The Dark Side of Gloryel
Daniel Thomas Andrew Daly
By
Daniel Thomas Andrew Daly
http://assemblyofthedivinecreator.angelfire.com
http://www.myspace.com/assemblyofthecreator
‘Gloryel. There’s an angel.’
‘So you like her, Daniel?’ inquired Klaudiel.
‘I should. I married her once.’
‘What happened?’
‘I saw her dark side. It scared me. She can do dark things, and not
care. She can be a bitch, if she wants, and not give a damn. She can
be really scary.’
‘Does she have a good side?’
‘Sure does, Klaudiel. She shows that to everyone. And, in truth,
most of the time she’s an absolute gem. But, well, let me tell you
this story. We were married for about 100 years, doing the things
happy people who are devoted couples do, going places, kissing in
public, making love in parks in the shrubberies and all sorts of
things. Well, I flirted with a girl – she was young – only a few
thousand. I got home that night and, on my dinner plate, seven fat
slugs. I asked her ‘What is this?’ and she said ‘Why dinner my
faithful husband.’ Fuck she was cold for a few months. And, another
time, I forgot to mention her in a thank you speech at an organisation
I was receiving an award from and, later that night, feeling good
about everything she said, ‘well, thanks for thanking me, hubbie. Oh,
I will be away for a while. Perhaps a decade.’
‘And was she?’
‘Two. 23 years, and she finally shows up again.’
‘Well, what you are telling me is when you fuck up she really has a
dark side.’
‘Pretty much.’
‘So it’s your fault.’
Daniel stopped drinking his coke, looked at Klaudiel from across the
table and said ‘Well I guess fucking so.’
‘Yes,’ she responded. ‘I guess so.’
* * *
Gloryel was back in town. She had decided to catch up with old
Daniel, one of her flames from millennia ago. See how he was doing.
She caught the bus from ‘Joniquay’ central station, made it to the
outer suburb of ‘Campbelltown’ and, finding the old home were they
shared a life, she knocked on the door. A lady answered. ‘Ah, is
Daniel home?’
‘Uh, you know him?’ responded Klaudiel.
‘Yes. We were married once. I lived here with him.’
Klaudiel looked closely at the angel. ‘You’re not Gloryel are you?’
‘Why, yes. Yes I am.’
‘Oh. We were talking about you last week at a lunch date. Come in.’
Klaudiel invited her inside and they came to the loungeroom. ‘Please
sit here. I will get Daniel. He’s out back.’
Gloryel sat down and looked around. The place was much the same. The
same collection of clocks appeared to be on the walls, and the same
bookcases – collectable ones they had bought together – were against
the wall. Other things had changed somewhat, but still the same
Daniel style.
Daniel came in suddenly, followed by Klaudiel.
‘Fuck. Gloryel,’ he said. ‘Darling.’
He came over, and she stood, and he kissed her on the cheek.
They sat and she looked at Daniel sitting next to Klaudiel, and then
looked around the room.
‘Things seem similar,’ she put in.
‘Uh, yes,’ responded Daniel. ‘The more things change the more they
stay the same.’
Gloryel nodded. ‘Mmmm. Yes.’ She looked at Klaudiel with an
inquiring look on her face.
‘Oh,’ began Daniel. ‘This is Klaudiel. Uh, my girlfriend.’
Gloryel nodded. ‘You aren’t married? Single?’
‘Uh, yes. I have only married once since we were together. An Asian
lady. It lasted about a decade, but we weren’t that compatible in the
end. Mainly lust to start with. We both thought it would be good to
get together to see how things worked out, but they didn’t. It was
amicable enough, but she had different interests in the end, and
wanted to go off to the far reaches of the heavenlies. There was
nothing for a while, and then about a decade ago I met Klaudiel. We
have been together ever since.’
Gloryel nodded.
‘I was married to him,’ said Gloryel to Klaudiel. We were together
for a long time. A very long time.’
‘Yes. I know,’ responded Klaudiel. She looked at them both, realized
they would probably like to chat, and said ‘Well. I will get us some
tea and bikkies. I’ll take my time, so about 10 minutes?’
‘Sure,’ said Daniel, staring at Gloryel.
Klaudiel looked at Gloryel and then at Daniel and said. ‘Ok. See you
shortly,’ and left the room.
With Klaudiel gone, Daniel stared at Gloryel. His heart had been
thundering. They never quite separated with him not liking her. In
fact, in truth, his heart had broken, even though he agreed that they
should separate. There had been problems for a while. Jealousies –
resentments – arguments. But he remembered, in truth, they never
stopped loving each other. They never stopped doing that.
‘What. What brings you here, Gloryel?’
‘Oh. I have moved back to Joniquay.’
‘Why?’
‘A home. A permanent home. It never ends. Out there, I mean. God
goes on expanding the heavens with all the new people. Forever he’ll
be doing it, they say.’
‘Yes. That is apparently the case. Gabriel usually affirms this on
the broadcasts – the heaven’s to go on forever.’
‘Yes.’ Nodded Gloryel. She went silent for a few moments.
‘It’s because of that. It’s because it will never end. One day.
Well, one day you could get lost, in a sense. Out near the rim.
Trillions, maybe quadrillions of miles from the centre. From the old
home for someone like me.’
‘Yes. I’d imagine that possible,’ responded Daniel.
Gloryel looked at him straightly. ‘So what am I going to do? Run
forever? Move on forever? Never settle?’
‘But why Joniquay?’ he pressed her.
‘Because if I can’t settle were I was born, how can I settle
anywhere? How can I dig into the roots of the eternal anywhere? If
not here, I will travel forever. And I don’t want to do that. I
can’t do that.’
‘I see,’ responded Daniel, looking at her.
They sat in silent for a few minutes as she looked around the room and
Daniel stared at her.
‘The population will settle in the end. That is what they say. At
the end of things. Ultimately, with the population going outwards
forever, they can’t all travel here. People will have to stay put.
Too much traffic, otherwise. It becomes impossible to move
otherwise,’ stated Daniel.
‘Basically, yes,’ agreed Gloryel. ‘The reality of the constrictions
of being alive on a giant plane of heaven. We have to settle,
eventually, or travel forever.’
Daniel nodded. That was life. You had to make a home.
‘You will want someone, though. A partner. A family. You’ll have to
afford a permanent home. Eventually they will stop selling. People
will no longer move. You’ll have to make sure of that.’
‘I know,’ she responded. ‘I still have time.’
‘Yes,’ he agreed.
‘But only so much, sis. Perhaps 20 to 30 thousand more years for
Joniquay. People hardly sell up here anymore anyway. Finding a place
is impossible. Out of a city of trillions of homes, you see about a
dozen listings a year. Hardly anything. Eventually, as you say, it
will stop. I mean, there is this one place, not far from here. It is
listed at the moment. They want an awful lot for it, and there a few
offers. You could probably afford it though.’
She looked at him and nodded. ‘How far?’
‘Uh, next suburb, actually. Really, I had been thinking about it.
Very strongly. Costs about half my savings, and that is saying
something. But I have been thinking about it.’
‘You are probably one of the few who can afford it, brother.’
‘Possibly.’ He looked at her. He looked at her, and looked into his
heart, and knew what he wanted. ‘’I’ll buy it for you. I don’t
mind. It’s only money, in the end. It comes back to us in time.’
She looked at him. She could probably afford the place, if she had
to. She had a lot too. She knew, though, Daniel would not mind.
That he would never mind.
‘Can I look at it?’
Daniel looked up at the wall at one of the clocks. It was early in
the day. The place would likely be available for viewing. He stood,
walked to the PC, brought up the webnet, found the place and the phone
number and picked up his mobile, dialling. A voice answered, said it
was ok and they would meet him there.
‘We’ll go now,’ he said. ‘I’ll let Klaudiel know.’
Gloryel looked at him, smiled warmly and thankfully. ‘Thank you
Daniel. You are very gracious.’
* * * * *
The place was of moderate size, for the suburb. 4 bedrooms, one large
master bed and 3 standard size smaller ones. A good size backyard and
kitchen, bathroom, separate toilet, lounge room, living room, a
central hallway and laundry. It had zoning permission for alteration
of the house to a triple story as well. It could be expanded.
Gloryel looked all around, with Daniel waiting at the front door with
the agent. She finally came down, looked at him and nodded. ‘It’s
fine. Good location. It will do.’
‘You could be here forever?’ he said.
‘I know,’ she said.
Daniel looked at the agent and handed him a Debit Card.
The agent smiled. ‘So, there is enough for the entire amount? I
mean, you don’t need a loan or anything?’
‘Swipe the card,’ said Daniel. The agent did, pushed the buttons,
spent a while typing in the full amount of the house and waited.
‘Transfer approved’ came onto his little credit card reader. The
agent opened his briefcase, pulled out the title deed and the standard
contract. Daniel signed. ‘Now, you will have to lodge the deed with
a local solicitor. The law requires that. He will check to see we
have done the registration of the new owner. There is nothing more to
it than that. The house is yours. Here’s the key,’ he said, handing
Daniel the key.
Daniel looked at the key momentarily and turned to Gloryel. ‘Your’s,’
he said, handing it to her. She smiled. She was home.
* * *
Daniel was at Gloryel’s – at a lunch on Saturday – chatting. Klaudiel
had left him recently. Just a few weeks after Gloryel arriving. She
had said ‘Well, it is time for me to move on, Danny. I liked you.
There are other fish in the sea, though.’ Daniel had been shocked
but, as she walked out the door she had said one thing. ‘I am sure
you and Gloryel will make good friends. Possibly a good couple,’ and
then he had known the reason why.
‘My dark side, Daniel dearest, is not as dark as you think. It is a
woman’s scorn. It is perfectly natural.’
‘Then why did we part?’
‘We just needed time,’ she responded, looking at him sincerely.
Daniel looked at her and thought, really, that was possibly true.
Perhaps he just needed a lot of time to adjust to Gloryel and her
ways. Perhaps that was all it had ever been.’
Gloryel looked at him and, although they had never said it, spoke it
anyway. ‘Well, if we marry again, we will live at your place. But I
will have one more child, and the child can live here with his or her
partner. Is that agreed?’
Daniel took that soberly. ‘We have enough room at home for one other
couple. Perhaps another child with a partner.’
Gloryel looked at him for a moment, and then nodded. ‘Alright. I
don’t mind sharing with a child. But the other guest room stays that
– a guest room.’
Daniel agreed.
6 months later they married. A lot of old friends showed up,
including Gabriel, their oldest brother. It was quite a lavish
affair, and Daniel went all out, spending a small fortune. He could
afford it.
They were good together then. Very good. They never parted for the
remainder of eternity. There was no point. They had been to the end
of every other issue. Sometimes marriages were eternal.
2 children – one boy and one girl. The girl ended up marrying first,
but decided to live with them. She gave away the idea of children.
There would be no more room in Joniquay. When her eggs ran out, she
didn’t pray for replenishment. Her mum and dad were enough for her.
Her brother married eventually, moved into Gloryel’s home, and had 1
child. The child eventually found her partner, and stayed at home.
She made the same decision as her aunt and when the eggs were gone did
not pray for replenishment. They stayed together, a happy family,
forever after.
The End