rest of the way to the bath room.

They walked in and this ceiling also was glass, but it was stained glass! Even with the gray day the colors shown on the floor with the shadows of drops. He looked around the grand bath room as the small woman pulled his clothing off to reveal what looked like numerous blows by a whip. Cuts from a knife, bruises from fists, feet, and maybe bats littered his body though he didn’t seem to notice her removing his clothes and running a warm bath for him. He was looking, staring even, at the ceiling of stained glass. He was trying to make out the images, and read the words under the images. She pulled him to the bath and she pointed at the water but he was still looking at the ceiling. She poked him in the side, on a spot that wasn’t cut and he looked down at her. Once more she pointed at the water in the tub and this time he got in hissing at the burning sensation from the water in his wounds.

She wasted no time taking a wash cloth and soap to his battered body. Again he hissed at the pain but made no other sounds until he was used to the feeling. “So why don’t you talk,” he asked as she scrubbed away. She said nothing and paid his question no mind. She just kept that flat face and cold eyes on, “At least tell me your name.” No answer, “I’m Loan.”

She stopped and looked at him and simply said, “I take it you can clean the rest of yourself. When you’re done call me.”

She handed him the washcloth and began to walk away, “Wait! What’s your name? How will I know what to call you by?” She pointed to the words on the ceiling and walked out, he made a face, “That doesn’t seem right. How’s that her name?” He shrugged it off and slowly finished cleaning. Again he shook his head at the thought of that being her name though despite himself he called her. “Gar-Gargoyle!”

She opened the door and entered with a towel for him. He got up with difficulty and entered her outstretched towel covered arms. She looked the size of the towel itself he almost laughed, though instead he thanked her and dried himself off. She stood before him with a stone cold face, eyes glued to him. “This way,” she said in the same mono-tone voice as she did before. She pulled him by the hand through the bathroom and hall, to another room closer to the stairs that led down to the second floor. She pointed to all the clothes lain out on the bed, and to a dresser drawer that had many boxers hanging out of it. Loan nodded, she pushed him in the rest of the way and shut the door behind him. He had almost forgotten about his wounds and found that she had also lain out bandages that he could easily put on himself.

He soon dressed and exited the room in simple yet elegant looking wear. He didn’t feel right wearing such expensive looking clothes but there was nothing simple in that wardrobe. He looked down the balcony type upstairs to the bottom floor where the little woman was bustling around with that same look. She was running to what he guessed was the kitchen because he heard a high pitched kettle sound. He started to go down the stairs when he heard a thud! She had fallen and so he rushed to her side. She got up and hurried to the kettle, completely unfazed by the fall. He looked quizzically at her as she pored the hot water into a large mug that smelled of chocolate. “Have some hot chocolate. You’ll feel better,” she said simply with the mug outstretched. He smiled and nodded at her, taking the mug.

“Why is your name Gargoyle,” he finally asked. She looked at him through ice again and it took many moments before she answered.

“Because that is all I am. One of those statues that you saw outside. There were many of us at one time, though I was the most prized. They left everything to me, as if I was a human like them...it was kind of them. Once I was a full gargoyle atop a building. Watching people walk though the park I looked over. One day I broke, my head came clean off. So they threw me away, and these people found me. They brought me back to there house and gave me life, and a home. I can not feel though. I don’t know if I long to have feelings, emotions...”

He laughed a tad and looked down. He shook his head and stood. He walked next to her and placed his hands on her cool cheeks. “Warm aren’t they,” he asked simply. She nodded and he removed them, “You can feel my hands on your skin can’t you? You can feel the warmth they give off, right?”

She looked troubled as if contemplating what he just said, “I see what you’re saying...”

“When was the last time you smiled,” he asked touching the corners of her mouth with his fingertips. “I can tell that you have before...So how long?” His fingers brushed her lips and had a sudden urge to kiss her, though he resisted the urge and let his hand drop to the table.

She looked at him in that same troubled way that made her look so much smaller. “The last time I smiled...” She looked away from him at her hands, she clenched and relaxed them over and over.

“What made you smile,” he asked as well. Only adding to her confused state of mind. He chuckled and touched her chin, lifting it making her look at him.

She looked at him blankly with contemplating eyes then said simply, “Them.” Her eyes seemed to soften, to become less like ice and more like water. He let her chin go and she looked down again at her hands with her lips turned up at the corners slightly at a memory. Loan grinned from ear to ear at that sight and looked at her directly, face to face. The smile was gone from her lips yet it resided in her eyes. He looked at her eyes then lips over and over then came to rest on her eyes.

“You know, I believe you have feelings and emotions. I believe that even without a beating heart you still have a mind of your own. Emotions and feelings don’t come from the heart, they come from the mind. So you can be truly happy or truly sad,” he grinned again. “Now,” he said standing up straight and looking down at her, “can you give me a real smile?” She looked slightly shocked at his request then shook her head “no.” Loan looked hurt and felt that he had made no progress with her at all. “What can I do to make you smile,” he asked in despair falling to his knees to be closer to her height. She shrugged and looked as if she remembered something. With a stone face she walked up the flights of stairs and back out into the rainy, gray day. He followed her and stopped before the door. “What are you doing? It’s even worse out there now! You’ll catch cold! Come back,” he yelled after her into the downpour. Though there was nothing he could do but stand and wait for her. It was a long while and it started to get darker when she came trotting back towards him into sight. Everything was stuck to her and she didn’t look so great. He outstretched his arms to welcome her to his warmth, she gladly took his gesture. They stood there for a while with his holding her tightly yet genteelly as if she were a treasure.

“You’re very warm...and I’m all wet. I’m sorry, I should change if we are going to continue this,” if he didn’t know better he’d had though she was enjoying the warmth. Though it seemed that she’s made to please, and that she would only continue because he seemed happy.

“We don’t have to,” he pushed her away so she could get changed but when he looked at her face it seemed that more then water was on her face. He was taken aback and tried to look again but she was already running off to the shower. “Wait! Gar...Ack! What a terrible name for someone so beautiful,” he cursed silently and walked into the bathroom. She was struggling to get out of her wet clothing, pulling and yanking at it. Her arms were going crazy but he grabbed them and spun her to face him. No, he thought wrong...she hadn’t been crying. Her eyes still looked sad though, more sad then icy anyway. “Did you really want to be that way? Standing like that with me,” he asked with sadness on his voice. Was he dreaming or did she look embarrassed?

“I want to shower,” she said squirming and moving her wrists around in his hands. He let her arms go but slid his hands down her back and pulled her into him with a oomph! She looked up to him through wet strands of hair. She looked as if her eyes were melting into water again. The time before he had only wished to kiss her, now he just couldn’t refuse those cold, wet lips. He bent far down and laid his lips on hers once, then pulled back slightly only to find her reaching after him. He smiled through the kiss and pulled his arms around her waist, lifting her into his arms. Though that didn’t last long, he forgot he was hurt and sharp prickling pains shot through him. He groaned and set her back down, cursing the ones who had done that to him. “I want to shower,” she had said again after a while of standing beside him.

He had regained his composure and found his posture. He nodded at her statement and helped her pull her wet clothes off. She tried to resist but she couldn’t have done it by her self. Before leaving he added, “Want is a feeling you know. I don’t think you’re made of stone and I don’t think Gargoyle is a suitable name for one so beautiful. I’d like to talk about this more, if you don’t mind...” She had her back to him, face turned away. She turned slightly, looked at him and nodded.

Night had fallen and the sky cleared reviling a beautiful starry night sky Loan witnessed through the glass roof. He sat beneath it and felt so small under that sky, wishing in the back of his mind that “Gargoyle” was lying with him there. He had begun to doze off when the sound of bare feet touching tile flooring lifted him. He looked to the stairs for her coming, and he smiled at her beauty. Her hair was still wet but not from the rain this time, and she looked slightly content with having taken off her dirty wet clothes. “What did you want to talk about,” she asked simply as she stood next to him. He patted the couch next to him, though he was still lying down, she didn’t care and lay next to him. Her face was near his and her breath was cold against his cheek.

“Would you permit me to re-name you? Gargoyle is just such a bad name for you. You aren’t an ugly creature atop a building anymore, you’re a beautiful little angel if anything...So can I call you that? Little Angel,” he asked as if hurting inside.

She seemed to be contemplating it, with her face slightly scrunched in thought making her look smaller. Did every childish thing she did make her look smaller? “I...suppose that would be...alright. It’s not like you’ll be here for long, right?” Her words stung, did she really want him to leave so soon?

He looked more hurt from those words then from the wounds on his body, why was that? He sighed, “You don’t want me to stay, I take it...I guess I’d have to leave if you don’t want me here...” He was wrong about her being made to please. She had wanted to stay that way with him, so he slid an arm under her and the other around atop her. He let his hand come to rest on the back of her head and pulled him towards her slightly, as if on cue she crumbled into him like a cat would. She was even smaller now that she curled and her face was planted in his chest.

“I..want you to stay,” she said it slowly and almost in a whisper. She said it like it wasn’t meant to be uttered by one such as her. “I want you to stay,” she said again raising her head to look him in the eye. Hers were pleading, as if begging him to stay, she need not beg. He smiled as a response and didn’t resist the urge again to kiss her. She seemed to be smiling this time in the kiss, and he pulled back slowly to see. She had tears in her eyes and a slight smile, she sniffed and began to kiss him again.

And never ending happiness was theirs. She had remembered what had happened to her before she was a gargoyle. She had been a person, the person she was that day but the heavens had been jealous of her beauty and turned her into an ugly beast, then she was stone. Someone had found her and put her atop that building, when she broke that spell had been broken and if it wasn’t for that family then she would never have had a second chance at life. And so the Little Angel and Loan lived in that home till the end of there days, and when that end came they too, like the other members of that family turned to stone.